SIXTEEN
As they rode, Brihannala felt Urvashi's curse leave his body. He was a man again. He was Arjuna. All that remained of the eunuch were his clothes and long hair.
They arrived at a lofty sami tree in the forest. Brihannala made Uttara Kumara stop the chariot. He pointed into the branches, "There is a bundle tied there, wrapped in a winding-sheet. Climb up and fetch it down."
"A corpse!" cried the prince. "I am a kshatriya, eunuch. How can I touch a corpse? I will be defiled."
Brihannala laughed. "Surely, you belong to one of the great royal houses of the earth. I would never make you do anything that might pollute you. Trust me, wrapped in that cerement is something with which I can face the Kuru army. Your bow and arrows are not quite enough to fight such enemies. Climb the tree and cut the rope that secures the bundle."
Uttara Kumara brought down the corpse-like bundle. Brihannala said, "Open it, my prince."
The prince undid the twin knots on the winding-sheet. He peeled away the cloth from whatever it covered. Within, there was another covering of cowhide. Uttara Kumara undid the thongs that bound this layer. When he drew back the flaps, he cried out in awe: it was as if a rainbow had been captive in that hide and now burst forth.
The Matsya prince breathed, "Unearthly weapons! What are they, eunuch?" He knelt beside the dazzling ayudhas, gingerly he reached out to stroke them with his fingertips. "They are so beautiful and they seem to be alive. Even as you and I are, Brihannala."
Then he grew afraid and backed away once more from the gleaming weapons. He turned to Brihannala and saw the eunuch standing very still, a hint of tears in his eyes.
Uttara Kumara said, "What are these weapons? I have never seen any like them before. They seem to be made of starlight and gandharva jewels. Which is this bow, eunuch, like a serpent of light? The arrows beside it burn like the sun and fire. Ah, they are so lovely and so terrible as well. Whose are they?"
Brihannala said, "These are the Pandavas' weapons. The bow you touched is the Gandiva; it belongs to Arjuna. There is only one of its kind that remains in the world and it brings undying fame to one who owns it. In olden times, the Gandiva belonged to Brahma, for a thousand years. Then Indra had it for five thousand. Soma, the Moon, owned the bow after Indra and he gave it to the Lord of the sea. Agni had it from Varuna and recently, for the first time since it was wrought, the bow passed into the hands of a mortal man. When Arjuna helped the Fire God burn the Khandava vana, Agni gave him the Gandiva."
Uttara Kumara stood bewitched. He whispered, "And this other bow, set with turquoise and blue sapphires?"
"That is Bheema's. The son of the wind subdued the kings of Bharatavarsha with it, before his brother's Rajasuya yagna."
"And the one that burns red for the rubies embedded in it?"
"That is Madri's son, Nakula's, bow and the one green as leaves is his twin Sahadeva's. The emeralds upon it are not of this earth. And the most slender bow, with golden bells that tinkle in the breeze, belongs to their eldest brother and their lord, Yudhishtira."
"And these silver quivers that seem to be made of moonlight?"
"One for each Pandava and look, each arrow in them has one brother's name engraved upon it. They are magical quivers and they are never empty. When the Pandavas disguised themselves for the thirteenth year of their exile, they tied their weapons to this tree. After the ajnatavasa is over, the sons of Pandu will return for them."
Like one who had walked into a dream, Uttara Kumara asked, "Where have the Pandavas gone, leaving these weapons here? Where is Draupadi? We heard, a year ago, that they had left the Kamyaka and the Dwaitavana; no one has seen them since. You seem to know so much about them. You even know where they hid their weapons. Brihannala, do you know where Yudhishtira and his brothers are?"
Then, it seemed to the prince that the eunuch was taller than he had been before. Brihannala smiled at him, "Why, my prince, the Pandavas have been very near you. Indeed, they have been your father's guests in Virata, this past year."
