tales of Suchita

Dhruvswamini was very upset with her husband. It had only been a week since their marriage and the man had left his new wife at home because he was needed back in the king’s retinue which was due to leave for its annual voyage across the kingdom.

Angry and lonely, Dhruvswamini sang of her woes to the trees and plants, utensils and walls…birds and beast.

Blue skies, white clouds
All seem colourless without my dearest.
Air full of fragrance, and celebration
All seems pointless without my dearest.
Waiting at the door for him to come back
And fill this house with his song
But he does not care
As his beloved sings and longs
For he is gone
To win glory for his king’s song.

While the birds and the walls counselled patience, the beasts and the naughty breeze instigated mutiny. A month went by, then another, but the only news she got was how far away he was from hearth and her.

When three months had passed and he still hadn’t returned, getting fed up of her absentee husband, Dhruvswamini decided to give into the counsel of mutiny.

She prayed day and night, without eating, without sleeping, sitting under the tree inside her compound for a boon from Lord Shiva. Leaves fell, ants learnt to go around her, the house fell in disrepair, the tales of her penance reached far and wide as she prayed with a one pointedness that would have shocked her mother and husband. But she was a woman scorned and she would be damned if she didn’t exact some revenge from her husband.

And so she prayed. She prayed for a boon from Lord Shiva.

*

Chandra was anxious to return home. He knew he had been away for a twelfth-month and his beloved would be justly angry. But he hoped when she saw the treasures he had brought with him she would forgive him and welcome him back into her bosom.

He had missed her terribly. There had been many distractions and many temptations but he had resisted stoically, for the only warmth and comfort he needed were those of his wife’s arms. His companions had laughed at his chastity at first then with growing concern but Chandra had remained steadfast in the face of it all. As he neared home, he could smell the familiar smell of mogra and he was so overcome with longing and desire that he rushed through the forest trail, singing joyously of his return.

With eyes bright and hair so long
A smile that can pierce through any heart
Voice so sweet, nature sublime
Oh my sweet how I have longed for thee.
With tinkling bells adorning her feet
And sweet smelling mogra framing her body
Hands working magic on whatever they touch
Oh my sweet I must apologize.
But here I am and I must run
For I can no longer bear this distance.
Run…run I must
So I may share all the treasures I have
Only for you my sweet love.

When Chandra reached his house, he was struck by how unkept and desolate it looked. There were vines that were threatening to overtake the woodwork, weeds in the otherwise beautiful garden and flowers that looked burnt to a crisp.

A range of emotions went through him when the picture first presented itself but the one that stuck was of shame. He may have been chaste the last year but he hadn’t spared a single thought to how his wife would be faring without him. He was an orphan so he didn’t have an extended family that could have taken care of her. He was in the king’s guard so he had a decent house to call his own but other than that he didn’t have anyone looking after him and his own.

The next thought that stuck was of dread for his wife’s well-being. His good mood and effervescence evaporating like dew in the sun, he raced through his compound and wrenched the door open, his heart beating in his throat.

What he saw left him speechless.

Dhruvswamini looked like she had been turned into stone, a flower coronet around her head full of hair that he had not a moment before been singing of. Had they been alive, he knew they would be swaying in the breeze, looking luscious. Unable to contain himself, he started to weep.

Oh has my sweet love been taken from me?
Oh have I lost her forever?
My sweet Dhurvswamini, if you can hear me
Know I am here at last,
I am here, and I weep to see thee thus
Will you not return to me?
I know I have done you wrong
But now my heart weeps
But now my heart bleeds
Won’t you come back to me my sweet?

And though Chandra tried day and night, singing, weeping, making tall promises, tearing his clothes, worshiping his wife’s stone statue, she did not return. How could she? Her boon to be reborn as a man so she may too contribute to a king’s glory song had been granted by Lord Shiva.

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This is 8 of 26 Myths and Legends. To know more, click here.