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It took hours to move the chariot from the entrance gate to the main palace. The joyous citizens watch their new king and his brothers delightfully. The entire city is cheerful. “It’s a new birth of Yudhishthira. The patient man who proposed even to settle for five villages is now the new emperor of this vast kingdom of Hastinapur. Life pays all due credits; depends how patiently one is willing to wait. Vision is the impression of dreams, aspiration cultivates the path for desires, and success heralds the results of purest thoughts. Mind gravi- tates towards the ambition hidden in the heart.”, I reflect while waiting eagerly to welcome the new lord of the throne with my father, Dhritarashtra. All the differences are bridged now. Mother Gandhari has accepted the Pandavas as her sons and mother Kunti gets the authority of queen mother.
The caravan of Yudhishthira reaches the palace. He steps down from his chariot, other brothers and Draupadi follow him. He bows down before the elders. Father embraces him, and the two mothers bless him. He looks at me. I am holding a garland for the new king.
“Will you not welcome me brother, Yuyutsu?”, he asks lovingly.
I bow down before him and welcome while handing over the garland to him. He embraces me and whispers, “You will have to carry the legacy forward. A huge responsibility is waiting for you.” I smile and bow down to the king again. “Whatever you think I am worthy of…”
I embrace the others and bow down to Draupadi. She blesses me with a smile on her lips. Has she forgotten the cruelty of the past? Who knows? There are many secrets hidden deep
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inside us, and nobody knows the truth. Pain teaches patience but sometimes makes the heart a lifeless stone.
The central hall is decorated with special arrangements for the coronation ceremony of our new king, the one true King! The fountain filled with divine fragrance, the floral garlands and lamps filled with clarified butter fill the entire arena with a heavenly aroma. Yudhishthira is called to sit on a decorated platform. All priests start chanting the mantras with our head priest Rishi Dhaumya holding the crown. The yagna is being performed, and the panegyrists sing praises. Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul, and Sahadeva are too called to sit at their designated places. Amid the chants of mantras, a mixture of milk, water, honey and other herbs, is poured on Yudhishthira’s body. After the cleansing ceremony completes, Yudhishthira steps down from the dais. Bhima and Arjuna with Nakul and Sahadeva, then follow through the similar ceremony. Draupadi also comes out from the inner apartments, post completion of, a similar event organized for her supervised by mother Kunti.
The chanting of mantras slows down, and finally, the yagna is over. Head priest Dhaumya asks Yudhishthira to perform the prayers and rituals. Amidst the mantras being chanted, Yudhishthira offers prayers to our ancestors, from Daksha to Manu, from Pururavas to Puru, from Bharata to Pratipa, and from Shantanu to his father Pandu. Yudhishthira performs prayers for each of them and seeks their blessings. He then walks towards his uncle Dhritarashtra and bows down before him. My father embraces him and blesses him, “O Yudhishthira! With the grace of God and the blessings of our ancestors, you are the chosen one to lead the future of Hastinapur. This throne belongs to you, and you belong to it. Always remem- ber to respect the dignity of the throne and follow the path
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of righteousness. The path of righteousness my sons could never follow. But I am sure you will remain firm on it and take decisions in the favours of people. Hastinapur is now yours. Protect this land of our ancestors with your sweat and blood. May the benedictions of our ancestors remain with you!”
The palace hall is filled with royal dignitaries, and special arrangements are made for the denizens of Hastinapur to witness the coronation. They are invited to see the eldest Pandava being decked with the corona. Uncle Vidura, prime minister of Hastinapur, calls Yudhishthira to be seated on the throne. Yudhishthira follows, and as he walks, the showering flowers welcome each step. The entire palace is filled with the praises and benedictions for our new king. The cheerful voices surround the arena, and the aroma of varied fragrances make it more blissful.
Yudhishthira sits on the throne, and the other four broth- ers with Draupadi and mother Kunti sit on their designated seats. The priest starts chanting the mantras again. With the crown in his hands, he walks towards the throne. Yudhishthira stands up and bows down before the priest. He blesses him, and then amidst all the cheerful voices and hailing; he mounts the crown on Yudhishthira’s head. Yudhishthira is coronated as the new king of Hastinapur. Our King. “Hail our new king! Hail Yudhishthira! Hail Pandavas!” The entire palace gets filled with cheers and applauses.
Yudhishthira joins his palms and accepts the blessings of everyone present in the palace. Yudhishthira raises his hands and asks the denizens to settle down. The slogans mellow down, and people now wait for the king to speak. He looks at mother Kunti and seeks her permission. The proud mother blesses her
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son, and Yudhishthira speaks, “I….” The entire palace again fills with positivity, cheerfulness, and applauses. Words of praise fill the arena. Yudhishthira looks around, smiles, and tries to calm the people sitting in the main hall.
