Samraksaka

▪️ Shravan▪️

Wondering the Aaranya' s unusual amendments , Ranjit slowly drawn into sleep...

Perhaps due to the tiring commute , Ranjit slept deep...

When he woke up , it was almost the third prahar of the morning...

  sat down from the rock he was lying-in , he stretched out his arms..

   Aaranya was wide awake before him.. Birds were chirping to leap tree to tree.. group of Squirrels accompanied  the chirp by chasing them , squeaking loud...

The mixed volumous animal sounds made Ranjit happy instead of getting scared...

Perhaps, he was  used with Aaranya...

I should be ready if someone come to receive me..

He thought and got up to call his horse...

It was not around him...

Where's my horse?! What if ,some wild animals attacked him?!?

Drawing his sword , Ranjit ran towards the entrance of the cave...

  His legs didn't move further after  witnessing the  scene at the entrance...

  His horse was lying on the floor , making himself as a bed to a man...  The man was comfortably reclining on Ranjit's horse .. His hands were fondly tracing the horse's neck... The horse was snuggling his neck to his fond caress...

Ranjit wondered how his adament horse obeyed to him like a little kid.... Vela knew to handle horses so he had become a friend of his horse.. 

This new man... Perhaps, one who had been sent to receive Ranjit must be a good handler of animals...

Ranjit stepped towards him...

He must have heard Ranjit's footsteps...

In a wink, he stood up...

Ranjit viewed him top to toe... He couldn't see his face as the morning sunlight was gleaming behind him... He was standing at the tip of the cave' s cliff... At one point , his stature stood high resembling the every inch of the Aaranya... The orangish sun rays that shone brightly  behind him seemed to be his personal bodyguard...  His well built ,tall frame  ,charmistic figure  made Ranjit to think that he must be an important person from Aaranya...

As Ranjit walked to him , his face was visible as though the sun had fallen into the cliffs , accepting his failure infront of the man's  in-built wisdom and bravery eyes...

  He was still standing in the same posture...Cheerful smile spread over his lips to see Ranjit infront of him...

He  spreaded his hands widely  and said...

" Mitraa..."

That was the moment when Ranjit came out of the spell...

" Shravan...."

Gleefully , he called him by his name like a disciple who had attained the devinity...

They both embraced  , cursing the long-term separation...

Ranjit made shravan to stand at a distance and relished him visually...

" Shravan... I had heard your pride and courage in every length and breadth of the country... Today ,I had the privilege to see you ... To touch you... To talk with you...I am so honoured... shravan... I couldn't tell you how do I feel now... I have seen the great man of this century ..."

Shravan nodded in embarrass...
   " You're making me to feel so little... My dear friend.. !!"

Definitely , Shravan didn't like Ranjit's  accolades...

Pressing Shravan's shoulders , Ranjit faced him directly...

" Shravan... Yesterday Vela said that someone will come to receive me... I didn't expect you here..you are the leader and in our Kingdom King wouldn't encourage this kind of approaches.... I am speechless ...Mitra.. I am fortunate to have you as my friend...."

His eyes were at wonder...

Shravan's face was clean like a kid's ..or else ,we should say like a saint's...

" Ranjit... You are my friend... How can you expect me to send someone to receive you!?!"

Ranjit's eyes motioned...

He  recalled Vela' s words...

Is this Aaranya bigger than my Shravan's heart...!?!

Now Ranjit understood... How everyone got engrossed with Shravan's love...

" But, Shravan how did you know that it was me , waiting here?"

Shravan turned to him...

" Mitra.... The moment you entered my region , I got the information..."

" Wonderful...!" Ranjit shouted in appreciation...

While he was keep on talking , Shravan stopped him...

" Ranjit... Are you going to praise me like this till the end of this day.?!?"

Ranjit nodded...

" You haven't changed a little...my friend..."

Shravan pulled him to a warm embrace again...

Just then , Ranjit noticed the horsemen some feet away from them...

Understanding Ranjit's question , Shravan introduced them to be his personal bodyguards...

" Shravan... I have heard that you don't have a cavalry division in your warfare.."

Shravan smiled...

" May be one of the gossips about Aaranya...?! "

He continued..." Ranjit ... You will import Arabian horses out of trading... But , we train the horses that live in the jungle... Yes... We do have cavalry division but , may not be like your highly skilled  horses..?!

Ranjit viewed the horses... They were not less than their Arabian horses...  They were standing in two arranged  rows , stiff and steady like trained soldiers...

Ranjit huffed....

" You're kidding me ... Shravan"

Ranjit said , squinting his eyes...

" Come... We will go to my place.. "

Shravan put the full stop for that conversation....

After bathing at the nearby river Samyukta , they began their journey to Shravan's place..

Ranjit couldn't believe his eyes still.. Though , there were more than hundreds of folk lores about Shravan ,no one had seen him in person.. 

Leave the idea of seeing Shravan, none had gone beyond the border of the Aaranya with a guts to destroy the forest and conquer Shravan...

So , no wonder the people and even the kings at the plains had an evil eye on Aaranya and on Shravan..

That's the reason why Ranjit was hesitating to visit Shravan even as a friend...

Fate won't leave the threads beyond it's hands... Same happened with Ranjit... He couldn't stop himself by thinking Shravan... He wished to meet him and there he was...

While moving, they recalled their days at Gurukul... Ranjit was happy to narrate his victories as a commander...

  
And , their journey continued...

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