Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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After waiting for several more moments, Indhumati finally decided it was safe.

She quietly walked toward the chamber door and placed her hand on the lock.

Before opening it, she paused and listened carefully.

There were no footsteps outside, no voices, no sound of anyone approaching.

Even the corridor seemed unusually quiet after the tense few minutes they had just endured.

She slowly unlocked the door and opened it only a few inches, carefully poking her head through the gap.

She looked to one side and then the other.

The corridor was empty.

Indhumati leaned a little farther out, making certain that her family had truly gone.

There was no sign of Queen Devayani, King Padmanabha Varman, Dhumakethu or Kumara Varma.

Only the soft glow of the palace lamps illuminated the corridor.

She finally pulled her head back inside and closed the door.

"They are gone,"

She whispered, releasing another relieved sigh. She turned toward the bed and smiled.

"You can come out now."

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the black shawl beneath the bed shifted.

Devara slowly crawled out, first one shoulder appearing, followed by his head and finally the rest of his body.

He straightened himself and brushed his ceremonial clothing, checking whether any dust had managed to settle upon the expensive attire his mother had so carefully prepared for him.

The sight was so absurd that Indhumati could not help laughing.

Devara looked at her with an amused expression.

"You find this funny?"

Indhumati nodded, her smile growing wider.

"Very."

He chuckled and pulled the black shawl back over his head, once again hiding most of his face beneath it.

Only his eyes remained visible through the darkness of the fabric.

"I suppose I should leave before your mother returns and discovers that the thing she thought was missing from this room was actually me."

Indhumati laughed softly.

"Perhaps that would be best."

Devara walked toward the door, still keeping his face covered. When he reached it, he paused and glanced back at her.

Indhumati was standing in the middle of her chamber, watching him with a warm smile.

The nervousness that had filled the room earlier was gone now, replaced by the quiet happiness of two people who had shared a secret little moment before the world could claim their attention again.

Devara gave her a playful nod before slipping through the doorway.

Indhumati watched him disappear into the corridor, and for a few seconds she simply stood there smiling.

Tomorrow, she would become his wife.

But tonight, before all the rituals, celebrations and countless eyes turned toward them, she had gained a memory that would probably make her laugh for years to come.

The mighty King Devara, conqueror of demons and warrior of legends, hiding beneath her bed from her mother.

She shook her head fondly and closed the door behind him.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the palace, the Pandavas and Kauravas had taken the challenge far more seriously than anyone had expected.

What had begun as a playful competition over who could prepare the better wedding gift for Devara had now become a matter of considerable pride for both sides.

They had gathered together in one of the palace’s spacious halls, each group sitting and standing around with thoughtful expressions, throwing out ideas and immediately rejecting half of them because they either seemed too ordinary or violated the one rule they had agreed upon: the gift had to be something they found or earned through their own effort.

They could not simply ask the royal craftsmen to make something, nor could they take something from the treasury and present it as their own.

Yudhishthira sat with his hands resting against his chin, carefully considering the problem.

Bhima had already suggested several possibilities, most of which involved finding something enormous, valuable or difficult to obtain.

Arjuna was thinking more practically, wondering whether he could create something himself using his archery skills.

Nakula and Sahadeva had been quietly discussing whether they could find something rare in the royal gardens or surrounding forests.

Across from them, Suyodhana and several of his brothers were engaged in their own heated discussion, each determined that the Kauravas would not allow the Pandavas to claim victory.

After all, this was not merely about giving a wedding present.

Devara occupied a rather unusual place within their family.

According to the complicated branches of the Kuru family tree, he was their great-uncle, much like Bhishma was.

Yet the title alone did not capture the relationship they had with him.

Bhishma was the revered elder of their lineage, the grandfather-like figure whom they respected deeply, while Devara had become something altogether different in their lives.

He was a legendary warrior whom they had grown up hearing stories about, a king who had accomplished feats that sounded almost impossible, and yet whenever he was around them, he treated them with affection rather than the distance one might expect from such a powerful elder.

That made choosing his gift even harder.

Bhima folded his arms and frowned.

"How are we supposed to find something that King Devara will actually consider worthy? He already has weapons made by the gods, divine armour, celestial vehicles and enough treasures to fill several royal treasuries."

Arjuna nodded thoughtfully.

"That is precisely the problem. If we give him something merely expensive, it will mean nothing. He has probably received more valuable things than we could ever afford."

Nakula smiled slightly.

"Then perhaps we should give him something that cannot be bought."

Sahadeva looked toward him.