Once the people settle, he starts again, “I, the eldest son of mother Kunti, with immense gratification, accept the love; you shower on me. Your support is my strength, and your grati- tude is my power. This soil of Hastinapur has witnessed many battles but the one, we witnessed in the field of Kurukshetra is deadliest of all. We have lost millions of lives with more than two hundred thousand soldiers gone missing. We have seen the deaths of our brothers, our fathers, our sons and our grandsons. Your loss is not lesser than mine. My heart melts whenever my mind reflects on the carnage. But this is not the time to look back and wail, this is the time to move forward and succeed. The memories will never fade, the emotions will never die, but the time is the biggest healer. Let’s all walk together and drive Hastinapur towards its most glorifying era. Let the throne shine like never before.”
The crowd exalts. Each phrase of the new king makes the citizens proud of their king. They deserve an enlightened king and Yudhishthira is one. The slogans Hail Yudhishthira! Hail Pandavas! Hail Hastinapur! Chants fill the hall once again. Yudhishthira then reaches out to the chief priest and asks for the coronation of other brothers. The head priest chants mantras and performs the rituals for other brothers.
Yudhishthira, after completion of the ceremonials, speaks again, “Dear people of Hastinapur! My uncle Dhritarashtra is the lord of this kingdom, and I urge you all to continue extend- ing your regards to him. I might be anointed as the king of
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Hastinapur, but the empire belongs to him.” The crowd cheers observing his reverence towards his uncle. He continues, “The kingdom cannot prosper till it has a successor. Hence, I make Bhima as the Yuvraj of Hastinapur.” A huge round of acceptance fills the hall. Everyone admires Bhima. I feel elated; my best friend will be called Yuvraj.
The ministries are yet to be announced. Everyone is waiting for the king to announce the new owners of different depart- ments of this vast kingdom. He starts appointing, “For the betterment of the state and to understand the needs of the citizens; I anoint uncle Vidura to take care of home affairs. Sanjaya, an accomplished master and visionary, will be our finance minister. Nakul will take care of the defence forces and supervise the army affairs. The defence forces can’t function without a commander, and only Arjuna can hold the com- mandment of the current vulnerable state. I appoint Arjuna to be the chief commander of all our armies to protect us from the unwelcomed and wicked forces. I announce Sahadeva to be the chief of kingdom advisory. His vision and policies will help us in making treaties and trade with the other empires.”
The king announces the new roles and the crowd cheers for new appointees. I listen to him silently; I am happy for each Pandava brother. They finally get what they deserve, but something is hitting my subconscious. Does my heart want something from the king? Should I get
some role in the minis- try? Is it my desire to overpowering my decision now? I smile within. I am clueless. I start feeling insulted, but why? Since the day I sided with Yudhishthira, I favoured him unblinkingly. But today my heart behaves puerile. The king has chosen the best fitment for the departments, but my heart is not gratified. The expectations never meet reality. I am applauding each
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decision of the king with other denizens and courtiers with a smile on my face, but a void in my heart. The king looks at me and smiles as if he wants to say something but not now.
The meeting disperses and citizens depart from the palace hall with their cheerful hearts and hopes of a brightened future. Evening knocks as the sun settles after witnessing an eventful day. The bright moon, illuminating in the firmament, glorifies the achievements of our new king.
All Pandava brothers are given their new apartments decked with all imaginable luxuries. The servants are running in service of their new masters. Chefs prepare viands which are new to taste buds, and soma which has unique flavours. The jubilant citizens dance in the tune of cheerfulness. The vocalists play melodies of success and eulogists sing the glory of Pandavas. The courtiers rush around cheerfully and ensure the comfort of our new king. Yudhishthira acknowledges the efforts of his courtiers with a warm smile on his face. He reciprocates the greetings of everyone congratulating him.
After dinner, I extend my regards to Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira smiles back, but again it seems to me that he’s hiding something. Still, I don’t wait for him to speak. And with a heavy burden in my heart and countless thoughts clouding my brain, I walk towards my apartment.
I reach my room. Nothing has changed for me, neither the place nor the role. I am still the other son of my father. I look around the room, smile and rest myself on my bed. “It’s been
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so long”, I tell myself! The fragrance of flowers in my room doesn’t excite me. The happiness of Pandavas getting back their kingdom is getting overpowered by my hidden desire. What is happening to me? Why am I behaving like a menda- cious mendicant? It is not me. I am not angry, but I am not content too. I try to shut my eyes, but wakefulness defeats my sleep. I get out of bed and start walking. While I walk in my room with intense thoughts overpowering myself, a messen- ger seeks permission to enter.
“I beg your pardon. O, Sire! Am I allowed to enter?” he asks. “Come in”, I allow him.
“Master! Maharaj Yudhishthira wants to meet you.”, he continues.
“At this time!”, I wondered.
“Is he calling me to the courtroom?” I ask.
“No, my lord, he is waiting outside. Waiting for your permis- sion”, he mentions.
“Then run and escort him to my meeting room with full honours”, I remark and quickly get dressed to meet the king.
“I bow down to you, O Brother!”, I speak while entering my meeting room. Yudhishthira turns towards me and smiles, “Long Live Yuyutsu.”
“Tell me, O sire, what made you visit me at this hour of the night?” I ask.
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Yudhishthira walks towards me and pats my shoulder. “I know your patience is not with you today”, he remarks with a smirk on his face.
“No…err…”, I mumble.
