Chapter 29 : Royal palace
By now, evening had arrived. One rule of this era was that when evening fell, any ongoing competition had to be stopped immediately.
So when dusk came, all the chariots halted at whatever positions they were in.
Just then, the drummer arrived and made an announcement:
"Because evening has fallen, the competition has been stopped here. Now, all of you will be ranked according to the positions you are currently in."
At that moment, a prince stepped down from his chariot, went up to the drummer, and complained,
"Hey servant, what you announced is wrong. If the competition had continued, I would have been in 18th place instead of 20th."
Hearing such rude language from the prince, the drummer did not get angry. In a calm voice, he said,
"Prince, if I were an ordinary man with no authority, I would have endured your words, but..."
"But what? What can you do to me? You are not even equal to the dust on my shoes. What can you possibly do to me?" The prince spoke arrogantly, humiliating the drummer.
Like that prince, there were many other princes who also wanted to question the drummer's decision. But when they saw that someone had already stepped forward before them, they did not go ahead.
Instead, they waited and watched, hoping to see what action the drummer would take. If he truly had authority, he would do something; if not, then they too would step forward to teach him a lesson.
"So, are you done now? May I speak?"
The drummer took something out of his pouch.
It looked like a coin about the size of a fist, blue in color.
On the coin was an engraving of river waves, with two swords crossing each other, and above them a shield hovering in the air.
"H–hey… how do you have that?"
The prince's face turned pale, and he began to stutter because he recognized the coin.
"Oh, so you recognized what I'm holding," the drummer said.
"For those who don't know, I want to make it clear that what I have in my hand is not a coin, but a token. This token was given to me by Hastinapur's commander-in-chief, Bhishma."
"He gave this to me especially to host this competition. That is why, in this competition, instead of being an ordinary person, I represent Commander-in-Chief Bhishma himself.
If I say something, it is as if he has said it. So maintain peace during this competition. If you are unable to do so, I will be forced to take special action."
The drummer looked at everyone with a smile, but for the princes who were thinking of opposing him, that smile was no less frightening than that of a terrifying ghost.
"You understand what I mean, don't you?"
At the drummer's words, all those arrogant princes those who believed everything belonged to them nodded their heads in agreement.
Because they had all heard one thing from their fathers: never pick a fight with Hastinapur's commander-in-chief, Bhishma.
"Now I will begin talking about the second announcement. What you competed in today was only the first round of the competition.
Hearing this, all of you princes and princesses must have understood that there will be many more rounds.
The next round will begin tomorrow, and it will not be held in this stadium but at another location, which will be revealed to you tomorrow.
And for now, special arrangements have been made in the royal palace's guest chambers for all thirty competition participants and their charioteers."
With this, the drummer concluded his announcement.
Then the drummer turned toward the prince who had earlier hurled filthy abuses at him. That prince was now sitting on his knees.
"Now it's your turn. I wanted to avoid giving you any punishment, but if I don't punish you, others will also start questioning the rules just like you did.
Therefore, as punishment, you are hereby disqualified from this competition, and you are permanently barred from entering Hastinapur. This means you will never be able to come to Hastinapur in the future."
When the prince heard the drummer's punishment, it was as if his heart had dropped into his hands and someone had tightly gripped it.
"No, no! Don't give such a severe punishment for such a small mistake!"
No matter how much the prince begged, the drummer did not listen to a single word. He then summoned some soldiers and ordered them to escort the prince back to his own kingdom.
A few soldiers dragged the prince away without even seeking his consent.
As the drummer approached us, Princess Urvi, Princess Poonruivi, and I unfastened our chariot seat belts and stepped down, listening carefully to his announcement.
When I heard what kind of punishment the drummer had given to the prince, I felt not even the slightest sympathy for him. He deserved it.
"Hm, it served that prince right. Now he will never dare to look down on anyone again,"
Princess Urvi gave her opinion, and Princess Poonruivi nodded in agreement.
