Mata Kunti

It is lunchtime now and everyone runs toward the Royal Palace to have lunch. Rudra follows the Princes as he also felt quite hungry.

The immense rise in his strength came with a drawback. He needs huge amounts of food to satiate his hunger. All of the Prince reached the Royal Palace as fifty-six different types of dishes are served on a platter to all princes. As Rudra is about to join them, Bhima interrupts him

"Little Brother Rudra, why don't you join us for food? Mata Kunti has prepared a feast for us with her hands and the food of Mother Kunti is much more delicious compared to the food served by Royal Chefs. I am sure you will like the food."

Rudra hesitates a bit as he looks at various mouth-watering delicacies laid on the table. The fragrance and aroma of the food made him salivate as he gulped a mouthful of it. Yudhishthira notices Rudra hesitation as suggest him,

"We have enough time for lunch. You can join us for lunch with Mata Kunti and if you don't like the food, then you can any time return back and eat these delicacies."

Rudra contemplates for a bit, but in the end, he agrees to Bhima's offer as he follows them. All of them walk for a while before they arrive in front of a magnificent Palace. Bhima starts to shout as he runs inside the palace.

"Mata! Mata! I am hungry Mata. Quick serve me some food. The hunger is unbearable."

The rest of the Pandavas chuckles as they follow Bhima inside the Palace. They enter the palace as they are welcomed by many servants and maids.

"Prepare some clean water to rinse our hands and feet. We will be having lunch soon." Arjuna orders the servants as they hurriedly retreated.

All of them rinse their hands as they enter the dining room. Various small tables covered in red clothes are arranged in the room. They all sit in front of their respective tables and patiently waits for food.

In the meantime, Yudhishthira starts to introduce more about himself and his brothers.

"Our father's name is Pandu. He was the former king of Hastinapur. His untimely death led to the throne of Hastinapur being passed to Uncle Dhritarashtra. Father had two wives. One of them being my, Bhima and Arjuna's mother- Mata Kunti. She is the one who is currently preparing food for us. The other wife's name is Mata Madri, she is the mother of Nakul and Sahadeva. Unfortunately, she passed shortly after our father's death."

The conversation between Rudra and Pandavas is interrupted by the aroma of food. Bhima shouts in excitement,

"We can have our conversation later. For now, let us focus on food."

Yudhishthira and others laugh at this as they wait for their mother to serve food. Kunti arrives in the Dining hall with various servants carrying all kinds of dishes and food. Kunti starts to serve the food as she fails to notice Rudra. She serves the food to all of the Pandavas and is surprised to see another table.

She raises her head as she notices Rudra. Kunti dubiously looks at Yudhishthira as she serves food to Rudra.

"Won't you introduce me to your new friend Bhima?"

Kunti questions Bhima who is about to eat his food.

"Mata! Don't ask me, ask Bharata Yudhishthira. I am too hungry to answer your question."

Bhima starts to eat the food as he swallows one dish after another. Kunti ignores Bhima as she looks at Yudhishthira.

Yudhishthira explains the entire series of events that occurred during the morning. Rudra also introduces himself and speaks about his past.

Tears streamed down from Kunti's eyes as she hugs Rudra in her embrace. She consoles Rudra as she speaks,

"You may have lost one of your mothers. But always remember that you have another mother waiting for you with your five elder brothers. From now onwards, address me as 'Mata' like them. Today I will feed you with my own hands."

Kunti picks up a morsel of food as she feeds Rudra. Rudra eats the food with tears in his eyes as he bowed to Kunti and respectfully touches her feet to get her blessings. Kunti raises him as she continues to feed him.

"Remember to come tomorrow to have food with your brothers."

Kunti reminds Rudra as he leaves the palace to return to 'Guru Kul'.

---------------

After their lunch, all of them return to 'Guru Kul' as they have to attend Guru Dronacharya's lecture.

After all of them sit in their respective places, Guru Dronacharya continues the lecture. He points at the Pine Chart as he explains,

"Before lunch, I have already introduced two ranks of warriors to all of you. Now let us ascend higher in the hierarchy of the abilities of a Warrior.

This here is a representation of a warrior whose steed is an elephant. This warrior class is known as 'Gaja'. Gaja stands for an elephant. This warrior possesses the physical strength of an elephant. He is a skilled warrior with proficiency in at least three weapons.

The Gaja in his peak is strong enough to combat twelve 'Ashvarohis' together and still come out on top of them. A Gaja can use Inner Chakra energy to even a higher level and is capable of utilizing one of his Chakra to its fullest.

A Gaja is usually appointed as the Captain of Guards in Capital. He leads a small army consisting of eight 'Ashvarohis' and one hundred eight 'Padatiks'. In the war at large scale, his army is one of the smaller squads of a battalion. Gaja usually emphasizes on physical strength and are responsible for siege weapons. That's all for Gaja. Now do any of you have any questions?"

Guru Dronacharya stares at his disciples as he tries to spot any hint of confusion among them. After waiting for a while with no queries, Guru Dronacharya continues.

He flips another page of the Pine Chart to reveal the figure of a warrior. The warrior stood on a chariot with three different weapons in his hand.

"This here is a representation of a warrior who rides on a Chariot. This warrior class is known as 'Ardharathi'. His fighting prowess is similar to a 'Gaja' capable of combating twelve 'Ashvarohis' in his peak. The strength of a warrior does not lie only in their combat capabilities but also in their quick-thinking and leadership abilities.

Ardharathi is a more strategic and tactics oriented class than Gaja. Where Gaja is usually battle-oriented an Ardharathi is more focused on leading and commanding an army. There are usually deployed in a more tactical position during the battle. Ardharathi usually leads a small army of eight 'Ashvarohis' and one hundred and eight 'Padatiks'.

They are usually appointed as the Captain of Guards in Capital to maintain order. Now do any of you have any questions?"

Guru Dronacharya waits for any queries from his disciples. Rudra raises his hand as he asks a question,

"Guruvar, in a fight among a 'Gaja' and 'Ardharathi' who will come out on top?"

"Good question Rudra! I would like to ask you a question in response to your answer. Tell me, in a fight between a lion and a tiger who will be the winner?"

Rudra thinks for a while before he answers,

"Guruvar! Lions usually hunt in groups whereas Tiger hunts alone. So, if faced against a pack of Lions, the tiger has no chance. But in case of a one on one fight, the tiger will gain upper hand over the lion. So, it depends on the situation."

"Exactly, that's your answer. It depends on the situation. Gaja exceeds in raw power but Ardharathi excels in strategy. So, in a direct confrontation, Gaja will come on top, but in a strategic fight, Ardharathi will be the winner. But combat capabilities also depends on the arsenal of Divya Astras in one's possession.

Alright, we will stop here for today. Now go to the training field and start your weapon practice. Bhima, you stay here with me."

All of the Princes walk towards the training ground as they pick various weapons from different racks and start to practice.

Rudra has no experience with any kind of weapon. Earlier he noticed Bhima wielding a mace. Rudra walks to a nearby weapon rack and picks up a mace as he feels its weight.

He swings the mace a few times and the mace accidentally slips from his hand as it whizzes past 'Dushashsan' and slams into a boulder.

Crack….

A large crack spreads along the diameter of the boulder as it splits in two. Dushashsan unaware of the perpetrator starts to shout frantically,

"Forgive me, Bhima! I shouldn't have listened to brother Duryodhana and report you to Guru Dronacharya. Spare me, don't beat me up."

Hahaha….

Laughter rang in the training field as all princes start to laugh at the antics of Dushashsan. Dushashsan turns around to look at the perpetrator and notices Rudra.