Cold winter breeze flows through the window making the father-son duo snuggle further into their blankets. A helper enters with some hot beverage for the pair as they settle themselves for the trip ahead to the younger one's memories. Babhruvahana momentarily stares at the garden below from his window. A butterfly flutters around trying to find shelter in the chilling weather. His trained warrior eyes observe the colorful patterns on its wings and a fond smile grows on his face remembering one similar butterfly that introduced him to a major part of his life. Snapping his eyes back on his father, he elects on sharing that memory.

The beautiful gardens of Manipur are filled with gleeful giggles of an infant, as he runs around going to every flowering plant and monitoring the growth of the buds. A part of his love for nature is inherited from his mother while the other manifested itself in him through the abundance of greenery in the kingdom. The five year old just finished sitting through a long court session with his grandfather and made a run for the lawn as soon as the closing statements are uttered. Although he loved attending the court with his grandpa and pestering him with seemingly ceaseless questions about the judgements passed, this particular session was extremely long and tiring for the poor kid.

A colorful butterfly flies past his eyes catching the attention of little Babhruvahana. He had never seen a butterfly so close and is enchanted by the patterns on its wings. In a daze, he follows the butterfly twisting and turning at every corner it goes to. Unaware of the path he followed, he stops short when the insect ventures high up into the sky and out of the palace. With a dejected pout, he turns around and pales on realizing where he is. Rooted at his place, he finally registers the clashes of weapons before him as he grasps that he entered the training arena - a place that his mother forbid him to enter till he is a bit older.

A distinct whoosh makes him turn his head towards the archery section. A masked person directs a bow towards the target and an arrow appear out of thin air leaving the little prince gaping. The archer gracefully releases the arrow and Babhruvahana's eyes follow it as it pierces the bulls eye perfectly. Startled, he looks up as he hears someone clear their throat, only to find the archer in front of him. His admiration turns to fear as the person removes the mask revealing herself to be the princess of Manipur, Chitrangada. "I thought I asked you not to enter this wing" she says sternly.

"I'm sorry mother. I didn't mean to. I.. the butterfly.." stammers Babhruvahana worried that he upset his mother. Forcing down a chuckle, she replies, "It's fine. Let's go. This should not be repeated though." Nodding frantically at her, the child holds her hand as she leads him out of the arena. "How did the arrow appear out of thin air? I want to do that too. When can I start my training?" asks Babhruvahana. "There are still couple of years for you to start your training. I see archery has caught your eye. It's not really surprising though" she mutters the last statement. However the young child's ears still catch it. Tilting his head in confusion, he asks, "Yes. Archery seems more interesting. What do you mean it is not surprising?"

Knowing the succeeding events, Chitrangada wonders if she should answer his query. With a light sigh she says, "Your father loves archery. He is one of the best archer there is." Babhruvahana's face glows on hearing this. "Really? Then I want to learn archery too. Please mother. Please let me start my training. I want to become a great archer. He will be really happy then right mother?" he asks with hope filling his face. Chitra's heart breaks on seeing the look on her son's face. Kneeling down before him, she cups his cheek and says, "Son, your father loves you a lot and will be happy irrespective of what you choose. But, as I said, you have to wait for few more years before starting your training."

"But I still want to learn archery. Why do I have to wait? I can hold a bow now." he counters. "No Babhru. You are still so young. You have to understand that wielding a weapon is a responsibility. You will have the means to hurt someone and hence you should be able to judge if the situation requires a weapon. You can start your training when you really understand and realize that weapons are not toys." replies Chitrangada in a tone of finality. In an attempt to divert the topic and cheer up her son, she says, "Why don't you tell me how big the flowers have grown and what happened in court today?" The five year old lights up instantly and waves his hands around explaining his day's happenings to his mother.

"....and that's how I found my interest in archery and it has become one of the major parts of my life now." finishes Babhruvahana. Tears gather at the corner of Arjun's eyes as he wishes he was there to witness his son holding a bow for the first time. Catching the drift of his thoughts, his son holds his hand saying, "Father, it is alright. We can still have friendly duels where I can beat you". Seeing his son's playful smile, Arjun counters, "Yeah! Right! We'll see who beats whom. Don't complain that you went easy on me when you lose." Sharing a light hearted laugh, they decide it is time to sleep and pause their trip to memories.

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The morning sun found Babhruvahana exploring the palace. He takes a turn and hears the clashes of weapons. Chuckling at the similarity of the situation with the one in his previous night's memory, he goes to the training area to find his uncle Bheem and Nakul practicing with their respective weapons. Taking a bow lying nearby, he asks his uncles if he can join the practice. "I see you have picked the bow. We should have expected that. Mace is a better option though" says Bheem. Babhru replies with "Have you tried stringing a bow uncle Bheem? You should give it another try. Bow is the best weapon there is." "No son. Don't ask him to try it. He will break the string trying to release an arrow. That is if the arrow survives first." jumps in Nakul.

