Fatal Dreams
A short story by Nisha Phogat
Introduction to the Author:
Nisha Phogat is a literature research scholar who loves reading as well as writing. She often writes short stories in her leisure.
This story is about that woman of Mahabharata who turned the wheel of incidents and changed everyone’s destiny. If she would not have taken the promise from Devarata he would never have been known as Bhishma. The great Bhishma got the boon from his father of wish death in an exchange of his strong vow of celibacy. For all his life he worked as a guard to Hastinapur throne. If Satyvati’s dream didn’t come in his way the picture of Hastinapur would be different. That day was like the end of her dreams. She had recently decided to leave the Palace of Hastinapur. The palace of her ambitions. She was ‘Rani Maa’ for all. Her respect and status could be the reason of jealousy for other queens in the palace. To get that status she hid her secrets. But she revealed her secret to that person who was the real culprit of her plans. No one knew except Bhishma that Vyasa was her first son. Vyasa was the fruit of the union of Satyavati and sage Parasara. She was born with the fishy smell because she came from the stomach of a fish, not a woman. At any cost, she tried to get rid of this smell. That was a golden chance for her to give her virginity and take a fragrant body forever from sage Parasara. He was so kind that after union he even grant her virginity back. Her planning never went wrong. Offers came to her in their own way but she used them for her ambitious benefits. That was her beauty which attracted first sage Parasara then king Shantanu. Both became the medium for completing her expectations. But what a tragic life she got. She fulfilled her dreams but everybody left her all alone on the path of life.
The first man and the first son both left her with her charming beauty and fragrant body. She married king Shantanu on the condition that only her son born from the king Shantanu will be the king of Hastinapur and no one else. In this deal, she forgot that she was grabbing the right of Devavrata. She became the reason of Bhishma’s strong oath of celibacy. Everyone accepted her condition. Now she was the queen of Hastinapur. She begot two sons, Chitrangada, a valiant hero and Vichitravirya, a great archer. But king Shantanu died before they attained youth. Satyavati had been left again with the royal life and responsibilities. Chitrangada had been installed on the throne but that arrogant king had been killed by the Gandharva king of the same name. Now all burdens were on Bhishma. When Vichitravirya grew up to youthhood he had been settled as the king and married to Ambika andAmbalika. After some years he also lost his life due to poor health. He left the throne issueless.
That morning was not a usual one. Something was to be going to change her life forever. She took off her royal attire and put her on the ‘Bhagwa Vastra’. She looked around in her room with a deep sigh. She came in the front of her mirror, looked at herself.
“Was this my destiny?” she murmured.
A knock shattered her loneliness.
“Who is here?”
“Vyasa, mother.”
“Come in son.”
“It’s time to leave mother. I think, you are ready.”
“Yes, of course. But before this, I want to have a word with you”
“Sure mother”
“I know you don’t belong to this palace. But I belong to this palace and you belong to me. You paid your duties to your step brothers very well. I never saw your childhood as you got your youth at once after the birth because of the super powers of your father. He was a great sage. I have never met him after that day. You also got his powers and you also became a sage but you gave me the promise to call me in any emergency. I lost both of my royal sons. They had no children. It was my duty to save the royal line. I requested to Bhishma but he was stuck to his vow. That was my fault. I think. I snatched his right to become a king and his mother’s curse took my sons. All, I lost. My husband, my sons, your father and you. I had been left all alone” Satyavati started to cry.
“Don’t cry mother. We have nothing in our hands. We are the puppets in the hands of the time.”
“No, no, my son. It was my entire fault. I called you so that you could unite with my daughters-in- law and could put my grandsons in my lap. I can imagine, how a woman feels the touch of other male other than her husband? It is my selfishness that never left me. But then, what happened? What happened to run after the fatal dreams? Dhritarashtra was blind and Pandu born with a poor health. And now, we lost the pandu. Pandu and Dhrithrashtra are your sons but had been counted always as the stars of the Kuru Dynasty. Now, I am worried, how Dhritrashtra will run this kingdom.First Bhishma, then you, I always demanded sacrifices to achieve my self-interest. Why? Why this happened to Kuru dynasty.”
“Mother, it is not good for this clan. Dhrithrashtra’s insecurities and big dreams will be the reasons of all sufferings. A big storm is in its way. In that storm, everyone will be lost. It is the right time for you to leave this palace and make your way on the path of penance.”
“Rightly said, son. Now no strength is left within me to see the destruction of my family. I have to regret my decisions. I have to pay for my dreams. My daughters –in-law, Ambika and Ambalika will also follow us. They had lost the interest in this dreamy world. Let us enter the region of penances.”
They left the palace. All were there to say a goodbye. An unrevealed path was waiting for them. Satyavati was in the middle of Ambika and Ambalika holding their hands like a protecting mother. They were following Vyasa. Satyavati looked back at the palace, the destination of her dreams. The beauty of her dreams always tempted her to follow them. But, now, she got rid of all illusions as she knew that for a follower these never end.