Devdutt Pattanaik

The sight of a Ashoka tree in full bloom excited him. ‘Nature is so beautiful. So alive.’ Shilavati wanted to ask questions. He would stop her. ‘Don’t. Just enjoy the sight. Feel the bird flying. Don’t reason with it. Experience it. This is life as it should be, Bharya.’

She loved that he addressed her as Bharya. Bharya. Wife. Vishnu’s Lakshmi. Shiva’s Shakti.

Prasenajit asked her once, ‘Do you know why Ileshwar becomes Ileshwari every new moon night?’

‘No,’ said Shilavati.

‘I think because he loves his wife so much they merge into each other with the waxing and waning of the moon. They are not two, but one, as man and wife should be. As you and I will be.’

Once, while wandering in the woods, they came upon the carcass of a wild buffalo teeming with maggots. ‘How disgusting,’ cringed Shilavati.

‘I don’t think the maggots will agree with you,’ said Prasenajit. Shilavati realized the wisdom in her husband’s simple words. The human way is not the only way in this world.

Prasenajit encouraged Shilavati to use his bow. ‘Women are not allowed,’ she said.

‘Rules are made for the city. In the jungle, desire reigns supreme. You get what you want, if you are willing to fight for it,’ said Prasenajit, showing her how to place the arrow and draw the string.

Shilavati remembered her great joy when she shot her first arrow. The sense of achievement. He picked her up, placed her on his shoulder and ran along the river bank, announcing her victory to the uninterested birds of the forest.

Order is dharma and dharma is Vishnu. Vishnu holds in his hands not only the conch-shell trumpet of war but also the lotus of diplomacy. Diplomacy has served us well. It may not have brought glory but it has brought stability.

Draupadi had apparently told Kunti that if she wanted her to be woman enough to satisfy her five sons, her five sons had to be men enough to make her queen of their rightful inheritance.