Introductory sequence of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (Excerpt from 'Yoddha: The Dynasty of Samudragupta')
On the third day, Samudra reached his destination, a village near Prayag called Varunapura. There were no cracked mud houses here or damaged thatched roofs. All the houses were made of burnt bricks with slab-covered roofs. The houses were neatly painted; streets were well laid out and clean with no garbage or drainage visible because of a highly efficient waste management system. The prosperous village was celebrating a good harvest, lush green trees swinging in the breeze as far as the eyes could see. A bullock race called Rekala had been arranged by the village council. After the harvest, the farms turned into large empty spaces with mud and no vegetation; multiple farms were combined to form a huge rectangular arena for the event. The contestants had selected, fed and trained their bullocks for the event. The sporting equipment was a pair of bullocks with a ‘T’ shaped plough in the middle. The rider sat on the wooden block at the centre. It had rained unexpectedly so the arena was full of slush and mud. One of the contestants was young Chandra. He was tall and muscular, his complexion wheatish, his hair long and wavy and his features sharp. His presence had attracted a lot of young women from Varunapura and nearby villages to the arena. The girl who was excitedly cheering for him was Madhavasena, his childhood friend, a beautiful, slightly dusky, young girl with curly black hair that reflected the sunshine with a gleam, dreamy eyes and a prominent nose like the people from Yavanadesha. The first time Samudra had seen Madhavasena, she was an eight-year-old destitute orphan who had come to Varunapura to stay with her aunt and uncle after her parents died of the ‘fever’ epidemic. From the very beginning, Samudra was mesmerized by the little girl’s talent for singing. Madhavasena grew up pursuing her singing talent; people would flock to the Vishnu temple at Varunapura on auspicious days to catch her performance. Today, clad in her dark red three-piece angavastra, Madhavasena was a picture of beauty blended with innocence and simplicity.
The contestants waited with bated breath. The village chief struck a metallic gong to signal the start of the race. Five laps to win. Every year, one or the other contestants returned with serious injuries or broken bones after the event. As soon as the gong sounded, the contestants started prodding their bullocks. The riders skillfully sprinted to reduce the burden on the animals and hit their animals from behind occasionally. Only when they were unable to catch up with the speed of the animal would they stand, temporarily, on the wooden block secured between the animals. Chandra climbed onto the wooden plank only when he blazed past the corners of the rectangular arena when the animals anyway had to slow down. There, he would pause to breathe and channelize his energy before sprinting again. While traversing the length and breadth of the arena, he would dash at an impressive speed on the slush behind the accelerating animals. His white dress was now dark brown with slush. The village crowd was euphoric, roaring lustily. At the end of the third lap, he had five riders ahead of him. Then suddenly, as if he had conserved his energy for the finish, Chandra started increasing his speed. He managed to overtake two riders and at the end of the fourth lap, he had only three riders ahead. Chandra ran with all his energy and his animals too ran very fast. He crossed one rider, then the next and then the rider who was leading the race. The crowd was ecstatic. Chandra had half a lap left and could see the finish line ahead of him. Madhavasena and Samudra were jumping with joy, yelling ‘Chandra! Chandra!’ Chandra was dashing across the arena in a flash. With victory in sight, Chandra hit his animals who responded with increased momentum, then abruptly Chandra’s leg slipped on the wooden block and he fell down still holding on to the leash. He tried to regain balance and stand up so as to run behind the animal but he fell. He was sliding through the slush and his bullocks were running but he did not let go of the leash. Two riders behind him managed to overtake him and Chandra finished third. A portion of the crowd including Madhavasena and Samudra still continued chanting Chandra’s name. Chandra walked towards the two victors and patted their shoulders in appreciation. ‘Tough luck! Otherwise you had almost won the race,’ said the winner. ‘Nothing like that! You both did really well, my compliments. I am fine with losing and bad luck. It’s too much good luck that ends up being the devil’s trap,’ remarked Chandra. Samudra was happy to see the young man’s positive spirit. Panting, covered in mud and slush, he recognized a relative in the crowd and walked towards, ‘Mama Som! You are here after such a long time.’ ‘Good show, my dear! Some bad luck otherwise you would have been the winner,’ Samudra said. Chandra smiled, ‘I did my best and so did everyone else. What is important is that the best men win at the end of the day, and they did. I will make no excuses.. Let’s go for a swim.’
The contestants waited with bated breath. The village chief struck a metallic gong to signal the start of the race. Five laps to win. Every year, one or the other contestants returned with serious injuries or broken bones after the event. As soon as the gong sounded, the contestants started prodding their bullocks. The riders skillfully sprinted to reduce the burden on the animals and hit their animals from behind occasionally. Only when they were unable to catch up with the speed of the animal would they stand, temporarily, on the wooden block secured between the animals. Chandra climbed onto the wooden plank only when he blazed past the corners of the rectangular arena when the animals anyway had to slow down. There, he would pause to breathe and channelize his energy before sprinting again. While traversing the length and breadth of the arena, he would dash at an impressive speed on the slush behind the accelerating animals. His white dress was now dark brown with slush. The village crowd was euphoric, roaring lustily. At the end of the third lap, he had five riders ahead of him. Then suddenly, as if he had conserved his energy for the finish, Chandra started increasing his speed. He managed to overtake two riders and at the end of the fourth lap, he had only three riders ahead. Chandra ran with all his energy and his animals too ran very fast. He crossed one rider, then the next and then the rider who was leading the race. The crowd was ecstatic. Chandra had half a lap left and could see the finish line ahead of him. Madhavasena and Samudra were jumping with joy, yelling ‘Chandra! Chandra!’ Chandra was dashing across the arena in a flash. With victory in sight, Chandra hit his animals who responded with increased momentum, then abruptly Chandra’s leg slipped on the wooden block and he fell down still holding on to the leash. He tried to regain balance and stand up so as to run behind the animal but he fell. He was sliding through the slush and his bullocks were running but he did not let go of the leash. Two riders behind him managed to overtake him and Chandra finished third. A portion of the crowd including Madhavasena and Samudra still continued chanting Chandra’s name. Chandra walked towards the two victors and patted their shoulders in appreciation. ‘Tough luck! Otherwise you had almost won the race,’ said the winner. ‘Nothing like that! You both did really well, my compliments. I am fine with losing and bad luck. It’s too much good luck that ends up being the devil’s trap,’ remarked Chandra. Samudra was happy to see the young man’s positive spirit. Panting, covered in mud and slush, he recognized a relative in the crowd and walked towards, ‘Mama Som! You are here after such a long time.’ ‘Good show, my dear! Some bad luck otherwise you would have been the winner,’ Samudra said. Chandra smiled, ‘I did my best and so did everyone else. What is important is that the best men win at the end of the day, and they did. I will make no excuses.. Let’s go for a swim.’
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