Pregnant King, The Read Online Free Page B

wife?’ Nabhaka did not want to hurt his elder sister. But he wanted her to feel what he felt, the pain of dreams crushed on the altar of dharma. He saw tears well up in her eyes. She knew that just as a man’s destiny is bound to his lineage, a woman’s is bound to her body. Both are determined at birth and are immutable.
    ‘It is not compromise, brother,’ said Shilavati, holding back her tears. ‘It is sacrifice. Dharma is all about sacrifice so that the rest can thrive.’
    Later that evening, as he rested on the swing with his two wives, chewing betel nut, Ahuka said, ‘She thinks clearly. She thinks deep. Life has spewed out a twisted fate for my daughter, given her a man’s head and a woman’s body.’
    ‘And what about your son’s fate?’ asked the seniorqueen, as she massaged the king’s forehead with warm coconut oil made fragrant with camphor.
    ‘He will be king.’
    ‘And that’s good?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Ahuka, looking up at his wife, surprised by her comment. ‘Isn’t it?’
    ‘For whom, Arya?’
    Ahuka’s heart ached for his children. The son who did not want to be king and the daughter who would not be allowed to be king. The account books of Yama, dark and dispassionate god of death and rebirth, shaped the destiny of his children. But Kama, the reckless god of life and love, had raised his sugarcane bow and struck both their hearts with dangerous desires. Yama, who relentlessly pursued all living creatures on his buffalo, was unconcerned. The children had to repay the debts whether they liked it or not. His noose was tight around their soul. He would hook them ruthlessly if they strayed. Kama meanwhile, flying on his parrot, accompanied by an entourage of bees and butterflies, would continue releasing the flower-tipped arrows, indifferent to the consequences, combating indignation and outrage with his charm. Like all children of Prajapati, Ahuka realized his children would also have to live their lives restrained by the noose of Yama and spurred by the arrows of Kama.
    ‘Maybe I should send her to the Acharyas with her brother to be instructed formally on the dharma-shastras.’
    ‘No,’ said both the queens in unison. ‘If you do that no king will accept her as his wife.’
    ‘What do I do then? Let the sapling wither away?’
    ‘Do you have to take all the decisions, my lord? Canlife not take decisions sometime? From Prajapati has come the problem. From Prajapati will come the solution.’
    The king of Avanti smiled, pleased with the comforting wisdom of the inner quarters.
the proposal
    When Mandavya came to Avanti with the formal proposal of marriage, Ahuka’s wives were excited. ‘When a man approaches a girl’s father requesting her hand for his son it is marriage as prescribed by Prajapati, the highest form of marriage. Shilavati is the luckiest girl in Ila-vrita.’
    But Ahuka was not happy when he had heard what the astrologers had to say. ‘The price is too high,’ he said.
    ‘This is her chance,’ said Mandavya. ‘With widowhood will come the opportunity to rule. Nothing will make your daughter happier. She has the body of a woman but the head of a king. The Angirasa have told me so. Rajan, you can give your daughter to another king. And maybe he will live a long life. And for all that time your daughter will be confined to the women’s quarters. And she will spend her entire life there looking after his children and playing dice, feeling miserable and worthless. And should death strike her husband, she would be a widow, still confined to the women’s quarters with no royal status because her husband’s brothers and uncles would never give her power. Can you prevent that? Here, you are sure thatyour daughter will have all the powers due to a king. Pruthalashva is eager to shed his responsibilities. And Prasenajit, the poor lad, who lives in Yama’s shadow, has no heart in kingship. All he enjoys is the hunt. From the first day she steps into Vallabhi, your