Panchal, 4 years later; Dhrupad, age 14

The air of Panchal reeked of sadness as all the citizens in the Kingdom lined up to see their Prince Dhrupad and bid him farewell. King Prihas stood firm and strong as his wife shed silent tears behind him. Dhrupad had grown to be such a strong personality with the trait braveness following wherever he went. King Prihas knew no doubt that his son would be just fine. You may be wondering why everyone was in such a mood, well it was because Prince Dhrupad would now leave to commence his studies at the hermitage of a well known sage. He would learn weaponry to the best of his abilities and become fit to be a King. Not that he didn't already posses all of the qualities. 

King Prihas sighed as he remembered how he couldn't find the right teacher for his beloved son, who wouldn't just nurture him into youth, but also would teach him the fundamentals of equality and good character. It seemed as if it was just yesterday, that six months ago, Rishi Bharadwaj had come to his kingdom with his son Drona. He closed his eyes, as he had a flashback to that day, 

"Is there not anyone, any great sage that can teach my heir!" King Prihas yelled. He was scolding his prime ministers as he was seated in the throne room with great worry. "My son will be 14 in a couple of days and he must be sent off to learn our ways" We mustn't wait any longer. Prince Dhrupad who was seated not too far away from his father flinched at the mention of his departure.  

King Prihas had sent all of his minsters on a job to find the best teacher for his son. But none had found success in that mission. The King had deemed one to be too strict or another to be too soft or another to be- well you get the point. None could satisfy him. 

All of a sudden a divine presence filled the room. It was none other then Sage Bharadwaj and his son Drona. The boy was also commencing his studies around the same time that the King had envisioned for Dhrupad to start. Everyone payed their respect to this divine sage who had come from the same background as the great sage Parshuram. The sage spoke, "Son, why don't you and the Kings son Dhrupad go and talk outside while the King and I have a little conversation. 

Drona looked towards Dhrupad and nodded while Dhrupad first looked towards his father for permission. After getting a firm nod from King Prihas, he and Drona left the throne room to converse. 

Sage Bharadwaj continued, "Oh King! I know of your dilemma regarding your son. I hope too that my son brings himself up to be a great man. I am a qualified teacher and I would be more the willing to take your son under my wing, keep no difference between him and Drona and teach him all I know. I promise your son will be a great ruler and be such a strong man with character, that all will sing his praises."

This was all King Prihas had to hear before officially agreeing to send his son with Sage Bharadwaj. He said, "I must prepare my son for his time at your hermitage and prepare him to study to the best of his abilities. I will send him with you six months from now." The sage agreed. 

The nudging of his Queen flashed him back to reality. She spoke through silent sobs, "Does he really have to go. Can you not teach him everything he needs to know." King Prihas said, "It is warrior tradition to go out and learn the ways of our people. He must leave so that he can experience the real world without the guidance of us. He must face his own problems and become the best man he can be. You and I have given him the tools to succeed and now he must use those tools to achieve greatness. Just as a bee leaves the hive to go find pollen. He must leave Panchal to go find his true being." As the Queen kept her silence, he spoke again, "You are wife to the King of Panchal. A true warrior Queen. So stop your tears and bid your son farewell with a smile and blessings just as a true kshatrani would."

The Queen sighed but stood. She walked up to where her son stood with his newly found best friend Drona and his soon to be teacher Sage Bharadwaj. She gave a nod of respect to the sage, before performing the Aarti of her son and the Sage boy. 

Prince Dhrupad bent down to receive his mother's blessings before looking into her eyes one last time before leaving. He knew behind these eyes of a strong kshatrani, there was a broken mother who didn't want to leave her son. His father had already blessed him and urged him to find himself. If it weren't for Drona and his support, he probably would not have prepared to leave at all. He walked down the palace steps before turning to his people. He raised his hands up to fold them as he gave a final goodbye to his people. 

He dared not look back to his father and mother as he rode off with his new life ahead of him. 

A/N

Omg that was so sad even for me! I can almost feel the emotion of Dhrupad's mom. Anyways, enough to be said.

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