Abhimanyu Weds Princess Uttara
King Virata now made special arrangements for the Pandavas to stay in a separate wing of the royal palace, with several attendants at their beck and call. It was their first night of comfortable rest after those long years of wandering from one place to another. At dawn, Yudhishthira walked in the garden around his chamber and sat on a bench near a fountain which was spurting jets of water. He wondered what the future now held out for him. He bowed to the sun with folded hands, with peace and tranquillity in his heart. He then returned to his chamber for his morning prayer.
As soon as he had finished his prayer, he heard a knock at the door, and walked in King Virata, Queen Sudeshna and Prince Uttar.
‘Did you rest comfortably O Lord?’ asked the king.
‘Yes,’ replied Yudhishthira. ‘Peace – after a long, painful voyage through life.’
Then Sudeshna turned to Draupadi and said, ‘Please do not hesitate to ask me for any service I can render. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to make your stay with us as happy and comfortable as possible.’
Then followed a brief silence during which King Virata appeared to be grappling with something in his mind. It was after some hesitation that he addressed Yudhishthira: ‘Both my son and my wife have urged me to come to you with a proposal. Since I will feel honoured to see our two families – the Pandavas and the Matsyas – bound in everlasting friendship, I wish to offer my daughter Uttara in marriage to Prince Arjuna. I thought I should first mention this to you before talking to your brother directly.’
Both Yudhishthira and Draupadi smiled to hear the king’s proposal.
‘Well, it is for Arjuna to decide,’ responded Yudhishthira. He then turned to his brother, who was sitting beside him.
‘I am indeed deeply touched by King Virata’s proposal,’ said Arjuna. ‘But since Princess Uttara has been my pupil, it would be improper for me to take her as my wife. The relationship between teacher and pupil is sacrosanct. It is like a bond between parent and child.’ But as he saw a flicker of disappointment across the king’s face, he said, ‘However, since I too would like the bond between the two dynasties to be permanent, let me propose that you give your daughter in marriage to my son, Abhimanyu. They will make a perfect couple. And the princess will be a daughter to me, rather than a daughter-in-law. I wonder if you know that my wife Subhadra, Abhimanyu’s mother, is Krishna’s sister. So we will have three streams, not just two, merging to form a confluence.’
Yudhishthira added that his nephew Abhimanyu was as handsome as his father, and as skilled at archery.
‘Since the gods seem to have decided for us all,’ said King Virata, ‘let us submit to their will. My wife and I will are delighted to accept Arjuna’s proposal.’
Yudhishthira then sent word to Krishna to bring both Abhimanyu and Subhadra to meet King Virata. Meanwhile, the king offered them his palace in Upaplavya, which was only a short distance away, so that they could have an independent establishment. A retinue of attendants was placed at their disposal to ensure their full comfort. But just as they were about to leave for Upaplavya, a messenger arrived from Hastinapur to convey a message to Yudhishthira from Duryodhana.
‘My king has asked you to go into exile again since Arjuna was noticed on the battlefield before the end of the thirteenth year.’
With a sardonic smile on his face, Yudhishthira responded: ‘Will you ask your king to consult Bheeshma about this matter? I have nothing more to say.’
Mystified, the messenger returned to Hastinapur, where both Bheeshma and Drona told Duryodhana that Arjuna’s appearance on the battlefield was well beyond the stipulated thirteenth year.
‘So I reiterate, dear child,’ said Bheeshma, ‘that you let Yudhishthira reclaim his kingdom. God has offered you this opportunity to show that you are a man of honour, a true Kshatriya.’
‘The alternative would be a bloody war,’ Drona joined in, ‘in which your chances of success are very remote.’
‘There you go again,’ said Duryodhana to Drona, boiling with anger. ‘If I have on my side fighters like you, Bheeshma, Radheya and your son, Asvatthama, not even god Indra could rout us.’
‘But where were we,’ interposed Bheeshma, ‘when Arjuna put us all to sleep – and shame?’
‘That was just a trick he played on us,’ Duryodhana replied. ‘Next time, it will be a straight fight.’
‘I agree with Duryodhana,’ intervened Kripacharya. ‘This is not the time to wrangle over computation of time but to gather all our forces together to fight the Pandavas.’
‘I thank you for supporting me, O revered guru,’ said Duryodhana to Kripa. ‘I am glad you have spoken as a Kshatriya rather than as our spiritual mentor.’
In Upaplavya, there was an atmosphere of excitement and joy over the prospective marraige between Princess Uttara and Abhimanyu. As Krishna arrived with his sister Subhadra and his nephew, the palace was agog with enthusiasm.
When Princess Uttara saw Abhimanyu, her heart fluttered like a bird. There stood in front of her someone who was just like Arjuna – the same broad shoulders, the same agile hands and eyes that spoke more than words. He was like the full moon that had just unveiled itself from behind a cluster of dark clouds. Mesmerized, her gaze lingered on his face.
As for Abhimanyu, he was also charmed by the young beauty who looked like a tender bud, blossoming into full bloom.
‘Love has already worked its magic,’ whispered Krishna into Arjuna’s ears.
‘Indeed,’ said Arjuna, ‘if ever there was love at first sight, this is it.’
As the bride and the bridegroom sat around the sacred fire, their faces glowed like the sun breaking through a multi-hued dawn. The high priest at the ceremony was Dhaumya, whose privilege it was to bind the young couple into wedlock.