Astonishment on Uttara Kumara's face and disbelief; Brihannala went on, "Kanka the dice-player is Yudhishtira. Your father's cook, Ballava, is Bheema. Damagranthi the stable-hand is Nakula and your cowherd Tantripala is Sahadeva."
The prince breathed, "And Draupadi?"
"Your mother's sairandhri, Malini, is Panchali."
"And Arjuna?"
And now, it seemed to him he did not know the eunuch at all, his sister's dance-teacher. Brihannala was transformed into a mythic hero about whom Uttara Kumara had heard glowing legends since he was a child. The one before him said simply, "Why, my prince, I am Arjuna."
He saw excitement erupt softly on the prince's face. The next moment, Uttara Kumara was full of doubt. "If you are Arjuna, tell me the ten names you are called and how you had each one."
"So, it is hard to believe that a eunuch is a kshatriya! My names are Arjuna, Phalguna, Jishnu, Kiriti, Swetavahana, Bhibhatsu, Vijaya, Partha, Savyasachi and Dhananjaya."
The joy in Uttara Kumara's eyes grew and grew. On the point of belief, he whispered, "And what do they mean?"
"I was Dhananjaya when I conquered the kings of Bharatavarsha during the Rajasuya yagna and won wealth from them. I am Vijaya because I have never been defeated in battle. The horses the Lord of Fire gave me are white, so I am Swetavahana. My father Indra set a crown on my head in Devaloka, so I am Kiriti. I fight fairly, so am I Bhibhatsu; Savyasachi, being ambidextrous; Arjuna, since my skin has the color of that tree; Phalguna, since I was born under the Uttara Phalguni nakshatra. I am Jishnu because I am fierce when roused and because of my solemn oath: that if anyone spills even a drop of my brother Yudhishtira's blood on to the ground, I will kill that man and all his clan. Finally, I am Partha because I am my mother Pritha's son."
Uttara Kumara knew it was Indra's son Arjuna, who stood before him. The Matsya prince thought back on the Pandavas' lives in his father's palace. In terror, he fell at Arjuna's feet.
"My lord, I announce myself! I am king Virata's youngest son Bhoominjaya, also known as Uttara Kumara. I am the first one to whom Arjuna revealed himself after his ajnatavasa: long shall my fame last because of this.
O Kshatriya, I tremble when I think of the menial tasks that you, your brothers and your queen performed in my father's palace. Humbly and on my father's behalf, also, I beg you to forgive us if we disrespected you in any way."
He said all this lying on his face at the Pandava's feet and his tears falling on the ground. With a laugh, Arjuna raised the youth up and embraced him. Gently he said, "Why should you be afraid or ask my forgiveness? We have all been happy in Virata and your father has been generous to a fault. But come now, prince, the Kauravas are waiting for us. Fear nothing, I swear no harm will come to you."
The prince smiled radiantly and said, "I swear I shall never be afraid again in my life."
Arjuna turned to the weapons in the winding-sheet. He folded his hands to them and picked up the Gandiva and his silver quivers. It seemed to Uttara Kumara that both the warrior and the bow shone brighter with each other's touch. Arjuna took a folded banner from the bundle. He took down the Matsya lion from the chariot and hoisted his own flag in its place. It bore an image of magnificent Hanuman and Viswakarman, who wrought that flag, had placed many powerful spirits upon it. Those superhuman ones, too, took their places again. Arjuna removed the eunuch's bracelets and bangles from his arms and put on an archer's golden gloves. He tied his long hair in a white silk scarf, strapped the silver quivers to his back; and now, before an enthralled Uttara Kumara stood Arjuna, the Pandava, ready for battle! No trace of the eunuch Brihannala remained.
In awe, the young prince helped Arjuna into his chariot. Then he climbed into the sarathy's place and took the reins. Urvashi's curse ended finally when Pandu's son took up the Gandiva once more; Arjuna said in a deep man's voice, "Let us ride."
The prince flicked his reins over his horses and they flashed forward.