SATYAN 2
-15. A Kingdom In Celebration

Vasudev opened his eyes and at once realized that he had seen yet another dream where he had met his deity.   He got up from the lap from the King and sat without any difficulty that took everyone by surprise! 

Till now, he even had to make much effort to sit owing to weakness.  “I feel fine!  My Lord has recovered me!”  He exclaimed much to the bewilderment of the others.  He told them about his dream which left everyone stunned! 

Even as Prahasta and Pradayumna looked at the sky and thanked the Lord in silent prayers, Bharadwaj and Hari hugged Vasudev with their eyes raining tears of joy. 

“Only you could recover like this!”  The King claimed in jubilation.   

Hari had twin reasons to rejoice for not only had his friend recovered from his illness but even the Lord had praised him in Vasudev’s dream!

A thought crossed everyone’s mind that if it was the Lord himself who was behind the disappearance of the other Sugandha plants in the Vanaali forest, then it could be that he may have restored them back in the jungle now for Vasudev had successfully passed his test. 

They wanted to return to the forest and see if this had actually happened but since they were nearing the end of their journey back to the palace, they postponed it to a later period.  Pradayumna could have used his spiritual powers to find out but he never used them unless it was of utmost necessity.

Udhyog’s parents who were following them in the other chariot were surprised to see Vasudev sitting and speaking with the others as if he was absolutely fine! 

The King looked at them and cried out, “Satya is fine now by God’s grace!”

Vasudev waved out to them and this made the boy’s parents ecstatic.  They embraced each other.  Vasudev asked them in gestures about how Udhyog was faring.  Manohar answered in a similar fashion that he was still sleeping and then yelled,

“But his face no longer reflects his illness.  He appears fresh.”  This was further news for Vasudev and the others to rejoice.

A few moments later, Udhyog opened his eyes.  He, too, got up without much discomfiture which pleased the parents.  On enquiry, he replied, “I am feeling much better now!  That sick feeling is no longer there!”  He, then, looked at the other chariot and saw his dear uncle! 

“Uncle!” he cried out.  Vasudev and the others looked at him.  “Look!  Udhyog’s face tells the story!  He, too, has recovered!  Oh!  Thank you, my lord!”  Vasudev looked at the sky and gave a flying kiss. 

The chariots were asked to stop.  Vasudev and the others hurried to Udhyog.  “How are you feeling, dear?”  Vasudev asked Udhyog.

“Fine, uncle!  It’s days that I felt so refreshed!”  The boy replied with a big relief on his face.  Vasudev hugged him.  “But uncle, where were you all these days?”

“Udhyog, I too suffered from a similar disease like you!  But then, why think about all that?  Both of us have recovered!”  Vasudev kissed the boy.

The joy of Udhyog’s parents knew no bounds.  They were longing for this day to see their child once again in good fettle which had finally arrived! 

Vasudev took Udhyog in his chariot which then continued the journey back to the palace.

Udhyog still had some difficulty in walking, for the illness had completely drained him of all energy.  Vasudev did not face this problem for his recovery was triggered by the divine grace of the Lord.  In his case, except for his pale appearance, there were no other traces of the dreaded illness.

As the chariot moved along the streets of the kingdom, many people saw Vasudev and his movements gave them an impression that he could have recovered from his illness!

This news began to spread like wildfire and while some made their way to the palace to find out the truth, others waited eagerly for the King’s announcement in this regard.

Queen Chitralekha was anxiously waiting in her chambers for Vasudev and the others.   She had been continuously praying for the recovery of Vasudev and Udhyog.  Just then a maid came and informed her that the twin chariots had arrived!  The maid also apprised the Queen that she had seen both Vasudev and Udhyog chat merrily in the chariot! 

Chitralekha at once guessed the good news and gifted the maid with her necklace.  She then ran to the outskirts of the palace and was thrilled to see Vasudev and Udhyog walking up to the palace gates with a smiling face, followed by the others.  The King hugged her tightly, forgetting for a moment in his happiness that he was doing this in front of a small crowd!  As Chitralekha flushed, the King exclaimed

“O Queen!  Both of them have recovered!”  He declared in delight.  This news replaced the Queen’s coyness, at this open expression of feelings by the King towards her, with ineffable joy.  Her conjecture was proved true!  When she learnt about Vasudev’s dream, she complimented him.  She also landed a kiss on Udhyog’s cheeks who innocently shouted,

“First it was Uncle and now the Queen herself has kissed me!  Hurrah!”  This made everyone laugh heartily.

People came in large numbers to see Vasudev who announced that he had been rid of his illness by the grace of God.  Celebration reigned in Somnapur at this news.

As days passed by, Udhyog showed complete marks of recovery from his illness and then came the difficult time when Manohar surrendered himself before the King.  Bharadwaj shortened his jail term for he not only had a small boy to look after but also for the fact that he had now undergone a complete transformation.    

However, the temple management was taken over by the King as he had earlier decided.  Udhyog was told the truth about his father.  His mother and even Vasudev ensured that the boy did not develop any abhorrence towards his father by constantly telling him that he should always hold his parents in high veneration.  They also made him aware of the fact that his father was now a reformed man. 

Later, Udhyog was sent for education and the Queen made arrangements to ensure that his mother learnt to look after their family business on her own.

After a few days, the King accompanied by Vasudev, Prahasta and Pradayumna went to the Vanaali forest and there they found five plants of the Sugandha where none existed that fateful day!  They joined their hands and bowed before this divine miracle enacted by the Lord.

Sage Suryananda who was narrating this story concluded, “…..In due course, the Queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy.  These were happy times for Somnapur whose people were getting one opportunity after another to erupt in celebrations. 

After some deliberation, the couple decided to name the child after Vasudev who thanked them for this honour.  Later, he stood before his idol of Lord Krishna in the Laxmi-Narayan temple and thanked him for giving a successor to his King’s throne. 

It was at this time that the palace singer Neelkant relinquished his position and retired to the forest.  He had spent some time in further polishing the voices of both Madhav and Mandhavi and was now convinced of their adroitness in this field. 

Everyone bid him farewell with a heavy heart.  Months later both these singers tied the knot!

Dear children, Satyan teaches us to be honest, noble, virtuous, and conscientious and dedicate our life selflessly for the welfare of others.  Those who posses these qualities are indeed blessed souls who always find themselves in the realms of God’s grace and blessings.”