To this wedding ceremony came many well-wishers of both King Virata and Yudhishthira. Virata gave lavish gifts to all the dignitaries, prominent amongst whom were Balarama, Krishna’s elder brother; King Drupada; his eldest son Dhrishtadyumna; and Satyaki, Krishna’s close friend. All the Brahmins in the city also received generous gifts of money, clothes and food.
This occasion was used by Krishna to win for Yudhishthira the support of everyone present there. Seizing this opportune moment, he addressed the guests: ‘Friends, this is not only a day to rejoice at the marriage between my nephew, Abhimanyu, and Princess Uttara but also to lend Yudhishthira our unstinted support. He is pitted against an enemy who seems to have strayed far away from truth and justice. Having forced the Pandavas into wilderness, and heaping all kinds of indignities on them, Duryodhana is still determined to subject them to another thirteen years of exile. He is like a vulture that will not let go of a prey held between its talons. But he will not succeed because, next time, all the gods will themselves fight alongside the Pandavas.
‘Of course, I would not like Yudhishthira to declare war just yet. We must first explore all avenues of peace. We should be willing to compromise as far as possible. But here we are faced with a problem.’ His eyes then roved around the entire assembly, as if he were looking for someone. ‘Who should be our envoy to Hastinapur, for on him will depend peace or war, life or death?’
A hush fell over the place. A wave of whispering ran through the assembly. Then Balarama rose to his feet. Piqued at Krishna’s speech, he tried to defend Duryodhana, for whom he always had a soft corner.
‘My brother has said many unkind things about Duryodhana. But many of us have not cared to consider dispassionately the events that preceded the Pandavas’ exile. Let me refer to the game of dice. I ask you, since Yudhishthira knew that he was a poor player, should he not have stayed away from the game? And why did he allow Sakuni to act as the thrower of dice on behalf of Duryodhana? To cap it all, Yudhishthira too readily took the bait to play the game for the second time. Was that not foolhardy? This is just to say that we should not blame Duryodhana entirely. Of course, we know that a noble man like Yudhishthira had to suffer for thirteen long years. So I do feel very happy that the Pandavas have now emerged from their dark tunnel of suffering to light, freedom and glory. Now, with regard to my brother’s proposal to send an emissary to Hastinapur, I wish to strike here a note of caution. Let this envoy not be so indiscreet as to provoke Duryodhana into anger, which is his cardinal failing. Let our emissary be courteous, tactful, accommodating and sagacious. A hot argument never yields any positive results. Also, let us remember that the Kauravas and the Pandavas are two branches of the same tree.’
But since the assembly was not in a mood to hear anything in defence of Duryodhana, hardly anyone liked Balarama’s speech. Finding it difficult to stomach this veiled defence of Duryodhana, Satyaki leapt to his feet, almost glowering at Balarama.
‘I wonder if Balarama is with the Pandavas, or with the Kauravas who have flouted all norms of decency and fairplay. The truth of the matter is that Yudhishthira was trapped into the game of dice. Even if he had been a skilled player, he could not have won against Sakuni, the evil genius. No wonder then that he lost every round, for the dice was loaded against him. Then, what about Duryodhana’s attempt to disrobe his sister-in-law? Let us also not forget that Duryodhana would have been too pleased to see his cousins roasted in the lac palace. O friends, I don’t wish to narrate all the nefarious acts that this man has committed. Still Balarama, Krishna’s own brother, has chosen to defend this evil man. I wish I could be sent as an emissary to Hastinapur. I would then speak the language that Duryodhana would understand better – the language of war, not peace. Finally, let me remind you all that, as the elder brother of Duryodhana, the entire kingdom belongs to Yudhishthira, not just Indraprastha. In fact, there is no need to send any emissary. We should just launch an attack on Hastinapur and bring Duryodhana to his knees.’
So loud was the applause at Satyaki’s impassioned speech that Balarama felt entirely isolated.
King Drupada was the next to participate in the deliberations. When he stood up to speak, everyone was eager to hear what this venerable king had to say.
‘I endorse what Satyaki has just said. I too believe that Duryodhana is not likely to listen to reason. Blinded by his lust for power, he will never agree to return Indraprastha to Yudhishthira. War is the only language he speaks and understands. Any offer of peace from our side would be taken as an admission of weakness. Instead of wasting any more time in deliberations, let us send messages all around for support. We are not friendless, for we can claim on our side several illustrious warriors. In fact, we may lose some friends if we do not approach them expeditiously. And friends, let us not delude ourselves into thinking that Duryodhana is sitting idle. He must have already sent his messengers everywhere to rally support. We are pitted against an enemy who is devious and capable of using any nefarious means to achieve his objectives.’ Drupada then cast a sidelong glance at Yudhishthira and Krishna to assess their response to his speech. But realizing that Yudhishthira might still choose to send a messenger to Duryodhana, he said, ‘Of course, I would like to give peace a chance. If you all agree, I would be willing to send my family priest to Hastinapur to gauge Duryodhana’s intentions. He is a Brahmin of great wisdom, but he is not the type to cringe before anyone. He will be polite but firm.’
Krishna promptly endorsed Drupada’s suggestion, saying that the Pandavas were fortunate to have someone like him to steer them through a critical situation. ‘Let us follow King Drupada’s advice – prepare for war, but also keep the channels of negotiation open.’ With these words, Krishna took leave of King Virata and the Pandavas to return to Dwaraka.