A PRICE TO PAY
This story is a work of fiction inspired by mythological characters and events.
Creative liberties have been taken with situations not to challenge or offend any beliefs or sentiments, but to explore the story through a fresh lens.Hope you readers understand.
Was Vaidharbhi an introvert or a silent ember covering a fire? Let's see that.
Temple of Bhavani ,Vidarbha before elopement
The incense curled upward, staining the air with sandalwood. Inside the brightly lit sanctum, Vaidharbhi knelt before Bhavani’s image, pressing her palms together tightly that her knuckles would bleach. Her lips moved soundlessly.
Not for crown,
Not for songs in my name.
Not for my father’s pride.
Only for him.
The thought circled like a prayer bead she refused to drop.
The bronze face of the goddess watched her with mercy. In the flicker of the oil lamps, the goddess seemed almost alive as though moved by her mortal tremors. Her childhood friend Mrinalini was standing behind her. She thinks the princess is too optimistic. She has a different view on this issue. Nobody would yield to a strange request of Vaidharbhi.
Mrinalini lingered over Vaidharbhi, her eyes tracing every movement. When Vaidharbhi bent low to touch the feet of the deity, Mrinalini’s mouth tightened not in disapproval, but in the grim patience of one who has seen their friends drift toward an impossible hope.
They walked out together. Outside, sunlight poured down the temple steps, and the wind tugged at Vaidharbhi’s face. She stopped at the very last step, bare feet on cool stone.
Nothing. No distant drumbeat of hooves. No silver gleam of Bahalika’s mane. Only the chatter of pilgrims and the screech of a hawk circling high above.
Mrinalini came to stand beside her. “Why would a new-order prince obey your whim?” she said quietly. “He’ll see you as a petitioner, not as a lover. Was it a letter as you claim ? you drafted an appeal. And Vaidharbhi ,You know politics better than I do, And the door to Dwarka has been shut for good. That day when Rukmini your brother sided with Jarasandha. You are from the house of his arch enemy.
The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can breathe. Shishupala is your truth. Krishna is a fevered dream that you ought to forget. It is good for you and your people. Why walk into a way that leads nowhere? Even if he marries, will he really love you? Think”
The words struck like cold water.
So I am a fool now. The girl who whispered her heart into a scroll and thought it would change the wind. Maybe I have fed my own humiliation, tended it like a garden. What if he reads and laughs? What if he tosses it to his court for sport?
Mrinalini’s voice softened but didn’t spare her. “Better pray the goddess keeps your letter from your future husband’s hands ,if it hasn’t already reached him. She meant Shishupal."
The world seemed to narrow into a ringing silence. Vaidharbhi adjusted a string of Jasmine in her hair. That time she noticed a silhouette.
Then eyes. A pair of them, dark as wet stone, staring straight into her. Yes it was his. Her Govind Shauri. He may be Krishna for others, but only Govind Shauri for her.
Before a sense could form, strong hands caught her by the arm, swept her off the ground. She was placed before a heaving chest of muscle and heat—the famed Bahalika stamping, ready. The reins snapped, the horse leapt, and the temple steps fell away in a blur of stone and startled cries.
He fought their pursuers with the reins gripped in one hand and his sword flashing in the other. He began moving with a calm precision that closed the chaos behind them. Vaidahbhi could feel his breath, soft and steady, brushing against her ear. Maybe he was taller and very much taller than her.She barely glanced at him during the rush of flight.
Govind Shauri the name she murmured each and every syllable in her mind.
They rode in silence. The sound of hooves and wind only could be heard. When they crossed the borders of Vidarbha, far from any chase, he finally brought the horse to a stop by the banks of the Narmada.
At first, she expected words of promise, love and dreams of Dwarka, children, a future stitched from whispered hopes.
But instead, he said plainly, “You’re free now princess. Do you want me to drop you anywhere?”
The words hit her like a cold slap. Was this his idea of rescue? That she simply wanted to vanish from the nightmare of marriage like a frightened girl? Or did he really believe that she will do tapasya to obtain Vishnu’s favor?
He looked at her . There was an awkward silence.
Vaidharbhi hesitated . She drew a deep breath and with a sharp edge to her voice asked, “When you came to Vidahrbha to rescue me . She paused as though she could not control the words tumbling from her mouth .
“Didn’t you know what that meant? Are you just going to leave me here? No Dwaraka, no future with you? Are you trying to prank me?
His tone turned dry, almost mocking.
“I came here because you sent for help to escape Shishupala. That’s all I can offer. What do you think then ? Should I drag my army, my people, into war over a young girl like yours?
She bowed her head, the weight of despair squeezing tight around her chest. Silent sobs shook her frame despite her effort to hold them back.
“Princess,” he began voice softened
She cut him off with a raised hand. After wiping her face and steadying her gaze, she forced him to meet her eyes.
