Arjun - The Nara Incarnation

Chapter 16

Fire

That's what he saw.

Fire engulfing his father's lifeless body. Fire engulfing his second mother meditative body burning each and every body parts of theirs. He suddenly felt burns in his body. The son of Indra for the first time in his life did not have coolness surrounding him. It was heat. And it was burning him.

He did not felt any presence today. Not of his father Indra. Not of his Mahadev and not of a certain someone in yellow garments with flute whose face he didn't even knew.

He saw his mother losing his consciousness again and again while weeping bitterly. He saw those tears flowing from her eyes ,one by one diminishing the light of his mother's eyes. He saw his brothers crying. No they weren't being strong. They shouldn't be strong, it was his father's duty to make them stronger. They haven't learnt the art of being emotionally strong. They were supposed to learn this from their father, from their guardian. And he left. He left leaving them. And he took Madri mata with him too.

He saw himself crying. Tears did nothing to cool down his ruptured heart. The burns were still there. His breathing was getting tough second by second leaving him gasping for air while crying. He felt like he was dying. He felt life getting sucked out from his body.

Arjun didn't lie when he thought that felt his part of soul standing in front of him with the same physical appearance of his. That part of soul smiled at him and then left, left to sit along with his Madri mata to burn, to die in that funeral pyre. To die along with his father.

Arjun didn't lie when he said he lost a part of his soul along with his father.

He could see maharishis who were equal to God performing his father last rites.

And suddenly the fire stopped turning everything into ash. His father was nothing but some bones and ash now. His second mother chose to become this. A part of his soul turned ashy too. That ashy part felt no emotion. It died. And dead doesn't felt emotion.

He could hear murmuring of the maharishis who were huddled together discussing something.

"“For the welfare of the kingdom and the country, the great souled great ascetic came here, to live among ascetics and practise austerities. King Pandu has gone to heaven and has left his sons, who
have just been born, and his wife as a treasure we must look after.”

"I don't want others to look after me. I want you. We want you to look after us " He wanted to scream to his father but didn't because he knew he wouldn't reply.

Silence.

It was all silence when the ascetics suggested them to move to the city of Nagasahrya. Kunti accepted their decision. It was apparently to give them to their uncle Dhritarashtra and Pitamah Bheeshm.

Arjun looked around Shatshringa. The beautiful waterfalls. The river. The mountains. Their hut. And remembered his Mahadeva temple where he might not ever go again. This place was filled with his father's memories and their antics. He chuckled sadly and looked at the sky.

" I asked for a birthday present not to snatch the things I already had. I accept. I accept this present of yours. I accept your decision. From now onwards I will accept whatever you give me without complain; good, bad, deadly doesn't matter. " These were his last words before a maharishi took him forward to move along them, mother and brothers.

Kunti felt the road was cut short, her affection towards her son was increasing seeing them crying.

Within a short period of time Arjun along with others reached Kurujangala. The path wasn't easy. His feet were bruised from sharp stones but he didn't care . He didn't cared about anything.

And then they entered the illustrious gate of Nagapura.

The citizens of Nagapura were
astounded on learning that thousands of charanas and sages had come to their city. It was the moment of sunrise. After paying their respects to dharma, the inhabitants of the city and their wives came out to see the ascetics. Masses of women, Kshatriyas, vehicles and Brahmanas with their wives emerged, and large masses of Vaishyas and Shudras too.Their minds were all on dharma and there was no cause for disturbance.

Shantanu’s son Bhishma, Somadatta’s son Bahlika, the rajarshi with the
sight of wisdom, the kshatta Vidura himself, and surrounded by maids, the queen Satyavati, the illustrious Kousalya and Gandhari, emerged through the royal gate. Dhritarashtra’s hundred sons, with Duryodhana at the forefront, also came out, adorned in myriad ornaments. On seeing the masses of maharshis, the Kouravas and their priests bowed their heads in homage and sat down below them. The citizens of the town and the country also bowed their heads down to the ground and sat down below them. On seeing that the crowd was completely quiet.

Bhishma offered the kingdom and the country to the maharshis.

At this, the eldest maharshi, with matted hair and a deerskin as his garment, spoke: “King Pandu of the Kuru lineage gave up a life of desire and pleasure and left for Shatashringa. He lived the life of a brahmachari there. But to accomplish the purposes of the gods, this son Yudhishthira was born there from Dharma himself. Then that great-souled king was given another son named Bhima by Matarishva and he is immensely powerful, best among those who are strong. Puruhuta gave Kunti this son. Truth is his strength and his exploits will shadow those of all other great archers. These two sons of Madri are great archers and supreme among those of the Kuru lineage. They were born from the Ashvins and are tigers among men. The illustrious Pandu always lived a life of dharma in the forest and in this way he revived his ancestral lineage. As he witnessed the birth, growth and study of the Vedas of his sons, Pandu always derived great pleasure. He never deviated from the righteous path. Having left these sons, Pandu has departed for the land of the ancestors seventeen days ago. On seeing him on the funeral pyre and about to be consumed by the face of the fire, Madri entered the fire and gave up her own life. She has followed to the world of her husband. Now perform those rites that should be performed for them. These are the two bodies and here are the supreme sons. Let these scorchers of enemies and their mother be respectfully received with rites of welcome. After the performance of the funeral rites, let Pandu, the upholder of the Kuru lineage, extremely famous and knowledgeable in all aspects of dharma, and gain the right to ancestral offerings."

Yes, it has been seventeen days since his father died. For seventeen days he along with others walked to this place along with the bodies of his father and mother. Seventeen days but his tears still not dried up.