Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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Malikavana Village...

Meanwhile, Malikavana had completely changed.

The same village that had spent more than a hundred days living under the shadow of war was now filled with celebration.

People had come out of their homes, soldiers who had survived the battle were being welcomed like heroes, and the streets were slowly filling with lamps, music, food and laughter.

For the first time in months,

Nobody was looking toward the battlefield wondering whether another army would appear on the horizon.

The war was over.

Near the battlefield,

A massive Nedukal had been raised in memory of the warriors who had fallen during the hundred-and-one days of fighting.

The stone stood tall above the surrounding land, carrying the names and memory of those who had given their lives.

It was not merely a monument for the people of Malikavana.

It was meant to remain there for generations,

Reminding those who came after them that the peace they enjoyed had been paid for by the lives of warriors who had stood their ground when the kingdom was in danger.

People came and stood before it quietly before returning to the celebrations.

Meanwhile, inside the royal camp, another conversation was taking place.

King Padmanabha Varma sat with Queen Devaki and the Crown Prince.

Kumaravarma was standing nearby, and although the blood from the previous day’s incident had been washed away, something about him had changed.

The man who had once been terrified of every confrontation now stood straighter.

He had watched Sage Veenadhara die protecting him.

He had then found courage he never knew existed within himself and killed the three Rakshasas who had attacked his family.

The experience had left its mark.

He wasn’t suddenly an experienced warrior.

He was still learning.

But the coward who had once hidden behind others was no longer there.

King Padmanabha glanced toward him before looking back at Devara.

"There is one more matter I wished to discuss with you, Maharaja."

Devara, who had been sitting with the others, looked toward him.

"What is it?"

The king exchanged a brief glance with his wife.

Queen Devaki smiled.

Padmanabha finally said,

"We wish to speak about Indhumati."

Devara’s expression changed slightly.

He already had an idea where the conversation was going.

The king continued carefully.

"Our kingdom has always maintained a relationship with yours, but after everything that happened during this war, I believe there is an opportunity to make that bond something much stronger."

He paused.

"I would like to propose a marriage alliance between our families."

The words settled over the tent.

Princess Indhumati, who had been sitting nearby, had already been smiling before the king finished.

Everyone knew she had feelings for Devara.

Her parents had known for some time.

They had watched the way she looked at him, the way she had run toward him the moment she learned he had survived, and the way she had refused to let him out of her sight afterward.

And neither King Padmanabha nor Queen Devaki had any objection.

If anything, they were pleased.

They knew Devara’s reputation.

They had seen his conduct during the war.

They had watched him fight Pushpasura for one hundred and one days and then, after finally winning, spare the Rakshasa army instead of slaughtering those who surrendered.

More importantly, they trusted him with their daughter.

Padmanabha smiled.

"We would be honoured if Princess Indhumati became part of your family."

Devara remained silent.

For a few moments, he simply looked down.

Then he slowly raised his head.

"There is something I need to say."

The smile on Indhumati’s face remained.

She was nervous, but hopeful.

Devara took a breath.

"I have already been away from my kingdom for more than a hundred days."

His voice was calm, but there was a trace of guilt behind it.

"My wives are waiting for me."

He looked toward the king.

"I left them behind when I went to war. They have already spent more than enough time waiting for my return."

He paused.

"If I were to marry Indhumati immediately after returning..."

He lowered his eyes briefly.

"I would feel guilty."

The smile on Indhumati’s face disappeared.

"...."

For a second she simply stared at him.

Then her eyes lowered.

Her fingers tightened against her clothes.

The hopeful excitement she had felt only moments earlier suddenly turned into something else.

Panic.

’He doesn’t want me.’

The thought came before she could stop it.

Her heart began beating faster.

She had known this was a possibility.

But after everything that had happened, after seeing him alive again, after believing she had lost him...

She had allowed herself to hope.

Now she wondered whether she had misunderstood everything.

Devara noticed the sudden change in her expression.

His eyes widened.

"Wait."

Indhumati didn’t look up.

"I think you misunderstood what I meant."

She remained silent.

"...."

Devara immediately turned toward her.

"I didn’t say I don’t want to marry you."

Her head slowly lifted.

He continued before she could say anything.

"I only meant that I cannot return to my kingdom after more than a hundred days away and immediately begin another marriage ceremony as though the people waiting for me don’t matter."

His expression softened.

"I have responsibilities there."

"I have wives who have been waiting for me."

"I want to return to them first."

Indhumati stared at him.

The panic in her expression slowly began to fade.

Devara then looked toward King Padmanabha and Queen Devaki.

"Instead..."

A small smile appeared.

"I would like to invite all of you to Trivenivrata."

The king raised his eyebrows.

"All of us?"

"Yes."

Devara nodded.

"Come as honoured guests."

"Let Indhumati meet my family properly. Let our families spend time together. There is no need to rush something this important simply because the war has ended."

He looked toward Indhumati.

"And when the time is right..."

His smile widened slightly.

