Chapter 406 - 374: Vrishasena’s Take On Devara...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Which will encourage me...

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King Vrishasena continued staring at the image of Trivenivrata’s royal banner burning within the sacred fire, but the anger he felt towards its ruler had little to do with the Ashvamedha alone.

The moment the chief sage had spoken Devara’s name, memories he had spent years suppressing returned with renewed bitterness.

Of all the kings who could have dared to challenge his sacrifice, it had to be the very man whose existence had become a thorn in his side, a ruler whose growing influence threatened not merely his political ambitions but the social order he had devoted his life to preserving.

Vrishasena was a staunch adherent of the caste-based hierarchy.

He believed that society could function only when every person remained within the position assigned to them by birth, and he regarded any attempt to alter that arrangement as a dangerous departure from established tradition.

To him, the authority of kings, the privileges of the learned, and the duties assigned to the different social groups were all parts of an order that must never be questioned.

A ruler who permitted people to cross those boundaries was not, in his eyes, a progressive king or a benevolent reformer.

He was a man undermining the very foundations upon which civilisation rested.

And Devara had done precisely that.

When Trivenivrata was first established, Devara had refused to accept that a person’s birth should determine the limits of their knowledge or the skills they were permitted to acquire.

He had opened the doors of his gurukul to those who genuinely wished to learn, insisting that the pursuit of knowledge, particularly skills that could save lives, should not be restricted merely because someone had been born into a particular family.

Among the subjects he had encouraged people to study was medicine, believing that the ability to treat the sick and injured was a valuable skill that ought to benefit the entire kingdom.

That decision had provoked fierce opposition from several traditionalists, including learned men whom Vrishasena had once regarded as guardians of dharma.

He could still remember the reports that had reached his court when Devara had invited his own guru to Trivenivrata, requesting that he teach medical knowledge to those who wished to learn at the newly established gurukul.

The response had been nothing short of scandalous.

Rather than accepting the invitation, the guru and several other scholars who shared his convictions had openly opposed Devara’s decision.

They had declared that the king was committing adharma by disregarding the established social order, warning that a kingdom which abandoned its traditional duties would eventually lose the favour of the gods.

Some had gone so far as to proclaim that Trivenivrata would be abandoned by the divine powers if its ruler continued along that path.

Vrishasena had heard those declarations with considerable satisfaction at the time.

He had expected the scholars’ departure to damage Devara’s reputation, perhaps even force him to reconsider his policies when the consequences became apparent.

After all, what was a kingdom without the blessings of the gods and the guidance of learned men?

In his understanding, Trivenivrata’s ruler had committed an error that would eventually bring about his own downfall.

Yet the years had passed, and the disaster everyone had predicted had never arrived.

Instead, the opposite had happened.

Trivenivrata had continued to prosper, its administration had strengthened, and its gurukul had attracted students from increasingly distant lands.

What had once been dismissed as a reckless experiment had gradually become an example that other rulers were willing to follow.

Kingdom after kingdom had begun sending their princes and children to study there, allowing them to learn alongside students whose birth would once have prevented them from sharing the same classrooms.

Even Hastinapur, one of the most influential kingdoms in the region, had sent students to Devara’s gurukul.

That particular development had infuriated Vrishasena more than he cared to admit.

If a small kingdom had followed Devara’s example, he could have dismissed it as the foolishness of an insignificant ruler.

But when powerful kingdoms began adopting similar practices, the matter became considerably more serious.

Devara was no longer merely challenging the customs of his own realm.

His policies were spreading beyond his borders, encouraging other rulers to question principles that Vrishasena believed should remain unquestionable.

And the worst part, from Vrishasena’s perspective, was that Devara appeared to be getting away with it.

The stories surrounding the king had only grown more extraordinary with time.

At first, Vrishasena had dismissed the reports of Devara’s exploits as exaggerations spread by enthusiastic subjects.

Then came accounts of his battles against formidable asuras, his extraordinary divine weapons, and the remarkable abilities he had demonstrated during his adventures.

