#mahabharata fics

[ramayantika]

Fic Masterlist

Ch-3: The beloved's wedding bells

Aarnika's exile made her feel grateful about the ample amount of freedom she had with herself. Only her mother cared about her whereabouts, and she never minded where her daughter went or who she was meeting. The queen trusted her daughter to behave responsibly, so apart from her motherly concern about her daughter's well-being, she was okay with whatever Aarnika did in the Kanakgarh palace. She had no problems with Aarnika going to Dwarka to attend Krishna's wedding, and had only asked her to be careful so that nobody from Mahishaka could know about her presence in Dwarka.

The palace originally belonged to the king's sister who died an untimely death after the birth of her firstborn. Since then, the palace was taken care of by some servants and caretakers until Aarnika arrived.

The Kanakgarh palace was splendid. Constructed out of sandstone, its walls and pillars well decorated with beautiful designs and sculptures that enthralled guests and other visitors. Aarnika's arrival had caused some buzz in the small city and after some time the locals had befriended the princess and would often send some of their handmade crafts or fruits from their own lands to her. As she lived alone, after managing the city affairs regarding trade and security, she would be found strolling in the city lanes talking to her people or would play with the kids. Sometimes, she also helped to solve minute disputes which made people like her even more.

The women liked to call Aarnika as Rani Aarnika, but she would politely ask them not to call her as their queen, but they never listened and in the end, she had to agree to let them call her their queen. Somewhere inside her heart it made her feel happy and proud that these people had accepted her so easily and loved her so much.

"How much distance do we still have to cover?" Aarnika asked one of the palanquin bearers.

"Half a prahar, my princess. I suggest you to to sleep inside and we will wake you up when we reach the entrance."

Shaking her head, she replied, "How can I sleep when all of you are tirelessly walking? I had told you that I would use the horse and then board the palanquin when we enter the city. Nobody listens to me."

The palanquin bearer, a strong burly man smiled and answered, "Our princess must have the finest entrance. Besides, the sun would be too harsh on your skin. We will let you use the horse in an hour after the afternoon sun redues its glaze."

She could address her broken heart in private after coming back from the wedding. Without wasting any time, Aarnika had packed some of her possessions to visit Dwarka and attend Krishna's wedding while also harbouring a secret desire to meet his bride, Rukmini too see what kind of lady she was.

Aarnika was absentmindedly tracing over the scroll. She had carried it with her and had already read it a hundred times, with each count, her heart felt heavy with the pain of losing out on a loved one. What was worse was that she could never tell him about her affections. Perhaps, her heart would have felt a little more lighter if she could tell her feelings about him instead of sulking in her one sided love story.

But do we always get the things we desire for?

After getting bored with her musings about the future and about the wedding, she decided to clear her head and heart by looking out at the view outside her palanquin. Nimble fingers well groomed and adorned with alta and jewelled rings parted the shiny curtains of the palanquin. Aarnika's eyes were greeted with a majestic view of a green landscape of hills, forests, fields and small lakes.

The afternoon sun had reduced its glare and was peacefully resting by a hilltop. The green hills lead their shadows to fall on the road. She could see some men walking near the hill, carrying wood and axes. Some women dressed in sarees upto their knees were carrying wood on their heads with one hand and the other hand held their children tightly.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment after admiring the scenery around her. It felt peaceful. The pleasant sight had also calmed her heart. Being a princess, she had understood from a very young age that this lifestyle would entail meeting other royals and eminent dignitaries. As a young teen, she was always chaperoned with her mother when meeting officials or other important guests.

A small smile graced her lips as her mind drifted to the time when she had begun living alone in the Kanakgarh palace. An eminent scholar was to visit the princess and she was freaking out as the days neared to his arrival. Luckily, she had received him well and had also learnt a lot from him along with the heavy discussion and debate they had over various topics. From then on, her confidence had increased to talk and handle people on her own, but it still did not drive away her jitters whenever she had to meet someone new.

And for someone, she had romantic feelings for, coupled with meeting the person at their wedding after so long, the jitters had increased.

She closed her eyes and mumbled, "Devi Parvati, please let me not do or say anything stupid there."

With her eyes closed in prayer and the gentle winds that were now blowing, it took no time for the princess to fall asleep. Her mind began showing Krishna in her dreams and all her fantasies she had about the charming young man, but in the end, just like all beautiful dreams have to end abruptly with someone waking you up, the princess was not spared either.

"We have reached, rajkumari ji."

She hurriedly opened her eyes and rubbed her face. Peering slightly outside her palanquin, to see Dwaraka, all her drowsiness vanished in a jiffy as the golden city stood in front of her in all its glory.

It was said that the city was far more beautiful than Indra's swarga. Large golden palaces, its walls and pillars decorated with coloured stones to light up at night. The archways were decorated with precious stones, making them gleam all day and night. With the wedding preparations, the city appeared to have decked up like a new bride. The markets, the city squares, homes, each place was buzzing with activity.

People of Dwaraka were quite fashionable it seemed. Aarnika observed how so many wore the most expensive of fabrics, even the children. Men and women equally wore a lot of jewellery. Camps were placed in the entire city to allow arrangements for musicians and performers for the soon to be wed couple.

"Rajkumari, I think it would be better that you use the palanquin. Look at how grand everything is! Your arrival too must be memorable," Sukanya said, as her eyes twinkled at all the grandeur of Dwaraka.

Aarnika smiled and asked the palanquin to be put down. Motioning for her horse, she said, "Which is why, I believe I must ride a horse. I don't think any lady would choose a horse to enter with all these heavy sarees and jewels. Besides, I also want to see the palace closely." Maybe also see Krishna once?

The servants relented and let her use the horse. The path to the entrance too was beautiful decorated with colourful flags and banners. On the side of the road, stalls were installed to serve refreshments for guests who were coming from far away palaces.

The horse trotted to the entrance gate and Aarnika who otherwise was completely taken by the decor and beauty of the city had suddenly began to feel nervous once again. So many people were going to be there. Princessee, princes, kings, queens and other high ranking officials. She was here alone with neither friend nor family.

I should have used the palanquin…

She saw a young girl dressed in a shimmery golden blouse and skirt, a loosely draped purple dupatta over the shoulder, standing at the gate with some servants who were scurrying around with flowers and seals. Krishna had sent a seal to Aarnika too which would function as some sort of identification for the important guests.

Aarnika fetched the seal from Sukanya and rode to the gate. The girl dressed in gold smiled at her and asked one of the soldiers to examine the sea. "You have come alone, princess, it seems."

Shrugging, Aarnika replied, "Oh yes, I couldn't get my family to come with me. Also, I am glad to have some alone time here. My parents won't go looking around for suitable matches, so I can breathe."

The girl laughed, her dupatta stealthily slid down her shoulder which she hastily picked up. "I feel you. I am quite young, but I too have some older ladies pestering me to look at some princes of my age who have come here to make an alliance. Nice to meet you, princess, I am Subhadra."

The princess gasped. "Krishna's youngest sister, aren't you? I am so sorry, I couldn't recognize you earlier though I did think that you must be someone from the Dwarakan royal family – my god, I should have known you."

Subhadra was the most pampered child in the family. The brother duo, Krishna and Balaram doted on their sister and so did the elders. As a child, her chubby cheeks and sweet talk won over every person who met her. The fifteen year old princess looked no less beautiful and Aarnika was sure that once she would reach adulthood, her beauty would be talked about in the entire Aryavarta.

