Upakhyana..a short tale of love..
Chapter 1- Ahvana..the challenge..
This story dates back to many hundreds of years ago in a kingdom called Vishishthapur. The ruler of this kingdom was Raja Narasimha. He was not known as a powerful ruler, but a compassionate head of the state who would want to see his subjects happy with their life more than expanding his kingdom. During his tenure, Vishishthapur became famous for the literary and cultural renaissance and most notably education of women. The king was a widower; Rani Padmini passed away while giving birth to their only daughter, Rajkumari Madhurya. The princess became the sole reason to live for the king. He provided her with everything best that could be thought of in those days. And most importantly princess Madhurya received education from the most learned gurus of that time. Raja Narasimha wanted his daughter to grow up as a wise and prudent lady who would take over the rulership of Vishishthapur. The king knew his dreams about his daughter might not be realistic, but after her marriage to a suitable nobleman, she would be the de facto ruler of Vishishthapur.
The day was Madhurya's sixteenth birthday. There was celebration all over the kingdom. People swarmed to the temple, praying for the well-being of the princess. A big fair was held at the riverside where hundreds of people with their families were having a fun time together. But the biggest attraction was the 'asi yudh' or the sword fight at the royal arena. All the young men of the kingdom who were deft with the movements of sword were invited to show off their skills against each other. The winner would be awarded by the princess herself.
The legend of Madhurya's beauty was not unknown to any mortal being in Vishishthapur or its surrounding kingdoms. She had inherited her mother's charming look, and people who had the fortune to get a glance of her beauty contradicted saying she was more enticing with more exquisite features. But her sakhi or her girl friends who were always around her, running her errands, had many of her other traits to discuss about. Her beauty and the formal pedagogy she had received had rendered an air of impudence in her which was very difficult to ignore. Madhurya knew that all the royal families of her time were keen to get her hand for their successors. This had given rise to a strange sense of invincibility in her with which she would play with people's emotion as per her whims.
The royal arena was crowded with people. The tautness of the atmosphere harbingered the forthcoming moments of challenge and action. The royal drums and hornpipes announced the arrival of the king and the princess to the arena. The spectators cheered and hailed the royalty. One by one the contestants entered the arena. The yudh started within different contestants. With every round the defeated warriors left the arena and finally it came down to the finest two sword fighters.
One of the finalists was Abhimanas, son of the Mahamantri (prime minister) Chaturanan. Although a kula Brahmin by caste, he was a warrior by nature. His prime ambition in life was to see himself as the supreme power of Vishishthapur and the surrounding regimes; and the easiest path to the realization of his dreams was princess Madhurya. He had to win her heart and make her his ardhangini (better-half) by any possible feat, no matter how much insult and harassment he had to accommodate in return from the feisty princess.
"Who is this brave soul competing Abhimanas till the finale?" asked one of the onlookers. "I heard he is the son of our Mahasenapati (Army general) Giriraj. His name is Rishabh." "Haven't seen him in Vishishthapur before. But I must say, he is a worthy son of the general." Indeed Rishabh had been away from Vishishthapur for a long time. At a very young age, his father had sent him to spend his Brahmacharya (the chaste part of life) in the gurukul of Rishi Agnimitra. There he had acquired both the intellectual and martial skills and after the completion of his training he came back to his father in Vishishthapur after 16 years. Rishabh belonged to the true kshatriya (warrior) clan of this land; although it was said that their blood had its share of a particular tribe Rohila of the nearby hills, which was not regarded noble enough to be in vicinity of the royalty. But Rishabh's forefathers had sacrificed their lives for the security of the royal family and the people of this kingdom and it was as a token of acknowledgement that their family was held as noble as any other courtiers. General Giriraj had however incorporated a huge number of men from the Rohila tribe in the army of Vishishthapur and they were no wonder the best of the battalions.
The nagada announced the initiation of the first round of the fight between Abhimanas and Rishabh. The prowess of the two men matched each other so well that with every strike of the swords it was very difficult to predict who would be overpowering the other. On one hand Abhimanas showed his agility to tackle Rishabh, whereas the latter had intensity and allegiance in his every strike which kept his opponent on his toes. Abhimanas was losing his stamina with time, but he kept on reminding himself the prize he would win by the end of this fight. Rishabh, completely oblivious of the true significance of the award, was gaining on his opponent. True to his sly nature, Abhimanas schemed the short-cut way, and struck Rishabh on his arm in a foul move. Rishabh was fighting dedicatedly, so this foul attack jolted him and injured his arm very deeply.
"He is cheating, His Majesty, you please stop this sword-fight right now!!" shouted princess Madhurya. By the time the king realized the foul-play and instructed the general to stop the fight, Rishabh had already foiled his opponent's further trickery and thrown him on the ground at the tip of his sword. Abhimanas gasped for air, but his eyes spew hatred for his victorious opponent. The whole arena cheered for the winner and the king and the princess applauded and called upon Rishabh to the dais.
"You are an astounding sword fighter. You will definitely be the true protector of this land after your father," praised the king. Giriraj was standing behind the king and his eyes glinted as he heard the commendation. Princess Madhurya came forward and as promised, awarded the winner with a beautiful uttariya (shawl). Rishabh had his eyes lowered, as he had been doing all this while in front of any woman during his brahmacharya. After receiving his award he was about to turn back when he felt a feather-soft touch on his right arm which was bleeding. Instinctively he looked back and saw her for the first time. He did not know what he was witnessing in front of his eyes. Was it possible even for the god to amass all the beauties of this world in a single mortal being? She was asking him something which he did not comprehend, as all his senses apart from his vision had left him for good. He just felt two hands tying a piece of cloth on his wound and after it was covered fully she smiled and said, "Take care," at least that is what he could make out, and turned back to leave.
Edited by mimibm - 12 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Arjun
