THE TWIN BROTHERS
-4. Chandrakanth In Quandary

Meanwhile, in the King’s chambers, Queen Janaki was expressing her happiness over the fact that Suryakanth had acceded to their wish without the slightest hesitation.  King Salya smiled at her and said, “O Queen, when I told him about our plan, I noticed the change of colour in his face.  He was apparently angry at my proposal but still agreed to it, which amused me.  Sage Anantu was right! He had told me that Surya will never dare to oppose the decision of his parents.” 

The Queen was somewhat disappointed to hear this.

And here, Suryakanth voiced his dissent at his father’s decision, “You tell me, Chandrakanth.  I am the elder among the two of us.  Thus, is it not my right to rule this entire kingdom after father?” 

“Of course, brother!” Chandrakanth agreed promptly. 

“But our parents have other ideas.  Just because we are twins, they want to make both of us the rulers of this kingdom.  They plan to offer you Panchmahal and want me to tell you about this happy news! I agreed before them for I did not want to upset them.  But, Chandrakanth, I do not want this to happen.  I want you to go and tell them that you do not want Panchmahal.  Somehow convince them to revoke their decision.” 

“Calm down, brother!” Chandrakanth tried to pacify his agitated brother.  “I do not want any territory and I will try to convince my parents in this regard.”  

“Do not tell them how I reacted here with you.” cautioned Suryakanth.

Chandrakanth smiled at his elder brother, “I won’t.  I will meet them right away.  Please wait for me till I return.” 

Chandrakanth met his parents and spoke with them, “Brother told me about your wish, dear parents.  I understand that you want this to happen because you love us.  But I am contended serving you, brother and my people without becoming a ruler.  I do not have any desire to rule a particular territory of our kingdom.  Please try and understand me.  Besides, don’t you feel that as per dharma, it is brother who should be ruling this entire kingdom?” 

Salya grinned at his son, “I knew that you would react in this manner due to your selfless character, my child.  But this is our desire and you must accord importance to it.” 

“Please, father!  I do not want to become a ruler!”  Chandrakanth insisted.

Seeing his son adamant, the King told him about the conversation he had with Sage Anantu and concluded, “…Just keep this with you, Chandra.  After what your guru told me, I do not want both of you to stay together.  Today Surya is suppressing his jealousy and hatred against you because we are alive.  Tomorrow, after our demise if the entire kingdom falls in his hands, he will be free to behave in whatever manner he deems fit with you that we do not want.  Therefore, if you, too, are offered a kingdom to rule, you can lead an independent life without falling in the dangerous shadow of your brother.  This is another reason as to why we want to offer you Panchmahal.”  “But, father, if brother was as evil as you are making him out to be, why would he have agreed to your proposal to make me the ruler of Panchmahal?”  Chandrakanth argued. 

King Salya smiled at his son, “My child, he did that for the sake of his parents.  I know it and I saw it in his face.  Of course, that act of his is laudable but a vital aspect to note here is that he did not agree to our proposal for the love he possess towards his brother.  Chandra, let us not argue over this aspect.  What we are doing is for your own good.  You must agree to this.” 

Hearing these words of his father, Chandrakanth felt that he should not plead with his father anymore to change his mind.  He bowed before his parents and took his leave.

Back in his chambers, Chandrakanth told his brother that he failed to change the mind of his parents.  He did not tell him about his father’s conversation with Sage Anantu.  “Do you desire in your heart to rule Panchmahal which is why you failed to convince them?”  Suryakanth asked his brother suspiciously. 

“Absolutely not, brother.  You will agree that I cannot argue with them after a certain level.  They are, after all, our parents.”  Chandrakanth stressed.

Suryakanth did not say anything and was storming out of the chamber when Chandrakanth called out to him, “Brother!  Do not get upset!  I will talk to mother in this regard.   If I convince her, I shall ask her to talk to father.” 

Suryakanth looked at his brother with a sombre face and walked off.  Chandrakanth walked slowly upto the window wondering, “I am not interested in becoming the ruler of Panchmahal.  But my parents are adamant.  If I agree to satisfy the wish of my parents, brother gets annoyed.  How will I satisfy both of them?”

And here, Suryakanth came to his chambers.  He was visibly annoyed.  The thought, which was lingering his mind, was, “It is because my parents have a special liking towards Chandrakanth that he is being unduly favoured.  How do I stop him from becoming the ruler of Panchmahal?”  For the moment, Suryakanth could not get any answer to this query.

Chandrakanth met his mother and told her that he was not interested to become the King of any territory of his kingdom but to no avail.  Queen Janaki advocated the King’s decision. 

King Salya met Sage Anantu and apprised him of his decision.  He asked the sage to look for an auspicious day where he could coronate his sons as Princes.   “…I want you to grace this ceremony by your presence and place the crown on the head of the Princes.”  The King requested the sage.