Brown doe eyes looked at Aarnika, an adorable pout on her pink lotus petal like lips. "Earth to you, princess. May I have your name too? I might be around you in the wedding to save myself from the ladies."

"I am Aarnika from Mahi-"

"It's you?! Kanha bhaiya told me about you. Salutations to Shiva, I finally got the opportunity to meet you. Did you know I had to annoy Kanha bhaiya so much just to get to know your name like come on… your brother is writing letters to someone so late at night after such a busy schedule, with a beautiful smile on his lips when anybody else would just want to collapse on the bed. You definitely would want to know who it is.

"And by chance, I found out that he was writing to some princess. I thought he was writing to his lover or something, and believe me, I had even asked him. Do you know what did he say?"

Aarnika's heart was beating too fast. She was sure that no way did Krishna hold any romantic affection for her, but she did want to know what he said about her.

"Pray, tell me, what did he say?"

"Subhadrey, you cannot know everything. You need to let fate take its own course too. Things are going to unfurl themselves on their own." Subhadra kept a finger under her chin and glanced at the sky. "My theory is that Kanha bhaiya can know the future. He always has this knowing smile on his face, as if he knows all the secrets of the Universe."

Aarnika looked down to the ground and smiled at the chattering girl whose attention had suddenly moved towards a figure clad in a red and green garment, their feet walking hurriedly outside.

"Bhratashree, if you are trying to meet your bride, I will let you, but if you are caught, it's not on me."

The person lifted the veil from their face and it was none other than Krishna. Wearing a red blouse and a green skirt, a green dupatta partially covering the head, he turned around and grimaced, saying, "Ever the keen eyes, isn't it Subhadrey? Wait a moment," He turned his eyes towards Aarnika, "You have finally arrived! I am glad you could make it to the wedding."

Aarnika's happiness knew no bounds. She was finally seeing him again after four long years. For her, these four years were akin to four births. She had noticed that the young lord had grown more handsome. Blushing, she replied, "How could I not come, Krishna? Besides, I always try to be with my friends in their good times and bad times while totally ignoring the fact that I have only two dear friends in my circle."

Subhadra feigned a mock gasp and sadly looked at Aarnika. "You don't count me as your third then."

Laughing heartily, Aarnika shook her head. "Okay, dearest princess, you are my third friend. Happy?"

A small smile played on Krishna's lips, his eyes twinkling with the knowledge of a future only known to him as he looked at his sister and Aarnika. The latter felt his eyes on her and shyly gazed at him when he said, "Subhadrey, take care of Aarnika. She is my special guest. Now allow me to leave to meet my bride in secret. Goodbye!"

Aarnika gulped and nodded at him, painfully aware that he would never be able to be hers, the last sentence had pierced her heart once again. Huffing, she asked Subhadra, "Well, where am I supposed to go now?"

"Oh my, I totally forgot about it. Come with me, I don't think anybody else is going to come now for a while and even if they do, the guards and some of the servants will take care of it. I will personally escort you to your chamber."

**** *** **** ***** ***** **** **** *** ***

The bride and bridegroom looked as if Vishnu and Lakshmi themselves had descended on earth to marry each other again. The guests showered praise and admiration at the couple. Some even compared their wedding to that of the Gods while some commented that the grandeur had surpassed the level of the residents of Swarga loka.

Subhadra, apart from running around near the mandapam, tagged along with Aarnika to escape from the royal ladies who were hell bent to secure Dwarka's lovely princess for their sons. Aarnika, being the demure and reserved one, stood at one side, looking at the rituals and smiling at Subhadra. Sometimes, her eyes drifted towards Krishna.

He lovingly looked at his bride, Rajkumari Rukmini, the princess of Vidarbha. Rukmini looked resplendent in her bridal attire. Aarnika had no doubt that Krishna would fall in love with her at first sight. Sometimes the couple would sneakily look at each other, and Rukmini would blush when Krishna met her gaze.

"I never told you how these two are getting married right? Rukmini bhabhi asked bhaiya to abduct her. Pretty brave, don't you think?" Aarnika was too lost in her own world of heartbrokenness to hear Subhadra.

"Didi? Are you alright?"

That broke Aarnika out of her gloomy state. "Huh – what? Were you saying something? I am sorry – probably the journey has made me feel tired so early on."

Frowning slightly, Subhadra cautiously looked at her. Aarnika's eyes had reddened at the corners slightly, her fair cheeks too bore some red shade.

"Are you crying? Did I upset you?" Subhadra touched Aarnika's arm gently. Her touch caused Aarnika to shed some more tears that had pooled near the corner of her eyes.

Tear laden blue eyes looked up at the gentle eyes of Subhadra. It had been so long since someone had asked her that question. It had been so long since someone had touched her with so much tenderness. All these years, as a child, Aarnika would go to her mother for comfort after hearing relentless insults or scoldings by her father. Growing up into a woman, she realized that she was on her own. She could not see her mother's pitiful look at her each time her father demeaned her in front of everyone.

Thus, she decided that she would stand upright with an iron back, take every insult, every bitter word against her on her flesh and her heart and bring herself to achieve something great. She would build herself with the strength which her mother wasn't able to provide.

But the quest for greatness has never been an easy path. It's filled with hardships, failures, tears and loneliness. Only, hope makes the heart survive through days of toil and turmoil and sometimes the company of loved ones make days easy to breeze by.

Talking to Krishna fetched great solace to Aarnika's heart. Sometimes she wondered if it was love for him or was it her desperate wish masked in the form of love to have someone in her life who would care for her, someone who looked at her with admiration and saw what she was capable of.

Someday, perhaps, someday soon, the princess too would find her people, but not today. Subhadra was still young and was someone she had just met today to tell her about her life. And one must not be too sad at a wedding.

Smiling through her teary eyes, she replied, "Nothing, princess. Watching your brother's wedding made me teary eyed. If at all I get married, I would need someone to look at me the same way, he is looking at the princess."

"You are lying to me, didi. These are tears of hidden pain you nurse inside your heart. I am not that young to not understand this." Subhadra passed her a comforting smile. "If you need someone to listen, you can always look for me."

Aarnika blinked and shook her head at her, saying, "How are you kids talking like grown ups huh?"

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We met Subhadra. Okay we need to move away from sad parts now so I will write some happy chapters soon until the great grief appears in her life again.

I would love to be pen friends with him (Krishna) lol and something tells me that Subhadra and Aarnika are going to have a great bond (story badhane hetu dosti plot)

Aaj ke liye itna hi ab kal phir milte hai (more like agle chapter dusre yug mein par thik hai)

Tagging the sakhis: @jessbeinme15 @ma-douce-souffrance @just-another-godless-god @merapehlapyaarwaapasaagaya @reallythoughtfulwizard @pothosinpots @pokemon-master-elita @riiddhhiii @phoenix666stuff

[avani008]

Can u tell more stories about bhanumati the wife of duryodhana ?

She meets her hundredth brother-in-law a month into the dazzling rush of Hastinapur, mouth and mind full to bursting of new names.

At first glance she overlooks him, at the next, she wonders how anyone might. He resembles her husband strikingly, much more than the rest of his kin. Later she will know this causes them both no little displeasure, but for now she only offers a hesitant half-smile.

