The Shared Wife

She was her father's unwanted daughter. Her father wanted a son, and she was born as a twin. He refused to take her as his own, but the sages were adamant that she was a gift from the sun god Agni. She knew from the beginning she was there for a purpose. A thirst for revenge was built by her father against the emperor's clan. She knew what followed was a difficult journey from Panchala to the Capital of the empire to fulfil what he desired. She had always loved the Warrior Prince all her life, but fate had something else in mind. She was the shared wife of the Pandavas.

She sat in the biggest room of the Inner Chambers. She was happy. The whole of Indraprastha was buzzing with news of the Warrior Prince coming back home in the next few days. His Banwas (Living in the forest for a decided period) was over. She will see him after years of separation, and her joy knew no bounds. She was getting ready like the day she became his bride. She was excited by the thought of seeing him. A guard came in with a letter. He read it out loud, and her hopes died. He has let her down. Yet again. He has broken the one promise he had made through the marriage. His loyalty.

" Krishna,

I am writing this to inform you that Parth has run away with Subhadra and has married her with my consent against Balaram Dada ji and Dwarka Nagari's wishes. As a friend, I found it important to let you know of this union before they arrive at Indraprastha."

The message from Vasudeva was devastating. She ordered her maids to leave her alone. She threw away her Churamani in anger. She tore away her letter. The world seemed to laugh at her. A shared wife. Only her husband's enemies have taunted her. But now? She also doubted. Can I expect no loyalty just because you people made me a shared wife? I did not want this. Her tears would not stop all night. Her husbands did not dare go into her chambers. They knew her feelings of being let down were inconsolable.

The sun rose at dawn, and she picked herself up. She wiped away her tears and, with a straight face, opened her chamber doors and stepped out. Her worried maids were ready for her orders there. " I want to go to the temples, get a chariot ready!"

The King walked up to her and asked hesitantly, " Panchali, are you all right? Is there something I can do for you?" She looked at her kindest Husband with hurt eyes. " Yes, Arya. Prepare a welcome for the new bride. I will come back from the temples in time to welcome Vasudeva's sister and... her husband."

" He is not only her husband, Panchali. Maybe brother Arjun had no option..." He tried to reason with his angry wife. The family feud was the last thing he wanted inside the Pandavas' Household. She knew what he thought.

" Don't worry, Arya, Subhadra will not be blamed." She walked away. Her anger was with her husband, not his wife.

At the Shambhu Temple, she sat praying silently. An hour passed by in her trail of thoughts as the guard came in and announced, " Maharani, you are summoned to the Palace. Prince Arjun has returned with his wife." Her heart skipped a beat. The moment has arrived.

An aarti thali in hand, she stood at the doorway, ever smiling. After all, being sad at your husband's arrival with his new bride was apshagun (bad omen). Subhadra, in bridal wear all decked up, came down from the chariot, helped by Arjun. She looked nervous. She had always called Draupadi "Jiji" (elder sister). She was expecting a disappointed look in the eyes of the Queen. She had taken away the person she loved the most. She would be devastated. Subhadra had no choice. If she hadn't run with her love, her brother would have married her to Suyodhan (Duryodhan). To her joy, the Queen stood with a warm smile. Life had taught her to smile at it. Arjun went to hug his brothers. Draupadi resisted eye contact as she welcomed them and took the bride to her new chambers.

" Jiji, I want to tell you what happened. Please don't blame Arya. Actually, he wanted to tell you before we..."

" Subhadra, you must be tired. Rest today, we will talk tomorrow. Madhav has written to me. I know everything." She walked away from this awkward conversation.

On her way back to her own chambers, she found him waiting for her in the hallway. He was searching her eyes for forgiveness. Forgive me, Panchali, for letting you down. The warrior could not say anything he meant to. Draupadi looked at him with a weary smile and said, " Go to the chambers, Arya, your bride is waiting." As she walked past him, carefully avoiding body contact, he turned back and said, " Panchali...."

"What Arya?"

" Weren't you waiting for me too?"

" Not anymore..." Her voice choked as she fought away tears. He knew how much she.... yet...

