A Slave who became Emperor Chapter 37

Everyone was holding their breath, they didn't know what the emperor was thinking, he looked at Indra and said, 'punishment? Will punishment be sufficient? ok then I will punish you . . you need to do one thing . . then I will let you go . . ' everyone waited, Indra was waiting with batted breath . . the emperor said, 'since everyone has heard what Indra said, he confessed for the crime on his own, so it's only apt that I punish him . . once we reach Indraprastha, you need to . . . personally . . . take . . care of all the arrangements of coronation of the Prince, on the day of Dusshera . . . '

Pinaka was shocked, everyone cheered and clapped, Indra rose and said, 'it will be my pleasure your majesty . . ' the emperor said, 'I need to retire now, I wish to hand over the rule to my son . . I need to spend time with your mother now . . need to compensate for all the years I was away from her . . and soon I will get you married Pinaka . . '

Shiva looked at Pinaka and said, 'your majesty, the bride is ready . . ' and he told the emperor everything about Samyukta . . the emperor laughed out loud and said, 'Great, even if I search for a bride, I won't be able to get such an awesome girl for you . . I am so proud of you my boy . . I can't wait to meet my daughter in law . . '

All of them started their journey back to Indraprastha (capital of Gupta empire), as they headed into the city, people of the empire welcomed the emperor . . they started throwing flowers at him and the Prince . . the emperor felt overwhelmed by the love showered over him . . as more people gathered around the emperor, he stopped and said, 'people of the Gupta empire, my sons and daughters . . I apologize for all those years of your hardships, those days have come to an end now, as Dusshera is approaching, let the festivities begin, let's forget all the bad days and begin with a new joy, on the day of Dusshera will be the coronation of Prince Pinaka, as is the tradition, there will be competitions conducted in warfare techniques in the palace grounds . . for ten days and ten nights the palace doors will be open to all the citizens of the empire, no one should miss out, and there should not be anybody cooking at home . . for ten days we will all celebrate as a family . . ' the people heard it and cheered loudly . . they cried, 'hail emperor! hail Prince! hail Gupta empire! '

The emperor continued, 'the group of the people who were branded as rebels, they were framed by Devadatta, Major Indra, Major Varuna and all the men of their group . . I apologize for my bad judgement, I am sorry that you and your families had to suffer for so long . . all of you will be bestowed with rewards for saving my life from those savage cannibal tribe . . thank you . . all of you will be joining the army and train the youngsters . . '

Their families had tears in their eyes, it was not needed for an emperor to apologize, but he did so proving that he is a people's emperor . . not a lofty tyrant . . the people cried, 'long live emperor! '

Then the emperor said, 'I will see you all at the palace tomorrow . . now I need to go and meet the empress . . farewell . . ' the emperor, Prince and party moved towards the palace . .

The emperor went straight to the temple, he knew that the empress would be there . . as the empress saw him approach, she cried, she was smiling and crying at the same time, the emperor went to her and hugged her . . he said, 'my beloved . . you suffered . . ' she said, 'emperor, I was waiting for you . . ' Pinaka looked at his parents . . he too had tears in his eyes . .

Pinaka looked at everyone and said, 'let's leave them for some time . . . ' he walked away from them and went to his chamber,everyone followed him . . he said, . 'Shiva, Indra and Varuna you will be responsible for all the arrangements . . as the emperor said, the Navratri (nine nights) and dusshera (tenth day of festival) will be held on a grand scale . . Shiva, along with your men ensure that the palace is secured, assemble the army, I need to meet them . . '

Note: Dusshera is an Indian festival, celebrated to note the victory of Good over evil . . according to Indian mythology . . the goddess of power . . Durga fought with a demon for nine nights and killed him on the tenth day . . for ten days of the festival, Goddess Durga is worshipped in ten different forms . . it is celebrated across India during the months of September-october every year on a grand scale . .

Chapter end