Abhimanyu and the Chakravyuha

Long ago, Princess Subhadra was waiting for her baby to be born. Her husband, Arjuna the great archer, loved to tell her stories in the quiet evenings.

Every night, Subhadra rested by the window, one hand on her round belly. The lamps flickered. The night birds called. And Arjuna told her about faraway lands and clever ideas.

One night, he told her about the chakravyuha.

"Imagine a great wheel," he said, drawing circles in the air. "Ring inside ring, seven rings deep, folded tight like a lotus bud. Very few people in the world know its secret."

"What secret?" asked Subhadra.

"How to find the way in," said Arjuna, "and how to find the way back out."

He began to explain. Through the first ring, where you must be quick. Through the second, where you must be patient. Through the third and the fourth, where you must stay calm and watch closely.

Subhadra listened. Inside her, the baby gave a little kick, as if to say, "Go on!"

Arjuna smiled and went on. Through the fifth ring. Through the sixth. All the way to the heart of the lotus.

"And now," he said, "here is how you find your way back out…"

But there was no reply. Subhadra's eyes were closed. She was breathing slowly and peacefully, fast asleep.

Arjuna did not wake her. He laid a soft shawl over her and dimmed the lamp. "The rest can wait," he whispered. "Sleep well, both of you."

The old storytellers say the baby was listening that night, and he loved his father's voice from that day on.

It is only an old story, of course. But it holds something gentle and true: quiet evenings, loving voices and stories shared with a full heart are some of the sweetest gifts a family can give.

So tonight, little one, I have told you this whole story, from the beginning to the end. And tomorrow, I will tell you another.