Daughters of the Pandavas - ~OS~ [pg 8 Paarth Panchaali Story (7-29) - Page 5

Cling. Cling.

Arjun, the warrior prince, stirred from his deep slumber.

Cling. Swoosh.

His face scrunched up because of the sound and he moved his body to the right to face his beautiful wife Panchaali. As he moved his hand towards her, to bring her closer to him, he felt nothing but the emptiness and the outline of her body on the silk sheets. His eyes opened wide as he sat up. He looked to the empty space beside him where Panchaali would sleep. He blinked a few times to make sure that he wasn't imagining anything and he even softly called out to his wife twice, "Panchaali? Panchaali?" just in case she was still in the room. But he was met with nothing but the cold midnight air.

He quickly stood up and jogged to the water bowl placed on top of a short, stubby column in the middle of the room and cupping his hands, he washed his face. Moving with speed, he quickly strapped on his sword and grabbed the jeweled Gandhiva, his most prized bow. Closing his eyes, he started to observe his surrounding by feeling the heat coming from various objects. He noticed some heat coming from the room next to him, but he knew it was Pragiti, his daughter and Suthanu, Yuddhistir's daughter. Since there wasn't any signs of other heat sources that fit Panchaali's profile, he concluded that Panchaali wasn't sleeping with Pragiti either. Moving his closed eyes towards the direction of the front door, he noticed two heat sources coming from either side of the door. These were the two guards, he decided and he continued to seek out his wife through her heat, after all since she was born from the Agni Kunda, her heat properties were unique (though far more subtle) than any other human. Sensing nothing, he rushed to the front door.

"Dwarpal. Did Panchaali leave the chambers?"

The dwarpal trembled for a second as if begging for forgiveness, but merely looked down.

Arjun turned to the next dwarpal and repeated the question. However, he was met with a similar response. Shaking his head, Arjun's eyes darted all over the place. His eyebrows curved with anxiety and fear for his wife as he began to imagine the worst scenarios possible.

Perhaps she was kidnapped while sleeping? Or maybe she decided that she had had enough of me? Maybe she was poisoned from last night's dinner? Oh dear Panchaali...

Thinking thus, Arjun fell to his knees. Regaining his composure moments later, he forced those thoughts out of his head and rushed over to Pragiti's room with the intentions of asking if she had seen her Mai. But seeing his little one sleeping in peace, her small hands tightly holding onto Suthanu's hands. He smiled and gently patted the girls' heads and he silently left the room to continue his search.

As he left the room, he heard the sounds of clings and clangs and he began to follow the direction of the sound. Perhaps Panchaali was fighting off her kidnappers. Thinking so, he began to jog towards the sound.

Arjun opened door after door, not even waiting for the guards to open them. His breathing had changed and he began to breathe more heavily as sweat accumulated on his glowing forehead. His stomach felt uneasy and his heart no longer had the familiar th-thump th-thump beat, but was replaced with dubdubdubdubdubdub. As the sound got louder, his mind got more restless. Reaching what he hoped was the final door, he threw himself against the door, causing the door the open wide. He rolled as he hit the ground and pulled out his sword in one swift move.

Panchaali stood there, sword in hand, her head tilted to the right. A curious and surprised look adorned her face; a slight smile began to creep to her face.

Arjun quickly walked up to her and standing in front of her, he reached back and placed his left around Panchaali's slim waist as if pushing her to stand closer and behind him. Sword in hand, he circled the room to make sure the area was safe before facing his wife.

Panchaali, at this point, was struggling to keep a straight face. She bit her tongue to keep the laughter from coming out, but it was futile. Moments later, Panchaali burst out laughing, leaving her pati standing in a pool of confusion.

"Wh-what's so funny?" Arjun asks, his voice sounded nervous.

Panchaali smiled and she just shook her head.

Taking a deep breath, Arjun collapses to the feet of his wife and laughs.

"I was worried."

"For what? I am after all Drupad-Kanya."

Arjun chuckles, but stops after noticing the raised eyebrow of his wife.

Panchaali continues. "I'm also the sister of two of Panchal's finest warriors. Didi Shikandini and Bratha Dhristadyumn."

Arjun lets out a soft giggle, but stops after noticing his wife shaking her head.

