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

Chapter 38: News

Maharaj Drupad was very happy to see the marriage formalities end smoothly and graciously offered us to be in his kingdom as long as we wished. We were showered with many gifts, such as hundreds of chariots embellished with gold, hundreds of war elephants, supreme horses, valuable gems and jewels, rare and expensive garments. We were overwhelmed with the generosity and hospitality of Maharaj Drupad, Prince Dhristadyumna, and the people of Panchala. Finally, we felt relieved and happy after a long time, as we were literally driven away from our home in Hastinapur through a master plan hatched by Mama Shakuni and supported by our Bade Pitashree Dhritarashtra and only by the grace of Lord Mahadev we narrowly escaped from a certain death courtesy the vicious plan of Duryodhan and team.

The news of our marriage with Draupadi spread far and wide in very quick time and soon we received congratulatory messages from various kingdoms of Aryavart. The first kingdom to send the congratulatory message and gifts was the kingdom of Dwaraka, the kingdom of my most beloved friend and dearest cousin Krishna. Krishna sent many valuable gifts for us at Panchala, he sent so many varied gifts that completely stunned us, the gifts included expensive and rare garments from all over the Aryavart, expensive beds and soft silk blankets, glittering ornaments made of diamond, gold, silver, emerald, and other precious metals and stones, chariots, horses, elephants, other vehicles and vessels. Along, with those valuable gifts, he also sent in a huge amount of gold coins in specially designed and well-protected chariots. All this was done to ensure we were not short of well-wishers nor of wealth. We were so delighted to see the warmth and generosity of our most valuable friend and well-wisher, Krishna.

Meanwhile, to make matters comfortable for us and to break the ice for everyone involved, Maharaj Drupad took great efforts in organising various programmes involving song and dance, magic shows, programmes where artists showcased their talents with breathtaking stunts, and so on. Maharaj Drupad along with Maa Kunti asked each of us to gift a flower to Draupadi and then Draupadi at the end will be guessing the meaning hidden behind each of such a flower. We were a bit surprised and embarrassed to see Kunti maa getting involved and being so enthusiastic in such matters, but both of them planned this event and wanted us to enjoy and live in the moment and not worry about other matters. Bhim bhai and Nakul were highly excited about this and did not put any efforts to hide their enthusiasm, and even one could see a sort of delight on the usual stoic faces of Yudhi bhai and our youngest one Sahadev. I was feeling nervous though, I did not feel an inch of nervousness when piercing the target at Swayamvar but this event of 'gifting the flower' was causing some tremors and my heart was racing with some unknown emotions. I was surprised to see the calm demeanour of Draupadi though, she was in so control and not at all perturbed by all of this. I thought she was so adept in controlling her emotions, but later on in life, I realized that she too was a human with emotions and feelings running high and at times it becomes really difficult to conceal some powerful emotions racing in one's heart.

It was decided that we would be blindfolded during this event and will have to pick a flower from one of the baskets placed near the golden seat of Draupadi and hand it over to her. Afterwards, Draupadi will be revealing the meaning which she understood for each one of the flowers. It started with Yudhi bhai who selected Tulip, Bhim bhai selected Blue Violet, I selected Red Rose, Nakul picked up Lilac and Sahadev picked up Daisy. Now, it was time for Draupadi to reveal the meaning for each of those flowers, seeing Nakul and Bhim bhai jumping up and down with excitement earned a glare from Kunti Maa and laughter from Maharaj Drupad.

Draupadi as usual was calm and controlled, and she went on about describing the essence behind each flower. Tulip selected by Yudhi bhai represents the start of a new relationship; Lilac from Nakul represents the first pangs of love; Daisy from Sahadev represents innocence and cheerfulness; Blue Violet from Bhim bhai represents devotion,  love, and trustworthiness; and finally she looked straight into my eyes and with a dazzling smile said that Red Rose represents everlasting love which is deep and true. That concluded the exciting evening of events and programmes and soon after we had a sumptuous dinner and retired to our beds. For some unknown reason I was feeling so light that night and slept on the bed without even changing into my night clothes and had a peaceful sleep and for without a care in the world.