”Don't bother,” says Yuyutsu by way of greeting. “I’m no one important. In fact I don’t doubt they’d rather you never had cause to know of my existence. A royal byblow makes for an embarrassing scandal to introduce to a daughter-in-law.”

Well. That is unexpected.

“It happens about once a generation among us Kurus,” he goes on, mercilessly. “A maidservant’s son brought up to speak the truth—or so they say. My uncle, at least, sees it as burden rather than blessing.”

Bhanumati’s smile grows fixed. Yuyutsu sees it, and mistakes the cause.

“Not that you need worry,” he adds. “My eldest brother seems to have escaped that particular proclivity. My next sister-in-law isn’t so lucky; nor the wife of that friend of theirs.”

A problem for another day, another woman; Bhanumati shakes her head.

”Your kindness notwithstanding,” she says, her temples beginning to pound. “I assure you those--proclivities mean little to me, except an escape from your brother's attentions."

"Hmm," says Yuyutsu: a particularly patronizing sound Bhanumati will recall whenever her husband complains to her, years in the future, of how he loathes his half-brother. It might even be the first shared sentiment to bring husband and wife together. "For now, at least."

"For never," Bhanumati retorts, startled into forgetting any semblance of grammar. Her wide-eyed expression is enough to convey her intent; Yuyutsu laughs, raises his hands in surrender, and steps away.

"Say what you will, Princess," he tells her, even as he turns to go. "Only remember: we maid's children ever speak nothing but truth."

[blackknight-100]

This fic is written for @ronika-writes-stuff , a very, very belated Happy Birthday to you <3

Bheema growled as they barreled through the dense undergrowth, stumbling across protruding vines. A few paces ahead, Arjuna danced in the rain, fleet and swift and beautiful.

“Angaraj!” he heard his brother call out, “do you not like the rain?”

Duryodhana exhaled noisily beside him. “Is it too much to hope he will slip and fall?”

Bheema agreed with the general sentiment; Arjuna’s antics were getting on his nerves. But damn him if he ever chose his homicidal cousin over his own brother.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He sent Duryodhana a scowl for good measure.

“Actually, I would like an umbrella right now, and a sedan chair, but Arjuna shutting up is an acceptable alternative.”

Bheema called him a cuss word he would never dare pronounce in Yudhisthira’s earshot. His cousin burst out laughing in response.

Karna, who had abandoned any attempts at running, marched up to them. “Wait,” he said, catching Duryodhana by the arm and flapping his hand dangerously close to Bheema’s face. “Prince Sahadeva believes there is a cave close by.”

Bheema stopped, and Duryodhana did the same, leaning against a false ashoka. “Is this belief the result of some tangible evidence or is he doing his mind-manifestation thing again?”

“Oye!” Bheema scowled, swinging his mace up his shoulder, “I’m going to bash your head in.”

Duryodhana rolled his eyes but pushed himself off and Bheema stomped ahead of the sycophant and his king. He was ready to go home.

They marched the remaining hundred paces in silence. Sahadeva and Yudhisthira were huddling under an arched stone structure that once might have been a sprawling temple but was now reduced to a glorified rocky outcrop. Dushashana crouched beside them, close to Nakula. They were shaking their heads hard, fanning out their hair and sending sprays of water everywhere.

“What is wrong with you?” Karna demanded.

“I shook out more water than Nakula,” Dushashana told him proudly.

No, you did not.” Nakula thrust his head out into the rain again and started tossing his hair. “Look at this.”

Bheema rolled his eyes then noticed Yudhisthira taking a deep breath, clearly preparing some new lecture, and cast about for something to say before he began.

“I am hungry.”

Duryodhana stared at him. Arjuna started to laugh, “Are you ever not hungry?”

Bheema, who had blurted out the first thing on his mind in an attempt to distract Yudhisthira, blushed.

Karna hurried them all into the shelter. “It’s wet and cold,” he told Dushashana when the latter tried to drench his hair again. “You are going to forget about this match in half an hour. If you get sick, you will have to lay in bed for a week.”

“Oh, come on,” Dushashana grumbled, but complied.

Yudhisthira held out a hand to Arjuna. “Are you going to get some firewood?”

Bheema watched, a little bemused, as his brother bounded over a fallen log, and turned to Sahadeva. “Where is he going to find dry wood?”

Sahadeva shrugged and smiled. “Have patience brother. He will think of something.”

Bheema curled under the shade, huddling between his brothers. They watched in companionable silence as the rain slowed gradually, the pattering growing softer. Karna and Duryodhana had their heads together, murmuring in low voices. Once in a while there came distant whoops – Arjuna was certainly enjoying his duties.

Of course, because Yudhisthira could never let things be – he turned to Duryodhana and began, “So, how is the construction of the new quarters going?”

Karna jumped and Bheema smirked.

“Oh, pretty good. My mother is going to confirm the patterns on the balustrade today, and all the options look ravishing.” Duryodhana boasted.

“Oh,” Yudhisthira blinked, but was saved from thinking up an answer by Arjuna’s return. Their brother was dragging a dead stag behind him, grinning like he had won Draupadi’s swayamvar all over again.

“Where’s the firewood?” Dushashana asked.

“I forgot,” Arjuna told them.

“You forgot?”

Arjuna shrugged. “Okay, I did not want to. This was more fun.”

Yudhisthira rolled his eyes. Karna got up, stretched, and picked up Sahadeva’s axe, swinging it in his hands.

“No matter, Arjuna,” he said tauntingly, “I am sure you can eat raw flesh like a pisacha. For the rest of us, I will get you firewood.”

“Oi!” Bheema jumped up, clenching his fists, and narrowly avoided a head-on collision with the protruding rock. “You are just jumping to go, aren’t you? This is right up your lane.”

Karna snorted. “It is,” he said, “and you need better arguments if you want to defend your brother.”

And with that last piece of gratis advice, he was gone.

Bheema opened his mouth to continue, but Yudhisthira gave him a glare so stern he was compelled to roll his eyes and settle into sullen silence.

“We should get moving,” Nakula said, after a pregnant pause.

“Where are we?” Duryodhana demanded.

“Shouldn’t you know?” Bheema asked impatiently. “This forest is in your kingdom.”

“Look here-” Duryodhana began, but Yudhisthira intervened once more.

“It’s growing dark,” he pointed out, gesturing to where the patches of sunlight on the ground grew sparser and more diffused. “Maybe we should wait for the morning. We have food and we will soon have firewood. It is going to be safer.”

“It’s going to be boring,” Dushashana complained.

Arjuna shook his head. “I promised Draupadi we would not get in trouble. I vote for morning.”

“There are more of you,” Duryodhana grouched, but he must have agreed to it because he did not fuss anymore.

They fell into pairs – Duryodhana with his brother, the twins together, Bheema with Arjuna, and Yudhisthira the odd one out – and dispersed cautiously to gather materials to make camp.

They were hauling armfuls of underbrush to make their beds when Arjuna nodded behind him into the gloom. “Here he is.”

Karna emerged from the shadow of the trees, bundles of firewood on his shoulder. He took one look at the lumped beds, Yudhisthira’s half-skinned stag and flung the bundles into an untidy heap.

“Are these edible?” he asked Sahadeva, holding out his palm. Bheema spotted a bunch of herbs and some seeds.