“Yuyutsu, your fate changed the day you decided to favour us. You are destined to rule the world. You are born to live like a king. I understand your plight and dilemma of your mind. You must be thinking that changing sides didn’t exactly help you”, he says.
“You didn’t understand me then, O brother.”
“I didn’t favour you because of any selfish desire. I didn’t favour you because of the dream of becoming the ruler. The world thinks, I betrayed my brothers. Even my brother called me a traitor at the death bed of Lakshmana. But I am no traitor. Only my heart knows why I switched the side”, I conclude over his shoulders.
Yudhishthira fixes his gaze upon me, nods his head and then speaks, “Humans are born with the desires. Life ends in a rush of achieving what you aspire, but expectations never end. There is no life without expectations. When you switched sides, the desire of surviving incepted in you, and you always knew that if you continue siding Duryodhana, Bhima will kill you anytime. The change of side was the assurance of your survival. Dreams are kernels of desires; desires reflect reality, and realities demand actions. And walking away from Duryodhana’s side was an impulse of your reality. You have hidden desires, but you don’t show them.”
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“The world sees what you want to show! Bhima told me this.”, I respond with a slight smile.
“I survived; that was my wisdom. I am standing in front of you; this is my fate. Whatever I will get; that will be my achieve- ment. There is no trepidation. But I am sure you are not here to explain why you didn’t give me any role in your ministry.”, I continue with yet another smile.
He says, “Yuyutsu, you are the only survivor in the clan of uncle Dhritarashtra. You deserve more than what others have got. But there is time for it. I apologize if I hurt your sentiments. Yes, I am not here to talk about my decisions in my cabinet. I am here to share something which only you can understand.”
“Tell me O king”, I say excitedly.
“This is not easy for anyone, but I cursed mother Kunti.”, says he.
“Cursed…”, I say shockingly. “But why… and why are you telling it to me. How will I be able to understand this?” I continue.
Beholding my inquisitiveness, he says, “You have heard mother Kunti revealing the truth of Karna. We knew he was no ordinary warrior. But he was my brother, and I became the cause of the death of my brother. I couldn’t accept that for all these years I had envied my brother. And when my mother revealed the truth, my anger overpowered my patience. I cursed that no woman would be able to keep secrets in their hearts. The series of curses which started years ago has beleaguered this
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throne. And the last words of mine for my mother were the final nailing. I become the king of this cursed throne.”
I look at him. The king of the biggest empire on this planet is regretting his words. The throne comes with responsibilities. The power of a king begets more responsibilities. The stories of curses on the throne are not new. But the throne finds its right heir on its own.
I say, “Don’t worry about the curse. It was your unknown love for your unknown brother. If you regret why Arjuna killed Karna, you already know that the battle is all about it. We don’t see the relations while serving the common cause.” “But I still don’t understand why you are telling this all to me. Why not to Bhima or Arjuna?” I ask.
“I am yet to complete.”, says Yudhishthira.
“I am here to tell you about Karna’s death. While I remem- ber him, I relate to him with you. You and he were on a similar boat but sailing in the opposite directions. He was the Half- Pandava, and you are the Half-Kaurava.”, he concludes.
“The half-Pandava favoured Kauravas, and the half-Kaurava favoured the Pandavas. How ironic!” I whisper.
Karna was born to rule, but he died the fateful death. I, born in the family of Kauravas, was destined to die but sur- vived. He favoured the selfish; I favoured the selfless. He favoured the egoist; I supported the tranquillity. He sup- ported the avarice; I favoured the benevolence. The munif- icent was indebted, and I was free from all obligations. Duryodhana fed Karna’s weaknesses, but Yudhishthira
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invested in my strengths. My eyes sparkle. I got the answer I was searching for all these days. I bow down to Yudhishthira, “Brother! I now know why you came here. It was not your guilt which brought you here, but it is your benediction on me.”
Yudhishthira smiles and says, “I am glad you got your answer. You are unique, Yuyutsu. You favoured me and became the cause of the death of your brothers, like me. By birth, you and Karna were similar. But, by actions, you and I are the same. Therefore, I mentioned that you deserve more than what my brothers have got, but for now, I urge you to stand beside
your father. In these times, he needs you the most. Your prime duty is to ensure his pleasure, and you should always with alacrity do what he will wish for.”
“I am here with one desire, maybe for the first time, I am thinking selfishly. If uncle Dhritarashtra becomes cheerless, his close aides will not favour the betterment of this empire. But if you remain around him, he will forget the grievousness and the melancholy of his heart will subside.”, he concludes.
I look at him. My heart melts before the words of the king. He is the right heir of this throne not just because of righ- teousness, but because he thinks and explains with clarity. He understands, analyses and concludes, but not with haste. The kingdom is fortunate to get him as the lord of the crown of Hastinapur. “The curses on this throne will wash away. You belong to this throne, and the throne belongs to you. I will be your ardent follower for my lifetime. Per your wish, I will be at the service of my father. Per your wish, I will ensure that his cheerfulness never fades away.”, I reply with my hands folded.
Yuyutsu - Rise of the last Kaurava Page 20