An interlude to Sunset

The part Where a Few answers are received - Yudhistira

Disclaimer - None of the characters are mine and belong to one of the greatest epics ever. This is just a fanfiction and I have just borrowed the characters. There is no intention of hurting anyone's sentiments - religious or otherwise. 

3. Yudhistira.

Meanwhile in a different part of the Hastinapur palace...

Yudhistira finally made his way back to the palace entrance and found that Duryodhana had returned along with Mata Kunti and Maharani Gandhari. The two mothers had huddled around Dushyala and were comforting her. From his vantage point Yudhistira could see that Dushyala seemed to be calming down and her face was becoming calmer as she rested her head on Mata Kunti's shoulder.

Duryodhana was standing with his brothers a little way away. His facial expressions were unreadable for Yudhistira at the moment. Angaraj Karna stood near his friend but his face openly showed his worry and discomfort. The eldest Pandava knew well the enmity Karna held towards Arjun, towards his Phalgun. But the entire situation seemed to have caught him unawares. The conspicuous absence of mamashree Shakuni felt like a godsend in such a scenario. Yudhistira was called Dharmaraj and he followed the ways of Dharma almost to a fault. He was aware that it was his strength and his weakness, both at once. But Mamashree Shakuni deserved no respect and though his Dharma stopped him from openly opposing someone who was his elder, Yudhistira could not help hoping that he stays at his own city of Gandhar henceforth.

Mamashree Shakuni was the reason that the relations between the Kauravas and the Pandavas had deteriorated to the extent that it had. Deterioration did not ably described it. It was a shattering of relations, which culminated when Duryodhana tried to have them killed at Varnavrat. The events after that was one whiplash after another. Getting Khandavaprastha and then converting the same into Indraprasth was their biggest achievement; but it was mainly Arjun's achievement. Arjun and Krishna's achievement and all the Pandavas got to share in the glory. Bheem had proved himself by killing Jarasandha and Yudhistira got to be crowned king and eventually the Chakravarti Samrat. 

The laurels rightfully belonged to Arjun again and to Bheem for killing Jarasandha, the cruel king of Magadha; the honour also belonged to Krishna. Their cousin had worked tirelessly alongside his Sakha, his Parth, to make Yudhistira's dream a reality.

But before long Arjun had to leave for a 12 year exile. An exile earned through no fault of his own; it was another strike in the list of Yudhistira's shortcomings. Arjun subjected himself to a tough exile of 12 long years and he earned laurels from cities in every direction. Arjun travelled alone and undertook some of the most perilous paths. He fought against demons, sprites and evil human beings. Arjun earned fame and integrity in his own right. Yudhistira had no doubts that Arjun have had his share of kingdoms offered to him by many a grateful ruler. But he chose to return to Indraprasth where he was nothing more special than a Prince and the commander of Yudhistira's army.

Arjun has spent more than in the forest than he had spent inside a palace, but never had Yudhistira heard his brother complain. He had never held grudges against his brothers and after Draupadi's wedding no one would have resented if he had chosen to revolt. Dharma and mother's orders aside, Yudhistira knew how much Arjun loved his Panchali and how much grief his little brother hid in his heart when she got wedded to all five of them. But grief was the only emotion Arjun felt; he should have raged and revolted but his brother remained unfazed. Yudhistira had carried an overwhelming sense of guilt since that fateful day and the only person he had confided to was Draupadi.

It was during their first night spent together as husband and wife that Yudhistira had unburdened his soul. For a few hours he had let his Dharma take a back seat and had spoken of the unrelenting guilt he faced daily. Yudhistira had asked for forgiveness for himself and for Mata Kunti. While Draupadi's dharma stopped her from comparing or preferring one brother over another, Yudhistira had requested her to unbind herself of such shackles and had invited her confidence as frankly as he had volunteered his. He could recollect her words with all its nuances.