THE TWIN BROTHERS
-3. A Desire

“O Sage, I had felt that Suryakanth would get rid of his jealousy once he gets education under a reputed sage like you.  Apparently, things have not worked out the way I expected.”  King Salya said in despair.  “Anyway, I will not undermine your efforts by squarely blaming you for the evil quality that my son still possess.  I understand that if a person is adamant and does not heed the good advice of his guru, he can never improve upon his character.  The blame must lie with Suryakanth as well.  I maintain that you are the best teacher which my sons could get.” 

Sage Anantu was immensely pleased to hear these words of the King.  “It’s your greatness that you are speaking in these terms, Maharaj!”

 “O Sage, as they are twins, both me and the Queen desired to make both of them the rulers of this land.  Now, since Surya still hates his brother, he will certainly have objections to this idea!” 

“He will not like it, Maharaj!  But I feel that you can go ahead with your plan.  Suryakanth will never dare to oppose the decision of his parents.  As his guru, I can assure you of that.  Given Suryakanth’s abhorrence towards his brother, offering them separate provinces to rule is the best solution, O Rajan!  The fact remains that Suryakanth will never allow Chandrakanth to live happily if they stay together.  He will always get jealous of him due to some factor or the other which, may, some day result into disastrous consequences.  Of course, even if you offer a separate kingdom to Chandrakanth, Suryakanth may envy him seeing his state progress or his feeling that you love Chandrakanth more than him may even augment.  But, atleast, he would not be able to dominate Chandrakanth, which is important.  You must be careful in offering such a portion of the kingdom to Chandrakanth which cannot be easily attacked by his enemies.”  the sage reasoned.

“You are right, O Sage!  I will have to think about it.”  Salya said thoughtfully.  Thereafter, he asked Sage Anantu to rest and returned back to his chambers.  “What took you so long, Maharaj?”  asked the Queen who was still chatting with her children.

“Oh!  I was just discussing with the sage on some general topics and did not know how time passed away!” Salya said trying to refrain from disclosing the facts.

After having lunch, Sage Anantu decided to leave for his ashram.  He blessed his pupils and asked them to implement all that he taught them in practice.  “…Then I will feel that you have given me my guru dakshina.”

Later, King Salya apprised the Queen of all his conversation with the sage.  Janaki, too, was worried at what the sage had said about Suryakanth.  “So, what have you decided upon, Maharaj?” she asked the King. 

“I have not decided upon anything, O Queen.  Let me think.  But one thing is certain.  Suryakanth will always have contempt towards his brother.  If twelve years of valuable advice has failed to change his attitude towards Chandra, what else will?”  Queen Janaki nodded her head in agreement.

A few days passed by.  During this period, the parents observed as to how Suryakanth was behaving with his brother.  They could make out that he was trying to distance himself from his younger brother.  Chandrakanth, was no doubt, deeply pained at his brother’s attitude towards him but he never gave vent to his feelings and always held him in high reverence.

King Salya, finally, decided upon his future course of action after discussing it with his legal experts and senior counsellors.  Then he disclosed his plans to his Queen.  “I plan to offer Panchmahal, which is a very small portion of our kingdom to Chandrakanth, Janaki.  It is called Panchmahal because five well-fortified forts surround a beautiful mahal (palace).  Any one entering these forts or even the palace may be trapped inside if he is not aware of the technique to come out.  Besides, as Panchmahal is located in a hilly area, enemy attack is that much more difficult.  No one barring me and a few of my very trusted lieutenants know about it’s secrets.  It once used to be the headquarters of my ancestors.  The experts whom I have spoken to maintain that this is no injustice to Suryakanth.  After all, he is going to be the King of a major portion of this kingdom.  If he truly loves Chandra, Surya will have absolutely no objection to this plan.  We’ll first talk to Surya and see his reaction.  Then if he agrees, Chandra can be apprised about this.”

Janaki agreed to the King’s idea.

Suryakanth was called over and the King made him sit by his side and spoke with him, “Surya, we have a desire in our heart and need your consent to fulfill it.” 

“What is it, father?  I will be glad to fulfill your desire.”  Suryakanth answered courteously.

The King glanced at the Queen and then continued, “Both of us had this desire to make you as well as Chandra the rulers of this kingdom since you are twins.  We want to hand over Panchmahal to your younger brother.” 

Suryakanth was incensed to hear this.  His face slightly turned into a resentful expression, which the King observed.  Suryakanth, immediately, supplanted that expression with a smile and said, “If this is what you want, I have no objection.  So be it!” 

While Salya was amused at his reply, Janaki was beset with joy.  She had not observed the disgust in Suryakanth’s face when the King told him about their wish.   “Very good, my child.  Why don’t you tell Chandrakanth about this?  Tell him that all of us want him to be the ruler of Panchmahal.  It will make him feel happy.”  the Queen told Suryakanth.

“It will be done, mother”.  So saying, Suryakanth took his leave and retired to his chambers.  That expression of disgust returned back to his face and he sat on the bed clinching his fists tightly.  Thereby, he went to Chandrakanth’s chamber who welcomed him with open arms.  As Chandrakanth embraced him, Suryakanth did not respond and stood still.  Looking at him keenly, Chandrakanth queried, “Something’s wrong, brother?  Why are you so upset?” 

“Yes! You are right!  I am upset and very angry!” responded Suryakanth indignantly.