Reclamation of the warrior

“And then what happened?” he asked “well,” I said “why don’t we take a stroll first?” and, we went to the ghats, the banks of the great river Ganga. “Now, why don’t we continue the story.” I asked in a calm way “right” as excited as he could be.

It was the month of July, and the clouds in the sky were thundering with loud noises as if the gods were playing with drums. The Ganga was overflowing and the waters were high. Cold and chilly winds blew as he rode his giant horse on the banks knowing fully well of what lay ahead, but he was prepared, for he had been waiting for 15 long years and now that he finally had a chance to reclaim himself, he could not back down, for he had to take revenge for the death of his father and his brothers. He was marching ahead with the army that he had built across the years. The march of the elephants felt as if the whole earth was trembling as if it was expecting that what was about to come would not be pretty, as the capital city of Patliputra lay a few miles ahead.

“And then?” he was filled with curiosity but for me, it was a chapter-long, long forgotten. The weather was fine with a warm and gentle ray of sunlight, penetrating through the clouds, the winds gentle, the leaves of the giant banyan tree rustling, and the waters were calm. “Why don’t we first visit the temple and pray to Lord Vishnu for peace.” I said “yes, but I want to listen to the story first,” he said in a not so happy voice, “ok ok, but only after the temple” I am but an old man, how could I not get tempted by the chance of telling a story to my beautiful grandson the story of a warrior who reclaimed himself from the shadows.

We were visiting the temple, “Grandfather! why did lord Ram instead of taking the throne, leave for the forest, was the promise of his father greater than his own life, why would a person choose a life in the forest if he could have all that he wants in the cities, he was the eldest prince wasn’t he?” he asked with curiosity on his face. I knew that the beautiful carvings on the walls of the temple had captivated him “yes, the promise of his father was more important to him than the throne, and the comfortable life in the palace. It was his duty as a son to keep the promises made by his father he chose to follow his, dharma, duty as a son” I replied “Are, dharma, duties that important” there was a genuine doubt about his face, “Yes, it is” I said closing the conversation. “Now, back to the story,” I said

The cause of the battle lied 15 years before the battle itself. Patliputra was the capital city of the great empire, it was beautifully adorned by the magnificent temples of different styles, all kinds of people lived here, everyone was wealthy and lived happily, that is, until the waves of invasions from the west began, the news of a new town falling was coming every now and then, and the brutality of the invaders was quite apparent, burning the towns that resisted their rule. They were coming closer to Patliputra every day. The king decided that he would face the enemy in battle. He ordered that the army be ready and the remaining forts take defensive positions. The uncertainty and the uneasiness were growing among the citizens, they were ordered to get inside the fort. The king and the three princes, the youngest one being 14 at the time, and the eldest being 21, started preparing for war. It was a sunny day when Patliputra fell in May, and the king and the eldest prince died in the battle. The second prince despite not being a warrior or taking part in the battle was executed publicly, It was pure horror. The youngest son managed to escape from the battle to a village in the east with the help of the generals, in the name of continuation of the bloodline. Traumatized by the episode that unfolded in front of his eyes, the feeling of helplessness had made a place deep in his heart. The dying words of his father echoed in his ears, but he was just a child, 14 years old, the burden of his bloodline, what could the poor boy do? Falling into despair the prince began to ask himself, what was it all for? the days began to drift and days turned into weeks and it was months after, on a sunny day that he realized his life was moving, while he was not doing anything and feeling helpless and not in control of his life, everybody else was moving forward and that time would not wait for him to get better and that he had to do something. But it’s not easy to get out of the cycle of despair you decide that you are going to do something and the next day you find yourself drifting into your old self, not being able to follow through with it all you bring yourself more despair. But fate would not have it for he had been dreaming about a beautiful waterfall surrounded by lush green trees and cold mountainous water flowing through it, the water was all see-through, it felt as if he had gotten a glimpse of heaven itself. The next day after he woke up with the sudden urge to find the waterfall, he wandered into the woods alone the beauty of the dream he had was such that he could not stop thinking about it. And it was after a while that he realized that he was lost in the forest but even after that he did not stop, he kept moving in the dense forest and then he stopped, his eyes wide opened, he went still and could not move such was the beauty of what he saw. No, it was not the waterfall, it was a large Vishnu temple crumbling but its beauty still stood. His legs started moving as if something was pulling him inside, it was completely dark inside but the magnificent architecture still let some sunlight inside, just barely enough to walk, After the effect of the beauty had worn off, he did not know what to do but he was seeking for answers. The rocks were cold to the touch and the winds chilly, the temple was surrounded by dense forest, it would be a miracle if someone were to find him here. Even the slightest bit of wind would make the whole forest rustle. The nights were completely dark with no source of light as if the moon would shy away from the dense forest. The prince began to cry and the realization of being completely alone started to sink in ”what is the purpose of life, why would you make me suffer so much, why me?” he yelled asking the gods themselves, and then he sat pledging ”o, great lord Vishnu, I am at your doorsteps, seeking for answers, enlighten me and make this worthless life something that I can die peacefully with or live with pride, for I consider myself a warrior but I have done nothing but fleeing the battlefield and making excuses for myself, my brothers and my father were killed and I am stripped of my rights as a prince, I take a pledge that either I will die at your doorstep or go back ready to face the world”. It had been a week without food or water, he stood up and touched the feet of the deformed statue of Lord Vishnu at the temple, the villagers had found him and he had found all his answers. Now he was ready to face the world.

“But grandfather, did lord Vishnu really tell him the solution to all his worries?” he asked with a confused look on his face “well, yes and no,” I said “what do you mean?” he asked ” he did not get his answers from lord Vishnu, all he had to do was look inside,” I said “how does one look inside?” he asked wanting to know more “when you are in trouble and you can’t seem to know what to do, sit down and ask yourself the questions that you want answers for, and in time you will get the answers,” I said, “on the other hand Lord Vishnu did guide him to the temple and he was rescued by the villagers in time before he died of hunger”. Now the sun had set and he was falling asleep, with a relieved voice I thanked lord Vishnu for giving me all the answers when I needed them the most, for I am the warrior who reclaimed himself from the shadows. I took my sleeping grandson in my arms and went back to the castle lying on the bank of the great Ganga at Patliputra.