"Something meaningful?"

"Exactly."

Yudhishthira’s expression brightened at the suggestion.

"That may be the answer. Father has always said that the value of a gift lies in the thought and effort behind it rather than its price."

Across the hall, Suyodhana overheard them and immediately looked toward his brothers.

"So they have finally understood the point, Then we must think of something even better."

Dushasana frowned.

"You have been saying that for the last half hour."

"Because I have not yet found the right idea."

"Neither have the Pandavas."

Suyodhana glanced toward them.

"That is why we must find ours first."

The brothers fell silent again.

For several moments, the only sound was the distant activity of servants preparing the palace for the wedding.

Somewhere outside, musicians were rehearsing, while the corridors remained filled with people carrying flowers, lamps, fabrics and ceremonial objects.

Bhima suddenly snapped his fingers.

"What if we bring him something from the forest? Something rare enough that even he has never seen it?"

Arjuna considered the suggestion.

"Possible. But we need to find something ourselves."

"And preferably something that does not try to eat us,"

Nakula added along with Arjuna.

Bhima looked at him.

"That eliminates half the forest."

Sahadeva quietly corrected him.

"Probably more than half."

The Pandavas laughed.

On the other side, Suyodhana looked increasingly determined as he declared.

"Whatever we give him, it must be something that makes him remember us."

That statement caused even Dushasana to pause.

For all their rivalry, they understood the heart of the challenge.

Devara was not some distant royal relative to whom they needed to send a formal wedding present.

He was family.

Their great-uncle.

Someone who had spoken with them, watched them train, listened to their questions and treated them with a warmth they rarely received from powerful adults.

The competition therefore became more than a childish contest.

They wanted Devara to look at their gift and know that they had personally chosen it for him.

Yudhishthira finally stood.

"Then let us stop thinking about what would impress a king."

Everyone looked at him as he smiled.

"Let us think about what would make our great-uncle happy."

For a moment, both groups were silent.

Then Bhima grinned.

"That, is going to be much harder."

And once again, the great gift competition resumed, with the Pandavas and Kauravas scattering into different directions of the palace and kingdom, each determined to return with something worthy of the legendary man they were proud to call their great-uncle.

Just when the discussion seemed to be going nowhere,

Yudhishthira suddenly lifted his head, his expression changing as an idea came to him.

He looked around at his brothers, who were still trying to outdo one another with increasingly complicated suggestions, and raised a hand to get their attention.

"Wait. I think we are making this more difficult than it needs to be."

Bhima stopped in the middle of explaining another particularly ambitious idea, while Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva turned toward their elder brother.

Even the Kauravas nearby became curious.

"What do you mean?" Arjuna asked.

Yudhishthira thought for a moment before answering.

"We are trying to understand what King Devara would value, but there is someone who has known him for far longer than any of us and knows him not only as a king or warrior, but as a member of our family."

Sahadeva’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Rajmata Satyavati."

Yudhishthira nodded his head.

"Exactly. Grandmother has known Devara for years. She knows the kind of things he values, what makes him happy, and perhaps even what sort of gift would actually touch his heart. If we ask her, she may give us an insight that none of us could think of ourselves."

Bhima leaned back thoughtfully.

"That is actually a good idea."

Arjuna smiled.

"And unlike us, Grandmother will probably know whether our ideas are completely ridiculous."

Nakula chuckled.

"Then we should definitely ask her before Bhima finds a mountain and decides that is the gift."

Bhima immediately protested.

"I was not going to give him a mountain."

Sahadeva looked at him.

"You suggested finding a golden elephant."

"That was different."

"How?"

Bhima paused.

"I had not thought that far."

The brothers laughed, while even a few of the Kauravas smiled.

Yudhishthira then turned toward Suyodhana.

"What do you think? We could all ask Rajmata together. She is grandmother to all of us, and Devara is family to all of us."

Suyodhana considered the suggestion.

His competitive expression slowly softened into agreement.

"Fine. But whatever she tells us, it will not decide the winner."

Yudhishthira smiled.

"Of course not. It will only help us understand the person we are preparing the gift for."

That seemed fair enough.

The children began making their way out of the hall together, their previous arguments temporarily forgotten.

For the first time since the competition had begun, they had a direction.

They would seek the wisdom of Rajmata Satyavati.

And if anyone in the palace could give them the key to finding a gift worthy of Devara, it was the woman who had watched generations of the Kuru family rise and fall, and who understood better than most that the greatest treasures were not always the ones that glittered.

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(Author note:)

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