"We can hold the marriage there."

"Grandly."

Indhumati’s eyes widened.

"You..."

She stopped herself.

Devara chuckled looking at her shocked face.

"I wasn’t rejecting you."

The princess’s cheeks immediately turned crimson.

"I know that now."

Kumaravarma, who had been silently listening, couldn’t resist.

"So the princess was worried for nothing."

Indhumati’s head snapped toward him.

"Uncle!"

Kumaravarma immediately took a step backward.

"I only said..."

She reached toward his ear.

He immediately raised both hands.

"No, no. I have learned my lesson."

The Crown Prince laughed hearing his uncle.

Queen Devaki covered her smile.

Even King Padmanabha couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Devara simply shook his head.

For the first time since the war had ended, the royal camp was filled with something that had been missing for far too long.

Normal family teasing.

No battlefield. No death. No fear.

Only the beginnings of a new alliance.

King Padmanabha finally extended his hand toward Devara.

"Then we shall accept your invitation, Maharaja."

Devara clasped his hand.

"Good."

The king smiled.

"Then perhaps this war has given us something besides victory."

Devara glanced toward Indhumati.

She was still blushing, but now there was a small smile on her face.

"Perhaps it has."

Several days later,

The roads leading away from Malikavana were once again filled with the sound of moving armies, chariots and horses,

But this time there was no urgency in the march and no enemy waiting at the end of the road.

The war was over, Pushpasura was dead, the surviving Rakshasas had surrendered, and for the first time in what felt like an age,

Devara and the people travelling with him were simply making their way home.

Devara travelled at the head of the procession alongside Ashwatthama, Karna and Shakuni, while a portion of the army accompanied them to Trivenivrata.

Behind them came Queen Devaki, Princess Indhumati and the other royal women of Pushkarniya, along with their attendants and maids.

The journey itself was far more peaceful than the one that had brought them to the battlefield,

Although there was still plenty of conversation among the soldiers about the events of the hundred-and-one-day war and, more importantly, about the strange guardian form their king had taken on the final day.

Eventually, after travelling for several days, the landscape ahead began to change.

The road gradually rose, giving those travelling with Devara a wider view of the land beyond it, and soon the sound of flowing water became louder and louder.

What had initially sounded like an ordinary river slowly turned into something far greater as the travellers approached the borders of Trivenivrata.

Then the road reached the final stretch.

Everyone began looking ahead.

And suddenly...

The kingdom appeared before them.

Queen Devaki’s eyes widened.

Princess Indhumati, who had been speaking with one of the maids only moments earlier, fell completely silent.

The women travelling behind them began slowing their horses and chariots without even realizing it.

Nobody had expected this.

Trivenivrata didn’t look like an ordinary kingdom.

The entire city had been built around the meeting point of three sacred rivers, their waters flowing around the massive fortified city before joining together beyond its borders.

The enormous walls stretched along the riverbanks, with countless towers rising above them and colourful banners fluttering from their peaks.

Beyond those walls...

The city itself seemed to spread endlessly.

Palaces, gardens, temples, courtyards and residential districts were arranged around a magnificent central avenue that led toward the heart of the kingdom.

At the very centre stood the enormous royal palace, its towering domes and spires catching the sunlight and reflecting it across the surrounding city.

The rivers were just as breathtaking.

The Ganga flowed along one side of the kingdom, broad and majestic, carrying boats toward the outer settlements.

On the opposite side flowed the Yamuna, its waters reflecting the sky as it curved around the city’s walls.

Somewhere beyond the visible horizon, the hidden flow of Saraswati joined the sacred meeting point, completing the three-river confluence from which Trivenivrata had received its name.

Indhumati stared at the sight without saying a word.

She had visited beautiful cities before.

She had seen royal palaces.

She had travelled through prosperous kingdoms.

But this...

This was something else.

"It is beautiful,"

She finally whispered.

Queen Devaki smiled as she looked at her daughter’s expression.

"You sound surprised."

"I was expecting a large kingdom,"

Indhumati admitted, still staring ahead.

"I wasn’t expecting... this."

One of the older royal women laughed softly.

"Neither was I."

Even the soldiers who had travelled with them for days were looking toward the city with renewed pride.

Many of them had spent so long fighting away from home that seeing the familiar towers and riverbanks again seemed to lift a weight from their shoulders.

Karna glanced toward Devara.

"So this is what you’ve been defending all this time."

Devara looked ahead at his kingdom.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Yes."

Shakuni leaned slightly forward from his chariot acting as if he had entering the kingdom for a first time.

"I’ve heard you speak about Trivenivrata often enough, but I don’t think you ever mentioned that you were ruling a kingdom that looks like something built by the gods."

Devara chuckled.

"Perhaps I was too busy dealing with you who had forget he was the Mahamandri of this kingdom."

Shakuni gave him an offended look.

"Why am I suddenly being blamed?"

Ashwatthama laughed.

"Because you’re usually responsible."

"That is slander young man."

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(Author note:)

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