AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2) (18 page)

“Sir, the throne for which all these fools are fighting, belongs to you. It is only because of your renunciation...”

“I did it voluntarily, Vidhura. This also I do voluntarily. I must keep my word. Let Suyodhana rule. Let him learn how easy or difficult it is to rule a country, a people. Let me sit back and watch. It is already a new day. The past was buried yesterday. The sun is now shining on a new generation. The Sun God has showered his blessings on the Suta. So be it. Who am I to question destiny?”

“Swami, they are young and heedless, they may have forgotten... ”

“Vidhura, the past is meant to be forgotten. We are the past. I am not bitter, why are you? Hand over the Insignia to the Crown Prince and announce my retirement. Do not wake him now. They will be tired after their celebrations. You, too, go home and get some sleep. I can now sleep with a clear conscience and a free heart. Ah! The sweetness of freedom is exhilarating. I should have done this long ago.”

With a sinking heart, Vidhura took the Insignia from the Grand Regent’s outstretched hand and walked to the door.

“Vidhura.” The call was soft and tender and Vidhura felt he would collapse right there and die. “Son, do not do anything rash. You have a family to feed. Your children are still young. Do not resign your post. The younger generation needs your wise counsel.”

“Suyodhana can search for a new Prime Minister from today. If poverty awaits me, so be it, but I will not bow my head to any man other than you.”

For the first time in his life Vidhura defied the Grand Regent and walked out. He did not know how he was going to feed his family and bring up his children, but he was determined never to enter the palace again.

It was a glorious day outside.

*****

17
   
D
ARK
P
RINCE

A LONG TRAIN OF SERVANTS CARRIED
in the ransom and loot from the Southern Confederate and piled it in the Sabha. Karna walked to the centre of the great hall and pulled out a fistful of precious stones. He turned towards the group of Brahmins standing huddled in the corner with sullen faces. “Revered ones, these are the humble offerings of a Suta,” he said, placing the stones on the floor and walking back a few steps so as not to pollute them. He stood humbly, his head bowed.

The Brahmin priests looked at each other. One of them quickly moved forward to pick up the stones. Seeing that the Suta’s respect appeared to be genuine, they broke into animated conversation. Finally, one of them cried out,
“Dhanaveera
Karna!
Dharmaveera
Karna!”

An uneasy silence followed. Karna stood upright and tense. Then the group of priests shouted the accolades in chorus, their voices reverberating through the palace. Karna’s handsome face lit up like the rising sun. At last, he was getting his due. The people who mattered were accepting him as a hero.

“What is all this, Karna?” Suyodhana whispered in his friend’s ear, but Karna ignored him. He was terrified that his friend would say something rash.

Bhanumati appeared with her twins, saving the situation. Lakshmana Kumara ran towards Karna, followed by his sister. They jumped into Karna’s arms as Bhanumati looked on with a smile. But when her eyes met Karna’s, she pressed her lips together and tears filled her eyes. Suyodhana stood apart. Karna sensed that something was wrong between his friend and his wife. What had happened?

“Where is Aswathama?” Karna asked.

Suyodhana stared out of the window. Karna’s eyes searched for the impish Brahmin in the crowd. Had he not returned from Gandhara?

“He has not come back,” Bhanumati whispered.

“Not come back! And you are sitting here doing nothing?” Karna turned to Suyodhana but his friend refused to look at him.

“Lord Bhishma has a vice-like grip over everything. He and Uncle Vidhura would not hear of a rescue mission to Gandhara. Why blame Suyodhana?” Sushasana said, moving closer to his brother.

“Suyodhana, we must save him,” Karna said, his eyes glittering dangerously.

A soldier entered and announced the King of Sindh.

“Jayadratha! We had no prior intimation of your coming!” Suyodhana walked towards the proud King, hands outstretched.

Jayadratha looked at the bounty piled in the hall, the group of Brahmins standing with their presents clutched to their chests, and laughed mirthlessly. A flush crept into Karna’s cheeks.

“Congratulations, my friend. You have become
Dhanaveera Digvijayi
Karna,” Jayadratha said, the sarcasm barely concealed.

“With the help of your men, Your Highness. It is all thanks to the bravery of the soldiers you lent me,” Karna said with cold civility, bowing low. The soldiers of Sindh had been the first to turn tail when they faced the assault of the Confederate troops.

“I have a gift for you, Suyodhana. I have captured the leader of the Nagas – Takshaka himself,” Jayadratha announced.

An awed hush fell in the Sabha.

“Bring him in!” Jayadratha commanded, his cold eyes never leaving the proud Suta’s face. He was not the only man who could perform wondrous feats.

As the Sabha waited anxiously, a group of soldiers pushed and shoved a tall, dark man in chains into the hall. His muscles rippled as he tried to free himself.

“Behold Takshaka!” Jayadratha turned to Suyodhana, awaiting his words of appreciation.

The Sabha reverberated with applause. When the din died down, Suyodhana moved towards the captive man. His gaze rested on the man’s right hand. It had four fingers. The captive looked him straight in the eyes, the hint of a smile on his lips.

“Ekalavya! Welcome to the Sabha of the Dark Prince, Duryodhana,” said Suyodhana.

*****

18
   
N
ISHADA’S
D
AUGHTER

EKALAVYA EYED THE CROWN PRINCE HAUGHTILY.
He knew it was a futile statement but he could not help rattling the chains that bound him. ‘They are amused, these privileged, highborn rascals; amused to see me like this. They make me stand in their Sabha like a performing monkey in a market.’ Rancour welled in his heart like bitter bile. ‘Where is Drona’s son? Why did the Suta laugh? They will no doubt purify the marble floors with cow dung after sending me to the gallows. They should have killed me instead of subjecting me to such humiliation.’

