APRICITY

15. The Land Of Divinity

Suvarma and I switched to horses. We were travelling for five days and nights at a stretch. Thus, by the transition of the fertile brown soil of the plains to the course sand grains, I believe we were travelling in the north-west direction. The sloppy conifers were rarely in sight rather dense prickled bushes were common.

I promenaded ahead to keep at pace with Pitamah Sahadev's chariot.

"Pitamah", I asked. "How long is the journey from here?"

"Not that far. If we continue at this pace, we will reach Kamboja within three days." He replied.

"Where are we passing through? The land looks too barren." I enquired.

"Kurukshetra is five miles away from here." His gaze was lost in the oblivion.

"Kurukshetra!" I muttered.

"Pitamah, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, tell me." He said with nonchalance.

"Why did Pitamah Krishna choose the war to be here and not any other place?" I never know was that evil or good, but my uncertain questions drew havoc for people.

I didn't predict the small smile that came from Pitamah Sahadev. Nevertheless, I kept mum to seek my answer.

"When the war was announced, Bhrata Krishna sent spies to keep stocks of the various places and territories of Bharatvarsh. One day, he stumbled upon this land, barren and vast." He proceeded.

I attention never wavered off him. "There were a very few people who stayed scattered. Once, there was a farmer who searched for ways to stop the water seeping to his hut from the canal of his farm. Then, unsatisfied by his son's improper work at his farm, he turned so furious that he killed his son and used his dead corpse to stop the water."

"Were they even humans?" I was enraged.

"Yes, they were." A sardonic chukkle left his lips. "Neither the farmer was guilty of his deed, nor the son doubted his father. Thus, the land spoke of pure hatred, never a seed of love penetrated it's soil."

I sighed looking down at the course grains and the occassional pebbles which caused heavy friction to the hooves of my horse.

"Moreover, our ancestor Maharaj Kuru was granted a boon from Indra Dev, pleased by his noble deeds he blessed him. Any being who would die starving or fighting on this land, would be freed from the tyrannical cycle of life and death. His soul would be freed forever." He claimed.

It had been six hours that we had reached the fortress of Kamboja.

For a person bred in the plains, the sliding cliffs and rolling uplands were a delight at first sight.

The air was excruciatingly chilled, and I had to wrap a spare shawl over my angavastra. The crisp grass were adorned with wild peonies and rhododendrons. Relatively smaller group of people inhabited this place. The sun was high up in the horizon glistening proudly.

"Parikshit," Pitamah called me.

I hurried to him. "Did you have your lunch?" He asked.

"No, did you?"

"My stomach is stark empty, call your friend, we will have it together." He replied with a smug grin.

I smiled back and looked for Suvarma in the vicinity.

"Hey, Mitr!" I exclaimed reaching upto him. He was busy cradling the rabbits.

"Hmm.." His full attention was centred on the timid animals.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked.

His growling stomach answered for him followed by a sheepish grin.

"Come on, get going." He dusted his dhoti as we marched towards the kitchen.

"Look at the white mountains, can you identify which one has the Gomukh?" The corridor was extensively long, and posed a great landscape of the mountains.

"No, Varma. You won't find Gomukh here, it's in Uttarkashi. You shall find the famous five rivers inundating Kamboja."

"Parusni, Vipasa, Sutudri..and what are the other two?"

"Askini and Sindhu." Pitamah Sahadev answered for us. "Now, I can't wait anymore, Putras."

"Oh, sure, Grandsire. I am extremely sorry." Suvarma curtsied to bow.

"No, Varma. Call me Pitamah just as Pari." He caressed his head with affection.

We sat down to fill our rampant tummies. We relished the piquant, burning taste of spices that felt oddly satisfying in the cold atmosphere.

"Pari." Varma spoke in a low voice. "How about visiting the market?"

"When?"

"Just after this." He replied.

I blinked in assurance since his enticing proposal was too hard to turn down.

Parusni is modern day Ravi (river)
Vipasa is Beas
Sutudru is Satlej
Askini is Chenab
Sindhu is Indus . They are the five rivers of present Kashmir.