SIXTY-THREE
The guards at Dwaraka's gates saw the chariot flit past them. Thinking the princess was being abducted by the dashing kshatriya, they tried to stop the ratha; but they did not give chase because the kshatriya looked dangerous. Then, again, he could not be abducting the princess: she held the horses' reins and whipped them to go faster. No doubt, they would return by evening.
Evening came and there was no sign of Subhadra or the prince. Word spread through Dwaraka that the yati Balarama had brought into Subhadra's garden was Arjuna and the Pandava had eloped with the princess. They said he had taken her for his wife in gandharva vivaha, which was rare, but acceptable.
A small company of soldiers was dispatched to Sankhodara. They rode a way up the mainland and blew on conches and horns. On the island, the Yadavas heard these and, winding up their puja since the alarm they heard was for extreme danger, rowed back immediately to Dwaraka.
At the city-gates, a nervous guard commander broke the news stammeringly to Balarama. Balarama's roar shook the walls of the ocean-city; it made the guardsmen turn pale. The great Vrishni turned on his brother. Balarama was shaking. He knew he had been made a fool of and he knew who had made a fool of him.
"Krishna!" he roared. "You did this!"
The Blue One was prepared for the attack: he looked aghast at the accusation. "I did this? Who warned you about the yati on Raivataka? Who said it would not be wise to keep him in Subhadra's garden? Let me remind you: it was I. I said he was too handsome and smooth-tongued to be trusted. But someone scoffed at my fears and was furious that I dared suspect the yati. That was you, my lord. This is entirely your doing!"
Balarama howled at this. His eyes crimson, he said in a softer voice, "I am your brother and I have known you since we were children in Vrindavana. You can deceive the world, but not me. Ah, Krishna, what have you done this time?"
Krishna shrugged. Balarama cried, "But perhaps it is not too late. If we fly toward Indraprastha, we can overtake them before they arrive. I will kill Arjuna and his brothers and burn their city down. Fetch my chariot, I will ride alone!"
The guard commander ran to obey him. Now Krishna knew there was real danger. When his slow brother was roused, no one could stop him, except perhaps Krishna himself. He laid a hand on Balarama's arm, "You mustn't be so angry, they are our cousins. Let us think calmly about what has happened."
He led Balarama to a sea-swept stone seat and, perching at his side, said, "You think Arjuna abducted Subhadra; but from what we hear, this isn't quite true. Our sister called for the chariot and the guards all agree that she held the reins, not he. Shan't we seem fools, if we take war to the Pandavas and discover Subhadra went willingly with Arjuna?"
He paused, then mused, "And, if you think about it, our sister has made off with the finest kshatriya on earth."
Balarama growled to disagree, but he was beginning to calm down. Krishna went on, "Arjuna is a prince of the House of Kuru, a descendant of Manu and Bharata. His mother is our aunt and his natural father, Indra himself. I take his love for Subhadra not as an insult, but an honor.
As for his valor, apart from you perhaps, there is no one on earth like Arjuna."
Krishna did not say it in so many words, but the implication was there: if Balarama pursued Arjuna and the Pandava defeated him in battle, the honor of the Yadavas would be in tatters. And the outcome of a duel between his brother and their cousin need not be a foregone conclusion in Balarama's favor.
Balarama was breathing more evenly now; the angry glitter had left his eye. He saw reason in what Krishna said, though he still suspected his brother had contrived the entire escapade.
Krishna said, "There is no dishonor to anyone in a peaceful solution. Let us send after Arjuna and Subhadra and have them married in Dwaraka. Subhadra will be happy and Arjuna; so will the Pandavas, the Yadavas and I." He smiled. "And I am sure you will be happy as well."
For a moment, Balarama hesitated; then he also broke into a smile. "Ah, you are right as usual! But I am certain you planned this whole thing."
The resentment had gone from his voice. The big Yadava was most of all a good-natured man and as long as there was no dishonor in what had happened, he was content to have Arjuna and Subhadra brought back and married formally. So, when the guard commander returned with his chariot, Balarama said to him, "Ride, my friend! Catch up with Arjuna and Subhadra and fetch them back to Dwaraka. Say that Krishna and Balarama want to see them married properly. Tell them we bear Arjuna no grudge and we are happy at our sister's choice of a husband. Fly! Or they will pass out of your reach."
The surprised guard commander looked nervously at Krishna. When the Dark One nodded, he saluted them both briskly and rode off like a sea-wind after the princess and her abductor. Or was it the other way and she was the abductress?
Meanwhile, once the lovers had ridden beyond the borders of Krishna's kingdom, Anarta, they slowed. They stopped the chariot often to kiss. When desire blazed too high, they would ride again, while the wind cooled their ardor. Then, they would slow and embrace. They could hardly wait for night to fall, so they could wrap themselves in covers of darkness and make love in the wilderness. After all, they were man and wife now by gandharva vivaha, the ritual of abduction.
The guard commander from Dwaraka caught up with the lovers' chariot. Arjuna heard him long before he came into view and the Pandava waited with his bow in his hand. But the soldier came in peace and when Arjuna saw he came alone he lowered his weapon.
The guardsman jumped down from his chariot and folded his hands. The friendly soldier cried, "Felicitations to you both! I bring greetings from my lords Balarama and Krishna. They beg you to return to Dwaraka and be married with proper ceremony."
Subhadra asked, "Is my brother Balarama not angry?"
"He was at first, princess. But Krishna spoke to him and now he is keen that you return and stay as man and wife in our city."
Arjuna said, "Tell my cousins we will spend tonight in the wilds, for we wish to be alone. Tomorrow we will return and be married formally in Dwaraka. Nothing will please me more."
Bowing, the soldier climbed back into his chariot and rode back to Dwaraka with the wind whistling around him. When he arrived, preparations were already in full swing and the ocean-city was being decked out like a bride herself for the occasion. Krishna had been certain that, if sued with peace, Arjuna would return.
The young lovers spent the night of their gandharva vivaha in a familiar cave on Raivataka, where Arjuna had first seen the woman of his dreams without knowing who she was. The moon peered in on their sweet exertions through the cave-mouth.