28 A Surprise Test

Dushashsan angrily snaps at Rudra as he starts to scold him,

If you don't know how to wield a weapon, then don't go around brandishing a weapon. We already have Bhima with no brain and only brown."

"I apologize for my earlier mistake. I won't repeat it." Rudra apologizes to Dushashsan.

"A simple apology won't recover me from my trauma. You have to be my servant for a day and do all of my chores. Only after that would I be satisfied with your apology. There would have been no need for war if apologies could fix everything. You have to take responsibility for your deeds." Dushashsan starts to lecture Rudra.

"Oh! Please enlighten me too, Guru Dushashsan. I don't have enough wisdom to understand your deep knowledge." A deep voice interrupts Dushashsan.

"Yes, yes. I will enlighten you too. Come to me…" Dushashsan turns around to meet the newcomer.

He is shocked to see Bhima. His shock turns into terror as he turns pale from fear. Bhima cracks his knuckles as he walks up to Dushashsan.

"I have no brain only brown." Bhima catches a fleeing Dushashsan and punches him in the gut.

"You like to complain about me to Guruvar." Bhima lifts Dushashsan and throws him back to the ground.

"You want my 'Younger Brother Rudra' to be your servant for a day." Bhima lifts Dushashsan by the leg and spins him like a top and throws him towards a tree.

Dushashsan whirls in the air as he crashes into the tree and clings on its branch. Like a mad elephant, Bhima starts to shake the tree as Dushashsan clutched the branch tightly for his dear life. After violent shaking for a while, Dushashsan manages to last without falling.

"Tch…You are no fun, Dushashsan. I can't uproot this tree, Guruvar will scold me for that. Otherwise, I would have dragged you with the tree to Raajmahal." Bhima scoffs at Dushashsan and turns around to greet Rudra.

"Come with me Rudra, Big Brother Bhima will teach you how to wield a mace. I am an expert when it comes to combat with mace. But you have to promise me a wrestling duel in exchange for my teachings." Bhima entices Rudra.

Rudra contemplates for a while before he answers,

"Ok, Big Brother Bhima, teach me how to wield a mace and I will fight you in wrestling."

Bhima smiles at Rudra as he mutters to himself,

'I finally have an equal who can fight with me in physical strength.'

"Now, let's go to a more open area to start your training. Before you start practicing in 'Gadha Art, there are some things you must be aware of.

A Gadha(mace) is a blunt weapon, so you won't get much of an advantage when it comes to stabbing or slashing. However, it's advantage lies in the physical strength you put behind your attack.

The more physical strength you have, the more blunt force you can use to smash your enemies with. So, physical strength is the key factor behind 'Gadha Arts'. The heavy strike of a mace can't be parried or blocked by any other weapons except Gadha itself.

If you have enough strength in your strike, then you can smash mountains, split oceans, and even clear skies with your strikes without the use of any Divya Astras. Now, I will start with the basic arts. First, you need to learn the correct way of holding a Gadha if your grip is not right then the Gadha will slip from your hands."

Bhima brandishes a Gadha and starts to show the correct grip and posture to Rudra.

Bhima spent the entire evening correcting the posture of Rudra. Later in the evening, Dronacharya dismisses all of them as they depart for Royal Palace.

Inside the Royal Palace,

Rudra joins Pandavas for dinner as he eats with them. He is more relaxed around them compared to noon. They cheer and eat happily as Rudra stays with them for sleep.

Next morning,

All of the princes arrive at Guru Kul as they prepare for Guru Dronacharya's lecture. After the usual routine, the lecture starts.

Guru Dronacharya unfurls the Pine Chart as he presents the picture of a warrior on a Chariot drawn by two horses. The warrior has five different weapons in his arsenal as it stands majestically.

"This is the representation of a powerful warrior who wields various Divya Astras. This warrior class is known as 'Rathi'. A class where real power scaling starts. A Rathi has a major impact on the outcome of the war. Rathi in his peak power can combat twelve Ardharathi or Gaja simultaneously and triumph over them.

The power of a Rathi is so vast that he can wield multiple Divya Astras of major deities and use them ineffectively in a battle. Rathi is capable of accessing three of his chakra to utilize the inner energy of their body. This grants them high durability, stamina, endurance, and healing in battle. The gap between an Ardharathi and Rathi doesn't just scale to their fighting prowess. It extends to their vulnerability. A Rathi will remain invulnerable to any attack unleashed by a single Ardharathi. Only Divya Astras are strong enough to penetrate the defenses of a Rathi and deal major damage to them.

Rathi can shrug off normal weapons quite easily and any normal weapon won't be able to bear the pressure of their inner Chakra energy. A Rathi is also a capable leader, tactician, and strategist. He is fully capable of leading an army and creates various Vyuhas and battle formations. This effectively increases the combat capabilities of an army as it brings out the full potential of an individual soldier. As for Various Vyuhas and Battle formations, we will talk about them in a separate lecture.

Now, do any of you have any questions regarding Rathi?"

Guru Dronacharya stares at his disciples as he waits for any questions. Bhima raises his hand as he asks,

"Guruvar, what are criteria for a warrior to reach Rathi rank? I have a strength of ten thousand elephants. Will, I qualified to rank as 'Rathi'?"

"Good question, Bhima. You are certainly in the ranks of a Rathi when it just comes to physical strength. But you aren't a Rathi yet.

First, you haven't mastered your inner Chakra Energy. Mastering your inner Chakra energy will greatly boost your prowess. Your body is impervious to normal weapons but when the weapon is infused with Inner Chakra energy, you would be easily injured by the attack.

Second, you don't have any knowledge of Tactics, formations, and the quality of a leader. You won't be able to lead an army for war.

Third, You don't possess any Divya Astras. So, somehow even if you can exhaust a Rathi, you don't have any way of finishing him off. You need the divine blessing of a Deity to finish a Rathi. Though in your case, the said point is debatable, I won't shed more light on it. It would be better if you consult your mother or Pitamah for more details.

There are various other qualities that you lack for the rank of a Rathi. So, no you aren't qualified as a Rathi."

Guru Dronacharya explains briefly about various details of the Rathi rank and spent the rest of the day on elaborating the power of Rathi.

Dronacharya finish the class with an announcement,

"Starting from tomorrow, all of you are required to move out of the Hastinapur in wild and search for some special medicinal herbs. No external help will be provided to you. This is a test for all of you as Pitamah wants to see your progress in these years. So, we collectively decided on this test.

You can form a group and work together, but bear in mind, you aren't allowed to interfere with other groups and a maximum of ten persons per group is allowed. So, prepare well and get ready to depart tomorrow. Also, Rudra, if you want to join the test, you are free to do so though I won't recommend doing that."

After Dronacharya's lectures, all of the princes start to frantically discuss among themselves as they start to form a group.

Nobody approaches Rudra and Rudra doesn't care about this. He isn't skilled in any weapons and would only be a burden in a team.

Pandavas approach Rudra as Bhima asks him,

"Younger Brother Rudra, why don't you join our team for this hunt?"

Rudra hesitates for a while before he asks Bhima,

"Are you sure about this? I haven't trained in any weapon, I can only help you find the herbs. I would be a burden for all of you."

Bhima rebukes him as he replies,

"Don't worry about such small matters. You are our younger brother, aren't you? With my strength paired with Big Brother Yudhishthira's wisdom, Arjuna's sharpness, Nakul's quick-thinking, and Sahadeva's wits, we don't have to worry about any problem. Also, you are pretty strong yourself."

Bhima convinces Rudra. After so much convincing, Rudra finally decided to join them,

"Then, I will join your team, Big brothers."