Revenge of the Chandalas Read online

  Three more beautiful young girls followed the princess. The princess looked back at the guards and instructed, “Wait here, until we get back from the festival.”

  The guards looked disappointed as they heard this. One of them replied, “But Princess we have been strictly ordered to be with you at all times.”

  “I understand your responsibility and I appreciate your sincerity. But please respect our freedom as well. We will call you if we need anything, be assured.”

  The princess moved forward. The three other ladies followed her.

  Once they were at quite a distance from the guards, one of the princess' friends said, “You broke their poor heart. Even Gandharvas can leave their Apsaras behind to be with you, they were just ordinary guards.”

  The princess looked delighted and blushed. She smiled and said, “Since when have you started to sympathize with young boys! I know how many of them you might have wounded with your killer beauty.”

  All the ladies joined in the melodious laughter and walked on towards the festival venue.

  A large ground near a temple courtyard was made into the festival venue. It looked like there existed a large pond that had dried up. The ground was sandy and hollow from the middle and raised up banks marked the perimeter. A stone and brick wall of about fifteen feet high and five feet wide encircled the whole area. Just like an open amphitheatre the wall had stairs from inside all around so that people could sit on them. Some of the stairs had soft rugs and carpets for special guests. On one of such special seating was seated King Rudrasen and his royal family. Rudrasen was now a middle-aged man with distinct features and strong disposition. On his right was his son prince Udayan with some of his friends. On the left of the king was the princess Pallavi with her mates. Some other royal guests were also sitting around them. The rest of the theatre was jam packed with eager crowd. Most of the men and young lads had especially come to get a glimpse of the beauty of the princess. They were literally jumping over each other to have a glimpse of her, even if just for a moment.

  Soon the proceedings started with an announcement made from a stone podium.

  “All the ladies and gentlemen, we thank you and cordially welcome you to South Kosala's yearly festival. Our respected His Excellency King Rudrasen welcomes you all to this great event and we hope you all will enjoy it well.”

  The thunder of claps echoed in the festival ground. The announcer continued, “Another speciality about today's event is the fact that princess Pallavi will be watching over the participants keenly to pick up a suitable groom for herself. It's a Swayamvara for her.”

  Just the mention of the word Swayamvara lit up the eyes of the congregation in general and the young men in particular. Everyone felt lucky to be present there as a possible aspirant. Suddenly, they all became self-conscious.

  “We have the best warriors present here to participate from all over the country. Princess Pallavi has put a certain task to judge the spirit of the warriors. Any warrior who can control the intoxicated elephant without any weapons will be the winner of the princess' hand. Those who are willing to take up this challenge please come forward.”

  This announcement sent a wave of nervous silence around the venue. Facing an inebriated elephant was no child's play. It meant almost certain death.

  “What a vanity fair! Is she so proud of her beauty that she can make young men put their lives in danger to get her?” asked Dhananjay.

  Neel and Dhananjay were participating in the disguise of artists from a distant state of Kamboj. It was adjoining Persia and people of South Kosala had limited knowledge about the state or its people. The duo had introduced themselves as Shreedutt and Gurudatt.

  “There is no dearth of crazy people in this world. People are willing to lay their life for no cause; this is an illustrious cause—a beautiful one. The princess is one of the most sought-after divas all over the nation,” said Neel.

  Soon a young man rose from his seat, came forward and said, “I am Vishvajit the Prince of Vidarbha. I accept this challenge.”

  He was a tall and strongly built young man. Pallavi looked at him and appeared impressed by the prince's demeanour and good looks. Not to mention his courage.

  “You have put up a very stiff and risky challenge princess.” said one of her friends.

  “Yes, it's not easy. It's meant to test not only the physical courage but also the mental smartness. I know what I want,” replied the princess with visible streaks of pride on her face.

  Vishvajit entered the arena. A young elephant of shiny grey coat was brought in. The elephant weighing at least three tonnes stood in chains held by a bunch of soldiers. Just to imagine a huge elephant drunk with country liquor running around crazily was enough to shake a lot of young men with fear. The elephant was offered liquor in an earthen vessel. While it greedily gulped down alcohol, all the attendants rushed out of the arena as fast as they could. Vishvajit found himself standing alone in front of an almost mad elephant. As soon as the elephant saw him, it charged with full fury to trample him down under his big feet. The prince just jumped on his left in time to save himself. He knew he had to find a way to get on the back of the elephant. As soon as the elephant turned back, Vishvajit lunged forward and tried to jump as high as he could to reach the animal's back. But he fell short and shuddered on the ground. The elephant saw this and quickly turned and started to run him down. The prince again jumped away to his right and saved himself. But the elephant now understood his game and without wasting much effort swiftly turned around where he stood to grab the prince with his trunk. The prince grabbed the trunk with all the might he had and was left hanging on it while the elephant tried to jerk him down on the ground and crush the prince with his feet. While the prince tried in vain to climb up the trunk to reach the elephant's back, the elephant was vigorously shaking his big head and swaying his trunk to send the prince down on the ground. Eventually, the elephant succeeded in his plan and the prince fell on the ground with one mighty sway of the trunk. Luckily, for the prince, he fell a few feet away from the animal and while the elephant realized where his victim was, the prince got up despite an acute sharp-rising pain in his lower back and galloped to get as far away as he could. The elephant saw him running away and set to chase him. Vishvajit had given up the challenge and now was running for his life. He quickly jumped over the wall of the arena and lunged out and limped away.