Nakula peered over his brother’s shoulder and nodded. “Yes. Good job.”

In a rare moment of civility Karna nodded a vague thanks to the Pandava twins and started arranging the piles to build a fire.

Then, Dushashana ruined the moment (as he was wont to) by asking aloud, “Who is cooking?”

Yudhisthira looked up and offered, “Bheema perhaps?”

Bheema bristled, not because he did not want to cook, but because Yudhisthira had not even bothered to ask him if he was willing to burn a stag for eight people.

“I can’t cook very well,” he announced. “I think someone else had better do it.”

The others stared at him.

“What?” he asked defensively.

Duryodhana shook his head in amazement. “Who are you, and what have you done to Bheema?”

“You dumb thing,” Bheema sneered, “have you finally lost your sight as well as your brain.”

Dushashana rose beside them, but Duryodhana did not even take offence. He was still gaping at him.

“I don’t think,” Nakula began, “anyone expected to see the day when you refused to cook, Bhaiyya.”

Bheema sputtered, half in annoyance and half in betrayal, “Excuse you!”

There was a pregnant pause. Dushashana ventured cautiously, “So… what now?”

Bheema buckled under the pressure of several pairs of eyes and burst out, “Why don’t you do it?”

Karna, who had also stopped whatever he was doing to observe this playing out, stood up, sighed, and ruffled his hair. “Never mind, I’ll do it.”

This declaration was greeted with considerable suspicion by the rest of the group. Even Duryodhana, who had openly supported his then-commoner friend in front of the whole empire and his royal father, now blinked dubiously at him.

“What?” Karna asked, flinging out his arms. “I do know how to cook, you know.”

“I most certainly did not know that,” Dushashana muttered.

“Are you going to poison us?” Arjuna demanded.

Yudhisthira made a shushing sound, and Karna rolled his eyes hard enough to see the back of his head.

“If I decide to kill you, Arjuna,” the King of Anga enunciated slowly, “I will make sure I do it with a bow in my hands and a bow in yours.”

“Oh… um…” Yudhisthira looked taken aback. “Can we postpone all plans of homicide for a few prahars?”

“Sure,” Arjuna and Karna spoke at once.

“Then everything is settled?”

“I don’t want to eat his food,” Bheema told them.

There was a pause. Then Karna got up, swung the stag over his shoulder and glowered at Bheema.

“You know what? Stay hungry.”

With that, he was gone.

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“You know,” Bheema heard Nakula say, “this wasn’t actually that bad.”

“You sound surprised,” Karna observed.

“Do I?”

Bheema turned around and tried to block out the conversation. Since he had remained firm on his decision and refused to eat, the others had ganged up on him and sent him up a tree to keep watch. He would feel betrayed by his brothers, but he was far too hungry to care.

He heard them eating, and the occasional polite compliment floated between breaks in stilted conversation.

After a while, Sahadeva called out to him, “Bhaiyya, we are done. Do you want me to keep watch now?”

“No,” Bheema called back, although he just wanted to shout, ‘go away.’ “I am not sleepy. I will call you.”

“Huh,” Sahadeva muttered. “Not hungry, not sleepy, refuses to come down from a wet branch – what has happened to you?”

Bheema did not deign to dignify that with an answer. Yudhisthira came by sometime later to inform him that Arjuna had made his bush-bed, but Bheema ignored him as well. All he wanted was food.

Gradually the sounds of the camp quietened down, and the forest came alive. Moonbeams cut through the leaves like shards of glass, and crickets chirped in the night. Bheema heard the distant howl of jackals and shivered a little. His stomach growled.

Bheema looked over to their camp. His brothers lay sprawled over in various degrees of comfort – Nakula and Sahadeva were huddled together like newborn pups, and Arjuna had his head in a rather uncomfortable position on Yudhisthira’s arm. Karna and his cousins appeared asleep as well and Bheema gathered up the courage to venture closer.

The branches creaked and shuffled their leaves as he climbed down, but no one stirred. At the edge was a heap of banana leaves, and it was there that Bheema tiptoed.

Fate was not on his side, however, and when he parted them, he was disappointed to find a morsel of meat so lonely and small that he could not bring himself to eat it.

Someone coughed. Bheema jumped a foot in the air and spun around, heart pounding.

Karna had rolled on his side, watching him with glittering eyes. “Hungry?” he asked.

“No!” Bheema felt his face flame, and lowered his voice, “No, not at all.”

Bheema’s stomach chose that very moment to growl. The other man gave him an infuriating smirk, rolled over and stood up.

“Wait here,” Karna instructed, picking his quiver and bow, maneuvering around sleeping bodies, and disappearing into the forest.

Bheema sat there compliantly, feeling rather upset and a little foolish. He wondered if he should make off with the last piece, but the thought of Karna finding it missing was worse.

There was some rustling, and Karna reappeared, holding up an arrow with a dead rabbit skewered on it. Bheema was not faint-hearted by any means, but he had to turn away from the grisly sight. “What are you doing?” he asked, as Karna added wood to the fire and settled down to skin his kill.

“This is for you.” He held up a hand to forestall his protests. “Starvation is not rebellion; you just end up being miserable.”

“I was not rebelling,” Bheema sulked.

“Sure.”

For a while they sat together in silence – not particularly comfortable, but not hostile either, which was more than what could be said of their previous interactions. Karna cleaned the flesh and seasoned it with more leaves and mounted it over the fire.

Behind them, Duryodhana stirred. “I smell food.”

“It’s not for you.” Karna told him.

“Everything you make is for me,” Duryodhana drawled. “Wake up, Sahadeva, there is more food.”

Bheema expected Karna to take offence, but the other man only smiled, sighed, and handed Bheema the rabbit.

“Might as well get some more,” he clarified in answer to his questioning glance. “Something tells me everyone will be up now.”

And so they were. That night the eight of them feasted once more – with great teasing at Bheema’s expense, until he pointed out how everyone was gorging themselves on their second meal of the night. Afterwards, they lay on their backs in twos and threes, talking quietly.

When morning came, they began their long trek back home. Bheema threw Karna a smile when no one was looking and got a reserved nod in response. Then, Duryodhana turned to Yudhisthira, who was telling them about Indraprastha, and said, “When we get back, would you care for a game of dice?”

[ryxmix]

FOR ALL YOU MAHABHARAT FANS/ WITCH LOVERS/ ASTROLOGY BITCHES/ PEOPLE WHO FOUND THE ZODIAC ACADEMY'S ACADEMY COOL (not the characters) / MYTHOLOGY LOVERS, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU:

The Story of the Zodiacs!

It's a story which me my friends are working on our shared ao3 account, thetrio_writes, and I would love for you all to come and see the first chapter and give us tips and tell us what you want to see!

It's still in the making, but it's a fic I definitely plan on completing since it will be something i share with my hostages friends.

it's not much of adventure or things like that, just a lot of romance, fluff, magic, and laughter! + mythical beasts too!

it's a college setting with three main characters based on the three of au and is heavily concentrated on hindu mythology with greek, norse, egyptian, and roman mythology (the reasons the others aren't given will be explained in ch 2!)

we'll try to make it as diverse as we can while it still fits the plot!

oh, and we have polyamorous characters, aroace characters, and obviously, indian characters!

Updates will be slow for now since we're a bit busy but you can expect more after the 6th or 7th of this month!

