My trials, tribulations, triumphs and more... - Arjuna.

Chapter 33: Blissful return

After the stressful incidents which happened after the Swayamvar, finally it was time for us to return back to our home. After taking the blessings from Maharaj Drupad and exchanging final glance with my dear cousin, we left the palace. The beautiful princess removed all the grand and precious jewellery adorning her, and instead was in a simple saree with bare minimum ornaments such as nose and ear rings. And, surprisingly the princesses looked even more beautiful in such a simple attire, I thought actually it was the princesses who brought the real splendour to the inanimate jewellery and not the other way.

Since, we were disguised as Brahmanas and wanted to keep it as a secret, so I politely declined the offer of Maharaj Drupad to send soldiers, servants and others accompany us for our protection and help. We started our long journey back home, with Bhim bhai proceeding rapidly in front of us and I had to slow down my pace, so the princess could keep it up with me. All along the trip I could very well observe the coy glances being thrown at me by the princess, she was so alluring and might have thought that I was ignoring her but will she ever know that my heart was pounding so rapidly and dancing like 'Nataraj' with pure bliss. It required super human effort from my side to control myself and I thank Acharya Dron for inculcating the strong discipline and self-control during our days at the ashram. At that moment I realised, being hungry for days or being sleepless for nights and so on which I already had to endure earlier, were nothing compared to the burning desire of the heart to have a private moment with one's beloved.

After a while into the journey, we saw a magnificent lake surrounded by lush greenery, small water falls, dancing peacocks and chirping birds and it made for a picturesque place. Seeing that beautiful setting, we immediately decided it was time to take some rest and escape for a while from the scorching heat of the sun. Even though, we were very much accustomed to hardships in life but we were aware of the luxurious environment the princess was brought up. Soon, Bhim bhai brought for us water in large cups made from the leaves and gulping down that cool water in the scorching heat brought new energy to us. Maybe, Bhim bhai wanted to give us some privacy, so he went away on the pretext of arranging food for us in the form of fruits and so on.

Immediately after Bhim bhai left us, princesses moved a bit closer and looking lovingly into my eyes and with a warm smile asked me who we were really. I had a shock of sorts as I did not expect our well disguised attire and cover could be unravelled so easily by this delicate and beautiful princess. I tried my best to not show any sort of surprise and pretended not to hear and asked her to repeat, and this made her to chuckle loudly. Feigning innocence, I asked her what was the reason for her laughter, then she gestured at my arms and shoulders which were a bit exposed and were with some rough scars and gave a sort of amusing expression with her eyes. And, this time it was beyond my limit to put a straight face at that lovely expression of hers and I burst into loud laughter.

She now started firing string of questions like asking what was the need for poor Brahmanas to develop such extraordinary physique, practice with bow and arrow incessantly by glancing at my scarred arms and to engage in battles. I was really taken aback by these questions, I thought to myself, God has not only bestowed unparalleled beauty on her but she was gifted with intelligence as well. But, I was not done though, so I responded saying in which Ved/Shastra it was written that Brahmanas should not develop their physique but she cut me short by quoting the primary duties of Brahmanas and during which instances they should take up the responsibility of waging battles or perform the duties of protection of Kshatriyas. I was stunned with her deep answers and knowledge. In such a short period of time, it was already becoming a great burden on me to not fall for the charms of this most beautiful woman. I quickly averted her intense gaze and tried to change the topic by discussing about the beautiful surroundings and so on, but it looked like she was determined to know our real identity.

Soon, she again resumed her volley of questions, asking whether I knew anything about the untimely and gruesome death of the Pandavas in the fire incident. I said, yes and it was very unfortunate incident, but she responded back saying she nor her father ever believed anything like that would have happened to Pandavas. I asked how come she is so sure about it, as Pandavas were just like any other normal humans, so how can she be confident that nothing will happen to them. She looked straight into my eyes and this time a bit seriously, said if I really believed what I was saying. I thought man, this beautiful princess is too smart and can easily find out what is going on other person's mind. I murmured, princess of Panchal..., that is what everyone believes, but she cut me short and with a dazzling smile said to address her as Draupadi. At that moment, I really felt I should take her lovely face in my hands, caress and kiss her. These types of emotions were running high now and were testing my limits of self-control, and to arrest those I distanced myself a bit and looked at other direction. But, it seemed to me Draupadi that day wanted to give me a hard time and moved closer and closer and started with her next round of questions.

She asked, if I knew anything about Pandavas and in particular about Arjuna. I said, yes princess..., but was cut short and she reminded me to call her Draupadi, so had to obey her and addressed her the same and to which she gave a bewitching smile. And, then I went on to say about Pandavas, that they were the sons of Maharaj Pandu and his wives Kunti and Madri. Eldest amongst them was Yuvraj Yudhisthir who was known for his just and gentle behaviour, Bhim was known for his immense strength and courage, Nakul was known for his handsome personality and knowledge of horses, whereas Sahadev was known for his intelligence. After I finished, she waited for some more moments for me to continue and when I did not speak up, she asked what about Arjuna. I said sorry, I forgot about him but I did not know if Arjuna possessed any particular quality as such like his other brothers. After listening that, she gave a furious glance and rose from her seat and in glowing terms described Arjuna as the most courageous, noble and charming person in the entire Aryavarth. And, in a rebuking tone, asked me how can I be so ignorant of the feats of Arjuna.

I was surprised not only by the tone she used to rebuke but also by the minute details she knew about me and all the battles I engaged in and the various special lessons in archery I learned in the ashram. I asked her, how did she knew all those details about Arjuna, then she in a loving tone replied, 'Arjuna is the reason for my birth', now this was too much for me take, it was like one arrow after another being fired at me continuously. Princess said, her father Maharaj Drupad was mesmerized by the young warrior Arjuna not only by his unparalleled prowess and unmatched bravery but also by his noble and refined bearing, so he desired to make Arjuna as his son-in-law by begetting a beautiful daughter who would match that handsome prince in every way. Now, it was my time to pull her leg, and stated that poor Arjuna had to die so young and lost his golden chance, and it was my great luck that I got this chance of winning the contest and thereby the hand of the most beautiful princess of Aryavarth. But, she was unimpressed by all this and replied back, saying the reason the Swayamvar contest was made purposely so difficult and impressive, was to lure Arjuna from incognito and make him participate in the contest. And, she came closer and looked into my eyes and said she knows Arjuna is her destiny as once told by her father and that cannot be wrong and smiled warmly.