Uttara's Hope

This is part of the "Uttara Series", which you will find under the Mahabharata. The series is also available on Wattpad.

She was clad in white attire. Her churamani and jewellery were all taken away. She sat numbly in front of his dead body for a whole day, pregnant with his heir, looking at his face as though he was asleep. He had told her more than once that this day could come and that she had to protect their heir. He feared her future without him. That one day turned the fifteen-year-old Princess of Matsya into an aged lady. She became quiet and aloof. Her only concern now was her baby. Her baby wiggled in her womb. She remembered him saying,

" I will always be with you."

All she wanted now was a son like his father. But she knew all Hastinapur wanted was an heir to the throne. The war had ended five days after his death, and they were back in the palace of Hastinapur victorious. She, for the first time, entered her real in-laws' home, but without him. All she could remember was his dream, " I will see Tatshri sit at the throne, I will see the palaces where Father grew up."

She was led to one of the large chambers of the Andarmahal. She sank into the comfort of her bed, numb. The people of the palace were busy either mourning or making preparations for the new king. She looked away from both. Her mother-in-law came in with Raajmata Kunti and Queen Gandhari. They were here to bless her and her child. She felt weak and could not get up.

" Uttara, now you are giving us the only reason to live, Putri. Fill the palace with the cry of a baby that surpasses the wails of the widow." Kunti blessed her. Gandhari was in tears. " Your baby is the only future we have, Uttara."

That night, as she walked around the ghostly palace like a body without a soul, she saw a shadow move.

" Maata? Raajmaata?"

No replies. The brave Uttara moved slowly up the corridor. Holding her baby in her belly had made walking quite tiresome. Suddenly, the shadow sprang in front of her. The moonlight revealed the face. The eyes were shining like those of a wolf that has hunted its prey.

" Guru Putra Aswathama?" Light filled the room, and Uttara shrieked. Her vision blurred. She could feel her body crashing to the ground.

When she woke up, all of Kuru Vansh was in front of her. At least all of the little that was left. The vaidyas ran around the room making medicines. Her mother-in-law was beside her.

" What happened to me? My baby?"
" Everything is fine, Uttara. Aswathama had attacked to seek revenge. Govind saved you two." Panchali forced a smile. The concerned Uttara touched her child. She thanked Madhav with all her heart in her quiet way.

The vaidyas were concerned. It was time, yet no sign of labour. They gave her all kinds of medicines to induce pain. The next morning, she woke in pain. The chamber was made comfortable for childbirth, and all the ladies were with her waiting for Abhimanyu's heir to be born. To her, this pain was nothing compared to the loss of her family. Her father, her brothers and her husband. At last, the baby was born. But it did not cry. Everyone was in horror. After all this, it can't be a dead child. Uttara crushed back to her bed. Silent tears fell. Krishna got up. He took the child, and a miracle happened. The walls of the newborn filled the air; the heir was here, and the future was secure. Uttara took her newborn in her arms.

" Call him Parikshit because he was born fighting difficulties," Krishna spoke.

Uttara kissed her baby boy. She saw he had the nose of his father. How happy would he have been if he could have taken his child in his arms? Play with him? Teach him archery? A tear fell from Uttara's eyes to the baby's hand, and he was startled. Hugging her baby, Uttara silently made a promise. I will teach you to fight in this world like your father did. I will make you what he wanted you to be.

The palace celebrated for days, and astrologers were called in. They predicted a bright future in this reign and the next. They predicted the newborn would help usher in a new era. Everyone was happy. Soon her baby could crawl and learn new things each day. The toddler ran around the palace with everyone chasing him. Laughs and giggles filled the air. She was now the respected Queen of Hastinapur, mother to the Prince, something her mother had always dreamt of. But she alone knew the price she paid for it.

He started learning the Vedas, and his grandmother started his archery and horse riding lessons. Kripacharya was appointed as his Guru. Uttara saw his first bruises, and that scared her. She remembered years ago when she used to nurse his father's training bruises. That day still haunted her life. He read out the Vedas to her. He told her what he had learnt. Parikshit's mother was impressed. He was as intelligent as him. He often asked her, " Maata, how was the father?" And she put him to sleep with stories of his valiant father's short life.

