Chapter 12 : 1000 gold coin
While I was busy with my task, elsewhere, outside the ashram in the forest, an atmosphere of profound grief hung in the air.
Prince Pandu's mortal remains had been laid upon a bier on the ground. A white cloth covered his body, leaving only his head exposed, with cotton stoppers placed in his nostrils.
Beside him lay the body of Prince Pandu's wife, Madri. Holding herself responsible for her husband's death, she had succumbed to the weight of her own guilt, relinquishing her soul even before the funeral pyre could be lit.
She had departed without worry, for she had complete faith that Kunti would care for her two children, Nakul and Sahadev, as her very own.
The five Pandavas—Yudhishthir, Bhim, Arjun, Nakul, and Sahadev were present. Except for Yudhishthira, the other four brothers were weeping openly over the death of their father and mother.
Yudhishthira was holding back his tears because he understood that if he wept before them, his brothers' resolve would shatter. Therefore, he had decided to mourn in solitude later.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The sound of an approaching chariot broke the silence, accompanied by soldiers riding on horseback alongside it.
Inside the chariot sat the Queen Mother of Hastinapur, Satyavati, and the Prime Minister, Vidura.
The charioteer brought the vehicle to a halt. Queen Mother Satyavati stepped down, followed by Prime Minister Vidura.
The news of Prince Pandu and his wife Madri's death had reached Hastinapur. At first, the Queen Mother had flatly denied it; she was simply not ready to accept that her grandson had passed away.
That is why she had rushed to the forest with Prime Minister Vidura.
But now, seeing the scene before her, the Queen Mother lost all composure. The shock was too great. Slowly, dizziness overtook her, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Rajmata!"
Seeing this, the Prime Minister shouted in alarm. He quickly grabbed a pot of water from nearby and sprinkled it on the Queen Mother's face to revive her.
Slowly, the Queen Mother opened her eyes. Upon seeing her grandson lying lifeless before her, tears welled up in her eyes.
"I... I am fine," she stammered. "Vidura, take me to my daughter-in-law, Kunti. I wish to see her."
"As you command, Rajmata."
Hearing the Queen Mother's request, Vidura helped her to her feet and guided her inside the ashram.
Upon entering the ashram, the Queen Mother saw Kunti sitting on the ground, weeping bitterly over the loss of her husband and Madri.
When Kunti saw the Queen Mother, she immediately stood up, rushed towards her, and embraced her.
"Rajmata, I have lost my Suhaag, and I have lost Madri, who was like a younger sister to me. I have no desire to remain in this world any longer," Kunti sobbed, clutching the Queen Mother.
"Kunti, do not speak like that. You must live for your sons. Do not lose heart. If you leave, your sons will become true orphans. So, please, do not weep."
The Queen Mother consoled Kunti with these words, trying to give her strength.
Vidura felt it was not right to linger there. He knew that if he stayed any longer, he too would break down. Pandu was his elder brother; though they were not born of the same womb, he had always revered him as such.
Vidura stepped out of the ashram. He was weeping internally, but he could not bring himself to show it outwardly. He held a significant position in Hastinapur; such a display of grief did not befit his station.
He approached the guards, "Soldiers, lift the biers of my brother and sister-in-law. Let us proceed toward Hastinapur. We must perform the last rites on the banks of the river Ganga."
"Yes, Prime Minister."
The soldiers saluted. Then, one by one, they lifted the two biers onto their shoulders and began to march, chanting the final truth.
"Ram Naam Satya Hai..."
"Ram Naam Satya Hai..."
After the procession began, Vidura turned to the other soldiers who had arrived on horseback.
"You two, go and gather enough wood from wherever you can for the cremation ceremony."
"As you command, Prime Minister. We shall leave immediately."
Both soldiers saluted and rode their horses toward Hastinapur to fulfill the order.
...
Meanwhile, an hour had passed. I had completely chopped the main trunk of the old tree into pieces, gathered them in one place, and tied them together with a large rope.
"Oh, finally this work is done."
I activated my telekinesis, and the entire bundle of wood hovered above my head.
I began to walk, carrying the load along with me.
As I walked further, the trees of the jungle became sparser, and the sunlight began to stream in properly.
Some distance away from me, two soldiers were approaching on horseback.
The first man said, "Let's find the wood. The Minister has given us 1,000 gold coins, just in exchange for wood."
"Yes, the Minister clearly stated that we must give this money to the woodcutter who can arrange a large quantity of wood. 1,000 gold coins just for this instance," the second man said in a voice filled with envy.
"I am jealous too. Normally, the price would be 50 gold coins, but since it is for the funeral rites of Prince Pandu and his wife, they are offering such a huge reward," the first man replied.
"What if we split the money half-and-half between us and just intimidate some woodcutter into giving us the wood?"
Greed had awakened in the second man's heart, prompting him to suggest this. The first man initially refused, but the allure of such a vast sum eventually sparked greed in him as well, and he agreed to the plan.
They were moving forward when they noticed a bundle of wood tied with a rope coming toward them and it was floating in the air.
Seeing this, both began to tremble with fear because they thought a ghost was carrying it toward them.
"What will we do now? We came to collect wood for a cremation, but we didn't expect that we would be the ones needing wood for our own cremation!"
Both were shivering with fear, and one of them even wet his pants.
Just then the first man noticed that a ten year old boy was actually walking along with the wood, coming toward them. He felt ashamed of his earlier fear.
"Stop being scared! That is just a small boy, not a ghost. If the Minister finds out we were frightened by a little child, we will lose our jobs. And since you peed your pants over this, you might even lose your life!"
Hearing this, the second man raised his gaze and realized it was true; he had been scared for nothing.
To be continued...