"I'm also the wife of the most powerful archer in all of the land of Bharata!"

Arjun smirks, a tad bit full of pride, but again stops after noticing the raised eyebrows of his wife.

Panchaali laughs and kneels down. "Why did you stop smiling?" she whispers softly in his ear.

Arjun felt a chill run down his spine as Panchaali's smiling face stared deep into his eyes.

Arjun smiled and gently reached for Panchaali's hands. "You had me worried though. Why weren't you sleeping and why did you have a sword in hand."

"I- I- I wanted to improve my swordwomanship."

"And ..."

"And I wanted to spend more time with you."

Arjun raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Aarthat?"

"Aarthat, I miss you and wanted to spend more time with you."

Arjun touched his wife's nose. "You know ... I also wanted to spend more time with you."

Draupadi smiles softly. "Really Arya?"

"Let's do this. Every night, I'll train you in swordplay. In the afternoons, when me and my brothers are practicing, you can join us then too."

She blushes and shakes her head. "I'd rather just train with you."

Arjun again touches his wife's nose. "Done."

He stands up and offers his hand to Panchaali, who promptly grabs it. Pulling her up towards him, he grabs her by her waist and brings her in close. Blushing slightly, she tries to look away, but it was too late - they were both lost in each other's eyes. "Shall we start now dear one?" Arjun whispers, his eyes twinkling with love.

To be continued...

Curious who is who? Here will be a quick characters guide, with important information like age, description, personality, etc. They aren't going to be synced to the epic's age because I don't know their ages ( I could guess and make a logical guess, but that's no fun)

Shrutavindhya:

The eldest son of Yuddhistir and Panchaali is also the most mature and most responsible of the Upapandavas. While his strict dharma-loving nature comes from his dad, his playfulness was graced by his mother. This 17 year old heir to Indraprasth loves his siblings more than life itself and without a doubt, he would sacrifice himself for the benefit of his siblings. His favorite color is white because it symbolizes the peace he worships, his favorite sweet is kheer, and his favorite weapon is the spear.

Dressed in white dhoti and white-gold ornaments, Shrutavindhya stands tall in front of all his peers. His cool, calm, and majestic personality reflects off his smile, and his green eyes melts the heart of all.

Sutasoma:

This eldest son of Bhimsen and Panchaali is very similar to his father in that he loves to eat. However, if the need arises, he is always the first to give up his food for his brothers. An example of this occurred when the Upapandavas were visiting their parents during their exile. It was a surprise visit, so unfortunately they arrived after Panchaali had finished eating. Although Dhristadyumn convinced his sister that he wasn't hungry, Panchaali couldn't bear seeing her children visit her on a long journey and not have any food. She quickly cooked a little meal, gave a small portion to each upapandava, except Sutasoma who got a large portion (they were all sitting in a circle). Being well-mannered, none of the upapandavas complained, however Sutasoma was unable to bear his eldest brother and his younger siblings having less food at such a time. Smiling, he divided his plate and gave each brother a little bit from his plate. In the end, each brother had an equal amount of food and they ate to their heart's content (since they were feeding each other). At 15, Sutasoma understood the situation very well and accepted whatever obstacles came across him. His favorite color is orange because it was the color of the fire in his belly, his favorite sweet is Motichoor Laddu, and his favorite weapon was the mace.

Dressed in an orange dhoti and golden ornaments, this fearsome warrior inherited Bhim's invincible strength and being armed with the fire of his mother Panchaali, he was unstoppable. His loving personality and his deep care and regard for his younger siblings made him one of the best elder brother's a younger sibling could ask for.

Srutakirti:

This youngest son of Arjun and Panchaali (and the youngest Upapandava) was the most mischievous of all the Upapandavas. His pranks knew no limits and his favorite pastime was annoying his elder sisters. This little one was especially afraid (as a form of jest) of Sutasoma and Shrutavindhya. Whenever any one of these brothers was present in the room, he would immediately pip down and stand still, like a statue, just looking around and not saying anything. Even though the everyone knew Srutakirti was only joking, Sutasoma and Shrutavindya were always talked to whenever a villager or resident of the city had a problem arise because of the pranks Srutakirti pulled. Everyone loved him, especially his kakashree Krishna who spent countless hours telling him of the pranks he used to pull in the forests of Vrindavan and the very next day, Srutakirti would go out and break pots and steal butter like kakashree Krishna. His favorite color was silver, and he wore ornaments of white-gold (since they were close to the color of silver). His favorite sweet was gulab-jamuns, and his favorite weapon was the sword.