I hope everyone who sees this at least takes a peek at it and chooses to reblog it too!

[heyifinallyhaveablog]

The Defeated

Borderline proud of myself yet again for not succumbing to laziness, and sleeping my way through the Sunday. And bringing myself to finally see this through.

The taglist remains:

@melancholicmonody , @ambidextrousarcher, @chaanv, @vidhurvrika, @bleedinknight, @stxrrynxghts, @supernatasha, @kalpansh, @alwaysthesideofwonder, @raat-jaaga-paakhi, @slayerofthevampire, @demonkidpliz and anyone else at all.

Factual corrects, comments, and constructive criticism are always welcome.

Also, please feel free to drop in with any prompts that you may have. I'm officially out of ideas for any writing at all, and hence on the lookout for inspiration to dawn as an epiphany.

__________________________________________

Fandom: Mahabharat | Star Plus Mahabharat

Pairings: Bheema/Draupadi

Warnings: Mentions of War | PTSD | Trauma | Bloodshed

Summary: The Second Pandava deals with ghosts of the War. Alone.

Disclaimer: This is entirely a work of fiction, based on an idea I had while reading C. Rajagopalachari’s version of the Mahabharata. But I do have to say this, this has a lot to offer that is different from the Mahabharata that is actually popular. I just hope that this resonates with the readers, and you read this, and find this worth your time and your feedback. Please leave a short comment or a like, whatever you may deem fit. And as always!

THANK YOU!

Note: Link to the said source: Here

Links:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2, and

Chapter 3

____________________________

Chapter 4

The Ghosts

“The Grandsire’s Mother,” Draupadi said, after an eternity, “hasn’t been able to cleanse all, it seems.”

“I’d felt it, My Love,” Bheema rose from her lap, breathing into his palms as if trying to regain his breath, “when Jyeshth performed his last rites. The Holy River is never turbulent, never acerbic. She took in all his penance, while he cried himself hoarse. She let him vent his grief, but-”

- “I doubt even she could have borne it all. I felt his grief assume the most tangible form it could as I held him, as I might have heard her calm whisper, as if she unburdened some his grief on my form.”

- “Trust me Panchaali, Pavanputra hasn’t granted me the strength to heave this angst.”

As if it were in Him to erase the sanguine trail of Kurukshetra.

____________________

She thinks of it all, once again.

The Kuru Palace seemed to assume the form of a grandiose crematorium. Dead bodies everywhere.

Gone were the decorated halls, and, perfumed chambers.

Gone were the regal, elephantine embellishments, of gold and silk.

Gone was the resplendence. 

All was bereft of everything, but death, and the pallor of destruction.

Krishna always seemed to emphasise that the means were warranted for the end. But, at the end of it all, what deific poultice could heal wounds that were irreparable? Which God could reverse the deaths of those multitudes?

Could the land of Kurukshetra be cleanse of the rank odour, and sanguine of The Great War, even if their burden was to be meant to be borne by posterities on end?

She tries to not let her memory go down that rabbit hole. The incidents, haven’t yet let themselves take leave of the inner recesses of her memory. Her being still doesn’t allow it.

“I still wonder, Arya,” she breathes, “what if I hadn’t been-”

“Don’t, Panchaali,” Bhima cuts her short.

That was another mark of shame that his mighty frame had been unable to bear, even after all these years -

- Even today, now that the War was over.

- Long over.

It was for them to deal with the Ghosts of their past, their present, and

Their future.

[rheaitis]

Got inspire from avani008, AU headcanon that Durdhara(female Duryodhana) got betrothed with Yudhisthira for political reason. Adults satisfied with this arrangement - eldest son of Pandu and eldest daughter of Dhritarashtra, the reunite of Pandava and Kauravas. None of them ask feelings of children.

Her cousin is fourteen that year, two hands taller and three shades darker than Durdhara at twelve, scowlingly furious at her father’s glib decision, confounded by her mother’s placid acceptance.

“This is unfair,” she snaps at her father and mother and uncle and finally—driven to it—at Yuyutsu, who nods agreeably, infuriatingly, from his perch on the lintel of her doorway. “It should go to my brother! At the very least, to you!”

“Why, princess,” Yuyutsu drawls, “here I thought you hated me.”

Durdhara waves this off. “Of course I do, but at least you have Kuru blood to boast of. What is he? Nothing of ours, got off some wandering sage or wily mendicant by my aunt.”

“Yes, what have things come to, if they’re letting the product of niyoga on the Elephant Throne,” Yuyutsu observes. “We must condemn your great-grandmother for her sins; write to the Balhika rulers at once, I’ll carry the message myself.”

Durdhara scowls and stamps her foot. “If he’s my uncle’s son, that’s worse. How can I marry so close, if he’s as good as my brother?”

Yuyutsu sighs and slides to the floor, catches her flailing wrist in one hand and cradles her into an embrace. Two years ago he wouldn’t have dared for fear of being bitten bloody, but the arrival of the Pandavas has changed much for everyone, if nobody more than Priyadarshini Durdhara, no longer the elder sister of the presumed heir, but an younger cousin good only for some minor alliance. She is angrier now than in her sunlit childhood, but quieter with it, less sure of her hold on people’s hearts. Two years ago, faced with such a proposal, she would have rushed to Great-Uncle Bhishma, to Acharya Kripa, to the war minister and the Head of Exchequer. A year before that she would have tried to pummel Yudhisthira into submission.

Nobody has said, because nobody has had to, that this is the easiest solution. Durdhara’s younger brothers are pallid creatures of ten and younger, Yuyutsu a slave’s son destined for a ministry at best, Durdhara herself a girl. Yudhisthira is fourteen, brilliant, comely with divine light in his dark eyes; his brothers are a promising lot: the eldest just a year younger than him, the other three charming and sweet-natured. How fortunate that the Princess Gandhari dropped a daughter first, how fortuitous that Dhritarashtra’s regency will cease in a decade, how lovely for Durdhara that she will never be far from her father’s home. 

“I wonder,” Yuyutsu says after Durdhara has stopped trembling in his arms with rage and grief, “what he thinks of the matter.”

Durdhara rears back, eyes flashing again. “I just told you! He’s the one who came up with it!”

“Not our father,” Yuyutsu tells her. “Our sweet, studious cousin the crown-prince. Your intended. What do you think he thinks of this betrothal?”

Durdhara opens her mouth to snarl at him, then closes it. “I don’t know,” she tells him. “Shall we ask him?”

[eremin0109]

"A catastrophic war, an unimpressive death and six millennia later, here they were, still playing the same old game."

This fic takes place in an universe where the events of Mahabharat actually happened. The modern setting is about 6000 years after the end of the war.

Both the Pandavas and Kauravas have been reborn into a prominent criminal family, together known as the "Kaushik-Pancholi" clan. They're the most notorious crime organization in the subcontinent, with influence extending well into parts of South-East Asia and the Middle-East.

Jay Pancholi is Arjun reincarnated, the most skilled hitman of the clan as well as a key member of the family. However, he's also essentially the black sheep because he doesn't approve of the brutal working of his family. Nonetheless, he's extremely loyal to them.

Kanan Yadav, Krishna reincarnated, is an undercover agent of a special task force created to disassemble this terrorist organisation from inside out. He first befriends Jay and later more important members of the family to gain information on them and the organization's activities. But somewhere along the way, his morality and allegiance is put to test when he starts developing feelings for his charge.

