Beyond Times

Chapter 50 - Shishupala and Shyama

-"Chitra, where is Shyama?" Draupadi asked one of her maids as she looked at herself one last time in the mirror. 

Only two days were left before Yagnaseni's Swayam Var. All guests, the kings, and princes of many kingdoms had started to arrive and the rest would arrive by the next day. The Dases and Dasis were all running around the palace, some to serve the guests some to get the last-minute arrangements done. 

Almost a month ago Draupadi's dear Sakha Govinda or as everyone else calls him Vasudev, brought a woman named Shyama with him to Panchal. Initially, Draupadi liked her very much. She even called her Sakhi for a while before her father corrected her. 

-"But Pitashree, Govinda calls her his Sakhi. And if she is his friend then she is my friend too." Draupadi tried to reason with Drupad.

-"Your friend, my dear, is too kind at heart. He didn't want to disrespect that girl and thus called her his Sakhi. He is a king, the face of the Yadavas. He can only be friends with someone like you, the princess of Panchal, not some low-born orphan woman. Always remember, you are a princess, you will soon be a queen. She is dasi, a lower-born, your subordinate. She is not worthy of your friendship. No maids are worthy of the friendship of a princess or a queen. You are their superior."

Draupadi obeyed her father.

 Krishna told Drupad that until her Swayam Var, Shyama would be Draupadi's companion. She will accompany Draupadi everywhere she goes and will be the one to arrange everything for the Swayam Var. Drupad had no other option but to agree. Except for the Dasis, his palace was devoid of females, who could take on the responsibility of arranging a Swayam Var and a wedding. 

After the death of his wife, the Maharani of Panchal Drupad didn't remarry, despite the offers of many kings to take their daughter's hand. He hoped that place would be filled by his daughter-in-law when he arranged a wedding between his second eldest child Shikhandi and the princess of Dasarna. If only he was fortunate enough to have a big happy family. One week after the wedding Shikhandi decided to go on a quest to become a man. The poor girl Shikhandi married was left behind alone. After waiting for his return for several months she decided to go back to her father's house heartbroken. His eldest child Satyajit went away to rule his mother's kingdom as Drupad's father-in-law didn't have a son of his own.

Drupad took pride in saying that his daughter, the fire-born princess of Panchal, Yagnaseni Draupadi was the most beautiful woman to ever walk on this earth. But when he saw this girl the castle of his illusions shattered. Draupadi was beautiful, but this woman was ethereal, divine. Drupad had to close his eyes for a moment to regain control of himself. It felt like one look at her could make people go insane. 

Vasudev told him that this girl was his friend. She was an orphan from the faraway land of Banga. 

The common people from Banga Pradesh were considered lower-borns in Aryavarth. The fact that an ordinary orphan girl from Banga Pradesh could be considered a competition for the princess of Panchal made Drupad dislike her from the very beginning. Over time, Drupad realised this girl was not only beautiful but she was extremely intelligent and wise. This made him despise her even more. But he couldn't throw the girl out of his kingdom because she single-handedly managed the entire arrangement of the Swayam Var ceremony. She didn't leave the tiniest gap in her work for Drupad to criticise her. 

He didn't like how she was getting close to Draupadi, so he took it upon himself to create a distance between them. And he succeeded in doing so. He sowed a small seed of hate in Draupadi's heart which only grew more and more with time. 

The maid named Chitra helped Draupadi wear her Uttariya and answered, "Devi Shyama has gone to welcome Dwarkadheesh on the gates, Rajkumari."

A smile appeared on Draupadi's face for a fraction of a second before her face turned hard again.