B for Betrayal

Do people really Betray or are they victims of their circumstances? Whatever the answer, the feeling of being betrayed in love never goes away.

Here’s a tale from the Mahabharata which features a tale of betrayal and how circumstances led to it.

                                                                             *************

Amba’s heart pounded loudly as she waited for her beloved in his chamber. 

How happy he will be to see me back, she thought. 

The handsome King Shalya had stolen her heart the first time she had laid her eyes on him. His voice had been mesmerizing and his looks captivating. She could possibly have no place for any other man in her life. 

How dare Bhishma abduct her and her sisters to be married off to his cousin?  

Just then, Shalya entered the room limping, bandaged and in obvious pain. The dual with Bhishma had left him wounded physically, but it had also left him sour and vengeful. He looked at Amba, as graceful as a swan, as beautiful as ever, looking at him with pain in her eyes. It was easy to fall in love with her. For a moment it melted his heart, but the image of her being taken away by Bhishma, and his own humiliation at Bhishma’s hands, came flashing before his eyes and hatred filled his heart all over again.

‘Why have you come here? You married Vichitraveerya, didn’t you? He turned to look away from her, lest looking at her face soften his feelings for her.

Amba rose and walked towards him, ‘How could I, my love? I could never betray you and marry another.’

Shalya laughed cruelly in response. ‘Betray?’ He turned to face her again, looking at her accusingly, ‘You seemed too happy to be abducted by Bhishma.’

‘No, my love. My sisters may have given in to Bhishma’s might and married that cousin of his, but I defied him and demanded that I should be brought back to you… for I love you with all my heart. Please accept me as your wife,’ she said placing a loving hand on his shoulder.

‘Go away Amba,’ he thundered putting up his hand to stop her advance, and the anger in his voice frightened her. ‘I cannot marry someone promised to another man. Not only that, Bhishma forcefully abducted you.’ His anger then turned to rage as he recalled how he had been humiliated by Bhishma, ‘When I look at you, all I can remember is that humiliation. You betrayed me.’

And with that he strode out of the chamber, leaving Amba alone and weeping. She wondered if she had indeed betrayed him or he was now betraying her by accusing her thus.

For Amba, this was the just the beginning, a tale of two betrayals and more to come, that would lead her to end her life and be reborn again with more vengeance than history had ever seen.

                                                               ************

Who do you think was to be blamed? Who betrayed whom? Share your thoughts. 

Linking back to the A to Z challenge.

                                                             ************

This day...Last year...B for Believe