Uttara's Dreams

The Beginning:

The kingdom was buzzing with the news of an anticipated war. The Pandavas rejected their lands and Indraprastha by Yuvraj Duryodhan. Everyone knew a big battle was to be fought, yet everyone feared speaking of it. The news reached the lands of Aryavarta like wildfire, and every king was in a talk with his ministers over which side to choose, whose win could benefit them.

Meanwhile...

Away from this tense atmosphere in the Andarmahal of the Palace sat a princess. Her wedding was being planned, and her maids and friends were all busy planning the decorations. They giggled in excitement, talking about how she is the luckiest girl in the world to marry the bravest of warriors in the land, the son of Arjun.

She seemed absent-minded as she stood on the Palace balcony overlooking the city. She was a teenager with dreams of love... and here she was about to get married, but had never seen her husband. The Gods seemed to hear her. She turned to look at why her Sakhis had stopped their giggling, and her mother stood there. Everyone was up on their feet waiting for a command from the Queen.

"Ekanth!" (solitude)

As everyone walked out, she stared at her mother, waiting for her to speak.

" A message has arrived at the King's Court from Dwarka."

She waited patiently...

"Rajkumar Abhimanyu is coming to our palace a week before the wedding with his mother and Vasudeva Krishna. They want to meet you before the wedding."

She looked up at her mother's beaming eyes as they shone in the lights of the lamps. The Queen smiled with hope as she put her hand on her daughter's head.

" And Vasudeva sent a separate message to me. That only we two will know. It's a future prediction for you!"

"What is it, Mother?"

"Your son will be the Emperor of the entire Aryavarta!"

The next week, the Palace was being decorated for the arrival of the future son-in-law of the King. The Princess was made to bathe in milk and sandal and dressed in her finest saree and jewellery. Her earrings sparkled like stars in the night sky, and her Payal made the music of the birds. Her Sakhis could not take their eyes off her beauty.

The sound of chariots in the courtyard was followed by a Nagara announcement ...

" Mahan yodha Arjun aur unke patni Dwarka ki Rajkumari Subhadra k suputra veer yodha Abhimanyu padhar rahe hai!

(Son of the Greatest warrior Arjuna and his Wife Subhadra, Princess of Dwarka, the Great warrior Abhimanyu has arrived)

Her heart skipped a beat...

Almost an hour later, there was a sound of footsteps at her door. The Sakhis rose to their feet. The Princess looked at the doorway. It was the Queen, followed by a beautiful-looking woman. Her yellow saree shone like the sun, and her aura was that of no ordinary lady.

"This is Arjun Ardhangini Subhadra, your new mother."

The lady in question hugged her tight at her pranipath.

"Let's take her to meet my son!"

The court buzzed with people from around the kingdom who had come to witness this meeting as the guards announced

"Princess of Biratnagar, Daughter of King Birat, Princess Uttara is on her way!"

Everyone waited to catch a glimpse of her as she made her way inside, measuring her steps just like the grooming teachers taught her. Her heart seemed to beat louder than the Palace Drums. She was helped by the Queen on one of the thrones, and her seat was just across the room from the groom. Her head down, she couldn't afford to shamelessly catch a glimpse of the groom in front of all these people.

The evening entertainment and dinner ended way past midnight, and she could not stare at him even once. She felt his eyes watching her at dinner, but a joke from her twin brother caught his attention more, it seemed.

After releasing her maids for the night, she silently stepped into the Palace gardens just below her Balcony. Losing all the heavy jewellery and unbraiding her hair, she felt free. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Suddenly, there were footsteps behind her.

"You are Uttara? Did my father actually teach you to dance?"

She turned in shock. It was Abhimanyu.

"Yes, I learned dancing from Brihannala ji. I did not know it was the great warrior Arjuna in disguise," She replied shyly.

" Yes, I know the story." There was a short chuckle in his voice. And their eyes met.

" You look more beautiful without those gaudy jewels", he blurted out in a hurry. She blushed with a smile.

"Before coming here, I did not want to get married, you know." She looked up as he searched her face for a reaction as he continued. "The wars will begin any day now, and I have to be on the battlefield. I did not want a Princess to suffer for me." She thought to herself, he talks wiser than his age...

" I know about the war, my father has told me"

" And still you want this wedding?"

" Do you?"

" Seeing you today at the Court, I do want to take the chance at happiness" He indeed was brave...

"So do I"

They heard the guards as she pulled him by the hand to her balcony. They can't see us together before marriage. The night washed away in the first lights of the sun as they stood by each other in silence, witnessing the beauty of nature. He looked at her face shining in the morning light.

" I think I should take your leave now." She nodded and smiled at him.

" I will see you at the wedding," he blurted before rushing off to his guest quarters.

A few months later...

Princess Uttara was in the chambers of Queen Draupadi, being attended to by a line of Vaidyas. She was in the advanced stages of her pregnancy, and the complexities were more than one. Her husband was out in the fields battling the odds for the safe future of their family. He has taken her to leave and promised to come back to see their son. She prayed for him every day. Each day seemed to bring news of the death of a relative from the battlefield. Her father and brother have joined the war.

A message has arrived, and she wanted to know what it was. Silent sobs were coming from the other room. She made her way through the dark chambers, and her baby boy seemed restless inside her body. She reached the doorway and could walk no more. She heard what they said. Queen Draupadi and Subhadra rushed to her side as she sat on the ground. Her world crashed around her. He was killed today in the battles by the Kauravas.

Her weeping filled the night sky as she went into labour. There was darkness surrounding her as she lay semi-conscious. She saw shadows running around her. Fear gripped her. Their baby!

" I will come back and cuddle my boy. When he grows up, I will teach him archery. My father could not teach me, but I will train my boy." His words seemed to play in her head as the shadows blurred.

Uttara woke with a heavy head. The maids had dressed her in a widow's white attire as she lay unconscious for the day. As she sat up and whispered, "My boy," Queen Draupadi placed a bundle on her lap. In the bundle was the sweetest baby she had ever seen. His boy. His Blood. Uttara held her baby boy tight as she wept.

" Madhav has named him Parikhit, dear", Queen Draupadi announced.

The words did not reach her ears as she felt her little boy's heartbeat and wondered in her tears what the war had caused. Was it actually of any good, or did it just cause the destruction of mankind? Was it worth the material pleasure, or were the lives lost worth more than the throne or the kingdom? She sighed.

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