This fic takes place after Jay finds out Kanan's true identity and is absolutely livid with anger and heartbreak when he confronts him, violently.

[teaah-art]

Character of the Day - Vyaas

I'm gonna draw one mahabharat character everyday till I give up

All Mahabharat Character of the Day Sketches

[wounds-seen-and-unseen]

And so I gird my courage to embrace a journey

Hello!

This is my foray into the world of whump. In the past few days, I have seen and enjoyed a lot of excellently written whump, so I’ll be reblogging it here, and I have some ideas of my own as well.

l will be updating this post timely regarding my squicks, if any. As of now, I can only say that I do not like sexually explicit content.

I’ll be reblogging whump fics I liked! It’ll take some time to be entirely done though. I’ll reblog master lists first, then slowly the fic posts. I hope that’s alright with the writers of the said fics.

So here is something about me.

I go by Nila/Archer (my mutual @hum-suffer was very kind to give me so nice a nickname!) I am a medical student. I try to be medically accurate in my writing, but sometimes that is sacrificed for an emotional impact.

Most of my angst/whump/hurt-comfort fics will be featuring two well known characters, from vastly different works. One is Jaime Lannister from the GoT/ASOIAF franchise and the other is Arjun(a), the protagonist of an Indian epic, The Mahabharata.

These two characters will usually be in an AU situation which would differ story to story, which I will be sure to mention at the beginning of each original story post. Should you not be comfortable with what I stated here, please do not interact with this blog.

I also have some ideas with original characters, involving prompts I have seen around Tumblr, which I will post when I can. (I am, sadly, forever having exams)

I will follow back from my main blog, @ambidextrousarcher

I hope I get to interact with the lovely community here!

[ramayantika]

Ch-4: Meeting the Bride

// Krishna fics masterlist //

The wedding celebrations were over and all the esteemed guests were preparing to leave for their respective kingdoms except a choice few guests who were close to Krishna stayed back, including Aarnika who was specifically requested to stay for a few more days to meet the new bride. 

The Vidharban princess looked more angelic even closer and as blessed as she was with good looks, the princess's soft demeanor and kind heart won Aarnika's heart too. 

"It must be adventurous and a little liberating, isn't it Rajkumari? You get to rule an entire city on your own terms," Rukmini said. 

Aarnika smiled and thought about her father's punishment that had given her this indepent ruleship to her and said, "I agree, princess. I am glad that my people support me and help me handle things there. I am glad to find a place in their heart, and though it's a small city, my city is growing which makes me proud." She held Rukmini's hand. "Do come to Kanakgarh sometime. We would love to have you and your family, besides," she winked, "my city will be the talk of Aryavarta if the royal family of Dwaraka arrives."

Rukmini laughed and nodded, "The queen of Kanakgarh must not request us, and certainly not her friend now. I will definitely ask Krishna and plan a visit there soon." Pretending to whisper, she continued, "You are anyway a wild topic in Aryavarta. A woman single handedly running a kingdom is unheard of."

"It's a small city, Rukmini, not a kingdom."

"I believe, a kingdom doesn't have to be large to house too many provinces and grandeur. A small place with the right ruler, for whom people have immense love in their hearts to help their land prosper is a kingdom." Rukmini patted Aarnika's shoulder. "I have been talking to you since the past two days, and the time we have spent together is enough for me to know that you are and will be a great ruler, no matter how large or small the province is."

The princess's words made Aarnika beam with pride and happiness. Nobody in her family except her mother had acknowledged her abilities and talents. Hearing Rukmini after spending only a brief amount of time was an achievement for her.

"And in what deep conversation have you pulled my dear wife into, sakhi?" asked a honeyed voice.

"Nothing much. The princess was bestowing some generous compliments over my rulership over Kanakgarh," said Aarnika.

Krishna passed a bright smile and sat beside Rukmini who blushed when surrounded by him. "You give yourself too less credit, Aarnika. The feats you have managed are a wonder. You paved the way for women to be a part of the workforce. Trade and businesses are flourishing. I think it will rival your capital city in the next few years."

A bubbly Subhadra in orange garments twirled and entered the chamber, saying, "But won't Aarnika didi be married off? How will she keep developing her city then? Would her husband allow her?" She held her ear and looked at Aarnika. "Sorry, I overheard you all."

Aarnika gently pulled Subhadra's nose. "My choti sakhi, don't worry about that. I am not marrying for a very long time so I am going to keep developing my city."

"But didi, do you have someone in mind whom you want to marry?"

Krishna cleared his throat and said, "Subhadre, it is not appropriate to ask such questions. She is older than you."

Pouting, the little darling of Dwaraka looked at Krishna and finally at Aarnika. Her eyes lit up with brightness and said, "Well, you can always count on me. I might help fix an alliance."

Krishna pulled Subhadra's ear, making her wince, saying, "You never listen to me, do you?"

"As if you listen to Balaram dau?"

Rukmini laughed and commented, "Now Subhadra won. Fair and square."

Warmth seeped into Aarnika's heart as she watched the siblings and Rukmini interact. If only her household could have been like them – full of love, fun and friendly banter.

***

"I wish you stayed with us for some more time didi," muttered a sad Subhadra hugging Aarnika. "Especially with me."

Aarnika ruffled the young princess's head and patted her cheek. "You know that my doors will always be open for you. If you are ever bored of Dwaraka, my city would provide you a wonderful retreat."

Revati too had come to see off Aarnika. Both of them did not get much time with each other due to the wedding work and other queenly duties the former had to carry, but she had found time to bid farewell to Krishna's special guest. In three days, the princess of Mahishaka had charmed her way into the hearts of the family of Dwaraka. Her simplicity and humble personality was endearing to all. 

"Do visit Dwarka again, princess. You spent time with Rukmini and our dearest Subhadra, but not with me. I shall hold it against you," Revati said, as she hugged Aarnika. 

Aarnika's heart was full. She climbed into her palanquin and replied, "The Queen must not be crossed. I shall come back soon and I believe you all must too."

"As for me, I will keep writing letters sakhi. You must be updated with Dwarka's latest gossip." Aarnika chuckled and nodded at Krishna. "Yes, your highness, I shall await the latest gossip in your letters."

"Take care, Aarnika."

The princess looked up at Krishna for one last time. His eyes as gentle as the moon, looked into hers and a friendly smile curved its way on his lips causing her to smile too. A slight pang in her chest, and a lone tear burning in the corner of her eye, Aarnika whispered, "You too, Krishna."

He left his hand from the palanquin and waved at her. Following him was Subhadra who had already begun to shed tears and waved frantically at Aarnika as if her didi sakhi would immediately stop and return back. 

The ever so graceful Rukmini hugged Subhadra and waved at Aarnika who bowed and covered her palanquin with curtains. Each step took her away from the land of her beloved, but she was happy to find new friends in Subhadra and Rukmini. 

Who knows when this alliance would play a role in her future? 

By the end of the first prahar, her entourage had reached the beautiful green hills on the borders of Dwaraka which made Aarnika feel nostalgic about the moment she had first arrived here and witnessed their majestic beauty. 