Her voice became cold as stone as she replied, " I was praying you come home safe, Arya, and you have, now please go to your Chambers, Subhadra is waiting. And the king is waiting for me..."

The last words were intended. He knew that. This is not the first time she has blamed him for sharing her with his brothers. He watched her walk away. Dejected, he made his way into his chambers to be with his new bride.

The doors of his chamber closed, making Draupadi turn back and look as her eyes filled with tears. She ordered the nearest guard, " Tell the King that I am unwell and do not expect visitors at my chambers tonight" She went inside her dark chambers. Darkness surrounded her life. She closed the Chamber doors for the night. Until light arrives again.

Chandra's Choice: The Story of Dhruvasvamini

More often than not, the private lives of kings and the existence of their queens remain in the words of bards rather than those of chroniclers. Dhruvasvamini is no different, even after being the queen of the golden age of the Indian Subcontinent. She appears in the Basarh Clay Seal as the mother of Govinda Gupta (attributed as a sibling of Kumara Gupta I) and the queen wife of Chandra Gupta II or Vikramaditya. Except for one mention of Dhruva Devi, as she is popularly known, she remains a mysterious character in the Gupta lineage, with a side mention in the dynasty’s history. Visakhadatta, a famous poet and playwright, who later wrote DeviChandraGuptam as the play capturing the life of Chandra Gupta II, captured Dhruva Devi as one of the protagonists of his story. Although some scholars attribute Visakhadatta to be under the patronage of Chandra Gupta II himself when he wrote this story, many historians debate the literary work as a historical fiction written much after his time. Tru...

Rakhi Tales

A Rakhi to the Enemy: The year was 1535 CE. The Rajmata of Mewar, widow of Rana Sanga, was in a dilemma. On one hand was an attack from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat as a threat to her capital, Chittorgarh, and the throne of her beloved teenage son Vikramaditya. On the other hand, there was the son of her husband's archenemy, Humayun, who could be of some help. Rani Karnavati wrote a letter to Humayun, who was in the east at that time. Along with it, she sent a Rakhi, a thread of brotherhood, asking him, as a sister, for protection against the enemy. But the road was too long, and time was of the essence. Humayun arrived at Chittorgarh, in response to her letter, keeping his end of the bargain but a little late. Rani Karnavati had already performed the Jauhar. They never met. Humayun established Rana Vikramaditya on the throne of Mewar, as he had promised as a brother, and returned to his post. Two dynasties, political rivals and sworn enemies, from Sanga-Babur to Pratap-Akbar and even R...

Etched In Stone

This historical short story is a fictitious account of Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor and his first wife Devi, who finds no place in Magadhan History. There is another fiction about her in the blog as well. This story stemmed from a merge of two ideas, one was to mention the cave inscription found in Saru Maru that mentions Asoka spending some days there with his lover (presumed to be Devi), the other idea of how if words did not immortalise a lot of battles and achievements, the names of many great men would be lost in time. The prince stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the horizon. Dawn arrived as the birds started leaving their nests, wings fluttering, eager to discover the world. He looked up at them, the thought of once again going back to exploring the length and breadth of his state making him feel a little restless as he eyed his healing wounds. He was left to die; his enemies wished so. Yet by some miracle of fate, as if his purposes were yet to be fulfilled, here he was ...

The Cortege That Shook The Raj: Kanailal Dutta

10th November, 1908 Around late morning, a procession of lacs made their way through the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata), India. Some were chanting “Vande Mataram”, others blew conch shells, and Ululation filled the air. Flowers were being showered from all directions, and garlands made their way through the crowd, being thrown at the procession in the middle. Bhagwat Gita and Ananda Math (Novel by Bamkim Chandra) were offered. No, this was no “ Sobha Jatra ” or celebration. There were no religious festivities either. That dawn, the Alipore Jail, which opened only two years back, witnessed the hanging of Kanailal Dutta, a twenty-year-old member of the “Jugantar Dol”, an anarchist group that was set up primarily by Aurobindo Ghosh (Later Rishi Aurobindo), his brother Barindra and their associates. Kanailal hailed from Chandannagore, and although he was not present in most of their meetings in Kolkata, he was still one of their early members from Chandannagore, then a French province. ...

