Chapter 281 - 279: News OF Pandu’s Death Reaches... Hastinapur... Trivenivrata...

(A/N):

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Hastinapur...

Royal Palace...

Back in Hastinapur, the atmosphere inside the royal palace changed the moment the messenger arrived.

The guards at the entrance had barely announced his arrival before the exhausted messenger was brought before King Dhritarashtra.

He had travelled without stopping for long, carrying the sealed scroll that contained the news from Shatashringa.

Mahamantari Vidura received the scroll and broke the seal.

For a few moments, his eyes moved silently across the words.

"...."

Then they stopped.

His expression changed.

Dhritarashtra, sensing the sudden silence, turned his head toward him.

"Vidura?"

Vidura swallowed before answering.

-Gulp!

"Your Majesty..."

His voice was unusually heavy.

"The message is from Shatashringa."

Dhritarashtra immediately became attentive.

"What news?"

Vidura looked down at the scroll once more, almost as though he wished the words written upon it would somehow change.

"They have informed us of the death of our younger brother Pandu."

The words fell into the royal chamber like a stone dropped into still water.

Dhritarashtra froze hearing the news.

"...."

For several seconds, he didn’t speak.

"Pandu..."

Vidura slowly lowered the scroll.

"Yes, Maharaja."

The king’s fingers tightened against the armrest.

His younger brother...

The man who had once stood beside him in Hastinapur.

The man who had eventually been forced to leave the kingdom because of the curse that had followed him.

Pandu was dead.

Behind them, Rajmata Ambika and Rajmata Ambalika had also heard the news.

Ambalika stared at Vidura in disbelief.

"My son..."

Her voice trembled.

"You’re saying Pandu is dead?"

Vidura could only bow his head.

"The message confirms it, Rajmata."

Ambalika’s face immediately lost its colour.

"...."

For years, she had carried the pain of watching her son leave Hastinapur and live in exile because of the curse.

She had always hoped that one day he would return, perhaps after finding some way to overcome the fate that had been placed upon him.

She had never imagined that the next news she would receive about her son would be news of his death.

"Pandu..."

Her knees suddenly gave way.

"Rajmata!"

The attendants rushed forward, catching her before she struck the floor.

Ambika stood beside her in shock, her own eyes filling with tears as she looked toward Vidura.

"How?"

Vidura lowered his voice.

"The curse..."

He paused.

"The message states that the curse finally took effect."

Ambalika had already lost consciousness in the arms of the attendants.

Dhritarashtra remained completely still.

His face showed the grief he was trying to contain.

Whatever differences had existed between the brothers, Pandu had still been his younger brother.

His family. His blood.

And now he was gone.

After a long silence, Dhritarashtra finally spoke.

"Vidura."

"Yes, Maharaja."

"Make the arrangements."

Vidura looked toward him.

"The royal funeral rites for Pandu must be conducted with the honour due to a member of the Kuru family."

His voice became firmer.

"He was my brother and a former king of Hastinapur."

"Whatever happened in the past, that does not change his place within our family."

Vidura bowed.

"It shall be done."

Dhritarashtra remained seated, his head lowered.

"Send another messenger to Shatashringa."

"Inform Kunti that Hastinapur will honour Pandu properly."

Vidura nodded his head.

"I will arrange everything immediately."

He turned toward the ministers and began issuing instructions.

The royal rites would have to be prepared.

The palace would have to be informed.

The necessary priests summoned.

The royal household would need to prepare for the arrival of Pandu’s remains and his family.

And, perhaps most importantly, the news would soon spread throughout Hastinapur.

Pandu was dead.

The king who had once been expected to rule Hastinapur was gone.

But his death had left behind five sons.

Five young princes who had just lost their father in the mountains.

And none of the people standing in that royal chamber yet understood how profoundly those five boys would change the future of the Kuru dynasty.

Trivenivrata Kingdom...

Royal Palace...

The news did not take long to reach Trivenivrata.

Only a short while after the royal assembly had begun discussing the attack by the five neighbouring kingdoms, another messenger arrived at the palace carrying a sealed scroll from Hastinapur.

The guards allowed him into the royal assembly, and the messenger immediately approached the council before handing the sealed message to Mahamantri Shakuni.

Shakuni accepted it without much thought.

He broke the seal.

His eyes moved across the first few lines.

Then stopped.

The faint smile that had been resting on his face disappeared completely.

He read the message again.

This time, much more slowly.

The change in his expression was enough to make several people in the assembly look toward him.

Devara noticed it as well.

"Shakuni?"

Shakuni didn’t immediately answer.

He folded the scroll carefully before raising his eyes toward his brother-in-law.

"There is grave news from Hastinapur."

The casual atmosphere that had existed only moments earlier disappeared.

Devara frowned his eyes.

"What happened?"

Shakuni took a slow breath.

"The message concerns Maharaja Pandu."

The moment he heard the name, Devara’s expression changed.

"What about him?"

Shakuni looked directly at him.

"Pandu is dead."

The words seemed to hang in the air.

For several seconds, nobody in the assembly moved.

Devara simply stared at Shakuni.

"...."

Then he slowly leaned back against his throne.

His eyes lowered.

And finally... He closed them.

Pandu.

The name carried far more weight than their limited interactions should have allowed.

Since Devara had arrived in this world, there had been very few deaths that had genuinely touched him personally.