"What's going on here?" Arjun joins the trio. "Oh nothing! Just mini you behaving like you." replies Bheem and bursts out laughing. The brothers smile fondly remembering similar banters among themselves during their childhood while Babhruvahana stands their clueless. Laughing at the child's clueless face, Nakul says, "Let them bicker son. It won't end anytime soon. Let us continue our practice."

*************************************

Finishing his practice, Babhruvahana enters his mother's chambers to the sight of her and his mother Subhadra laughing at something. Taking their blessings, he looks at his mother silently asking her if she is happy and content at Hastinapur. Chitra blinks at him in reassurance and smiles at her son's concern. Watching the exchange between the mother and son, Subhadra says, "You never know when your little one grows up, do you? It seems like a couple of years ago when you hold a baby in your arms and now they are grown up ready to take on the world."

"Mata, I know no one can ever take the position of brother Abhimanyu but you can always consider me your own son." says Babhruvahana. "You are my own son Babhru. I still remember the day you bounced into our lives. Abhi was so happy to have you as his brother." replies the Yadava princes. Wiping a lone tear that traced her cheek, she attempts to divert the topic, "Anyway, last night you mentioned about wanting to meet Parikshit right? I'm sure he must be awake now. Come, I'll lead you to his chamber."

Various cherish able moments between him and Abhimanyu run across his mind as Babhruvahana follows his mother to Uttara and Parikshit's chamber. From the first step of their brotherhood till the fateful day he received the letter of his beloved brother's demise, memories spin in his head beyond his control leaving his eyes brimming with tears. As if set on tormenting him further, his mind stops on one particular picture of the three brothers laughing together. He sucks in a sharp breath and pushes all the thoughts away not yet ready to acknowledge the loss of his dear companion, Iravan. The dark side of his mind makes its appearance taunting him for accepting  Abhi's death and not Iravan's. It is not the same. Babhru argues.

"Son? Babhru?" Subhadra shakes him out of his turmoil. "Yes mata? Have we reached? Forgive me, I was lost in my thoughts." replies the son of Arjun trying to cover up his emotions. "Are you okay?"asks the concerned mother. "Yes. Shall we head inside? I'm eager to meet my nephew and sister." Babhruvahana diverts the topic. Choosing to let go of the scene for the moment, Subhadra follows him. "Greetings mother, dear brother. Please make yourselves comfortable. I was waiting for you. How was your journey here?" asks Uttara. "Hello sister. It was pleasant. Thank you. Since you are calling me brother, I suggest we let go of the formalities." Babhru's last statement sounded more like a question.

Uttara laughs agreeing with him. "Where is my little hero? He is keeping me waiting too long." asks the young king. Parikshit gurgles as he hears someone calling for him. Walking to him in awe, Babhru picks up the little one and cradles him cooing at the baby. Parikshit's eyes light up as he captures his uncle's fingers in a tight grip laughing lightly. The sheer love filling the room makes it appear as if time stopped at the moment to witness the start of an unbounded relationship between the two. Releasing his finger, Parikshit reaches out to his uncle's face and Babhru leans down curious about what his nephew wanted. Uttara calls out to her new brother as a warning only to have her words fall in his ears after the damage is done.

A short startled scream escapes Babhruvahana's mouth as Parikshit winds his fingers around the curly locks pulling at them with all his might. Chuckling at his nephew's antics, he attempts to free his locks and ends up losing against the child in his arms. The warrior who stood undefeated in battles, turned putty in the arms of a little baby. Sudden booming laughter turns the young king red as he looks up to see his uncle Bheem guffawing at his situation. "I now know whom to call, to defeat you." Bheem chortles. Uttara rushes to her brother's rescue and counters, "Brother Babhru is not the only one that Parikshit defeated uncle. Surely you would fancy another trip down the memory lane. Shall I arrange one for you?"

Bheem stutters in response, "I.. uh.. I came to call you all to the common hall. Everyone are present there and are asking for you." Chuckling at him, the group head to the common hall to have a day filled with mirth and memories. 

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Hello everyone!!

Here's the second chapter of Babhruvahana's life. How is it? How is the transition between the memory and present? I'm a bit concerned about that part..

Abhimanyu meeting Iravan and Babhruvahana is a part of my imagination. I'm not sure if they actually met or not. The details of their meeting and then memories will be shared I'm further chapters

Please vote and comment ❤️

Stay safe, be happy and have a great day/night ❣️❣️

HAPPY NAVRATRI  to those who celebrate