Dressed in a green dhoti, the most mystical characteristic of this youngster had to be his eyes. They gave the false appearance of innocence, and even though everyone knew he was behind the crime, it was hard to scold him. This 8 year old's twin sister was Pragiti (fraternal twins), and they both shared that same mischievous nature.

Satanika:

The eldest son of the handsome Nakul and the gorgeous Panchaali had transferred their looks onto Satanika. But, like his parents, he wasn't just beauty and no brains. Learned in various shastras and rituals, Satanika's knowledge of history was astounding. He could reference scriptures and events that occurred in the past as well as explain the significance and origins of events such as Ekadashis or various types of pooja. He was a favorite of the divine seer Narada Muni, who often dropped by to teach Satanika (as well as the rest of the Pandu Parivaar) more about the spiritual life. He was a favorite of Abhimanyu - the son of Subhadra and Arjun - and the two boys would spend hours talking late at night during their sleepover parties. His favorite color was yellow, his favorite sweet was Unni Appam (south indian sweet), and his favorite weapon was the bow. Together, these two boys would spend hours with Arjun perfecting their archery skills.

This 13 year old usually dresses in a yellow dhoti and though very knowledgeable, his most prized nature was humility. He understood the limits of material beauty and thus sought after spiritual beauty.

Srutakarma:

The eldest son of the wise Sahadev and sweet Panchaali shared characteristics from both his parents. He was extremely patient like his father, but if someone managed to push him over the line, he consumed everyone with his mother's fiery personality. His dimpled - smile was such that it lit up the entire room and he was a favorite of all. He spent most of his time with his eldest brothers Sutasoma and Shrutavindya and learned various responsibilities of the kingdom. He was always ready to help anyone and everyone and spent countless hours trying to give justice to the citizens of Indraprasth. His favorite color was light blue, his favorite sweet was Jalebi, and his favorite weapon was the sword. His interest in the sword grew when he first saw Nakul and Sahadev practice while outside in the garden when he was about 3 years old and ever since then, he took great pleasure in watching and learning. His sparring partner is none other than his younger brother Srutakirti.

This 11 year old adorns a sky-blue dhoti and his armlets and bracelets are decorated with various blue stones. He spends some time in the garden just pondering and experiencing the world through its sounds, and it is definitely a delight to catch him explaining the nature of the world that he experienced to his brothers - so calm, so peaceful, so mystical.

Abhimanyu:

Abhimanyu! Abhimanyu! Abhimanyu! He was the favorite among all the Pandavas childrens, essentially an all-in-one. He shared Shrutavindya's love of righteousness, Sutasoma's love for his siblings, Srutakirti's naughtiness, Satanika's intelligence, and Srutakarma's sense of justice. He is 16 years old at the time, just a year younger than Shrutavindya, and the loving son of Subhadra and Arjun. Even though he is Subhadra-nandan, he personally identifies himself as the son of Draupadi because the love and respect he gets from Draupadi is beyond comparison. In fact, whenever Abhimanyu played a prank on his mother as a child, his mother Subhadra would scold him. However, if Draupadi happened to hear about this, she would rush to Abhi's chambers and hug him while gently scolding Subhadra for scolding her Abhi. Even though all the brothers of the Pandavas had two mothers - Subhadra and Draupadi - and although both mothers loved everyone equally, Draupadi happened to love Abhimanyu just a tad bit more (if a mother's love can even be measured). This teen was a world famous archer at 16 years old and his reputation of surpassing even Arjun made him a favorite of everyone. He would never brag about his archery skills and he always thought of himself to be a fraction as good an archer as Arjun was. He shared a special relationship with everyone he met, and he always touched the lives of those around him. This 16 year old loved Blueberry Halavas.