Every time Vrishasena heard another tale, he found some reason to doubt it, convincing himself that Devara’s reputation had been carefully manufactured by those who wished to elevate him.

But even that had not prepared him for the reports surrounding Devara’s recent marriage.

According to the accounts reaching Vrishabhapura, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi themselves had acted as Devara’s parents during the wedding ceremonies, participating in the sacred rituals and bestowing blessings upon the newly married couple.

Vrishasena had initially laughed when he heard the story, convinced that it was another absurd invention intended to make Devara appear favoured by the divine.

Even by the standards of royal exaggeration, the tale seemed ridiculous.

Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi acting as his parents? What next? Will the entire Trimurti descend from the heavens to serve him at his next feast?

Yet the story had persisted, repeated by travellers, merchants, and visitors from kingdoms that had no particular reason to flatter Devara.

The more people spoke of it, the more irritated Vrishasena became, for he could find no satisfactory explanation for why so many seemingly unrelated accounts continued to paint the same extraordinary picture of the king.

He refused, however, to accept the possibility that the stories might be true.

There must be some trick behind it, he thought bitterly.

Perhaps he has manipulated those around him, or perhaps he has discovered some means of deceiving people into believing whatever he wishes.

A king who can convince others to abandon their traditions and trust a kingdom supposedly rejected by the gods must be an accomplished deceiver indeed.

Vrishasena’s gaze returned to the sacred fire, where the image of Trivenivrata’s crowned lion banner continued to shimmer amid the flames.

He had never accepted the idea that Devara’s kingdom could prosper without following the social order he considered essential.

In his mind, the absence of divine punishment did not prove that Devara had been right.

It merely meant that the consequences had yet to reveal themselves, or that the king had managed to conceal them beneath a carefully constructed image of prosperity.

And now that same ruler had challenged his Ashvamedha.

The thought brought a cold smile to Vrishasena’s face.

Perhaps this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

Devara might have persuaded other kings to follow his example, and he might have convinced countless people that Trivenivrata was a realm favoured by the gods, but the Ashvamedha was not a debate over customs or a competition to win the affection of ordinary people.

It was a royal declaration backed by the strength of a kingdom.

If Devara wished to reject his claim, then he would have to defend that decision.

"Let us see how long your reputation protects you when the matter is decided between kings,"

Vrishasena muttered, his eyes narrowing at the vision of the lion banner.

"You may have convinced half the region to follow your peculiar ideas, Devara, but you will not make a fool of Vrishasena."

The chief sage watched the king carefully, sensing that his thoughts had moved far beyond the ritual itself.

"Your Majesty," he began cautiously,

"King Devara is known to possess considerable strength, and Trivenivrata is protected by the three sacred rivers. We should consider our response carefully before making any decision that could lead to war."

Vrishasena turned towards him, his expression hardening.

"Are you suggesting that I should ignore the insult? His soldiers have stopped my sacrificial horse and cut down my banner."

"If I allow such an act to pass without a response, every ruler who has witnessed my Ashvamedha will question my authority. What value does a king’s declaration possess if another ruler can reject it without consequence?"

The sage lowered his head slightly.

"I am suggesting only that we understand the circumstances before committing ourselves to a course from which there may be no easy return."

"And I am telling you that the circumstances are perfectly clear," Vrishasena replied.

"Devara has challenged my claim. I shall answer him accordingly."

He turned away from the altar and summoned the royal attendants, ordering them to prepare the court for an urgent assembly.

His ministers and military commanders would be called, and the kingdom’s response would be discussed without delay.

Whatever Devara intended by stopping the horse, Vrishasena would ensure that his refusal carried a price.

As the attendants hurried to carry out his commands, the sacred fire continued to burn, its flames gradually settling into their earlier rhythm.

The Ashvamedha had begun as a declaration of Vrishasena’s ambition to establish his supremacy.

Now it had become something far more personal, tangled with years of resentment towards a king whose growing influence he could neither understand nor accept.

And in the depths of his pride, Vrishasena had already made one dangerous assumption: that Devara’s success was the product of deception, and that exposing him would be enough to restore the order he believed the world had lost.

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(Author note:)

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