The morning sun fell on a slope of one of the hills, illuminating that section. The trees on the hill gently swayed with the soft sea breeze and its leaves shone bright under the rays of Surya. The sea breeze allowed its into the palanquin and gently blew over Aarnika's face. She closed her eyes and imagined the sea waters of Dwarka. She hadn't found time to visit the sea shore. 

The gentle sea breeze slowly lulled her eyes to sleep with fun filled memories of the wedding and new companions until she would find herself back home in her palace, devoid of those friendships. Aarnika loved Kanakgarh and her people. She also had some of her trusted handmaidens who would swear their lives on her, but she also yearned for such loving friendships in her lives, for people to be with her and not only in curved letters of a letter on paper. 

Maybe someday I wouldn't be this alone. 

*** **** ****** *** ** **** **** *** ***** **** ****

This was a filler chapter because I wanted to wrap up the wedding so we can get back to aarnika's work life in her city, Kanakgarh.

Also do read and tell me how it was I wrote it after a long time so maybe it won't be that good but I would still love your reblogs and comments.

Have a good day! 🌸💕

Taglist: @ma-douce-souffrance @ishoulnotbehere @inexhaustible-sources-of-magic @krishna-priyatama @morally-gayy @bambioleo @jessbeinme15 @arachneofthoughts @reallythoughtfulwizard @kaal-naagin (if I have missed anyone or if anybody would want to be a part of the taglist, do tell me in the comments or send an ask. I might have forgotten some too because the list was saved in my old phone which I don't have right now)

[krsnaradhika]

❛यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः।

तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम।।❜

wherever is krishna, the lord of yoga; wherever is arjuna, the wielder of the bow; there is prosperity, victory, happiness and firm policy; such is my conviction.

~ sanjaya to dhritarashtra, mahabharata.

➠ 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

🕊️🌿 krishna's premika.

intp. desi. proud hindu.

reader. writer. itihāsa enthusiast.

a dark boy who happens to be the best diplomat and the most charming thief owns my heart and so do his non-pareil women.

i write, make arbitrary graphics (about the sanātanī itihāsas and its related fics because i have zero personality of my own) and shitpost. that's it.

➠ 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

i) yamuna x kanha

ii) rukmini - satyabhama

iii) satyabhamadhavam

iv) lakshmis comes home

v) shri hari sharanam

vi) strength embodied

vii) the man i have loved

viii) cathartic

ix) the first four

➠ 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐬

i) krishna janmashtami special vm

ii) to love a murderer

iii) adrika avyuktayam

iv) kamalnayani

v) krishna manamohanaa

vi) navalakshmi aesthetics

vii) krishāvyayam video edit

➠ 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐩(𝐬)

i) k.a tales - 1

ii) the book aesthetic

iii) jhumka shopping

➠ 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

here i take your leave and hope you have a great time ahead. jai shri rama <3

ps : krishna-sahacharini > krsnaradhika.

[blackknight-100]

A Vrishasena backstory fic, written for our very beloved writer @the-lekhika . Happy birthday to you!!

It is a bitterly cold night in the month of Magha when Supriya’s first child slips into the world, kicking and screaming. His newly hatched lungs pull in the scent of misty air and his father's perfume, and his Uncle Duryodhana says, “Strong as an army, this one. Let him be Vrishasena.”

Little Vrishasena is four years and a day old when he first sees the Imperial Palace at Hastinapura. The dome shines in the diffused morning light, and it looks to him that it is drenched in liquid gold. His father laughs when he says so and puts a large hand upon his head. “This is not even half of it, little one.”

The doors are polished wood, carved with gods and gargoyles, higher and wider than those at Anga. As his father greets Uncle Duryodhana with a smile and a hug, he spies two curly heads behind the mahogany monstrosity.

“Namaste,” he says politely, with a bow of his head like Maa taught him. “I am Vrishasena, son of Karna of Anga.”

One of them, a younger boy, smiles up at him, wide and trusting. “Lakthman,” the child says, words dragging through his lisp, and Vrishasena is in love.

It is Drona who takes over his tutoring when Vrishasena turns eight. Mother is very unhappy about it, but Father shakes his head. “Drona is the best option, unless you want him to do what I did,” he says.

Mother wrings her hands. “I mislike that man, and that he comes to court.”

Father pats her on the shoulder. “It will not be long, dearest,” he says, and Vrishasena listens carefully. He would return a grown-up warrior, and surprise everyone. The thought of it puts a smile on his face, and he is not so scared to go away alone.

Drona's aashram is noisy and big. When he gets down from the rickety cart that ferries all the students to and fro, he sees Lakshman and Lakshmanaa standing on the dirt track, clutching mud-coloured satchels to their chests. He runs up to them and gives them a hug and laughs at the shock on their faces.

“Father said there was a surprise for us!” Lakshmanaa beams at him. “You were the surprise, weren't you?”

“Maybe,” he says, although he is no less astonished. “Do you like it?”

“Yes!” the twins shriek, and Vrishasena feels warmth flood his chest.

On the third year of his schooling at Drona’s aashram, Vrishasena gets a letter from Anga. No one is allowed to send or receive letters from home, and thus any correspondence brings with it the promise of ill-news.

He takes it from the messenger with some apprehension, and the twins come to look over his shoulder.

“Dear Vrishasena,” reads his father’s slanting script, and for a moment Vrishasena – who had thought the worst – forgets to breathe.

“You have a brother!” Lakshman screams right next to his ear, with no respect whatsoever for his privacy, and Vrishasena has to flinch from the sheer volume of it.

“We read faster than you,” Lakshmanaa – who has somehow snuck into the boys’ residence – beams happily. “This is so sweet!”

Vrishasena finally manages to master his relief and reads through the rest of it. His brother is newly come to the world, born only a few weeks ago, on the last of Sravana’s rainy evenings.

“We named him Vrishaketu,” Father writes. “It only seemed meet, since you are Vrisha-sena.”

He reads those lines again, presses the letter to his heart. Behind him, he can feel the twins shifting, and then their little arms hugging him. He pulls them close, and relishes in the joy lighting up his world.

Vrishaketu joins the aashram the year Vrishasena turns nineteen – and he thinks he has never known greater delight. His brother comes the same way he had taken eleven years ago, on the same rickety cart down the same dirt track, although the horses are new. He is tall for his age, with Father’s bright face, and Mother’s compassionate smile, and Vrishasena all but runs to him.

His brother lets out a full belly laugh as he lifts him and spins him around, and then Lakshman (and Lakshmanaa – who is, at this point, the sneakiest woman in existence) are clamouring around him, and he has to kneel down so everyone can hug each other.

He does not know it then, but it would be the happiest he would be in a long time.

A year later, twenty years old and a warrior through and through, Vrishasena leaves his sobbing brother and the heartbroken twins and for the first time in more than a decade, goes home.

Anga is all decked-up for his return, and the citizens hold out their hands to him as he passes. His chariot rolls past no less than eighteen groups of men with drums around their neck, and as the capital comes closer, the air thickens with the fragrance of sweets and syrups.

It is, however, the sight of his parents waiting for him, Uncle Duryodhana and Uncle Ashwatthama flanking them, that brings tears into his eyes. He leaps off his chariot and runs the last few steps to his mother’s embrace. His father wraps his arms around them, as if he could shore them up by strength of will alone, and Vrishasena sinks into that warmth with a sigh.