He was crowned future king. He called pandits from all parts of Aryavarth in an attempt to rediscover and rewrite the Vedic texts that were lost in words. Thus began the journey of the first written Vedic texts of the civilisation. He was praised by all pandits. Rajkumar Parikshit Mata Uttara couldn't be prouder. He was praised for his warrior skills. His looks reminded him of his father. He was true to all her hopes alive in flesh and blood, ready to rule the empire and usher in a bright future. With a smile, Uttara looked down from the balcony as her son waved to her from horseback before going on yet another hunting expedition. Thirty-year-old Uttara felt old enough to marry her son and finally rest from her most tragic married life. She wondered when he would come back triumphant so that she could discuss this issue with her in-laws.

The Warrior and Princess

Dasharatha was very protective of his sons. He had got them after almost a lifetime of waiting and yajnas, so they were his lifeline. Ram, the eldest, won hearts with his humble, generous ways. Bharata, the second, was his favourite queen's brave son, and Laxman and Shatrughan were the twins to the lesser queen, who followed their brothers like shadows. They were a peaceful, happy family. Sage Vasistha was their Kulaguru, teaching them the Vedic hymns and the righteous ways of life. The Princes grew up in the luxurious, protected premises of the palace. The King of Mithila, too, was childless. Mother Earth granted him a daughter. Sita grew up learning and curious, followed by the king's second daughter, Urmila and their cousins Mandavi and Shrutakirti. They grew up knowing the natural ways of life, and their father took them to learn from men to know more about man and his natural instincts. The princesses were curious and always questioning the traditions, and the Princes lear...

Chawand: The Maharana's Capital

The road from Udaipur quickly fades into quiet countryside as you head toward Jaisamand Lake and Chavand, a journey that few package tours offer, but one that is forever imprinted on my memory. Just shy of an hour and 59km from the city bustle, you reach Jaisamand (Dhebar Lake), the “Ocean of Victory,” sprawling as Asia’s once-largest man-made lake . Built in 1685 by Maharana Jai Singh, who followed his father’s legendary tradition of dam-building, this vast sheet of water shimmers in the sunlight. I watched local ferries pass, and marble stairs dip into blue shallows, imagining bygone queens slipping into cooling water beneath the massive embankment. Even today, friendly boatmen linger, eager to usher you onto the lake for a breezy ride. They tell you stories of how once a Maharana roamed these dense forests in search of freedom. Do pause here and soak in the peaceful air before venturing further southwest, toward the forgotten echoes of Mewar’s pride. The drive to Chavand, ...

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...

The Annals of Rajputana

Col. James Todd’s Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan describes Rajputana through History, Geography, Mythology, Folklore, Veer Gathas, Traditions, Cultures, Heritage, Rules, Valour and its people. However, one must remember that he was commissioned to write the narrative and his resources are not based on historical evidence. However, it is worth a read and very interesting. The following excerpts are from his book. Please take note that Todd's accounts are based on hearsay, stories, and commissioned by royals and hence aren't treated as historically accurate. However, his book is important as it is the first English-language book to have extensive work done on Rajputana. Rajputs are commonly believed to be people from Rajasthan; however, their branches have spread far and wide into Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and even parts of Bengal. The initial origination-based clans/tribes had been subdivided first in the book Prithvirajraso by Chand Bardai; howev...

The Prince of Mewar

Born on 16 March 1559 in the Kumbha Palace of Chittorgarh Fort, Bhanwar Amar Singh was the eldest son of Kunwar Pratap Singh (later Maharana Pratap) and Kunwarani Ajabdeh Punwar. As the first grandson of Udai Singh I, his birth prompted the Maharana's celebratory hunting expedition, during which a sage forewarned of impending danger. Heeding this, Udai Singh established a new palace by Lake Pichola, founding Udaipur as Mewar's capital. Amar Singh exhibited extraordinary valour from a young age, inheriting his father's martial skills and his mother's reputed compassion. His training commenced early; according to James Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, he participated in his first battle alongside Pratap at age eight. By ten, amid Chittorgarh's fall and familial divisions, he assumed responsibility for his siblings. Historical accounts recount his defence of the queens' entourage against enemy soldiers en route to Kumbhalgarh fortress. He shared a clo...

