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The temple was almost ready. Almost… The garlands were strung up, the lamps were lit, and the rangoli- somehow, miraculously- had survived Krishna’s meddling (that was debatable). Balarama had managed to keep his sanity intact, and Arjuna had been dragged into much chaos, but for once, it seemed like everything was going smoothly.
That was all, until Krishna suddenly stopped in the middle of the courtyard, looking deeply troubled.
“I swear I left it here…” he muttered, scanning the area. Arjuna, who had just collapsed onto the temple steps after hours of work, groaned. “Madhav, I don’t like that tone. What did you do?”
Krishna tilted his head. “It’s not what I did, Parth. It’s what the universe has done to us.” His sakha turned to him, genuinely distressed, “The coconut is missing.”
A long, painful silence.
Arjuna questioned slowly, “What?”
“The sacred coconut for the puja!” Krishna flailed his hands. “It was right here, and now it’s gone!”
The coconut was precious. Oh, the coconut was previous…
The one that was specifically brought, by Vasudeva himself, from the Southern kingdom, that coconut was missing.
Arjuna stared at him, unblinking. Then, slowly, he inhaled. “Madhav,” he began, his voice calm, measured, dangerous. “You had one job.”
Balarama, passing by, immediately turned back around sensing chaos. “I don’t have the patience for this.”
Arjuna, however, was done. He sat up so fast his back cracked.
“The coconut did not have legs to walk away.” His hands flew to his head. “Where is it!? You were told to keep it with you all the time. It was the reason why I was doing all your work. YOU. JUST HAD. TO. KEEP. IT. Where is it Madhav???”
Krishna smiled at him. That infuriating, infuriating smile.
“That, dear Arjuna, is the mystery.”
“It's not a mystery! Keshava, It’s a disaster!”
Krishna, meanwhile, was suspiciously unbothered. Arjuna turned to him sharply. “Did you… Did you eat it?”
Krishna gasped, deeply offended. “Parth! How could you suspect me of such a thing? I did not! I just left it here, right behind th--”
Then, from behind them, came a soft crunching sound.
The duo turned slowly.
There was Subhadra. Munching.
She just blinked at them.
Krishna was the first to speak. “Bhadre,” he began with forced calm, “do you have any idea what you have done?”
Subhadra, mid-chew, looked at them blankly. “I was hungry.”
Arjuna made a sound that was somewhere between a whimper and a scream.
“Hungry!?” He threw his arms up. “HUNGRY!? it took weeks to get that coconut from the south! WEEKS, MADHAV! WEEKS! not to mention Vasudeva-ji himself got it!”
Krishna stroked his chin. “It did, didn’t it?”
Arjuna whirled on him. “You knew this, and you left it out in the open!?”
“Technically,” Krishna mused, “it was the universe that left it there.”
“I’M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND.”
Balarama, who had just returned from checking on the priests, stopped mid-step when he saw Arjuna pacing in a panic, Krishna looking suspiciously thoughtful, and Subhadra chewing.
He stared at them. Then at the half-eaten coconut. Then back to them.
“…I don’t want to know,” he said, turning away.
“YOU HAVE TO KNOW!” Arjuna ran up to him, grabbing his shoulders. “SHE ATE THE PUJA COCONUT!”
Balarama closed his eyes. Breathed in. Breathed out. Then he turned to Krishna.
“Fix this,” he ordered.
Krishna’s eyes sparkled. “Of course, dear brother. We will retrieve another coconut.”
Balarama crossed his arms. “Good. You have half an hour.”
Arjuna froze. “What?”
“The puja starts in half an hour.” Balarama’s expression was deadly serious. “I suggest you run.”
Arjuna bolted from the temple, dragging Krishna with him.
“Do you know where to find another sacred southern coconut, Madhav?”
Krishna, despite being yanked at terrifying speed, smiled serenely. “No, but I enjoy a challenge.” Arjuna nearly threw him off the road they were running on.
The first stop was a bustling market stall.
"Do you have a coconut?" Arjuna demanded, breathless. The merchant blinked. "Of course my prince, we have plenty-"
"FROM THE SOUTH!?"Arjuna added wildly. The merchant frowned. "That’s… oddly specific."
