𝐑𝐔𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐀

𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒗 𝒌𝒊 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒊 #3

After the aarti, the crowd slowly began moving again towards the grand Shiv Mandir. Dhara too was speaking with the priest about something, while Rivanya found herself drawn towards the idol of Maa Gauri.

She stood there quietly, folding her hands, her eyes fixed on the divine form of the Goddess.

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Rivanya's POV:

Before me stood not just an idol, but my mother, my guide, my eternal strength. My Maa, who had always stood by me even when the world didn't.

"Maa..." I whispered in my heart as my gaze softened.

What could I even tell You, when You already know everything? Every fear, every dream, every prayer. It is You who has shown me the path of right and wrong, You who has given me the strength to fight against the odds.

Maa... all I ask is Your blessing. Give me the courage to fulfill my late mother's last wish to see her daughter become a lawyer. Let me make her dream live through me.

As I thought of her, a lump rose in my throat, my eyes grew moist, and warm tears slipped down silently. Closing my eyes before Maa Gauri, I let them flow, surrendering my pain into Her lap.

But there was something more... something my heart needed to say.

"Maa... My Father has been speaking about my marriage. But You already know... I am waiting. Waiting for the fruit of my sixteen Somvar fasts. Maa, just as You became Shivji's forever, I too wish to belong only to the one who is destined to be mine my Shiv, my eternal companion across lifetimes.

I don't know who he is, where he is, or what kind of man he will be... but I trust You, Maa. My heart has always trusted You. Keep that trust alive... just as You always have."

With that prayer, I bowed my head deeply, letting my tears merge with devotion.

After pouring my heart out to Maa, I wiped away my tears.

And just then, Dhara came before me.

Dhara my best friend, my partner in crime, my uncle's(Mamu's) daughter,my cousin.

We had grown up together since childhood, so calling her my sister would not be wrong.

After my Maa(Mother) left this world, Papa(Father) remarried. It was then that my Nana ji and Mamu ji brought me here to Kashi, to my maternal home, and raised me with so much love and care.

Most of my childhood was spent in Kashi with my Nana and Nani, and through all those years, Dhara and I grew up hand in hand, inseparable.

As I was lost in these thoughts, I noticed Pandit ji walking towards me.

He placed his kind gaze upon me and said softly,

Pandit ji:

"Beti Rivanya, I don't know why, but I feel you should go and bow at the feet of Maa Gauri's idol. Perhaps that is exactly what Mata herself desires. And who knows maybe there, you will also find the answers to the questions troubling your heart."

I was stunned for a moment.

How could Pandit ji know the whispers of my soul the very words I had just spoken in silence to Maa?

But instead of dwelling too deeply, my heart understood this was not mere coincidence.

This was Maa's grace, her way of speaking to me through him.

With Pandit ji's words echoing in my heart, I stepped into the garbha-griha. My breath grew heavier, my palms folded tightly, and before me stood Maa Gauri radiant, eternal, and divine.

In a trembling whisper, I prayed,

"Maa... please give me an answer. Whatever it is, I promise to accept it."

Lowering myself, I placed my forehead at her sacred feet. And then

Something beyond my understanding happened.

A gentle weight touched my head. When I slowly lifted my eyes, I saw it

Maa's sacred bridal veil, the suhagan's chunri, draped over me as if she herself had blessed me with it.

Before I could even process it, the vermillion from her offering rose with the temple breeze and fell directly onto my forehead, filling the parting of my hair. My heart skipped a beat, my eyes shut in disbelief, but when I opened them... another miracle unfolded.

The garland from Maa's neck slipped down and embraced mine, settling against my chest like a divine declaration.

My eyes blurred with tears. My lips trembled. I wasn't crying out of fear or shock, but because in that moment, I felt something I had been searching for all my life

The feeling of being chosen. The feeling of truly belonging.

It wasn't just a blessing.

It was a promise.

Suddenly, I heard Pandit ji's voice from behind, firm yet filled with awe

Pandit ji:

"Jai ho Maa Rani ki! Today, Mata Rani herself has blessed Rivanya with the boon of a suhagan. Blessed are you, child..."

His words rang in my ears, leaving me frozen. My gaze shifted back to Maa Gauri's idol, her eyes shining with a divine glow that felt as if she was truly watching me.

But confusion tightened my chest.

A suhagan's blessing? For me?

My heart whispered in disbelief

"But I am still a kumari... how could I be granted the blessing of a married woman?"

The thought rattled through me, but deep inside, I couldn't ignore the warmth that wrapped around me, as if Maa herself was whispering a secret of my destiny

a truth my soul would understand only in time.