विक्रम संवत 432 | श्रावण माह | कृष्ण पक्ष | त्रयोदशी

(28 July 375 CE)

Truth is present

By dawn, the word of Chandragupta's valour had spread around the palace. The entire citadel was blossoming with giggles and whispers, some praising the young prince for saving the King, some deploring him for breaking a royal's conduct. Only one piece of news surfaced above these gossiping ideas, and that was of the Maharajadhiraj Ramagupta. He had regained consciousness after nearly three days.

Chandragupta was prepared to meet with the King the first thing in the morning. He entered the royal chambers, where Dhruvadevi was attending to the recovering Ramagupta.
Ramagupta welcomed him as a brother would, and Chandragupta touched his feet for his blessings.

"Chandragupta," spoke Maharjadhiraj, "the matters of the palace are supposed to be Kramak, Orderly. But today, your elder brother is happy that you chose to be Akramak, the Anarchist."
Chandragupta said, "No, not Akramak Maharaja, but Vikramak, calm yet chaotic."
"Chandragupta Vikramak", proudly claimed Dhruvadevi. "If it had not been for you, our lineage would have been doomed."

"I have a question, Maharaja," said Chandragupta.

The King gestured at him to ask.

"Why did you ever agree to give over Queen Dhruvadevi to the Shaka, even after the Shaka King tried to kill you? I thought you knew their armies were prepared?"

Dhruvadevi's eyes dropped to the floor. Ramagupta's smile disappeared. It was as if Chandragupta had pointed his finger at the elephant in the room, questioning the gaping flaw in the King's armour.

"Chandragupta, the ministers decided to surrender the Queen when I was not awake. Even before the betrayal, Queen Dhruvadevi was concerned about the cost of war - perhaps costly enough to widow her. She was already planting ideas of truce with the Shaka snake that got us into this situation."

Dhruvadevi shed a tear. The single drop falling onto her jewellery echoed through the air. Chandragupta looked at her expectantly, with the eyes of a brother-in-law. However, the tears transformed the space from a home into a royal court. The Queen kept silent as a Queen does in a court.

"Chandragupta," Maharaja was just starting his sentence when he was cut off by an unruly younger prince.
"We must let Dhruvadevi speak in her defense, Maharaja," he said.
"One does not tell Maharaja what to do, Chandragupta!" Ramagupta's voice had risen significantly.

Dhruvadevi remained silent. Chandragupta waited for a moment, then disregarded his King's words, and spoke.

"The Queen can tell the Maharaja when to fight and when to walk blinded into an attack, but she cannot be asked to defend herself?"

Ramagupta was filled with rage, "Careful Vikramak, you are straying dangerously close to chaos."
Chandragupta gestured at the Queen to speak her mind. She maintained her silence.
"The Queen has nothing to say in her defense," continued Ramagupta, but he was cut off again by his unruly younger prince.
"Tell me, my Queen Dhruvadevi, is it true that you asked my brother to abandon a war to protect our kingdom?"

Dhruvadevi finally broke down and screamed, "Was it a crime for a Queen to not want her King to die? Was that my mistake? I was pleading with you to protect yourself Ramagupta, you knew what was going to happen, but you still went there. Yes, I pleaded with the King to not instigate a war, but if he knew what was going to happen, why did you go Ramagupta? The truth is that you never wanted me to be your Queen. I have only wished good for you, yet you want me to die, and you will kill yourself first if it ensures my death."

Crumbled and sobbing, the Queen hid her face in her gold-woven silken drapes. Chandragupta looked at her, filled with compassion, and watched his debilitated brother lying in his royal bed smiling and slowly start laughing at his own Queen.

"If you know what I want, Dhruvadevi, why haven't you returned to your father?" retorted Ramagupta and looked away at the ceiling.

"Chandragupta," said Dhruvadevi, "I have seen this Maharaja for years, since before he was Maharaja. This inheritance of the Great Samudragupta that has fallen into our fortune, we do not deserve. Maybe I will find peace in exile. I implore you, my saviour, the saviour of our palace and our kingdom, to take this throne and do justice to the title of Maharajadhiraj!"

Chandragupta watched the Queen fall at his feet, pleading him. Meanwhile the supposed King lay in his bed, wounded both in the body and in the heart. He watched Ramagupta start spewing poison, both towards his own brother and his own Queen. He stood there, stunned at the scenario he was faced with. His own experience with his brother and father flashed before his eyes. Ramagupta went on and on, finding the energy to hail curses from a dark corner of his heart.

"Chandragupta Vikramak," he snapped, "very very out of order. Traitors you both! Have you been planning to take the throne from me behind my back? Perhaps Dhruvadevi has also changed her name to Vikramak after spending three nights away from her husband!"

Chandragupta came back from his dissociation and felt his hand move over the head of Dhruvadevi. He touched her head and blessed her, while the voice of Ramagupta and his poison slowly faded into the vacuum of the background.

"This family cannot be my family," uttered Chandragupta to himself, and left the King and Queen - vulnerable and broken in their chambers.