Abhimanyu wore nothing but gray clothes and adorned himself with white-gold ornaments. He was a favorite of Shrutavindhya - as he was his first younger brother - and these two always shared a special connection. Being one of the eldest, he shared the same amount of trust and responsibility that Shrutavindhya had. However, he wasn't a match for his younger brother Srutakirti's silliness because whenever the situation arose, Abhi would find himself prey to Srutakirti's beautiful personality and somehow, he would end up helping Abhi in playing pranks or shielding Abhi from the anger of the elders.

Suthanu:

The eldest daughter and twin sister (fraternal) of Shrutavindhya. She was 17 years old and was extremely beautiful. She shared her mother's tall slender look, her father's wise eyes. Although she was very feisty at a young age, she spent hours with her uncle Sahadev as a child and thus she gained his cool and calm personality that everyone loved nowadays. Of all the children of the Pandavas, she was the most sensible and the most understanding. She took every situation and analyzed it millions of times before taking her step - except when it came to whatever antics her younger sister Pragiti came up with. For Pragiti, Suthanu never hesitated. Whatever bizarre plan her little sister came up with, she would smile and follow along, making sure that Pragiti was always safe. At 17 years old, she shared a special friendship that would later envelope into love and marriage with Krishna and Satyabhama's son - Bhanu. She was one of a kind and the citizens dotted her. Bards would sing of her glories as they traveled from kingdom to kingdom and she soon became a favorite of all of Bharatavarsha, famous and well respected because of her level of understanding and personality.

Her favorite color was purple and she always had a ribbon in her hair. She didn't like the age old tradition of binding hair, and she often just brushed her hair and secured it with her ribbon. She loved the taste of Kaju Khatris and while she was well trained in archery. Pragiti never tied her hair back like Suthanu and at one point, when her hair was getting long enough to braid and Panchaali and Subhadra were trying to get her to braid her hair, little Pragiti took a knife and just cut off her hair. Needless to say, both mother's were very angry and Pragiti ran over to Suthanu who patiently listened to everything. She explained sweetly to Pragiti the danger of what she did, and she also took the time to scold her mothers for scaring little Pragiti. Both mother's were pleased at Suthanu's maturity and they blessed her and hugged her numerous times.

Pragiti:

The twin sister of the crazy little Srutakiriti and the daughter of Arjun and Panchaali was crazy like her brother. She always had bizarro and random ideas that never made much sense. She was extremely hyper like a kid overdosed on sugar, and she loved to run. From Suthanu's room, to Arjun's chambers, to Panchaali and Subhadra's rooms, to her room .. she was always caught running. She was a favorite among all though, especially the guards who had enjoyed watching little Pragiti grow up running around the palace. Her life long dream was to build a giant waffle so her brother Sutasoma could eat it and never be hungry again and she always begged her uncle Bhim to teach her how to make it (she wanted to make it by herself, without adult supervision). Speaking of uncle Bhim, she was his favorite of all the upapandavas because she was the only one who took interest in Bhim's cooking. Everyone, of course, took interest in Bhim's cooking, but Pragiti was always in the kitchen 15 minutes before Bhim would arrive trying to make her own little dish (the royal cook would be there too, so it was completely safe). When Bhim arrives, she would grab a stool and watch him cook, often helping him by stirring a pot or crunching up leaves to add to a soup. By the time Bhim's lunch was ready, Pragiti would grab whatever small dish she made (it was only for 2) and she would put a huge amount in Bhim's plate and a little amount in her plate, and together these two would eat. Although Pragiti's food was always either too spicy, too salty, too sour, or too bitter (there can never be anything too sweet for Bhim), Bhim always ate it with a smile on his face because he wasn't pretending. He tasted Pragiti's love, and truth be told, he told me himself that he never enjoyed the taste of his own food because it didn't have the same sweet taste as Pragiti's.

Her favorite color was a dark pink and she had short-medium hair (about to her shoulders). She, like Suthanu, never tied her hair back. Oddly though, if she wasn't hanging around with Suthanu or if she wasn't concocting a weird plan, she was found sitting in the garden with big brother Srutakarma, listening to the sounds of nature. It was the one thing (besides Suthanu) that calmed her down. Her relationship with Suthanu was one of a kind too. They were inseparable, and although Suthanu was 10 years older than Pragiti, for some reason, either Pragiti acted Suthanu's age or Suthanu acted Pragiti's age. They never got tired of each other.