Draupadi’s Swayamvar

“Arjun,” Yudhishthira called.

Arjun stepped forward and turned to his elder brother. “Brother!” he bowed his head.

“Perhaps the time has come when you fulfilled your duty as Kshatriya,” Yudhishthira said. “Almost every prince and king in this assembly who are here to wed Princess Draupadi has failed. And others are guests here. If this Swayamvar fails to reach its goal, it may defame King Drupad. And as long as one Kshatriya remains on this earth who could lift that bow and shoot an eye of that fish, this Swayamvar must not fail.”

“Shall I go then?” Arjun asked politely.

“Yes,” Yudhishthira nodded. “Go. Do your duty.”

Arjun bowed down respectfully to his brother.

“May you triumph,” Yudhishthira blessed with a smile. “If it is God’s will, then Princess Draupadi shall be your wife.”

Arjun turned to Bheema and bowed his head.

“Show them who you are, my dear brother,” Bheema smiled.

Arjun glanced at Nakul and Sahadev while they both nodded with a smile. They all were in disguise. They were all dressed like ascetics. Yet their warrior-physique made them different from other ascetics standing there in audience. Arjun inhaled deeply and glanced far at the wheel of fish continuously whining with rapid speed.

Arjun stepped down and walked down the red carpet. Hundreds of kings and prices sat there on their rich chairs on both the sides of the path. Arjun could see the banners behind those chairs. Banners of Chhedi, Shalva, Kuntibhoja, Avanti, Kashi, Mahishmati, Maadra, Gandhar, Avadh, Kannuaj, Magadh, Hastinapur, Ang, Mathura, Dwarka, Matsya and hundreds more were visible. They all stared at him in surprise as he walked down the carpet. Arjun also glanced over them. But then he saw Prince Duryodhana looking at him suspiciously. The giant elephant head gloriously glared behind his chair. Princes of Gandhar, brothers of Uncle Shakuni, giggled looking at Arjun. They were joking on him. As he walked by the Chhedi Price, he heard Prince Shishupal saying ‘What is he going to do?’ and then he laughed. Arjun smirked and ignored all of them.

As he reached beneath the wheel of fish, he stopped. He spotted the magnificent bow laying amidst the flowers. Its strength could be seen from its glorious shape and size. It must be incredibly heavy. There were three arrows placed beside the bow. Before Arjun could proceed, King Drupad spoke, “You’re welcome to try. But I don’t think you would be able to even lift it. All of these great princes and kings have failed. You’re mere an ascetic. But I won’t stop you. Go ahead! Show us your courage.”

Arjun smirked quietly, looking at King Drupad. Meanwhile, King Drupad glanced toward his daughter who was sitting in the balcony. She had a clear view from there. She was watching Arjun since he had walked out from the crowd. Arjun also glanced at her. Such a beauty! He thought. A woman looks prettiest on her wedding day. In rich red clothes and ornaments all upon her body, she looked mesmerizingly pretty. And Arjun was in dusty clothes of an ascetic. For years, he hadn’t worn rich clothes. His handsome face was covered with long beard. With matted locks in his hair, dusky tone and in muscular warrior-like body, he looked as if Shiva himself had appeared in the Swayamvar. But that beauty was not enough to distract him from his task. No beauty was enough to distract him. He could resist the utmost temptation.

However, someone else caught his eye as he was rolling his eyes back toward the bow and arrow. A man with dark bluish skin was staring at him with a mysterious smile on his face. He wore a rich shiny red cape, contrary to his skin-tone. His clothes were vibrant-coloured. And more noticeably, he wore a beautiful peacock feather on his magnificent crown. Arjun looked at him for a brief moment and he felt his mind calming down. Everything he was wondering faded away. The man grinned at Arjun.

Arjun quickly recovered his senses. Meanwhile, the man leaned aside toward another man with a much gigantic and muscular structure. He was tall, fair and handsome as well. He wore blue rich clothes. And he had even more magnificent crown on his head, except for the peacock feather. Arjun noticed a banner with giant peacock feather behind their chairs.

“That’s Jishnu,” the man with bluish skin told the other man, pointing toward Arjun. Arjun could hear their voices since the entire crowd had fallen quiet from the moment he walked out of the crowd.

“Aunt Pritha’s youngest son?” the other man frowned and glanced at Arjun.

“Yes, youngest son of Aunt Pritha, Parth,” the man with bluish skin smiled, turning his face again toward Arjun.

Arjun was shocked hearing his own name on their lips. How did he recognize me? He wondered. It was too hard for anyone to recognize Arjun in this attire, especially for someone who had never seen him before. Arjun had figured out who they were when he saw that giant peacock feather behind their chairs. It was the symbol of Yadava Capital, Dwarka. Sons of his mother’s biological brother, had established that city. He assumed them to be Krishna and Balram, his cousins. Meanwhile, they both looked at him happily.

Focusing on his task, Arjun proceeded toward the bow. He gazed up and saw the fish wheeling around rapidly for a moment. Then he crouched forth and touched the bow. It was his habit that before lifting up any bow he used to bow his head before it. It was his self-accepted ritual that he always followed. He did the same with this bow. Then he put his fingers on the bow softly and grasped it tightly. He inhaled deeply closing his eyes in order to pray to Lord Shiva to grant him courage.

“Har har mahadev”, he murmured beneath his breath, clutching his fingers around the bow and lifted it with a yank.

He could hear people gasping out of shock. He had hoped for the bow to be heavier. However, it didn’t seem that much heavy now. He opened his eyes to see a wave of shock taking over people’s faces. Everyone were staring at him with their eyes wide open. He saw Prince Duryodhana, Uncle Shakuni and Karna staring at him in surprise. That terrified look on their faces made him almost laugh. Controlling his laughter, Arjun rolled his eyes to King Drupad who had said earlier that he wouldn’t be able to even lift it. King Drupad had almost stood up from his throne with his eyes wide open and his mouth gasping. Breathing satisfaction in his lungs, Arjun glanced at Princess Draupadi, who seemed rather happy after watching him lifting the bow. Perhaps she had hoped for her future husband to be courageous and strong. She blushed as she caught Arjun looking at her. Arjun rolled his eyes toward Krishna and Balram who were also smiling happily. Arjun had heard about his cousins’ acts quite well. He knew exactly what they were capable of. Perhaps they hoped for their cousin to be just like them. Hence, it was no surprise for them.

Arjun proceeded to his task and picked up an arrow. He stepped toward the pot filled with water. Water in the pot wasn’t still. He could see the reflection trembling on the surface. However, Arjun had accomplished much tougher tasks in the past. He narrowed his gaze and focused on the eye of that fish. In a brief moment, he learned about the motion of the fish. He placed the arrow on the bow and raised them high above his head, while his eyes were constantly looking at the eye of a fish. It was like he had linked his eye with the fish’s eye. Arjun pulled the string of his bow tightly and waited for a right moment to leave the arrow. Soon he could only see the eye of a fish and everything else seemed blur. He didn’t hear any voice, nor did he feel the wind touching his skin. He didn’t even hear the breeze of an air. Such was his concentration. And all of a sudden, he loosened his fingers and the arrow flew swiftly upwards and pierced the eye of that fish.

~ From ‘Draupadi’s Swayamvar’ by Bhargav Patel [Based on The Mahabharata]