Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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Meanwhile, far away from the celebrations and political discussions taking place in Trivenivrata, the Shatashringa Mountains remained almost untouched by the noise of the outside world.

High among the mountains, where the air was cool and the forests stretched endlessly across the slopes, stood a small hut that had become the home of Former King Pandu and his family.

There was no palace here, no court filled with ministers, no armies waiting outside the gates and no endless stream of messengers bringing news from distant kingdoms.

Their life had slowly settled into a peaceful rhythm.

Every morning began with the sounds of birds coming from the surrounding forest and the distant rush of mountain streams.

Pandu would spend his time walking through the woods, gathering fruits and firewood or sitting outside the hut with his wives while watching their sons grow.

Kunti had become accustomed to the simple life of the mountains.

Aathi had as well.

And their five sons had grown up surrounded by the wilderness, learning from their father and from one another while slowly developing the qualities that would one day make them extraordinary men.

Yudhishthira, the eldest, had already begun displaying the seriousness that came naturally to him.

Even as a child, he disliked lying and would often stop his younger brothers when their games went too far.

Bhima was the complete opposite.

The boy possessed a frightening amount of strength for his age and seemed to have an endless supply of energy.

He could spend hours running through the forest, wrestling with his brothers and carrying things that should have required the strength of several adults.

Arjuna was quieter.

Whenever Pandu gave him a bow, the boy’s entire attention would disappear into the weapon.

He practiced until his fingers hurt and then asked for another lesson.

Nakula had developed an interest in swords and horses, and even at his young age there was something graceful about the way he moved.

He also happened to possess a striking appearance that often made Kunti tease him about spending too much time admiring himself whenever he passed a pool of water.

Sahadeva was the quietest of the five.

He rarely spoke without reason, but when he did, his observations often surprised even Pandu.

He possessed a natural curiosity and a wisdom that seemed unusual for someone so young.

Together, the five boys had brought a strange kind of happiness into Pandu’s life.

For years, he had carried the weight of his curse.

But here, surrounded by his family, there were moments when he managed to forget it.

There were mornings when he laughed with his sons.

Evenings when Kunti and Aathi sat beside him while the children played nearby.

Nights when the family gathered around the small fire outside the hut while the mountain wind moved through the trees.

Those moments made Pandu believe that perhaps fate had finally decided to leave him alone.

But fate had never forgotten him.

It had only been waiting.

That morning began like any other.

The sun had risen over the mountains, casting golden light across the trees.

Birds moved between the branches while a gentle breeze passed through the small clearing surrounding the hut.

Pandu sat outside, watching his sons.

Bhima was arguing with Nakula about something neither of them seemed willing to surrender.

Yudhishthira was attempting to settle the argument.

Arjuna was practicing with his bow a short distance away.

Sahadeva sat nearby, quietly watching all of them.

Kunti and Aathi were preparing food inside the hut.

For a brief moment, everything felt perfectly ordinary.

After an hour...

A little distance away from the hut, Pandu had gone to bathe in the cool mountain stream that flowed through the forest.

The morning had been peaceful, and for a short while he had managed to push the strange feeling he had experienced earlier out of his mind.

He stepped out of the water and began drying himself when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Prabu?"

He turned hearing the voice.

Aathi was standing a short distance away, carrying a small vessel.

"The food is ready,"

She said with a gentle smile.

"Sister Kunti is waiting, and the boys have already started asking when you are coming back."

Pandu smiled.

"I’ll come."

But neither of them moved.

Their eyes met.

Something changed.

The ordinary conversation they had been having disappeared, replaced by a silence that neither seemed to notice.

Pandu looked at his wife.

The morning light fell across her face, and for a moment he simply stood there looking at her.

Aathi’s eyes met his, and she gave him a small smile, unaware of the storm that had suddenly begun inside him.

Pandu knew this feeling.

He had spent years fearing it.

The curse.

His heart began beating faster.

He knew he should step away.

He knew he should turn around and leave.

He knew exactly what would happen if he allowed the desire within him to overcome his reason.

Yet years of restraint, the affection he still carried for his wife, and the simple sight of Aathi standing before him caused his resolve to weaken.

"Aathi..."

She noticed the change in his voice.

"What happened?"

Pandu didn’t answer.

He stepped toward her and pulled her into his arms.

Aathi was startled for a moment, but she didn’t resist.

She simply looked up at him.

"Prabu..."

The curse struck the instant his intention crossed the boundary it had forbidden.

It wasn’t merely the act itself.

His mind had already surrendered to the desire to be with his wife.

Pandu’s body suddenly stiffened.

His eyes widened.

A sharp pain tore through his chest.

Aathi immediately felt something was wrong.

"...."

He tried to breathe.

Nothing came.

His arms loosened around her.

"Prabu wake up... what happened to you?"

His body collapsed.

Aathi desperately tried to hold him, but his weight dragged both of them down. She fell beside him, catching his head against her lap.

She shook him.

There was no response.

His eyes remained closed.

His body had already become still.

Aathi stared at him in disbelief.

"No..."

She placed her hand against his face.

"This can’t be..."

Nothing.

The realization finally reached her.

A scream tore out of her.

"Noooooo!"

The cry echoed through the mountain forest.

Back at the hut, Kunti immediately froze.

"...."

She had been speaking to Yudhishthira when she heard it.

The five boys turned toward the sound.

That wasn’t an ordinary scream. Something had happened.

"Mother?"

Kunti’s face had already lost its colour.

"Something is wrong."

She immediately began running.

The five boys followed her without hesitation.

Bhima was the first to realize how serious it was.

"Mother, wait!"

But Kunti didn’t stop.

They rushed through the forest, following Aathi’s cries until they reached the stream.

Then they stopped.

