Golden Opportunity

Dark Night

It was a dark night, and the atmosphere of the cremation ground was filled with fear. Rain fell intermittently, thunder shook the earth, and lightning dazzled the horizon. The weird laughter of spirits echoed through the air, and the howling and moaning of jackals could be heard from the nearby bushes. A few yards away, Will-o’-the-wisps flashed. In the silence, the absence of noise became even more terrifying.

Yet, King Vikram did not waver from his mission. With the corpse upon his shoulder, he began to cross the foreboding ground.

A Vampire’s Tale

Suddenly, the vampire possessing the corpse spoke up, “O King, great is your courage. Most likely, you will achieve your goal. However, there are instances showing that people often spurn the very reward for which they have worked so hard. Let me share an example to divert your attention from the pain of your labor.”

The vampire continued, “Ravi Verma and Roop Singh were two kings ruling over neighboring kingdoms. For generations, the rulers of these two dynasties had been sworn enemies. Skirmishes between their armies were frequent, leading to suffering for those living in the border regions.”

Ravi Verma was not pleased with this enmity; he strongly desired to put an end to it, but he felt powerless doing so alone.

A Royal Proposal

King Roop Singh had an only child, a daughter. As she reached marriageable age, he convened a Swayamvara, inviting many princes to prove their worth and win the princess’s hand.

Roop Singh sent invitations to several princes through messengers, but he dispatched his chief minister specifically to invite Ravi Verma’s son, Prince Chandrahas.

Ravi Verma felt honored by the invitation. He welcomed the minister warmly, who hinted at Roop Singh’s eagerness to end the feud between their kingdoms.

Ravi Verma happily agreed to send his son to Roop Singh’s court, dreaming of uniting their kingdoms through the marriage, especially since Roop Singh had no son.

Unforeseen Capture

However, Prince Chandrahas was not particularly enthusiastic about this arrangement. Yet, as an obedient son, he proceeded to Roop Singh’s court, accompanied by his dear friend Sudhir.

While riding through a forest, they were captured by a group of tribal people and brought before their chief. Chandrahas introduced himself and begged for his freedom. The chief explained that, according to their custom, they must capture any outsider found in the forest on that specific day of the year and sacrifice him to their goddess. However, if Chandrahas or his friend could defeat the tribe’s chief wrestler in single combat, they would be free to go.

“I accept the challenge,” said Prince Chandrahas.

An Unexpected Turn

The friends were treated generously, given a comfortable cottage for the night, with no guard posted to watch over them.

At midnight, Sudhir proposed, “Hurry! This is a golden opportunity to escape. Our horses are kept nearby.”

“Never! The chief trusts us and hasn’t posted any guard. Why should we act like cowards? I will wrestle and see what fortune has in store for us,” replied the prince firmly.

The wrestling match took place, and Chandrahas defeated the tribal’s best wrestler. The chief was pleased and gifted them two diamonds before bidding them farewell.

The Swayamvara Challenges

As expected, Chandrahas was received warmly by King Roop Singh, who had arranged competitions in wrestling, fencing, and archery among the gathered princes. The winner was to marry the princess, and Chandrahas emerged victorious from all trials.

King Roop Singh congratulated him, but then stated, “Tomorrow, you must wrestle with Kamalketu. If you defeat him, you may marry the princess. This is the final condition.”

Curious about Kamalketu, Chandrahas asked several people, but nobody seemed to have any information about him.

A Desperate Escape

That night, Chandrahas woke Sudhir and said, “Hurry! Here is a golden opportunity to escape.”

Slightly confused, Sudhir asked, “You’re certain to win the princess’s hand, as your opponent seems to be an ordinary fellow. You’ve easily defeated fierce foes before. Why would you want to give up now?”

“My friend, I will explain my reasoning once we are safely out of this kingdom. We have no time to waste!” replied the prince, and they galloped away immediately.

A King’s Wisdom

The vampire paused and challenged King Vikram, “Why did Chandrahas act so foolishly? If he had refused to escape from the forest despite the danger, why then did he choose to flee from the kind King Roop Singh’s palace? Why abandon such a golden opportunity?”

King Vikram answered, “Far from being foolish, Chandrahas demonstrated his truthfulness, courage, cleverness, and wisdom. He was truthful and courageous in the forest and chose not to escape. His cleverness led him to discern Roop Singh’s true intentions. His wisdom, however, drove him to flee.”

“Roop Singh might have either wished for friendship with Chandrahas’s kingdom or sought his destruction. If he genuinely wanted Chandrahas as his son-in-law, he would have made that clear once Chandrahas won the contests. The fact that he demanded Chandrahas wrestle an unknown opponent indicated malicious intent. Kamalketu must have been a skilled assassin, intending to kill Chandrahas without consequences since he voluntarily entered the match. Once Chandrahas was out of the way, it would have been easy for Roop Singh to conquer Ravi Verma’s kingdom.”

As soon as King Vikram concluded his answers, the vampire, along with the corpse, slipped away into the shadows.