“Untie him.”

Ekalavya could not believe his ears. A soldier struggled to free him of his chains. A little girl, standing near the throne, giggled. Ekalavya stared at her, anger burning in his eyes. ‘Even the little ones of these high-castes make fun of us,’ he thought. But the little girl smiled at him, dimples leaping into her cheeks. With the chains removed, the thought of fleeing flashed though Ekalavya’s mind. No, he was exhausted. Months of imprisonment had sapped his strength. His body could not follow his mind as quickly as he wanted it to. He would have to bear the humiliation for some time.

“I have been trying to trace you for a long time, Ekalavya, in fact, from the day you gave Drona your
gurudakshina,”
Suyodhana said.

Ekalavya quickly covered his mutilated hand with his other one. “So you have not finished having fun with us, eh?” Ekalavya smiled at the gasps in the Sabha. It felt good talking back to the mighty Crown Prince. Perhaps he only had a few minutes to live but he was determined to go down with his head held high. “You think you have defeated us? Krishna thinks he has escaped. You may kill me, but one day my people will rise and sweep you into the Ganga. You can kill me now, but how many Ekalavyas will you kill, Duryodhana? The forests of this country are pregnant with revolution. There are thousands of Ekalavyas rising.”

“Ekalavya, I wish to stop the revolution.”

“The entire army of Hastinapura and all the great warriors here will not be able to stop it, Prince.”

“I do not wish to stop it by force. I know I cannot do that. I wish to stop it by...”

“By acting nice and throwing us some tidbits? Ha, I would rather face your cousin Arjuna’s arrows than your patronising acts.”

“You feel proud to be rude, Nishada? I am merely extending my hand in friendship.”

“Are you so desperate to prove yourself a good man, Prince? You think I will fall for such petty tricks? You are preparing for a war against your cousins. You think one more warrior, even without a thumb, will be useful against Arjuna? Do you want to know what we think about your fight with your cousins? We think that it is a sham. Whoever wins, our plight will remain the same.”

“I am the only person who has stood up for your people.”

Ekalavya watched Suyodhana flush with anger. His ghost thumb itched savagely. “Where were you, Prince, when my aunt and cousins were burned like chickens in the trap you set for your cousins? What did you do when Arjuna murdered thousands of helpless women and children to build Indraprastha? Had your nobility gone into hiding then? Where were all the mighty warriors – the righteous Bhishma, the great Guru Dronacharya, the noble Suyodhana, the wise Vidhura, and
Dhanaveera Dharmaveera
Karna? Where were all of you when our people were dying in the forest fire or being shot by Arjuna’s arrows? Not a man raised his voice to say it was
adharma,
not one woman of this noble land shed a tear!” “I have tried to make amends. The Pandavas have been exiled.”

“Ha, you tricked them, not because you felt sorry for our people but because a woman laughed at you. Do not make your battle with cousins to be some cosmic fight between
dharma
and
adharma.
Do you think the common people cannot see through it? These are cheap political ploys for power to crush the weak and oppress the common people. The Pandavas bow to the Brahmins because they think they will get their support in their war against you. You have already lost the support of the priestly class, so you have come to us, thinking we will shed our worthless blood for you. Do you think you can sit on the throne and claim you are our saviour? Think again, Prince; we live in different worlds.”

“Another word from your uncouth mouth and you are dead, Nishada.” Karna’s sword was pressed against Ekalavya’s throat, his eyes glittering. He looked at Suyodhana for permission to plunge in the sword and silence the Nishada, but Suyodhana was looking away, his eyes clouded with shame.

“Go ahead, Suta, show your loyalty,” said Ekalavya, facing Karna calmly. The sword pressed into the Nishada’s skin and a drop of blood appeared.

“Karna, drop your sword! He has the right to speak in this Sabha. If I do not listen to the voice of my own people, what kind of King will I be? Free him!” Suyodhana waited until Karna reluctantly returned his sword to its scabbard and then turned to Ekalavya. “I do not know what force prompts me to act the way I do. Perhaps I am a selfish man, who has done many things wrong to gain power. But power is my birthright. I am the firstborn of the King and no one can take that right from me. I was wrong to disrobe Draupadi, I admit it to my eternal shame. But I will not accept being called evil by my cousins and their sycophants. I do not have the blood of innocent people on my hands as they do. Your aunt and cousins, the thousands that were slain in Khandivaprastha, the blood of King Jarasandha and your father Hiranyadhanus, the list is endless, yet I am called the evil one, not my cousins Pandavas. Ironic, is it not?”

“Have you dragged me here to listen to your justifications, Prince? We have suffered enough because of the power struggle between you Kuru cousins. Our people are desperate and many among us think Takshaka is the answer to our problems. I know Takshaka, and I know what will happen if his revolution wins. We are caught between you.”

“I will make amends, not only for my silence when my cousins razed Khandivaprastha, but also for the wrongs done to your people. I will make you King of all the forest lands in Hastinapura’s domain.”

The assembly broke into an uproar. Even Karna looked shocked. Ekalavya watched Karna’s reaction before replying. Perhaps the Suta was thinking he was not as special as he had thought. Suyodhana had gone one step further than he had done with the Suta, and dared to offer kingship to a Nishada. ‘But I am no Suta to wag my tail before the master,’ Ekalavya thought to himself. He rubbed his chin with his mutilated right hand and smiled when he saw Suyodhana wince. The thumbless hand had that effect on most people.