Kairavi

Chapter 15

She pulled her knees up and buried her face in them, body wrecking with violent sobs. "Putri." She looked up with her bloodshot eyes.

It was her father, holding his arms out for her. He had come to his daughter's rescue. "Pitashree!" Kairavi ran up to his embrace and wept like the world was ending. "Calm down, Kairavi. I'm here for you, now." His heart wrenched at the pitiful state of his daughter.
"How can I calm down, father? They said I'm destined to marry two men. How can Brahma dev write something so ghastly for anyone?" her words were barely coherent due to her constant crying.

"People, and sometimes even Gods have to do something that seems drastically wrong, regardless of their personal dharm, for the greater good of mankind." Chandra tried to soothe her burning soul. "You need to keep this in your mind, always."
"How is my marriage with 2 men going to help anyone?"

"Putri, your marriage is important for the unity of the pandavs." he said. "Rajkumar Nakul said I'm thirsty for his brother when all I did was talk to him. What will the rest of the world think when I actually marry multiple men? A prostitute?!" she almost yelled in rage.
"Yuvraj said both of them will protect me their whole life. But would they be able to protect me from the snide remarks of society? From my conscience? Or from the shame I'm about to bring to the Kuru family?" "Kairavi, putri sit down first." She sat down on the floor with her head on Chandra's lap.

"You can spit, throw mud and dirt at a temple, but it's garbhahrah will still remain pure.
It is not the walls that safeguard it, rather it is the devotion and love of bhakts towards the almighty that provides protection to the idol." He comforted while stroking her hair.

"Similarly, your protection won't be your husbands' weapons, rather their love that would become your armour." She sat up and looked straight in his eyes. "But pitashree. Pandu putra Nakul will never give me the respect and love a wife deserves. He will treat me like filth."

"Appearances are deceptive, vatsa. You cannot tell what a person feels by their behaviour everytime." At this point, her father's words also felt shallow.
"Where do I seek help from? Which God should I call out to, when all of them are plotting to ruin my character." she weeped. "Even Rajmata Kunti didn't hesitate to ask my hand for marriage. Is she not a woman? Doesn't she know how hard it will be for me?"

"A teacher can be partial to one student. But a mother can never pull that off. Right now, you may feel like you're being pushed into a hell hole. But trust me putri. You are stepping into the premises of something huge. You will be a veerangana in this great battle that will lead to a whole yugparivartan." Lord Chandra's words reverberated in Kairavi's mind.

"What do you mean? Which battle?" She was concerned now.

"Time shall toss some sickening plights in your way my child, that will crush your and your family's morale under it's effect..." He trailed off.

"But remember, victory never chooses the side of evil. If you take your refuge under dharm, then no power in the whole universe will have the capability to defeat you." The princess didn't understand even a single bit of what her father said. But she promised without any further questions.

"The decision is yours now. You can either safeguard your personal dharm,
or make your life a penance; so that Aryavart's future generation doesn't have to." Chandradev's adumberation made Kairavi's dilemma-filled mind point towards a conclusion.

But she wanted to destroy the last shreds of residual doubts that were stealing her mental peace. "What I'm going to do; is that dharm pitashree?"
"How can it be adharm if it is necessary for mass welfare?" He countered.
She nodded her head and took blessings from her father.

"Saubhagyavati bhava."

"Putri, never let righteousness slip away from your and your husbands' hearts; howsoever critical the circumstances may be. Remember, loyalty, love and dharm can never let you get hurt." He advised her.
Kairavi took the hint, that she needed to be prepared for the difficulties of her odd married life. Chandradev bid farewell to his daughter and returned back to Chandralok.

Meanwhile, Yudhishthir and Kunti informed the other brothers about what had to be done to prevent revolt between them.

"Mata! How is that possible?" Sahadev's words were lined with worry. "Marry both of us and give up her dignity?"

"Dignity takes birth in a person's own mind. If she doesn't feel like she's impure, then there won't be any harm to her dignity." Yuvraj answered, but the youngest pandav wasn't satisfied.
"But jyeshth, she won't be able to endure Nakul's hurtful behaviour.."

"You're not the only one that cares for her, Sahadev." Nakul said defensively. "You showed how much you care for her by calling her names, my dear brother." His satire pierced Nakul's heart like spears.
"I can give her equal importance, respect and safety." He growled. "Actions speak loud and clear." Sahadev shot back.

"This is the exact reason why rajkumari has to take such a collosal vault of sorrow and pain on her heart. The least you both can do is stop this tussle and support her; regardless of the decision she makes." Arjun intervened.

"You don't need to worry about that, rajkumar." Kairavi said from behind them. "Putri," Kunti had been eagerly waiting for her. "Do you have a decision? Did you think everything through, love?"
"Yes rajmata. I did. I will marry your two sons, for the sake of their harmony." She said in a monotonous voice.

"Kairavi, I'm so grateful to you, child. Today, you've spared me my sons' love and unity. There's no way I can thank or repay this debt of yours." Kunti's senile heart was filled with relief after getting Kairavi to agree to the marriage; whereas princess's heart had shut it's door to all emotions.

"What will I do with your gratitude rajmata, all I'm going to recieve throughout my life is pain, negligence and disgrace.
You would know better. All of your sons are mantra prasads of various devtas. But still people question your character." It sounded as if despair was talking to the six of them. "I know putri, your sacrifice is unparalleled. " Kunti cradled her face in her palms in an attempt to bring some solace to her soul.

"Mata. What would happen to me when your sons bring in their other wives? I will be left like an old, rusted piece of iron in their life." she mourned silently.

"After what you've done for us, there is no way you can lose your worth in our lives, Kairavi. But for your peace of mind, I promise you that we shall not marry any other girl in the future." Sahadev proclaimed.
Her head shot towards his direction. "I'm cursed, kumar! Every promise that you will ever make to me would be broken in one way or other." She howled.

Sahadev looked like the ground had escaped from under his feet. "I'm sorry, rajkumari. I didn't know." He apologised in a grief-stricken voice. She squeezed her eyes shut as a new batch of hot tears spilled out of them.

'Wasn't this enough, that now I have to see my husbands establish relationships of mirth with other women? What more-'

'Kairavi.' a familiar voice echoed in her brain. She looked straight up at Nakul. 'In that case, I promise myself that no other woman will ever recieve the amount of love I'll shower upon you.' She flinched away.

Empty promises, empty promises from a self-obsessed prince who thinks so lowly of her. 'Time can corrode iron, but not gold.' She heard him finish, but didn't acknowledge his sentence.

"Putron." Kunti said. "I hope you will hoard utmost respect for Chandraputri. She cannot be compared with any other woman in the whole wide world for her kindness. Make sure to anhilate every sorrow that comes in her way and give her nothing but joy." The twins nodded.

"The wedding shall take place in a week from now. Tomorrow, we shall seek blessings from our kuldevta in he nearby temple after completing the pooja kept in Maharaj Pandu and Madri's memory."
Rajamata declared, unaware of the person that was eavesdropping from outside.