Kairavi

Chapter 8

Kairavi's corpse had been moved to a much more pleasant place from the rock-strewn terrain. Even in her comatose state, she looked breathtaking. The atmosphere was quiet and warm with breezes blowing past her occasionally. Then something unexpected happened.

She opened her eyes.

Everything felt usual. 'Is this what being dead feels like?' she thought to herself. Her eyes browsed the entire area and the only thing out of place was the colt. The colt she had rescued before.
It sat gracefully under a kadam tree, limbs neatly folded under it's abdomen. She had never been more confused in her life.

Then it began dematerializing and transitioned into, what looked like the outline of two men. She soon realized they were Ashwini Kumars, the horse-headed twins and divine physicians of the devtas. She bowed to them in deference.

"You've proven today that the compassion residing in your heart is truly unparalleled. Not everyone would have had chosen to save the life of an animal before their own, but you did, and at such a critical time. You've impressed us Chandraputri." Dasra said.
"And as a reward, we convened your consciousness, memory and knowledge back inside you, thus revamping you back to life. It took us a whole week to do so." Nasatya informed.

"I'm grateful, devas. But why did you take the form of a colt?" Kairavi asked out of curiosity. "We wanted to test our daughter-in-law." They both replied in unison. She looked at them with bafflement plastered on her face. "Yes, child. You're destined to be our putravadhu."

"Would your son also force me to marry him?" The previous events hadn't left her mind. "No, vatsa. Our sons know dharma and how to respect a woman's choices. You don't need to worry about that." Nasatya assured her.

She was reminded of Parshuram's curse. Although she didn't press the subject further, but a small doubt stayed in a corner of her mind. She joined her hands to bid them farwell; and the Ashwinis took off to heaven on their golden chariot.

Kairavi had no clue about where to go. Earlier, she could rely on Karna to lead the path but now she was on her own. She started walking anyways, in hopes of reaching Hastinapur and reuniting with Karna.
After travelling many miles, she came to a stop at a deserted place which might have been a forest before. There was nobody in sight except a young, dark- complexioned villager. He was busy fixing the broken axle of his cart.

'Maybe he could take me to Hastinapur.' she assumed while approaching him. "Pranipat mahoday." "Parnaam kumari" He greeted with a thick accent. "Do you know the way to Hastinapur?" she inquired. "Yes, I do." came his short response.
"Would you be kind enough to take me there?" she pleaded. "My cart is broken, how do you expect me to take you there? On my back?" he jested. "Alright, then tell me which way to go. I'd go by myself." she compensated.

"I've never seen you in the city before. Are you visiting someone?" he asked. "No, I'm going to live there."
"The city is already overcrowded. I don't think we need another person there." his response was offensive but Kairavi kept her cool.
"Please tell me the way." she insisted firmly. "You can go to Varnavrat though. It is a small town accomodating a small population. Moreover, the Pandavas are visiting it. Perhaps, you'd get lucky and get the job of a handmaiden or something." she was infuriated at the unsolicited advice, but also curious about the five princes.

"Who are Pandavas?" she pretended to be unaware of their existence. "What cave have you been living in, kumari?" the villager was testing her limits now.
"They're not that big of a deal, considering I don't know about them." she lied beautifully. He shook his head in disappointment.

"The Pandavas are the future of Hastinapur. They are the sons of our former Samrat Pandu who renounced the throne after being cursed by a sage.
Their mother, Rajmata Kunti had received a boon from rishi Durvasa, with which she could invoke any God and obtain a son from them."

He went on, "The eldest child is our Yuvraj, Yudhishthir. He is the mantra prasad of Dharmraj. He is known for his excellence in dharm and justice which makes him the most suitable candidate for the throne of Hastinapur."

"The next is Rajkumar Bheem, son of Vayudev and brother of Hanuman. He is proficient in using the mace and at mall-yudh. He's also known as Vrikodar, for having a humongous appetite and a slim belly. I've heard that the strength of a hundred elephants lie in his arms."

"The youngest son of Kunti is Rajkumar Arjun, who was born after invoking Devraj Indra. The favourite student of Guru Drona is considered to be the best archer in Aryavart. He is just invincible." he announced.
"Not sure about that." Kairavi muttered. She was bound to be not fond of Arjun after hearing his 'praises' from Karna.

"The youngest Pandavas are the sons of Ashwini Kumars and Maharaj Pandu's second wife, Madri." her ears perked up at the information. "Rajkumar Nakul and Sahadev are twins. Nakul is the most handsome in Kuru dynasty. Along with that, he is proficient in sword fighting and an accomplished expert of Ayurveda. Besides, he can also talk to animals and understand what they're saying." He paused.

"And Rajkumar Sahadev?" she asked. "Rajkumar Sahadev was born with the gift of purva-aabhas. He is a master astrologist and the most intelligent among the five brothers. Also, his dexerity lies in axe-wielding. No one in the battlefield can even come near him when he's armed with his axe."

Kairavi fell deep in thoughts. She had already began imagining things about the twins, as the Ashwinis had said that one of them would be her husband. Her desire to go and see her future husband got the better of her and she decided to go to Varnavrat at once.