  Watching the prince run for his life in such a pitiable manner amused princess Pallavi and it was evident she enjoyed the game.

  Dhananjay was visibly upset by this sadist behaviour of the princess. He said, “This is the height of insensitivity. She should show some sympathy towards the poor soul who nearly gave up his life for her hand.

  The announcement was made, “Prince Vishvajit could not tame the elephant and has now bowed out of the challenge. Is there any other brave man out here who would like to take up this mighty challenge?”

  The whole arena was silent.

  The announcer continued again in a louder voice, “Is there nobody in the whole of Bharatvarsh who can meet the princess' call to win her heart?”

  “Now it's simply not a matter of this princess' pride, it's a matter of saving the pride of our nation.” said Neel while getting up from his seat.

  “What do you mean, Rajan?” asked Dhananjay.

  “I am going to tackle this tipsy elephant and this princess' high pride.”

  “You think you can control this almost mad beast? I don't think we both can do that together with our combined might.”

  “Might is not in the biceps my friend, it's here at the top. Don't worry about me.”

  “Your Highness think it over again. This is not simply courage; this is arrogance too. You are going to bet your life for the sake of a silly princess.”

  “When it's a matter of pride, who cares about life.” Neel stood up, raised his right hand and announced, “I am Shreedutt, a resident of Kamboj. I will take up the challenge.”

  “Ve
ry well young man but are you aware of the great challenges and the danger. Mind it that you cannot carry any weapon of any kind.” asked the announcer.

  “Yes, sure, I am aware of the rules and I promise I am not carrying any weapon with me.”

  The princess eyed him up with a cursory glance. He was a tall, strong, wide and dusky young man with sharp features. She wondered whether this young man was simply a brave warrior or another love-smitten madman crazy for her. Especially, after watching the state of Vishvajit it would need some guts to get in front of the elephant. While she was looking intently at him, Neel stared back and for a matter of moments they looked at each other. She quickly looked away.

  Neel kept on looking at her. He was truly astounded by her beauty. Maybe she had the right to be proud and arrogant. But true beauty must imbibe modesty. He became even more adamant in his resolve to shatter her pride.

  Neel quickly descended into the arena to face the drunken elephant. He felt resolved and confident. Not a trace of fear touched his psyche. A wild shriek of the elephant brought him closer to the imminent danger rushing with full fury towards him. As soon the elephant came close enough to strike him down, Neel jumped to his right and ran towards the backside of the elephant. He tried to hide in the elephant's blind spot where he couldn't see without turning around very quickly. The elephant turned around, but Neel immediately jumped around again to get by his tail. Neel kept doing this for a while to tire the elephant and bring him back to his senses. Gradually, it was evident that the elephant was becoming sober and started behaving in more predictable manner. He went after Neel but wouldn't really try to thrash him down. Neel realised this and started to stroke the trunk and head of the elephant. In a moment of calmness when the elephant stood motionless enjoying the caressing of Neel's hands, Neel swiftly jumped up and sat on his back and vigorously patted his head. The elephant shook his head in affirmation, raised its trunk and let go a loud cry of joy and submission. The arena burst into a wave of thunderous claps. The face of Princess Pallavi glowed with the light of a thousand suns.

  King Rudrasen looked towards the princess and she nodded back in approval. In a matter of moment, the announcer came rushing to the arena where Neel sat atop the subdued elephant.

  “Congratulations, young man! You have proven your intelligence and courage in a great manner. You have won the challenge and the princess has given her approval to choose you as her groom.”

  “Thanks for your nice words. I have no interest in marrying your princess. If she wants, she can marry this tamed elephant.” replied Neel while patting the elephant's trunk.

  Soft murmurs and sounds of mute laughter passed around the ground. The news reached the princess and her pink face turned amber red. She got up stamping her feet down and thought aloud, “Who does he think he is? I will crush his arrogance and make him a tamed beast like that elephant.”

  She got up and went to sit alone. Neel, too, joined Dhananjay in the audience.

  “Your Highness, why did you reject the offer to marry the princess? This was a great opportunity to amend relations between our two states. Moreover, you won't get any girl as beautiful as the princess in Mekal.” asked Dhananjay.

  “See, firstly we are living here in disguise. If they find this out, we'll be crushed under this very elephant's feet. Secondly, by making marital relations I don't want to be the part of their sins. We want to teach them a lesson and stop them in their policy of exploiting other people's lives and their lust to expand their boundaries.” replied Neel.

  “Oh...I didn't think about that, really.”

  “Now just wait and watch what happens.”

  Both enjoyed the last words uttered by Neel and kept sitting in their seats.

