The coarse path was lost to darkness in the steady daylight. Against the hazy sky, branches withered their tendrils, not welcoming the monstrous person unseeminly making a way through them.

The undesirable uproar of Viranth's defeated footsteps bristly dragged themselves towards the end of an incessant road he was following while he stood in the middle of nowhere. His face was perturbed in drubbing embarrassment and vexation of all the things he had lost within the blink of an eye. His wounds and soul seemed emptier than the Throne of Karusha, whose atrocious ruler was slaughter by the Queen of Dwarka, that his guilty conscience failed to perceive some lookouts sighting his moves.

"If Yuvraj Viranth is here, then who has acquired the Throne of Karusha after the death of Dantvakra?" Duryodhan slowly inquired, taking the support of his mace fixed on the dry soil.

"The Throne of Karusha Kingdom is devoid of any authority ever since the mysterious death of Dantvakra." Shakuni effectively gestured, stepping on the scattered dry leaves, making his presence known.

"Mamashree, instead of spying over him we should take the due advantage and capture Karusha. That will bring great political power rather than spying over Viranth which would seemingly give nothing." Duryodhan sighed.

"No my dear nephew, absolutely not. In the search of something great, you will end up losing the greatest opportunity. It is foolish to take actions against one's foe without knowing the root of eveything. A tree might still grow if chopped off from its trunk but it cannot be brought back to life, once uprooted." Shakuni squinted his eyes with a smirk plastered on his face.

"The root of this inscrutable cycle is indeed you sister Dhriti and, for the sake of every being, uprooting this root is an onerous task. That's why when weapons conk out, going refugee becomes the only light to guide us to our goals." Shakuni explained , pointing at Viranth.

"Jyeshth Bhrata is the Yuvraj of Hastinapur. Why will he seek refugee to someone like Viranth, for whole even managing his sword looks like a tedious take?" Dushasan interrupted with pride.

"Sometimes understanding diplomacy is far beyond words. Seeking refugee is like a mirror to his face and prickle to his nape." Shakuni muttered, the three of them pacing towards where Vikrant slowly dragged himself.

"But what is the benefit of all this, Mamashree?" Duryodhan agitatedly sighed.

"You don't get the fruit of a the tree the day you sow it's seeds. To get the fruit, it has to nurture the seed and keep it under your influence. Viranth is like that seed, which will bear the fruits of the destruction of your enemies.
Therefore, to get this sweet fruit, you have to seek refuge like a creeper around a tree" Shakuni expounded his plans.

"But Mamashree, Viranth does not have any advantage nor any other concern by stopping Yudhishthir from becoming the Chakravarti Samrat. In such a situation, why and how will he help us?" Dushasan questioned in uncertainty.

"If you just cannot break a stick, the you must cleave it right from the middle. Dhriti is reason behind the indestructible alliance of both the Pandavas and the Yadavas. If she is winnowed out, then setting them apart will become easier." Shakuni pointed out, looking at Viranth as the latter discerned their unforeseen presence.

"Let's go, mere bacche. Gulp down the poison of inferiority until you make your own way out." Shakuni patted, directing them towards Viranth.

"Pranipat! Pranipat Karusha Naresh Viranth." Shakuni broke a dampened smile.

"Such ridicule does not suit a person like you, Gandhar Raj. This must be known to you, that I'm not the King of Karusha and I will never step up as one." Viranth looked up, noticing Dushasan and Duryodhan holding no expressions.

"There is no place for scorning, Viranth. Infact we are here with a reason which is absolutely in you and your late father's interest. After all, even we lament for Maharaj Dantvakra's mysterious death." Shakuni clemently scoffed, gaining a jolted expressions from both his nephews as he emphasized his words.

"Gandhar Naresh, I've heard a lot of your feats. All your actions reek of politics and personal interests, not someone else's benefit.
But now you should know that I can not help you complete your mundane affairs. Neither do I have my state nor it's politics in my hands anymore. I failed to protect my father and hence I have decided not to take up the throne after him." Viranth let out a sigh, quickly jilting up to pat his horse making Shakuni sigh in disbelief.

"Mamashree, he might change his mind if we stop straddling the purport. Talk to him about your intentions." Duryodhan whispered, just wanting to turn tables in his favor.

"Despite being a Kshatriya, you are running away from the battlefield of reprisal. What could be more humiliating for your late father, Viranth?" Shakuni played with his words.

"Don't do the foolishness of carrying someone else's liable affliction on yourself like a slave. The only person accountable for the death of your father is Dwarka's Maharani - Dhriti. And you are fully claimant to go and avenge the anhiliation and declare her as the slaughterer of your father." Shakuni completed with devilry in his words.

"What blasphemous act do you want me to commit, Gandhar Raj? I have escaped once, now if I even think about taking a step towards Dwarka, my life won't be shown any mercy or pity." Viranth rapidly turned around in incredulity.

"Dhriti is not an ordinary girl to let go of all our machination. She is Mahalakshmi herself in a human form!" Viranth revealed, quite impetuously as he watched the three others facing him with inconvincible expressions.

