Devi Kausalya

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom, called Maheenagar. The king of that kingdom was not happy, due to he has not a son to give regality. His daughter, Kaushalya who was clever and brave, learned every craft which is necessary to learn by a king and she was ready to accept the responsibility of the kingdom. But the king was not pleased to give his regality to her, even though she was a great worrier. So he decided to find an heir. The king discussed this with chaplains. They nominated prince Zahroh who was the younger brother of the king. The king was pleased about that idea. Kaushalya got to know about this by a servant. But she was not disappointed and she decided to support his uncle after he became the king. So she learned further about the military craft.

But the queen was sad about the king’s decision which her daughter was neglected at the regality. The queen was sick due to that mental suffering. Subsequently, she died. Devi Kausalya became solitary with her mother’s death and she knew that she had nobody in the palace now. So she left the palace without saying even to the king. The king was distraught about missing his wife and daughter. He was weak day by day.

This news was spread even to other regions. The king of Kushinagar also got to know about it. “Maheenagar is famous for gems and silver. Due to their king is weak, we can easily invade that kingdom. I heard that the great worrier, Kaushalya is also not there now”. When the king of Kushinagar say so, his chaplains and marshals agreed with him. So they invited the king of Maheenagar to a war. If not the war, they were to invade Maheenagar. The king of Maheenagar asked Zahroh. “There should be someone to direct my army. I am not in a position to handle it. Can you do it?”. Zahroh was scared and he said. “My lord, I am not an expert of military craft. Because I was not to be a king, I was not keen about learning. I beg your pardon, My Lord”. Then the king realized that being a man is not enough to be a great ruler. He was worried about his decision of appointing Zahroh as the heir and neglecting Kaushalya.

The king sent constables everywhere to find his daughter. Because the princess was incognito, nobody could find her. Then the king sent a message through tom-tom. The message was, “The king invites princess Kaushalya to accept the regality and protect the country from invaders”. Then she came back to protect the kingdom due to she knew that invaders are going to exploit their natural resources and to vanish the peace of the kingdom. She directed the army on the due date. The army of Kushinagar was stronger than Devi Kaushalya’s army. Most of her soldiers were assassinated rapidly. Then she decided to change her plan. She had read that one brigadier could open the head of his enemy by creating a dust cloud. So she ordered the rest of her army to attack the enemies while she was riding her horse fast as a circle to create the dust cloud. And also she ordered them to close their eyes with penetrative cloths. Her plan was successful and she could defeat invaders. Devi Kaushalya and her army went back to their kingdom with a victory. The king was pleased and he alienated the regality to Kaushalya. She ruled Maheenagar well as a far-sighted queen.

By W.I.M.Withanage