  Rudrasen was visibly angry because of the incident. If he was not bound by the ethics of respecting a guest's honour, he would have got the young man cut into pieces. He felt for his daughter Pallavi. She must be furious and embarrassed beyond limits. He wanted to talk to her but couldn't publicly go and console her.

  Pallavi sat alone thinking of how to make Neel come begging for her and apologize for his arrogance. While she was lost in these thoughts, a dusky tall young man approached her.

  “I beg your pardon princess for directly coming to talk to you, but I was upset by the arrogance of the young man.” the young man said.

  Pallavi looked up while still sitting. She wasn't offended in any way. She felt maybe this was the right opportunity to make Neel jealous. She smiled and showed eagerness to talk to the young man. She asked, “What is your name?”

  “Prahlaad.”

  “Then you must be a devotee of Lord Vishnu, are you not?”

  “Is there anybody who doesn't worship the Lord Vishnu in some way? Whatever our religion or culture, we all do pray to the same God.”

  “Really! It reflects your broad mindedness. Where did you pick up such great thoughts?” Pallavi seemed more interested in showing off her pleasure to Neel.

  “Thoughts originate in mind and soul; one doesn't need to learn them from anywhere. Thanks for the compliment.”

  “You are one very interesting young man. While we are talking about Lord Vishnu why not go and visit his nearby temple. I can't sit here any longer anyway.”

  Pallavi got up holding his hand and Prahlaad followed her in haste. She glanced back at Neel who was looking in her direction but with a total indifference.

  Prahlaad was glad and satisfied at his conquest. He knew that the princess had no clue that she was holding the hand of a Chandala who was not supposed to even cast his shadow on the royal princess.

  Chapter 25

  One of the princess' friends who looked for her everywhere suddenly raised her voice and shouted in despair, “Has anyone seen the princess? I can't find her anywhere.”

  All eyes turned to her and the king yelled from his seat, “Where is my dear daughter? She was here a few moments ago?”

  Neel and Dhananjay also looked around and were confused. Neel had seen the princess talking to that young man just a while ago. They went out together somewhere. Could he be behind the princess' disappearance?

  “All the soldiers fan out and search each house if you have to.” ordered the king to his soldiers and to Udayan, the prince. He also rushed into action at the unpredicted event.

  “I think we should also try and look around for her.” said Neel to Dhananjay.

  “But how do you suggest we do that. We don't know where she might have gone?” asked Dhananjay.

  “I have seen her departing with that tall and dusky young man. I distinctly remember his face. Maybe somebody can help us recognize him. We need help.”

  “Who can help us? Our best ally here is Vaishali.”

  “Yes, that's good idea. We are going to meet her tonight anyway.”

  “Is the Mekal's battalion ready to go for the princess' abduction?” Indrajit asked one of his soldiers.

  “Yes commander, they are all set. They are hiding not far from the festival venue, waiting for our signal.” replied the soldier.

  “Then what are we waiting for! Pass on the signal to start the guerrilla attack and kidnap the princess.”

  While they were still discussing, a spy soldier came running in towards the commander and said, “There is some bad news, commander. The princess has already been kidnapped.”

  “What? By whom? How did that happen?” thundered Indrajit.

  “We don't know for sure, but she was last seen with a Chandala from a ghetto near Sripur.” replied the spy.

  “Oh, so the Chandalas are also in the game. They would have taken her to the shanty, I guess. How are the Yaduvanshis searching for her? Do they have an inkling that this is the handiwork of Chandalas?”

  “They are looking around for her vigorously. They are searching each house. They will surely get to the Chandala ghetto too.”

  “Then we'll have to get to the Chandalas before they do. We'll have to divert the attention of Yaduvanshis.”

  Indraj
it looked back at the soldier he was talking to earlier and instructed, “Order the Mekal soldiers to start guerrilla attacks on the South Kosala soldiers.”

  Then he ordered the spy to start looking for the princess and make it quick so that they get to her before her people.

  As soon as Neel and Dhananjay reached Chandala slum, they started their lookout for Vaishali as planned. The Chandala community lived by the river Mahanadi. It was congregated around a Shamshan, which was the primary cemetery of the area and where many Chandalas worked. The houses were dilapidated huts made of twigs and mud. Narrow lanes with open sewer lanes separated rows of houses from each other. Dogs and rodents roamed freely. Neel's heart shuddered at the sight. He wondered at the state of people who lived their whole lives there.

  “Where could she be, Dhananjay? How should we search for her here?” asked Neel.

  “I am not sure. We cannot ask anyone or even shout out for her.” replied Dhananjay.

  While the two were discussing the matter, they found some people looking at them trying to work out what the duo were up to.

  “If we walked around like this, they will surely doubt us. But how can we find her this way?” Neel was visibly worried.

  Suddenly, they heard a female voice calling out Neel's name. It was coming from behind a hut.

  They both looked at each other and jumped to proceed towards the hut.

  “Vaishali! I can hardly recognize you in this attire. You are surely a master of disguises.” said Neel. Vaishali was dressed as a Chandala woman.