The Pillars Of Diligence

2. The Thirteenth Night (1)

The following piece is Abhimanyu's deah from Devika's point of you by DharmaPriyaa

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Queen's quarter, Upaplavya

 "What!!" The exclamation escaped my mouth, almost unknowingly. The next moment my hands spontaneously moved to hold Subhadra who was about to fall.

 "I don't believe you, Doot!"

 I shouted at the messenger who stood with lowered head,

 "This cannot happen!"

 "I would have been the happiest person on earth had this been a lie, Maharani!" He looked up with tearful eyes, folding his hands. My head began to reel. I felt my limbs were failing me. Was it all real what I had just heard? Abhimanyu, my Abhi, the apple of my eyes, was no more? Subhadra had fallen unconscious. Within my tears I struggled to hold myself before I placed her head on my lap. My eyes fell on Panchali Jiji who sat numb like a stone-made sculpture. Her lovely face had turned pale. As if a part of her was killed!

 "How this happened, Doot?" I heard Karenumati asking, her voice simultaneously expressing pain and anger.

 "It all started with Senapati Dronacharya's formation of chakravyuha." He informed, "our soldiers were dying helplessly. There was no one who could save them by breaking the vyuha. Then..."

"Wait!" I looked up to meet him, "Arjuna can break chakravyuha! Sakha Krishna too can!"

 "They were not there, Maharani! The samsaptakas challenged Rajkumar Arjuna at early morning itself. He had to go for them."

 "Today also!" I almost screamed. A part of me felt like scolding Arjuna for leaving thus. Didn't they get the news of Dronacharya's plan earlier, through the spies? I closed my eyes in helpless anguish, shaking my head to my own stupid thought. Not Arjuna's fault! How was he supposed to know that the so called maharathis would stoop this low? The messenger kept on saying. I had not heard beyond one name. Jayadratha. My blood boiled in wrath. How much more would you take away from me, King of Sindhu! An unpleasant question peeped in my mind. What was my father doing then? Was he also with Jayadratha, his 'overlord'? I could not bring myself to ask the messenger. It would kill me right here if he had really helped Jayadratha in killing my Abhi!

"They didn't even spared his corpse, Maharani!" I could hear, "they danced and celebrated around him after his life was gone." 

 "Shame on those Maharathis!" Placing Subhadra carefully on the bed, I rose to my feet. My burning heart wanted to pour out all the fire it was having inside.

 "What kind of warriors are they who attack a young boy from all directions?" I snapped, "A shame on the name of Kshatriyas! What did they get by killing him thus? What fame have they added to their warrior's image?" Jiji still sat unusually quiet. It felt like all her fire had been shifted to my heart out of sudden. Her numbness made me scared. I had always believed that she was the hearts of the five Pandavas put together. Something churned in me. I could see what a horrible damage had been done to our camp! To our family! I could imagine what was going on in Kurukshetra right now!

 "Doot! Ask the guards to prepare our palanquins." I quickly uttered, "We have to reach there! As soon as possible!" The messenger bowed and left. I shook Jiji's arm to make her conscious. Without she staying strong, all five brothers would fall weaker! I could not let it happen! All the males must have been devoid of their energies! We needed to go there to provide Shakti to them!

*** The Pandava camp, Kurukshetra

 How could someone hurt another person like this? Yes, I knew Abhi was their opponent. I knew it was a war and everyone was here to kill or die. But this much brutality! The wounds on his face and body made my tears flow even more. The ones who could not respect the enemy's body even after his death, what kind of Kshatriyas they were? I was a kshatrani too. I knew we women were to fight the greatest battle of all, the battle outside the battlefield! But above all, I was a mother. I had not given birth to Abhi, but Almighty knew that he was no less than my Yaudheya to me! None of the kids of my family was! The warrior Princess in me failed in front of a mother's heart. I collapsed on ground where Abhi's body was lying. I had never seen Subhadra crying like this! My heart shattered to see my strong sister-in-law lamenting in front of Abhimanyu's body. The others were not in a better state. I saw Jiji fanning Abhi's motionless body with much care and love. Uttara continuously kept calling her husband to wake up, unable to understand why he was not responding.

I silently moved to her and took her in my arms. 

 "Mata, call him please!" Uttara pleaded, "see, he is not listening to me!" 

 I felt warm tears rolling down my cheeks. I nodded at her slowly, and caressed Abhi's head. They say mother is God. Was there so much power in my love that could wake him up? My tears fell on his forehead. His childlike face, though covered with blood and wounds, still seemed to have the warmth of life! Would not he wake up? Would not he obey me? How was this possible that my ever-obidiant Abhi left me without taking my permission? Was it just me or did his eyelids move a little? I looked at his face unblinking, with bated breath. Moments passed. Maybe a couple of praharas too! He did not wake up! I sat frozen on the ground beside him. Subhadra's heart-wrenching yell and Uttara's calls did not enter my senses anymore. As if I was devoid of my senses too. I did not know how long I sat thus. I could not see or hear anything before I heard Arjuna shouting. "Either that wretched Jayadratha will see tomorrow's sunset, or I will!" He strongly declared, pain and vengeance dripping from each syllable that he uttered.

I rose and moved closer to him. "Arjuna!" I called him softly.

 "I vow on my Abhi's name, Bhabhi!" His eyes had turned crimson. They reflected the flames of the lamps inside our camp. I held my breath. This Arjuna was so unseen to me. "I vow that I will enter burning pyre if I fail to kill that King of Sindhu tomorrow!" He bent down and placed his right palm gently on Abhi's head, "I promise you, son!" I fell speechless. What had Arjuna done! Knowing Jayadratha and the Kauravas, I knew very well that they would play all kind of trickery as soon as they would hear this! Maybe Dronacharya would not let Jayadratha join the army itself tomorrow! Or they would come up with something else to put Arjuna's life in danger! A solid strategy was needed for tomorrow! Discussions and planning of suitable vyuha were necessary to make Arjuna reach his target sooner. But who would make plans? Who would take decision? The entire Pandava camp looked lifeless in intolerable grief. Even the kings of other kingdoms and the foot soldiers were mourning. There was no energy left in anyone. As if we had got defeated today itself! As if there was no more need to rise and fight back tomorrow!

I looked at Arjuna. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks. I knew what was going on inside him. But he needed to find a grip on himself for tomorrow! We could not afford to lose Arjuna too! I wiped out my tears. I had to do something to revive this lifeless camp! War had not been ended yet! We could not lose before losing thus! This was not for which we lost so many soldiers so far! "Vala! Listen!" I turned to Valandhara, "you, Renu and Jaya take care of your husbands and sons. See that they eat and catch some sleep!" Valandhara nodded within her tears. "Jiji!" I placed my arms softly on the fireborn lady who still sat like a stone. "Pray, arise, Jiji!" I pleaded, "you are not just the Empress, you are the ichcha Shakti of the five brothers! Without you, there is no victory in Pandava camp!" Slowly, her eyelids moved to my face. "Arise, my sister! Only you can bring life back to this camp! War has not yet ended. We cannot lose, Jiji! We cannot let Abhi's sacrifice go in vain!" She nodded silently, and wiped her tears. I sighed in part relief seeing her rising to her feet. I knew what I had to do next!