Yudhishthira’s eyes widened.

Arjuna froze seeing what had happened.

Nakula and Sahadeva stood completely silent.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Bhima stared ahead, unable to understand what he was seeing.

Their father was lying motionless on the ground.

Aathi was beside him, crying uncontrollably, one hand still resting against his chest as though she was desperately hoping to feel a heartbeat.

Kunti stood frozen.

For a few seconds, she couldn’t move.

"How can this be...?"

Her voice barely came out.

She rushed forward and fell beside him.

She touched his face.

Cold.

She placed her hand against his chest.

Nothing.

"No..."

Kunti’s breathing became uneven.

"No, no, no..."

Aathi looked at her through tear-filled eyes.

"The curse..."

Her voice broke.

"It happened. Even after all this years"

Kunti closed her eyes.

She had always known this day might come.

But knowing something was possible and actually seeing the man you had shared your life with lying lifeless before you were two completely different things.

Behind them, the five brothers remained frozen.

Bhima’s fists slowly tightened.

Arjuna stared at his father, refusing to accept what his eyes were showing him.

Nakula began crying silently.

Sahadeva stood completely still, his young face unable to process the sudden emptiness.

Yudhishthira stepped forward.

"Father..."

His voice trembled.

Pandu did not answer.

The mountain stream continued flowing beside them.

The birds had gone silent again.

"...."

"...."

"...."

And the peaceful morning that had begun only a short while earlier...

Had ended with the death of their father.

Aathi remained beside Pandu for a long time, refusing to move even after everyone around her had accepted what had happened.

The forest had gone strangely quiet. The only sound that remained was the gentle flow of the stream beside them and the occasional sob coming from one of the young princes.

Aathi looked down at Pandu’s face.

There was still a faint smile upon her own face, but tears continued running down her cheeks.

"I did this..."

Her voice was barely audible.

Kunti immediately shook her head.

"No, Aathi. The curse was not your fault."

But Aathi didn’t accept it.

"If I had not gone there..."

She closed her eyes.

"If I had simply called him from a distance and left, he would still be alive."

Kunti held her hand.

"You didn’t know."

"I knew about the curse."

Aathi’s voice cracked.

"I knew what could happen, yet when I saw him, I forgot everything."

She looked at Pandu again.

"He was my husband."

There was a long silence.

Then Aathi slowly wiped her tears.

"I will not leave him alone."

Kunti immediately understood what she meant.

"Aathi... I have made my decision."

Aathi looked toward Kunti.

"You must raise them."

Her eyes moved toward the five boys standing nearby.

"They are still children. They need their mother, and they need someone who will guide them when I am no longer here."

Kunti’s eyes filled with tears.

"Don’t ask me to make such a promise."

"I have to."

Aathi took Kunti’s hands in hers.

"Promise me."

Kunti looked at her for several seconds before finally nodding through her tears.

"I promise. Whatever happens, I will protect them."

"I will raise them well. I will never allow anyone to make them feel that they have been abandoned."

Aathi smiled hearing her.

"That is all I wanted to hear."

She then looked toward the five boys.

Yudhishthira stood silently, trying desperately to remain composed.

Bhima’s face was wet with tears, though he kept wiping them away angrily.

Arjuna hadn’t moved from his place.

Nakula and Sahadeva were clinging to one another.

Aathi called them closer.

The five boys slowly approached.

She placed her hands upon their heads one after another.

"Be good to your mother."

Yudhishthira immediately shook his head.

"You are our mother too."

Aathi’s expression trembled.

She pulled him into an embrace.

Then she embraced Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva as well, holding all five boys close.

None of them understood why she was saying goodbye.

They only knew that their father was gone...

And now Aathi was speaking as though she would soon leave them too.

"Remember your father,"

She whispered in low voice.

"Not the way you see him now."

"Remember how he laughed with you."

"Remember how he taught you."

"Remember how proud he was whenever you did something well."

She kissed each of their foreheads.

Then she stepped back.

Kunti could barely contain her tears.

Aathi turned toward Pandu one final time.

She had made her decision.

She would follow her husband in death according to the custom she had chosen for herself, entrusting her sons to Kunti before the final rites were performed.

Kunti tried once more to convince her otherwise.

But Aathi only smiled sadly.

"I have already chosen."

The preparations for Pandu’s final rites began soon afterward.

The news had to reach Hastinapur immediately.

Pandu was not merely a former king living in the mountains.

He was the brother of King Dhritarashtra, and his death was a matter that the Kuru kingdom had to know about.

Kunti therefore summoned the most reliable messenger available to them.

She dictated the message herself.

The words were simple, but every one of them carried terrible weight.

King Pandu had passed away.

The messenger bowed deeply after receiving the sealed message.

"Take this to Hastinapur without delay."

"Do not stop unless absolutely necessary."

The messenger mounted his horse and immediately began the journey down from the mountains.

Kunti watched him disappear along the distant path.

She knew that before long, the news would reach Hastinapur.

Dhritarashtra would learn that his younger brother was dead.

Bhishma would hear.

Vidura would hear.

And the entire Kuru court would soon learn that the five sons of Pandu were now fatherless.

Kunti turned back toward the mountain clearing.

The funeral preparations continued quietly.

Yudhishthira stood beside his younger brothers, trying to understand the sudden responsibility that had fallen upon him despite his young age.

Bhima stared at the ground with clenched fists.

Arjuna remained unusually quiet.

Nakula and Sahadeva stayed close to Kunti.

And Aathi remained beside Pandu.

The peaceful life they had built in Shatashringa had ended in a single morning.

None of them knew it yet...

But the moment that messenger reached Hastinapur, the course of the Kuru dynasty would begin changing forever.

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(Author note:)

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