The Burning of the Palace of Lac| The Hastinapur Chronicles| A Re-Telling

II. The Box in the River Aswa

Without another word, Maitre closed the door of Prutha's room and walked away from there.

Prutha collapsed on the bed. She stared at the baby for a long time. She did not know it but she was weeping.

Slowly, after the next two hours as she stared at the unnaturally thick skin of the child, she caught herself.

But then when the tears had dulled, Prutha realized what had to be done. She knew that this child – her son – her first born son, would be the one who would face a harsh difficult world, for her mistakes.

She wept as she wrapped the child in a cloth and put the baby inside a box and let the box float in the River Aswa, which was flowing near her palace.

From there, the box floated to the Charmanwati river to the Yamuna and finally to the Ganga.

The child inside the box was alive and fine as the box floated in the river.