The Reva Cries

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother, Adham Khan, could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry, blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing, but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening, a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came...

The Emperor's First Wife

Rukaiya Begum Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore, she was fifteen. At...

Shikhandi: A Tale of Identity and Revenge

Hastinapur was the most powerful empire in the north of the Vindyas, in the subcontinent once ruled by King Bharata. When its long-reigning and prosperous king Shantanu passed away in old age, he left behind his ambitious wife Satyabati, her two sons, Chitrangad and Bichitravirjaya and his first surviving son from his first wife Ganga, Devabrata, who took the lifelong oath of not being king nor marrying or having any progeny and hence earned the name Bhishma. When Chitrangad was about to ascend the throne, he died in an unfortunate accident, leaving the minor Bichitravirjaya as the only contender on the throne. Bhishma almost outspokenly took over the role of guardian to the throne of Hastinapur upon this event. However, the rules suggested that the young prince must marry before he could be crowned. Upon hearing of this, Bhishma sent his spies around the subcontinent to find eligible princesses who would not only marry the heir apparent but also be the future queen and queen mother of...

Brothers and Sisters of Mahabharata

The Mahabharata, one of the greatest epics of Hindu mythology, not only recounts tales of valour, destiny, and dharma but also reveals intricate relationships between siblings whose lives shaped the moral and political fabric of the narrative. The bonds between brothers and sisters in the epic are diverse: marked by affection, rivalry, loyalty, and sacrifice. These relationships, though complex, embody the human emotions that transcend divine lineage and royal blood. Satyavati and Her Lineage Satyavati and her brother Matsya were born from a miraculous union between a Cursed Nymph in the form of a fish, Adrika and the King Uparichara Vasu, whose semen the fish had consumed when it fell in the river. They were discovered by their adoptive father, King Dusharaj, the ruler of the fishermen, and thus came to be known as Matsya Santan , meaning “children of the fish.” When the king found out about the twins, he claimed the male child as his heir and gave the girl, Satyavati, to the fis...

Battle of Haldighati

There have been a lot of talks going on regarding who won the Battle of Haldighati. While some want to change what we read and say that the Maharana won it, many oppose the point with a Mughal victory. Here, I compile every account I found of the Battle and its Aftermath and make my unbiased conclusion on the topic. PS. The dates vary from book to book; I gave the ones I found in most sources. The Background: Relation with Mughals Mewar was one of Rajputana's strongest individual kingdoms, along with the likes of Marwar and Kacchawar (Jaipur). Long before the Mughals under Akbar, Mewar under Rana Sangram Singh had successfully managed to keep the "Turk Invaders" under Babar at bay, fighting 17 wars, big and small. The relationship was further questioned when, during the invasion from Saurashtra, Sanga's widow, Rani Karnavati, had written to Mughal Emperor Humayun for help, sending him a rakhi. Contrary to popular belief, Humayun had rested on his way from Gaur (Beng...

Kumbhalgarh Gogunda: Witness to Turmoil

Okay, so picture this: you’re winding your way up into the Aravallis, just 6km from Kelwara, and suddenly, perched on a cliff, there is a long, invincible wall in sight, that of Kumbhalgarh. I don’t just mean “oh, that’s an old fort, I mean, this is huge. Built by Rana Kumbha (that’s short for Kumbhakarna Singh of Mewar), you can actually see why it’s the second most important fort in all of Mewar. It’s got drama, secrets, heartbreak… basically, if these ancient stones could talk, they’d have more stories than your grandma. Let’s start from the beginning. After his father, Mokal, was killed, young Kumbha and his mother hid out on this very hill, plotting their comeback. But every time they tried to build here, the walls just wouldn’t stand. The king was stressed, "Do I need a new architect?!" he wondered. Cue the local priests, who sent him off to a saint in Ranakpur. The advice? Not what Kumbha wanted to hear. “You need a human sacrifice to build your fort. I’ll do it. But ...

A Journey To Discover Life

Search This Blog