DaanveerPutri

VijayaNandhini

The war had taken away the lives of many, along with the happiness of those remaining. Dharma was re-established, yes, but at the cost of leaving the future of so many uncertain. One among those was a young girl, whose beauty and selfless nature were one of a kind. Compassion and generosity were second nature for her. The unknown princess of the Kuru clan, who lived the life of a commoner. Daanveer Maha Yodha, Anga Raj Karna's one and only daughter, Mitravinda.

"Mitra, Putri come with us" the man, who appeared to be the head of the five men called out to me in a gentle voice. Dharmaseelan, I believe is what they called him.

Yudhishthira sighed heavily, as he glanced between the funeral pyre of his elder brother, and the young girl standing a few feet away from it. She looked to be within 10 years of age. Very young to have lost all she considered as her family and hope in life. Endless tears streamed down his face as he considered the everlasting loss and pain that had consumed them all. He was just about to walk towards the young girl to bring her back with them to their camp, where Draupadi and Subhadra were waiting, when the elder son of Madri stopped him.

"Brother, I think we should give her some time alone to find some closure to all that has happened. Besides, we do not have to worry for her safety here, as Brother Arjuna is present as well" mentioned a devastated Nakula.

As the four Pandava brothers walked away from the cremation site, Mitravinda let loose her tears as she allowed herself to be pulled into the intensity of her grief. The last moments spent with her father prior to his final day on the battlefield rolled into her mind. "No matter what happens, promise me you will stay strong, Mitra" he had asked her. She with tears rolling unstoppably, had questioned her father why he was asking this. To this, her father had smilingly replied that life on earth was not permanent, and that it is important for one to understand this. "I can't lose you Baba" she had cried. "Even if I cannot be there for you, you will always have a father, my dear Mitra" he had told her with a small sad smile.

"Baba, you told me that I will always have a father, but now I have no one."

She had lost her brothers, Vrishaketu and Vrishasen in the battle, and her mother had taken sati on her father's funeral pyre just moments ago. She was now an orphan. She had heard Raja Mata Kunti's revelation about her father being Kunti's eldest son, which made the Pandava brothers her uncles. But, could she ever have an emotional bond with the killers of her father? As endless tears made their way down her cheeks, the young one succumbed to her grief and fell to the ground, hugging her knees.

Immense grief and pain overtook the third Pandava watching from a distance as he stared at his niece rock herself back and forth as she cried bitterly. How much he pitied himself right now. He had never gotten the opportunity to know that he had another elder brother, or his identity. He had spent the most of his years despising him and wanting to be the cause of his death. Now he had lost the one and only opportunity to not only serve his brother, but he was on the verge of losing his one and only remaining child as well. He had lost an unfathomable part of himself in this battle. His eldest brother, his grandfather, his guru and all his children. No not all his children, he still had Mitra. She was Karna's daughter, which meant she was his daughter too. He could not lose her as well. No, he would not allow this to happen he decided, as he slowly made his way towards the light of his future.

"Putri, will you not come back to the camp? To us?"asked Arjuna, his voice shaking.

Silence. That is all he received. Her shaking frame and the heart-wrenching sobs brought his heart to pieces. He took a deep breath, and cautiously placed a shaking hand on her shoulder, prepared to have it jerked away. Surprisingly, his hand remained on her shoulder, and her sobs seemed to quieten down a little.

"Putri, I understand I have no right to ask you to come with us. I am the killer of your father. I admit I loathed him and wanted to be the cause of his death for years now. I considered him my archrival, but only now during the moments of his death did I get to know that he was my elder brother. How greatly unlucky I am, Putri. The brother whose feet I should have worshipped daily, I desired to pierce his chest with my arrow instead. Why has destiny decided such a cruel fate for us all? It made me despise my own brother for as long as he lived, and now when I want to worship him and be showered in his love, it takes him away from me. What cruel deeds have I committed in my past lives to have to atone for via this fate?"

He saw that her body had stopped shaking. With arms wrapped tightly around her legs, she had her head hung low, with her forehead touching her knees, hiding the emotions on her face. Arjuna, decided he could not force the child to come with him. At the least, she deserved some time alone to think things through and find solace beside her father.

"I will not force you to come with us, Putri. I understand that you are also finding it hard to come out of the turmoil in your mind as a result of the happenings over the past days. Take all the time you require. At the end, if you decide that you would rather spend your life away from our shadows, I will ensure that you live peacefully and securely in the care of your grandparents (Karna's adoptive mother and father). You have become dear to my heart, Putri. I cannot begin to explain how much you mean to me. I have become the reason for your sorrow, and I can never forgive myself for this. But, if one day you are able to forgive me and get over your despise for me, that will mean the world to me. You may not accept me as your uncle in this lifetime, but I will always consider you not as my niece, but my child. If I be offered another lifetime, I pray to God that you be born as my child."

With tears rolling endlessly, Arjuna shakily removed his hand from her shoulder and began to turn away towards the darkness that will encroach on his life hereon, when he felt two little arms snake around his torso and a tear stained face bury against his chest.

"Please don't leave me!" cried the soft, yet muffled voice. "I feel so alone."

Arjuna wrapped his arms tightly around the little one, the side of his tear stained face resting against the top of her head.

"Putri, I will never leave you. I promise. You are the reason why I continue to exist, despite all that has happened. Where will I go leaving you?"

The setting sun, and the trees swaying to the breeze of the gentle winds were the sole witness to the breaking down of two innocent souls, who, in their own ways, had both become pawns at the hands of destiny. Alas, they had found solace in one another.

Arjuna placed a soft kiss on Mitra's head. "Madhava had always mentioned that everything here happens for a reason, and it is always for the greater good. I fail to acknowledge the good that has resulted from all this heartbreak."

Multiple emotions ran through Mithra's mind. Sadness, pain, happiness, emptiness. But more than anything, confusion. Why did she feel as safe as she always felt in her father's arms? "Even if I cannot be there for you, you will always have a father, my dear Mitra."This statement made no sense to her at the moment when it was spoken to her by her father. But now, the silent meaning behind it made itself loud and clear in her mind. Mitra slowly raised her head to look at her uncle, with a sad smile on her lovely face. "Madhava was right. Everything always happens for the good. Even this heartbreak."

Arjuna looked down at her, his eyes reflecting the sadness in her smile. "How, Putri?"

She cupped his stubbled, wounded face and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Because it has given a childless father and a fatherless daughter one another. It has given us each other, Baba."

Atlas, feeling whole and completely at peace in heaven, with his hand in the hand of Madhava, Anga Raj Karna smiled down heartily in witness to Daanveer Putri becoming Vijaya Nandhini. 

                                                                       ~~~