He had witnessed countless warriors die during the war with Pushpasura. He had fought Rakshasas for days on end and watched enemies fall before him.

But those deaths had belonged to war.

Pandu was different.

He hadn’t been a stranger.

Their meetings had been limited, but whenever they had met, Pandu had treated him with genuine affection and respect.

There had been no political calculation behind their conversations, no attempt to use Devara for his own benefit.

He had simply treated him well.

And Devara remembered warning him.

He had known about the curse.

He had tried to make Pandu understand the danger by giving him suitable advices.

Yet fate had eventually caught up with him.

Devara slowly opened his eyes.

"He knew..."

His voice was quiet.

Shakuni nodded his head.

"The message says the curse finally took effect."

Devara looked down at his hands.

He remembered the last time he had seen Pandu.

The conversations.

The advice.

The man’s quiet nature.

And the knowledge that despite everything, Pandu had continued living with the curse hanging over him.

Devara had hoped that perhaps something would change.

Perhaps Pandu would find another way.

Perhaps the curse would somehow never claim him.

But it had.

And now there was nothing he could do about it.

Devara leaned back again, staring toward nothing in particular.

"How?"

Shakuni lowered his voice.

"He was in Shatashringa with Kunti, Aathi and his sons. The curse activated when he approached his wife."

Devara’s expression became heavier.

"So he died with his family beside him."

"Yes."

For a moment, the royal assembly remained completely silent.

Even those who hadn’t personally known Pandu understood the importance of the man whose death had just been announced.

Devara finally looked toward Shakuni.

"And the boys?"

Shakuni understood immediately whom he meant.

"The five Pandavas are alive."

Devara’s shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Good."

He looked down again.

"At least they still have Kunti."

Shakuni nodded his head.

"Hastinapur has already begun preparing the royal rites."

Devara remained silent.

"...."

Then he slowly exhaled.

"I warned him."

The words came out almost as a whisper.

"I warned him about the being careless."

He closed his eyes again.

"But now the news..."

He paused.

"...doesn’t make hearing that it actually happened any easier."

Nobody in the assembly interrupted him.

For once, Devara wasn’t thinking like a king.

He wasn’t thinking about armies, borders, alliances or the strange shadow that had been manipulating his neighbouring kingdoms.

He was simply remembering a man he had known only briefly...

A man who had treated him like family.

And now that man was gone.

The royal assembly remained silent for several moments after Shakuni finished speaking.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Devara continued sitting upon his throne, his eyes lowered as the weight of the news settled within him. But beneath the grief, another thought had already begun taking shape.

He knew the story.

He knew where the lives of Pandu’s five sons were supposed to lead them.

He knew about the rivalry that would eventually grow within the Kuru family, the hatred that would pass from one generation to another,

And the terrible war that would one day consume the Kuru lineage.

But this world was already different from the history he remembered.

Too many things had changed.

Too many people were alive who shouldn’t have been.

Too many relationships had developed differently.

And yet Pandu’s death had happened.

The curse had followed the same path.

That was enough to remind Devara that fate was still capable of pulling certain events toward the course it had originally intended.

If nobody guided the situation carefully from this point onward, the rivalry between the branches of the Kuru family could still develop.

And if that happened...

The war would eventually come.

The Kuru lineage would be torn apart.

Devara slowly opened his eyes.

He looked toward Shakuni.

"Mahamantri."

Shakuni straightened hearing him.

"Yes, Maharaja?"

"I want you to personally inform my brother Bhishma."

Shakuni understood immediately.

"Pitamah Bhishma?"

"Yes."

Devara’s voice remained calm, but there was no hesitation in it.

"He is currently staying here in Trivenivrata. He needs to hear this news directly."

Shakuni nodded his head.

"I will inform him."

Devara paused for a moment before adding,

"And Rajmata Satyavati."

Shakuni’s expression softened.

"She should hear it from us rather than through another messenger."

"Exactly."

Devara leaned back slightly.

"Tell them everything we received from Hastinapur. Don’t leave anything out."

Shakuni bowed his head.

"I understand."

Devara looked around the assembly one final time.

"For now, there is nothing more to discuss."

The ministers remained silent.

"The matter concerning the five kingdoms will be addressed later. The news from Hastinapur takes priority."

He paused.

"And make sure the palace is informed that Pandu’s family will need our support if they require it."

Shakuni nodded.

"Of course."

Devara then raised his hand.

"The assembly is dismissed."

One by one, the ministers and commanders rose from their seats.

They bowed respectfully before leaving the hall, speaking quietly among themselves about the sudden death that had cast a shadow over the kingdom’s celebrations.

Shakuni remained behind for a moment.

He looked at Devara.

There was something in the king’s expression that told him this news had affected him far more deeply than he was allowing anyone to see.

"Brother-in-law..."

Devara looked at him.

Shakuni hesitated before saying,

"Don’t carry the entire future on your shoulders tonight."

Devara gave him a faint smile.

"I’ll try."

Shakuni nodded and left.

The doors of the royal assembly slowly closed behind him.

Devara remained alone upon the throne.

The celebrations outside continued.

The city was still welcoming its victorious king.

But Devara’s thoughts had already travelled far beyond Trivenivrata.

To Shatashringa.

To five young boys who had just lost their father.

To Hastinapur. To Bhishma. To Satyavati.

And to a future he desperately hoped he could change before it became another battlefield.

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(Author note:)

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