Uttara's Marriage

In the palace gardens at Dwarka, ladies of the house were gathered. They were picking flowers and gossiping. Subhadra and Panchali sat in a corner away from these ladies, gossiping, worried. They were awaiting a reply from Hastinapur. They have sent peace offerings, hoping no war would happen. They feared the destruction that the war promised.

Their newly married daughter-in-law came up, and they forced smiles on their faces. She, who was brought into their lives with promises of happiness, should not be touched by their worldly worries.

" How was your trip through Dwarka Uttara?"

"It's a beautiful city, Mata."

" Yes, my brother planned it himself. Didn't he, Jiji?" the proud Subhadra lamented.

" Where is he?" Panchali asked, ignoring her favourite husband's younger wife's childishness. " Where is my son?"

" He is in the fields practising archery, Jesth Mata..."

" He did not escort you to the Andarmahal? Dashi!!!"

" Yes, Samraggi."

" Send for Abhimanyu, say I call him before me at once!"

" Arya is practising Jesth Mata, it's all right, I found my way." The young bride was defending her husband's mistake.

" No, you are new here, you are his responsibility, you should be safely led to the inner palace by him; we have enemies everywhere."

She was sitting on the palace balcony overlooking the ocean when he rushed in. The maids bowed.

" Ekanth!"

" Arya, I thought you were..."

" You told Jesth Mata..."

" No Arya, I..."

" Don't you know how important practising archery is to us now? The war... I gave you all morning..."

" Arya, I didn't..." Her eyes shone. Tears, fear. She had disappointed him.

He was taken aback. " Why do you cry if I scold you? I talk like this with my brothers, they don't even bother!"

Uttara and Abhimanyu

" I feel scared of disappointing you." He couldn't stop his laughter.

" My naive Uttara! You are such a child! You are scared of me? Enemies should be scared."

" Arya, you were so angry, I was scared."

" You cry at these, and what will you do when the war starts?"

His bride looked clueless at him, a teardrop on her cheeks. He wiped it away and drew her close.

" Once the war begins, we fight with death every day, our families die before our eyes, one day I might just lose the battle with Yama..."

" Arya, don't you say that again!"

" Uttara, I am just..."

" Don't! If something happens to you, I am going with you!"

" Princess of Matsya, don't you dare say that again!"

They shared a silent glare. They were ready for the war.

The palace Vaidya was called for in the tents of Kurukshetra. The war was about to begin, and the parties of either side were setting up camp in the fields. The warriors had moved there. The Pandavas were settled in their tents with their family. The Princess of Matsya, wife of a Maharathi, was reportedly ill. Her mothers - in - law was in the tent attending to her as she lay unconscious. The Pandavas and her husband waited outside.

The Vaidya came out with the Queens, and Panchali turned to Abhimanyu.

" You can go in now, her consciousness is back."

Worried, he rushed into his wife's tent, not hearing what the Vaidya told the elders. She was alone, looking frail and half-seated in the makeshift bed.

"Arya!" She hurried to get up, but he stopped her.

" Stay there, Uttara! Don't get up. You are weak, what's wrong?"

" You did not hear the Vaidya? "

" No, I was so scared and worried that I..."

" Arya? Maharathi Abhimanyu is scared? Did I hear it right?" She giggled sarcastically as she took his name unaware for the first time, and his worried face smiled.

"Princess of Matsya! Nobody taught you not to take your husband's name? You are making fun of me?" Her smile disappeared as he couldn't hold his serious face, and they both laughed.

" Tell me what the Vaidya said, will you? Or should I go to the battlefields after a few days, worried that you may faint?"

" Hear it from the elders, Arya!"

" Tell me. Your husband commands you. What is wrong?"

A long pause. She gave a smile and turned pink.

" You are going to be Father Arya!"

" What?!"

" Vaidya ji said I am pregnant."

" Oh, Uttara! You gave me the happiest news of my life!" He hugged his wife in joy.

" Now I will fight more bravely to win this war for our family. You will teach her dancing like Father taught you"

" No, you will teach him archery like you."

The husband and wife spend the night arguing about the baby. Abhimanyu dreamt of playing with his baby, and Uttara smiled, looking at them. Her happy face. Their happy family.

The Pandavas rejoiced in the coming of the future generation. The one who would be born valiant like his father and graceful like his mother. They held a grand feast. Amidst destruction, there was creation. Amidst death, new life.

Krishna sat in a corner at this merry feast. Panchali walked up to him.

" What is wrong, Madhav?"

" What is it to not know a father, Panchali?" It was his strange talk again.

" What? Who are you talking about?"

" You know, Panchali, even God can't stop a few things, like birth, death and time. With good times come bad ones. History remembers the bad ones!"

" I don't understand you sometimes. What do you say and why do you say things?!"

Krishna set his eyes at a distance. Away from the crowd, Arjunputra was talking to his wife. Two teenagers in love, eyes full of hopes and dreams, and Krishna looked away. Sometimes it was a curse knowing things. Today was one such day. He walked back into the crowd with Panchali, the ever-smiling Krishna, hiding the harsh future in his smile.

The original texts of Jaya and references mostly suggest that Abhimanyu did not know his wife was pregnant. However, some later translations put forward the idea that he did know.

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