"In what kind of phantasm are you planning to live ―" Duryodhan patted him with a chukle, only to get cut off.

"If there is anyone living in delusion and phantasm, it's you and your vanity which won't let you see past your own insecurity and complexes.
My unaided eyes have seen her manifested in her eternal form and chop off Senapati Chitraksh's head from his body." Viranth retaliated with a raised voice, trying to persuade what he saw as Duryodhan true d back throwing an agitated look at Shakuni ho nodded in assurity.

"Viranth, don't make one of your defeat your ultimate limit. We came here to help you put a crescent of your triumphs over these shambles caused by the hidden illusory powers of Dhriti." Shakuni smiled from the corner of his eyes, watching things fall in place in accordance with his ploys.

"Illusory Powers?" Viranth's eyes bore the skeptical glint as Shakuni continued nodding to hai queries.

"Yes. But before knowing all these things, you should be fully aware that the root of all your sufferings are Yadavas. Be it the cryptic killing of your father, beheading of a devious commander like Chitraksh or the destruction of our benefactor like Jarasandha, the only persisting reason is Dwarkadheesh and Dwarkeshwari." Shakuni hammered his thoughts with a malicious smile, entangling him on the wrong side.

"She has only confused you. Turned you into believing that she is a swaroop shaki. But in fact, she has arched a game against you to put all the burden of her heineous acts and slaughters on you. She is elusive and we know she's definitely born out of Maya.
If you keep running away like this, Dhriti will continue defeating you with her intrigue and might and you will never be able to atone for your father's death." Shakuni continued with a cackle, his words and demeanor bearing two different intents.

"The divulgence of this truth has twisted the knife deeper into my wounds, Gandhar Raj. Now that you have already done it, tell me a way to redress the balance of the revenge." Vira th looked up with a vindictive eye, impressing the shallow indignation of Shakuni.

"Realization of Dhriti's underlying truth was your only work, Viranth. And now that you've already succeeded in doing so, all you have to do is reach back to your capital city at the soonest, assume the title of the next King of Karusha and clemently render your credence under Yudhishthir.
Thereupon, I will take all the work ahead and bring everyone in our favor and make them stand up against the Yadavas and Pandavas." Shakuni parted him.

"Or maybe Yadavas against Pandavas." Duryodhan merely whispered, sighing at the silent look of Shakuni tracing him back into his sensiblilty.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dhriti rubbed the petals of a small lotus as her skin took on the sunlit hue, seeping in her balcony, of the afternoon, watching the kids play on the grass which was once dewy in the morning.

In the clam of the midday, her heartbeat was like an unsteady drum unambiguously beating to a melody of her thoughts into something her mid was working on.

"Dhriti? Dhriti!" Dau quickly made his way past the setting, procuring the notice of the one he was looking out for.

"Pranam Dau, I was waiting for you." Dhriti stood up with a smile.

"If there was such a wait, then you should've visited me yourself." Dau squinted his eyes.

"I did think of paying you a visit myself, but then I thought I should give you some rest and allow all your distress and queries to fade away by themselves.
Bataiye, door ho gai aapki chinta?" Dhrti answered with a suggestive chuckle.

"No! None of my distresses  are satisfied and you cannot even put an assumption over my concerns for you. Hence I want to know everything that happened in these two days at this very moment." Dau insisted with his well deserved authority, which Dhriti could possibly never disobey.

"Those whose misdeeds had outgrown their measuring pitchers were equally punished and liberated from this world while the one whose deeds are still left to be determined in this cycle of time was shown mercy." Dhriti spoke with utmost assurity still, quiet unable to settle Dau's worry.

"And you did this all alone? In this human incarnation you honored me by giving me the place of your Dau, but when the time arrived to protect you, neither did you call me nor did destiny give me an opportunity to do so." He rhetorically questioned, still in his very concerns.

"When the side of truth calls for help, nature herself races to its aid. I wasn't alone at all, Dau." Dhriti swiftly asserted, leaving him in hai perplex of concerns while she bent aside to have a look at Kritavarma making his way.

"What news, Kritavarma?" She asked with a lively timbre, matching up her current decorum.

"I don't always show up with some news. Maharani." He completed with a freelance reply.

"Accha. Then what have you come for?" She asked, quiet curiously.

"To tell a news, actually." He answered puting up a straight face. Or atleast her tried to.

"Kritavarma...." Dhriti's expressions rapidly fell to a neutral frown.

"I mean, I don't come to you just for delivering news but this time it's really a news. It was a general speaking don't get confused with the two." Kritavarma spoke with his new found pride as he tried his game of words on her.

"Sure. Sure. We'll get to that later. I have to get you for a lot of things since a past few days. But right now, what's the news?" Dhriti exhaled out her laughter, returning to an even handed mien.

