Aniket was timid, docile and sensitive by
temperament since birth, unlike his elder sister princess Karnavali. She was
outgoing, smart, brave, and a bit too strong willed. King Arhanya had various
moments of desperation trying to make a man out of the boy. But any strictness
on his part made the prince wither like a delicate flower. He constantly
worried about prince Aniket ever making a strong successor for his throne. On
the other hand, the princess loved horse riding, archery, and war training. She
was skillful, brave and unafraid.
Every
time the king experienced a failed attempt to make a strong ruler out of his
delicate son ; the sheer candor of his daughter made him insanely mad, he
would reprimand her, curb her freedom, and took away her privileges. Karnavali
grew up resenting her father’s unjust behavior towards her owing to her
brother’s timidity. As she grew up, such experiences of failing to teach prince
Aniket archery, martial arts, or any other skill of a warrior made her more
determined to master those traits. She grew up to resent her brother with
unspeakable vehemence. She openly bullied him while he played with small birds
and animals in the royal gardens. She would shoot the animals right before his
eyes sending him running teary eyed to their mother for comfort. The prince
eventually became her outlet for all her anger and frustration. Soon she
started to mock him in front of servants and attendants. The royal servants liked the sweet
tempered prince but they did not see an able ruler in him.
One
day the king sent a proposal of his daughter to the neighboring kingdom but
offer was duly rejected because of the rash temperament of the princess
Karnavali. Her attitude had rubbed off many diplomats and messengers the wrong
way. The king finally decided to organize a swaymvar (bride chooses the groom
on her own accord). The grand day came. The royal palace was decorated;
elaborate food preparations were made. The entire court waited all day but not
one suitor turned up. Dressed in all the regalia, Karnavali could not take the
humiliation any more and in front of the entire court, she started making jibes
at her brother Aniket. The prince silently endured the humiliation because he
understood her pain. The father watched helplessly partly because he himself
was scared of her daughter’s sharp tongue. He was afraid that she would say
something rash to him in front of the court and partly because he was ashamed
of his timid son who was no better than a delicate woman in his eyes.
He
silently watched his son being humiliated. The final blow came when Karnavali
called him eunuch in disguise and that he should hide his face somewhere or
kill him self. Deeply hurt, prince Aniket walked out of the court in defeated
silence. Next day he left the palace without saying a word to anyone. Father
did not even bother to stop him as if he secretly wished the cause of his
embarrassment to disappear from his palace. Prince Aniket walked deep into the
jungle. The night fell with its spooky eeriness all around him. But a broken
heart knows no fear.
From
a distant well, he heard muffled cries for help. He paced forward following the
moonlight guiding him into the well. Peeping into the well, he asked,
“did anyone call for help?”
Out came a reply, “Yes, please help me”. I fell down this well today while
chasing a deer today. My ankle is broken. It’s a dry well, can you please come
down and carry me out on your shoulders.” Aniket’s compassionate heart did not
think twice as he climbed down the stairwell of the dark well. Not even
slightly aware of what was awaiting him.
He
made assuring sounds to the stranger as he descended into the well. When he
reached the bottom, he found no one there. Instead, as he called out, a reply
came from the top of the well asking him to come out. Puzzled he climbed out to
find a radiant Sadhu standing by the well smiling at him benevolently. Silvery
etheric light emanated from his face and body. He asked Aniket to follow him to
his place. He found Sadhu’s calmness soothing his aching soul. The gentle
kindness, which reflected in his own inner being. On their way, the Sadhu said,
“you must know prince, it takes a very brave and fearless man to follow the
voice of a stranger in the darkness of the night in a strange forest and
descend down a well to save another human being. You are indeed a brave,
fearless and a compassionate man.” These words struck Aniket like lightening.
Till today, people had called him silly, coward and a timid man. Sadhu smiled
again knowing his chain of thoughts.
The
life at the ashram suited him perfectly and blended well with his calm temperament.
His inner being blossomed with joy after finding his true home. He was taught
how to gather wood, use a bow and arrow to hunt for food, protect himself
against wild animals, and to take care of his inner self through meditative
practices.In a few years, he grew
into a strong, muscular, and a self-assured man. His arrows never missed the
target.
One day the Sadhu asked him how he never misses
a target. Prince replied, “I do everything while remembering the Divine even when
I shoot an arrow and hence I never miss the target.” Sadhu understood that the
time had come to send him back to his kingdom. Prince protested that he is happy here but the sage insisted
that he must perform his royal duties too while remembering the Divine.
Upon reaching the palace and meeting his
father again, the king could not believe his luck. He was so happy with the transformation of his son that he
offered his throne to him right away. But Aniket refused and said that he
would serve his father as long as he is the king. He also suggested that his
sister Karnavali should be made the prime minister owing to her exceptional
administrative abilities.
All these years, Karnavali
thought she was the rightful heir to the throne. Karnavali saw her dream of taking
over the kingdom demolishing before her eyes. She burned with anger. She tried
every trick to humiliate him verbally but Aniket’s poise surprised her. He defeated
her in every shooting dual, games, races and martial arts. It made her more
furious when nothing worked. Desperate, one day she poisoned his food. Aniket like every other act
ate that food while remembering the Divine. And that very moment the poison in the
food turned into nectar. Watching this unbelievable event, Karnavali realized
the propensity of her crimes against her innocent little brother. Filled with
repentance, she asked for his forgiveness. Unperturbed, Prince Aniket told her,
“I don’t need you to be sorry. I would rather see you happy. I know how
unfairly you were treated as a child. But I am glad that today you understand
that I was not the one to be blamed for that injustice. I suffered just the same
and even more as a child.”
For
the first time, the two embraced each other and shed tears. Karnavali’s heart
opened as tears of pain flowed from her eyes. A noble suitor married her soon
after and took her to his city. Thereafter the king died. Aniket became known
as the brave, mighty and a compassionate ruler. He ruled successfully for 58 years
creating a powerful and successful empire.
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