“Please, let me speak before you say another word.” She stepped back, Now her voice steady resolute.
“I know sending you that message puts you in an impossible position. Whatever I feel for you, I don’t expect you to feel the same. I won’t demand affection where there is none.”
She smiled faintly,as there was an irony in her words.
“I’ve heard how the women of Dwaraka swarm around you. They are literally mad with desire over your looks and your ways. “ She let a mirthless grin
Maybe it’s an exaggeration or truth, she pauses signaling with hand “ something ridiculous in between. I don’t care.” She almost shouted “I only know how I feel.”
She strides faster, reducing the distance between them and leaned her cheek against his chest,
She continues “If you choose not to take me with you, to Dwarka. It's all right I shall not force you. I shall wait right here “pointing to the ground below her feet,” I shall wait for my father and Shishupala to find me here”
He looked at her sharply. She laughed, the sound clear and sharp.
“What did you think Krishna ? Should I kill myself?”
Her eyes sparkled with fierce challenge.
“No. I won’t die. What good would that do, it only drags our kingdoms closer to war. Doesn't it ? She looks now
“ So my answer is If you leave me here, I’ll marry Shishupala. “
Krishna looked at her now more carefully. And he was about to say something. Vaidharbhi knew it hit the chord
“Wait, I haven't yet finished . And every time he , your cousin touches me, I’ll whisper your name whether in pain or in ecstasy. It’ll be your name I call. I’ll carve it into my soul so deep the world will know. I will carry you in every beat of my soul, so deeply that even the gods will know the strength of this love.
She pulled back with a smile. “There. I’m done.”
Krishna’s lips curled into a smile, eyes glinting with sharp amusement. He gave a slow shake of his head, almost as if it is a lover's fantasy.
“So, you want me to play hero ,whisk you away like some prince from a fairy tale huh? his voice edged with sarcasm. Krishna continues to speak looking into her eyes.
“But wars aren’t fought over whispers and sighs, princess. You expect me to turn my kingdom upside down for a letter and a glance?.”
The hard line in his jaw eased. She could feel.
" I never knew that before that you are so seriously in love with me? " Krishna asks suddenly the tone is soft
" Well then you must know now at least." Vaidharbhi clarifies.
“I have a duty to my people, to their peace, Vaidharbhi .I can’t throw that away just like that, even if my heart wanted to.”
But then his gaze softened, flickering down to where her cheek had rested against his chest earlier.
“Yet,” he said quietly, “there’s something in your voice “ he pauses, “something that doesn’t sound like a petition or a plea. It sounds like the truth. The kind that is not spoken for the court or crafted for crown politics, but into a man’s soul.”
His hand lifted slowly, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. She felt the gesture as tender and unguarded.
“I won’t pretend I haven’t thought of you since that letter arrived. Not as a political problem, but something more than that. You can call it love. ” he admitted, voice low. Now there was a weight of something deeper settling between them.
Krishna’s eyes met hers fully now, no sarcasm left, only quiet acceptance.
“Let’s stop pretending this is just politics, Vaidharbhi. Come with me.”
Their marriage blossomed quietly at the same time as well as fiercely . Vaidharbhi’s calm steadiness weaves perfectly with Krishna’s restless spirit. There was no murmur of sorrow. Vaidharbhi blossomed tenderly in Krishna’s embrace. In that sacred union came radiant Pradyumna, gentle Charudeshna, and graceful Charumathi. Each one of them is a living testament to their deep and enduring love.
Years later somewhere in palace of Dwaraka
One maid leaned in, whispering as she folded fresh cloth.
"She’s so restrained, so disciplined” The maid meant Vaidharbhi here. “for someone like him, Krishna, who’s so full of life and fire.” maid hushed “ Sometimes I think he is a little annoyed by her . “
The other maid looked at the first maid
“Just look at how he is with his other wives. Satyabhama may be,. There is all the laughing and teasing, but with her, it’s different. He doesn't do anything.”
The other maid shook her head, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
"You haven’t understood them at all," she said softly.
"It’s not annoyance. It’s like they burn for each other in a way no one else can see. When their eyes meet, it’s like two flames flickering At times quiet, sometimes fierce, but She stops to look at them seated in a balcony. ”It is always alive. She keeps the fire steady, and he keeps it bright. That’s why it looks so different. Not less, but something deeper."
Nearby, Krishna lowered his voice to a gentle murmur, his breath warm against her ear. “With you, I have found the calm that tames the storm inside me. So it is the peace I find.”
Rukmini’s smile deepened, her eyes glowing with quiet longing. “And you are the fire that sets my quiet heart to burn.”
" The letter you sent that day was the most daring thing that an unmarried girl can do "
Krishna chuckled at old memories.
Vaidharbhi ," I had to drag you then. For our sake."
@sambhavami
I had this idea when I read your post on Rukmini yesterday. A random thought . Thank you for inspiring me.