"All the expeditions and conquests of Maharaj Yudhishthir have been victorious and fruitful. With Jarasandh and his misdeeds put to an end, Maharaj Yudhishthir has decided to do a Raj Suya Yagya." Kritavarma informed, waiting for a reaction while he finally greeted Dau.

"And?" Dhriti monotonously asked, asking him to go on.

"And? Your Jyesth is conducting a Raj Suya Yagya. Which means he'll be the Chakravarti Samrat of Aryavart." He chuckled in disbelief.

"No, there is another person. My husband, your Dwarkadheesh. He had accompanied them and haven't officially heard from him. Is there anything?" Dhriti rolled her eyes, letting Kritavarma complete his laughter, screctly wishing Kanha to be back.

"Yes Yes. How would he not write? He has apprised that he'll be staying at Indraprasth until  Maharaj Yudhishtir completes his Raj Suya Yagya and all other austerities." Kritavarma dutifully mentioned.

"Then in that case, shouldn't we write a back to him reminding him that he is the King of a state called Dwarka and has a family and they probably do miss him a lot." Vaishnavi promptly spoke up, with hands dramatically on her hips.

"No need to write a letter, we can do all the just face to face and in person." Kanha jolted with his usual laugh, lifting his little daughter in his arms.

"Yes, so how much did you miss me?" Kanha wiggled his brows at Vaishnavi.

Vaishnavi meekly pointed at Dhriti "Not me, I was talking about her. But I have to show you someting I collected!" Vaishnavi giggled running down from his grip, past her mother, who appeared more than dazed.

"I'm deciding whom should I deal with first. Kritavarma you, or you?" She pointed at each of them.

"I better take a leave. Happy family time." Kritavarma excited with a subtle chuckle.

"I'm at a loss of words." She bitterly smiled, wiping a few tears that had involuntarily ran down her poised face as Kanha stretched his arm around her shoulder, engulfing her in a welded warmth.

"Show your grace Narayan and let me go back to our abode." She slowly weeped.

"Priya! What made you say that?" He spoke out in disquietude.

"I've seen and dealt with everything I had to. I can't do it anymore." She pleaded.

"If I am the path to ultimate liberation, then you are it's direction. If you would capitulate everything, there would be nothing left in the future. Believe me Priya, you are the single holdfast to each and everything that would happen henceforth. Big or small. Right or wrong and just or unjust." Kanha wiped her tears as she unsteadily looked up at his elaborately convultated words.

_________________________________________________

*Screams* Finally I did it lol.

Believe me, if that day I wouldn't have said 'Rakhumai Kasam' I wouldn't have updated today. It took me an entire day to write and form up everything because apparently, I'm at a loss of practice of writing. So I'm really deeply soory if the chapter doesn't feel jo to the mark or isn't that great. It's just because I'm writing after 2 - 2.5 months.

P.S - If you find Viranth misspelled as Vidarbh, blame my autocorret because anything beginning from Vi is corrected to Vidarbh and anytgung from Ra is made into Rakhumai. Hehe.

Anyways, I got Dms asking me what I did on Rukmini Dvadashi and the story and reason behind it. So here it is.

Specially for Tisha and Bittu.

【 By the mercy of Vrhadaśva, Draupadi observed this vow and was thus blessed to always remain with her husbands, to be freed from all miseries, and to possess and ever-youthful body.

After hearing this narration, Goddess Ramā, the consort of Lord Kalki, observed the vow on the Dvadasi of the fortnight of the waxing moon in the month of Vaišākha for four years under the guidance of Parasurama.

At the conclusion of the vow, she tied a silk thread around her wrist and fed innumerable brāhmaṇas. With her husband, she ate nicely prepared havisyāma and condensed milk, and thereafter enjoyed life in this world without any hindrance in the association of her relatives. In due course of time, Lord Kalki begot two sons, named Meghamala and Balāhaka, within the womb of Ramā. These two sons were very dear to Lord Kalki. They were supremely fortunate, very powerful, and enthusiastic. They satisfied the gods by performing many sacrifices.

By observing this vow, women can become prosperous due to the fulfillment of all their desires, and they can acquire spiritual knowledge so that they will be respected by all classes of people. Because this vow also awards one devotional service at the lotus feet of Lord Hari, it enables one to achieve the ultimate goal of life, which is rarely attained even by elevated personalities.】

TAKEN FROM KALKI PURAN

Also, on the contrast to popular beliefs that Rukmini Dvadashi is the birthday or appearance day of Mata Rukmini, this day is to please and worship mata Rukmini. Rukmini Dvadashi is a day just dedicated to Mata Rukmini while we celebrated her birthday on Rukmini Ashtami which was om 6th January this year.

What I did on Dvadashi,
I was going to observe a fast but sadly My mom didn't let me. (I'll do it next year when I finally turn 18 *angry revelation*)
I offered her gulabjamuns and did Rukmini Namasmaran nothing fancy and I hope she forgives me for breaking the fast.
(Please do mata *puppy eyes*)

Anyways Anyways,

Hope you like it.
If you do, don't forget to vote and comment.
Thanks.
xx.