SYNOPSIS- Satyan 4 - Vasudev's Sense Of Reasoning

Meanwhile both Bharadwaj and Chitralekha found sleep hard to come by.  The King looked at his Queen and asked, “I was pleasantly surprised to see you support Satyan today.  Are you really not angry at him?”

“Maharaj, I still feel guilty for all that I told him when our son left the palace.  I do not want to repeat that mistake now.  Also, I agree with your views that had Vasudev spoken anything other than the truth before King Dharmaraja it would have had adverse ramifications.”

The King agreed with her thoughts. 

Finally, both of them dozed off for the day and when they opened their eyes, they found the chamber brightly lit by the gentle rays of the morning sun.

After breakfast all of them assembled in the chamber of Bharadwaj.  “O Satyan, I want to know your mind.  How do you propose to come out of this impasse?” 

Vasudev promptly revealed his thoughts and concluded, “…Today should be the day when Pallavi returns from her short trip.  Once this happens King Somaiya should be informing her about all that has happened in her absence and then learn her mind.  Thereafter, it may take, say a couple of days for him to decide over this matter and he may then come to see you.  As I plan to converse with him, I want to prolong my stay here till the time he arrives.”  All of them readily agreed and only hoped that Vasudev succeeded in his intentions.  None of them had any reservation about his extended stay but they were uncertain about the success of his plans.  Still because Vasudev was an articulate orator, they finally agreed to his strategy. 

The next four days were passed by all of them in anticipation of King Somaiya’s arrival and the possible outcome of his visit.  During this period Vasudev had a burning desire in his heart to meet his dear friends and others who were close to him but met only his guru Adirath for Bharadwaj wanted to keep the purpose of his visit under wraps till a final shape was not given to this stalemate.

Just as Vasudev had surmised, on the fifth day of his visit, King Somaiya finally arrived to meet Bharadwaj!  After the initial formalities of exchanging pleasantries, all of them got seated in the King’s chamber and Somaiya spoke up, “Maharaj, I am sure Vasudev has told you about my visit to his place.  I am aware that I used him to confirm my findings about your son’s past.  I know him to be a very honest person who would not shy away from speaking the truth even if that works against the favour of his beloved King.  Please pardon me for that.”

Bharadwaj readily forgave him.  It was then Somaiya touched upon the subject that formed the basis of his visit.  “I told my daughter Pallavi about all the developments in her absence.  She left the decision to me.  The more I think about this, the more I feel that I would be putting my daughter’s future at peril by agreeing to your proposal.”

A surge of disappointment saddled the hearts of Bharadwaj, his family and Vasudev.  They exchanged pensive glances.  Vasudev knew that the time had come for him to put his thoughts in action.  He prayed to Lord Krishna in his mind and then began his conversation with Somaiya.  “O King, I want to talk to you about something.  If what I am going to say hurts you, I seek my sincere apologies right in advance.  However, I implore you to listen to me patiently and think over it.  It has come to my knowledge that your son Dushantha suffers from an uncontrollable anger.  At times it appears that things come to such a pass that he even harms others physically in his fury.  Is this true, Maharaj?”

Somaiya agreed feeling slightly embarrassed. Vasudev, thereby, continued, “If Dushantha falls in love with someone and intends to marry her, will you make attempts to fulfill his desire?”

The King promptly gave a nod in affirmative.

“Why, Maharaj?”  Vasudev demanded.  “It is quite possible that tomorrow he may get angry with his wife and harm her physically.  Just like you are concerned about the future of your daughter, shouldn’t you be equally concerned about the future of the Princess who would be coming to your place as a bride?  If your son continues with his extreme behavior even against his wife, would it not imperil her life and insecure her future?”

Somaiya grasped what Vasudev was trying to say.  He did not answer and just continued to look at Vasudev who continued, “You are prepared to ignore all these factors only because he is your son.  Isn’t this unfair, Maharaj?  Here, your daughter would not face any threat if she marries our Prince for, he has indeed left the past behind him and changed for the better.  Still you oppose this relationship!  Is this justified, O King?”

Somaiya was speechless.  He knew that he could not relate his son’s intemperate behavior to a typical anger which formed a part of almost everyone’s character.  Dushantha had after all, completely surrendered himself before this pernicious quality.  At times the King was witness to the savagery in the blood-shot eyes of his son as if he was going to kill someone in his anger!  Vasudev was right!  Indeed, he was being extremely self-centric and possessive about his family.

Somaiya knew that everyone was waiting for his response, but he could give none.  How abashed and helpless he was feeling at this moment!  Not wanting his guest to be in such an uncomfortable position, Bharadwaj offered him to rest awhile in the visitor’s chamber and told him that they would touch upon this subject some time later.  Desperately needing some time in isolation, Somaiya promptly agreed.

Bharadwaj and his family were almost certain that their visitor had not taken Vasudev’s words in the right spirit.  However, none of them mentioned about this to Vasudev for they did not want to upset him.  Later, Vasudev asked the Prince to meet the King and express his feelings.  Quite reluctantly, Vasu agreed and met Somaiya.