By the time evening fell, all the people who had been sitting in the stadium stands had already left, one by one.
...
Only King Dhritarashtra, Queen Gandhari, Shakuni, Bhishma, Vidur, Mother Kunti, and a few other people who held important positions in the royal palace remained seated.
"Vidur, can you tell me whether my son won the competition or not?" King Dhritarashtra asked his prime minister, Vidur.
"Maharaj, because evening has fallen, the competition has been suspended. According to the current standings, Prince Duryodhana is in 7th place," Minister Vidur explained.
"Oh, is that so?" King Dhritarashtra nodded. When his wife heard her son's rank, she too felt pleased.
"Maharaj, Arjuna finished in 5th place, ahead of my nephew. If the competition had continued, my nephew could have won,"
Shakuni said to his brother-in-law with a scheming smile.
"Shakuni, I understand your tricks very well. You are trying to plant ill feelings in my mind against my brother's son, Arjuna,"
King Dhritarashtra said, accurately guessing where Shakuni was sitting.
"That was not my intention, Maharaj," Shakuni quickly defended himself.
"Maharaj, that was not my brother's intention. Please forgive him,"
Queen Gandhari requested her husband.
"Because you are asking, I will forgive him. But if he speaks like this again, I will be forced to have him locked behind prison bars for a few days. At that time, I will not listen to you," King Dhritarashtra said, delivering his final warning.
Suddenly, the threatening prince and his elder arrived there, and both of them fell to their knees.
"Maharaj, on behalf of the prince of my kingdom, I beg your forgiveness. He is still a child, and some harsh words slipped from his mouth. Please forgive him," the elder pleaded before King Dhritarashtra.
He further requested that the punishment announced by the drummer be withdrawn.
"If I forgive him by considering him a child, then what is the purpose of punishment? I may be blind, but I clearly heard every harsh word that prince spoke. Such arrogance at such a young age does not befit a prince.
And this matter is on behalf of my tatshree and the commander of this kingdom. I have no right to overturn that decision. Go and seek forgiveness from my tatshree, Bhishma. If he wishes, he may forgive this prince,"
King Dhritarashtra said, directing the matter straight to his tatshree, Bhishma.
"Hm, I would like to respond in the same manner as the Maharaj, but seeing that he is still a child, I will not remove his punishment though I can reduce it.
Instead of a lifetime ban, I will make it thirty years. From now on, this prince shall not be allowed to enter Hastinapur for the next thirty years."
As soon as he heard the Maharaj's words, he raised his head and looked toward the prince, and thus Senapati Bhishma announced his decision.
"Thank you, Senapati ji, for showing mercy to our prince," the elder said, bowing three times before Senapati Bhishma.
Then he took the prince with him and departed from there that is, from the kingdom of Hastinapur.
After this, they felt it was no longer appropriate to remain in the stadium and decided to go to the royal palace.
Slowly, everyone rose from their seats. Mother Kunti walked while holding Queen Gandhari, and all the others also departed in the same way, heading toward the royal palace.
...
When the drummer finished speaking, the two princesses and I returned to our chariot and sat back in our respective seats.
I took hold of the reins of the four horses and moved them up and down, making the horses start moving.
The stadium gates opened, and one by one the chariots began to exit the stadium. When our turn came, we also moved out.
In the sky, birds sparrows, crows, cuckoos, and many others were calling out in their own languages as they flew back through the air toward their nests.
On the road, many chariots were moving, and the sound of horses galloping and wheels rolling filled the air.
On both sides of the road, the citizens of Hastinapur were watching all those chariots, princes, and princesses.
Turning my gaze back.
I drove the chariot for some time, and after a while, I saw a royal palace.
The palace was enormous—so vast that it felt as if it rose above the clouds in the sky. It was painted in golden hues, and soldiers were stationed everywhere, standing alert.
In contrast to the darkness of Hastinapur outside, this place was illuminated everywhere with lamps.
To be continued...