Arjuna slammed a bag of gold on the counter. "DO YOU HAVE IT OR NOT?"
"…No?" Arjuna turned to Krishna. "Madhav, what now?"
Krishna picked up a random coconut, inspected it, and shook his head. "The energy is all wrong."
Arjuna threw his hands up. "The energy? IT’S A COCONUT! Govind, your brother is gonna have our head."
The merchant stared at them, utterly confused.
Again the chase restarted, they ran down the street, only to find Satyaki standing with a group of traders.
“Satyaki!” Arjuna gasped for breath. “Please tell me you have a coconut from the South.”
Satyaki raised a brow. “Why?”
Arjuna looked at Krishna. Krishna looked at the sky.
Krishna, smiling: “Let’s just say, the puja is in danger.”
Satyaki narrowed his eyes. “What did you two do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Arjuna snapped. “Subhadra ate the coconut.” Satyaki gasped. Then laughed so hard he had to lean on a cart for support.
Arjuna grabbed him. “DO YOU HAVE ONE OR NOT?”
“Why would I—AH!” Satyaki ducked as Arjuna nearly tackled him. “Alright, alright! Maybe I know a trader who has imported coconuts—”
“WHERE!?”
Satyaki pointed down the street. Arjuna was already running while dragging his Madhav along him.
By the time they reached the trader, they were out of breath.
“Co-Coconut…” Arjuna panted. “From the South.”
The trader frowned. “I don’t sell them these days, but I think my grandmother has one-”
"WHERE IS SHE?"
A bit shocked at the usually composed Gandhivdhari, the trader replied, taken aback, "She’s taking a nap at our house. It’s the one behind the Banyan tree."
With a quick Thank you, Arjun was back at it- dragging Krishna towards the house.
Arjuna grabbed Krishna. Both princes looked hassled and disheveled. "Madhav, you’re good with elders- people in general- FIX THIS."
Krishna knocked politely and, in the softest, sweetest voice, convinced the grandmother to part with her precious coconut.
Arjuna could have cried. He grabbed the coconut, his Sakha, bowed, and RAN. With only minutes left, they stormed back into the temple.
The temple courtyard was a whirlwind of activity, priests bustling around with offerings and flowers, the scent of sandalwood and incense heavy in the air. Devotees whispered their prayers, oblivious to the chaos that had just unfolded outside.
And then- Arjuna crashed in.
Barefoot, wild-haired, clothes disheveled, Krishna’s arm clenched in one hand, and absolutely breathless, but victorious.
He lifted the coconut above his head like a war prize. “WE HAVE IT!”
The head priest turned, completely unfazed. He took the coconut without a word, inspecting it with a casual nod before handing it off to an assistant. As if Arjuna had not just been on the verge of divine ruin.
Arjuna stared. “…That’s it?”
Krishna, as pristine as ever, smoothed his sash and beamed. “Ah, Parth, what a delightful adventure this was.”
Balarama, who had been watching this unfold from the side, sighed deeply. He had long given up trying to make sense of his younger siblings’ antics but today had been particularly exhausting.
He shook his head. “I don’t even want to know what happened.”
Arjuna ran a hand through his wild curly hair. “Good. Because I don’t want to relive it.”
And then, from the temple steps, a quiet crunch.
The three of them turned slowly.
There sat Subhadra. Casually popping another piece of the old coconut into her mouth.
She blinked up at them. “Well, that was fun.” She tilted her head, looking genuinely amused. Then, without a word, she reached behind her and casually tossed something at Balarama.
A perfect, untouched coconut.
The real one.
The one Vasudeva had gone through great pains to acquire.
Silence.
Balarama caught it instinctively and stared at it like it was an illusion. Krishna’s eye widened in realization, and he smiled. Arjuna froze.
Subhadra brushed her hands off, looking smug. “I never said I ate the puja coconut. This one was just from the kitchen.”
She turned to glare at Krishna, “This is what you get for ruining my Rangoli, my loving Bhratashree” Then, she bounced back to the temple to help the elders with the puja as if nothing ever happened.
More silence.
Krishna chuckled. “Well, well, Parth, it seems we went on an adventure for nothing.”
Arjuna felt his soul leave his body as, beside him, Balarama rubbed his temples. “I have no words.”