Half a year later, Vrishasena meets Arjun for the first time when they visit the newly made palace at Indraprastha. No one he knows speaks well of the Pandavas, and he is… not curious, precisely, but interested.

The man in question is tall and dark, with a shock of hair tumbling from under his glittering crown. He greets them with a courteous, albeit stiff, smile, and a regal tilt of his head, and introduces Vrishasena to his son Abhimanyu.

Vrishasena quite likes Abhimanyu. The young prince is quick-witted and sharp-tongued, and for a while, he might as well have been back in Drona’s aashram. Abhimanyu takes him by the arm and shows him around the new palace, away from the clamour of visiting royalty. They sneak away to the kitchens together. His companion offers him sweets with a wink and a giggle, and it occurs to him they might now be friends.

Vrishasena would have been willing to follow Abhimanyu around all day, but they are princes still, and needed in the main hall. The kings gather there with solemn faces, seated straight-backed upon expensive chairs. Father catches his eye and frowns but says nothing.

There is an oddly tense atmosphere in the hall. The assembled Kings are silent and still, and Krishna, King of Dwarka, seems to be murmuring something placatingly to the recently crowned Pandava King. Uncle Duryodhana leaves his seat and marches up to the raised podium at the end, right up to King Yudhisthir’s nose, and starts a belligerent rant about punishments being kinder than crimes.

Vrishasena looks to Abhimanyu for clarification, but his friend is as bewildered as he is. Then Uncle Duryodhana whirls around, the edge of his fashionable shawl nearly smacking Queen Draupadi in the face, and strides away. “Come,” he orders. “We are leaving.”

The rest of his retinue gather themselves and follow him immediately. His father catches his eyes again. Abhimanyu pats his shoulder. “Go, before there is an even bigger scene.”

“Yes, I-”

Splash!

The two of them turn in horror. Uncle Duryodhana, Crown Prince of Hastinapura and arguably one of the most powerful men in Aryavart, sputters in a pool. It is so artfully crafted that Vrishasena is not sure he would not have mistaken it for the floor.

Around them, the kings are laughing, as are the Pandava brothers. Only the eldest, Yudhisthir and the Pandava Queen Draupadi hurry forward, appalled. To his horror, he sees most of Hastinapura’s retinue hovering around, unwilling to get in the water. It is his father who swims to the humiliated Prince and hauls him up, drenched clothes and all.

“Oh, Cousin!” Yudhisthir says helplessly, wringing his hands.

His wife is more sensible, as she bids a maid to bring towels. “My Lord,” she says softly, “we beg your pardon. Please do sit down. We shall-”

Uncle Duryodhana interrupts her mid-speech. “I will not stand for this,” he roars. “You play at being Emperor from a Kingdom my father gifted you, you try to steal what has ever been rightfully ours. You kill our allies upon your sacred fire, and scorn and humiliate those who have ever taken you since childhood!”

“Cousin, please,” Yudhisthir begins, but his brother, Prince Bheem interrupts with a taunting laugh. “Are you as blind as your father?” he jeers, and giggles fill the hall. The King and Queen turn with shock on their faces, but the damage is already done.

“You will regret this!” Uncle Duryodhana hollers, no longer caring about his dignity. “Wretched bastards of the forests, you will regret this!”

Red in the face and wet as a water-nymph, Uncle Duryodhana strides out. The titters quieten down to an uneasy silence. The promise of retribution hangs in the air.

Later, Vrishasena’s beloved father and uncles would reduce his cousins to paupers, would drag and disrobe their fire-born wife. There would be banishment and war and bloodshed, and the then warrior Vrishasena – bold and fleet and swift – would cut down scores and scores of people before falling to the cruelty of Arjun’s arrows – arrows of the man who had greeted them with a smile and given him a transient friendship. Vrishasena would die in pieces, not even knowing that he died by an uncle’s hand.

But that is far away. For now, Vrishasena bids Abhimanyu a hasty goodbye, and rushes after his father and uncles, worry tugging at his heart. The winds of Aryavart are ever changing, even for those yet too young to suffer for it.

[budugu]

do you think i should write a Mahabharata fic based on shikhandi and aswatthama friendship????

YESSS PLEASE YESSSS

I VOLUNTEER TO BE YOUR BETA READER

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

I'm sorry if this is sensitive but what prompted you to say that last post?

i dont really like getting into this sort of thing but i was informed that a blogger i had interacted with on tumblr who had given a strong impression they didnt care for karjuna did in fact ship it and wrote a nsfw fic about it as well. i discussed it a bit with some mutuals on twitter and one of them ended up making a public post to tell their followers (making it clear they didnt want the person in question to be harassed) and they immediately started receiving anonymous death threats and racist comments for talking about it.

to be clear, i dont think that incest shippers can be stopped even if you confront them so my general rule of thumb with them is to ignore and block them. the issue was that they lied about it (and indeed said they didnt like another ship between two unrelated characters because they found the bond to be familial) to interact with people who were very clear they weren't comfortable with that content. thats an incredibly scummy thing to do

alongside that, theyve also had a history of arguing over actual indian people including the person who received the threats over interpretations of other relationships in the mahabharata and if theyre incestuous or not so they have a serious issue with respecting poc voices if they dont agree with their personal viewpoint.

tldr breach of boundaries and disrespect

[sundaralekhan]

Sundaralekhan (“beautiful writing”) is a fandom event celebrating Hindu mythology, running during the month of Shravan 2022 (July 23 - Aug 22). You can make gifsets, moodboards, graphics, edits, fics, art, web weaves, or anything else you can think of! There are ten themes, each allotted three days. The mod will be tracking #sundaralekhan, so be sure to tag your posts. You can also mention the event blog (@sundaralekhan) or the mod’s main blog (@allegoriesinmediasres) in your post for good measure.

Below is a text-based image of the themes.

Themes

(July 23) Day 1: Favorite god

This day is for your favorite devas.

(July 26) Day 2: Favorite animal

This day is for animal characters, including vanaras, the dashavatara, pets, mounts, animal-human hybrids, etc.

(July 29) Day 3: Other favorite characters

This day is for non-divine and non-zoological characters, e.g. humans, rakshasas, apsaras, etc.

(Aug 1) Day 4: Favorite relationship

This day is for platonic, familial, romantic, enemial, etc. relationships.

(Aug 4) Day 5: Pride

This day is for exploring gender identities, orientations, and relationships that fall under the queer umbrella.

(Aug 7) Day 6: AU

This day is for imagining alternate universes, e.g. canon divergences, genderbends, modern settings, place swaps, etc.

(Aug 10) Day 7: Favorite media

This day is for uplifting your favorite medium of Hindu mythology. E.g. your favorite Hindu mythology book, movie, TV show, comic, fic, etc.

(Aug 13) Day 8: Ramayana

This day is for exploring the tale of Rama and Sita.

(Aug 16) Day 9: Mahabharata

This day is for exploring the world’s longest epic of family rivalry over a throne.

(Aug 19) Day 10: Creator’s choice

This day is for anything you’d like to share!

If you have any questions, please contact me at my main @allegoriesinmediasres.

(Many thanks to @blanket-burrito-bucky for making the top gif, and to @ambidextrousarcher for making the bottom two graphics.)

[stxrrynxghts]

Hiii

Where can I read your Mahabharata fics please?

Hii!!! You can check out my Wattpad or AO3 account! I have also posted a link of my fic on both the sites in my blog.