Asuras are not Demons

Demons in the Abrahamic religion are not the same as Asuras of Hinduism. Originally deities of Iranian origin, they were seen in the tribal context as no different from Devas but as counterparts to maintain balance. In early epics and Puranas, asura meant a chosen leader of great capacity. Only later, perhaps due to the Iranian link, their image declined. It was with the Brahmanas that the sharp divide appeared: devas as divine, asuras as evil. Puranic myths demonised them mainly to assert the superiority and immortality of devas, while asuras were cast as symbols of the "other." Since Tribes still worshipped them and embraced their power of negativity, being important to balance, they soon became synonymous with tribes, which was not the case mythologically. There are instances of Bali or Ravana being Kshatriya or Brahmin Asuras and competent kings. Indian demonology itself is vast and layered, shaped by surviving tribes, each with unique myths. Celestial, aerial, and terres...

Jahanara Begum Sahib: The Sufi Princess

Shah Jahan's quarters flanked on either side by identical bungalows for Jahanara and Roshanara. Background: The Timurid Dynasty, better (and wrongly) known as the Mughal Empire, ruled the Subcontinent from 1526 C.E. till the time the British East India Company successfully captured Delhi from Bahadur Shah II in 1857 C.E. (The size of the empire obviously varied). Hence, a large part of medieval Indian history revolves around the characters of this dynasty. Due to the extensive amount of contemporary records right from Babur, the founder of the empire, writing his own memoirs in “ Babar Nama ” to the accounts of court poets like Abu Talim and the extensive details of Abul Fazl, one has a clear idea about the functioning of the Timurid empire as well as the Harem involving the royal ladies of the dynasty. Almost nothing is left to the imagination when it comes to the lives of the first six and most famous and successful Timurid emperors, namely Babar, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir...

Taj Mahal

On the 17th of Jumada I 1041 (11 December 1631), the sacred remains of Her Late Majesty the Queen were sent from Burhanpur to the metropolis of Akbarabad, under the care of Prince Muhammad Shah Shuja, who was ordered to distribute at every stage, great quantities of victuals and money in charity upon the poor. To the south of the metropolis, a luxuriant piece of high ground, which had formerly been the property of Raja Man Singh and now belonged to his grandson Raja Jai Singh, was selected as the burial place of that “Dweller in Paradise”. Although the Raja offered the ground most willingly as a present, nevertheless His Majesty, with the scrupulousness so requisite in worldly transactions, conferred on him in exchange a splendid mansion out of the imperial properties. After its arrival at Akbarabad, the blessed corpse was consigned to the earth on the 15th of Jumada II 1041 (15 January 1632) at the beginning of the fifth Regnal year. At the royal command, the public authorities with i...

History: A Political Storytelling

History, as we know, is the study of the past. The primary sources of such study include coins, scriptures, seals, weaponry, architecture, things of daily use, palaces, forts, etc. However, when we talk of wars, events, and characters of people in the past, it is very difficult to be accurate about what we are reading hundreds of years later. Nowadays, History has become a hot political topic, changing narratives of what we have known for so long as history and challenging the past. In reality, all versions are somehow biased, and all in their entirety untrue. The art of storytelling plays a major part in the narration of history. We grow up hearing moral stories all our lives, right and wrong, heroes and villains. Our belief system starts functioning like that, as we believe that in every story there has to be a good and a bad. However, the reality is far from that. In reality, we don’t really have people who are pure evil or pure good like stories often suggest. Herein, the art ...

The Kaali Effect

The shopping mall echoed with a noise. The buzz grew silent. Fear crept in. Until somebody shouted, " It's just a Balloon!" The buzz grew again, the shopping continued, the romantic couples continued their walks, and the food court filled up with the aroma of the orders... A few decades back, people used to laugh carefree at a balloon bursting or a tyre booming in the streets or in various crowded areas. Now, in the back of everyone's head, a loud noise always brings the same thoughts... Another year, another city, another crowded place, Several innocent lives. They don't spare religious places either. For the sake of mankind? Religion? Politics? Power? They only know. Who are they? Nobody knows. It is said that the demon Kaali, who ushered in KaliYug, decided to reside in a few things. Addiction, Wealth, Desire, and Anger are some such things he resides in. This is KaliYug, where an innocent child's balloon makes adults fear the extremes. What is dharma here?...

A Journey To Discover Life

Search This Blog