THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (22 page)

Kansa looked thoughtful. ‘So you think those three creatures that attacked Devki on the Shiva temple hill were also among those people who have been banished from Pataal Lok?’

Ugrasena nodded again, ‘Yes it’s possible that they also belong to the group of exiled demons. They were probably hiding somewhere on the hill, and seeing Devki there, they may have panicked and attacked her, afraid that their presence might become known if she escaped.’

‘Possible…even probable,’ Jarasandha said, agreeing with Ugrasena.

Kansa’s face contorted in anger at the memory of the attack on his sister. ‘Vile demons. They should be thrown back into Pataal Lok.’ he snarled.

‘All demons are not repulsive or bad, my son!’ Ugrasena said, looking at Kansa with an inscrutable expression.

‘I am not a demon, Father,’ Kansa said with suppressed anger. ‘You don’t have to make me feel good by saying all this.’

Ugrasena was taken aback at Kansa’s reaction. He had not thought that Kansa would take the remark personally. He had only wanted to bridge the growing distance between the two of them. But his comment seemed to have pushed Kansa farther away.

Jarasandha did not fail to notice the latest exchange between father and son. He wasn’t sure what all of it meant, but he resolved to ask Kansa about it later.

‘So will you come with me, brother, or should I leave alone for Magadha?’ he asked Kansa.

Kansa looked undecided. He had wanted to go to Magadha to get away from his father and the troubling nightmares he had been having over the past few days. He had thought that being away for a while might allow him to get over the reality of his childhood and possibly bring back the feeling of love for his father. After the attack on Devki, he had decided against going away, fearing another attack on her. But from what Jarasandha and Ugrasena had just shared with him, it appeared that the attack on her had not been a planned ambush, but more of a reaction on the part of the creatures to keep their presence a secret. He looked around in frustration, still unable to decide whether to go with Jarasandha or stay back at Madhuvan.

Strangely it was Ugrasena who helped him decide. He went up to Kansa and held him by his shoulders. Looking into the eyes of his son, he whispered, ‘Go…go to Magadha. I know you need to be away…from things…from me. But when you come back, come back to me as the son you have always been. And remember, I have always loved you as my own.’

Before Kansa could reply, Ugrasena had turned away and left the room with a curt nod to Jarasandha. Kansa looked at his father’s retreating back, torn between the love he had for his father, and the pain of rejection he felt at the knowledge of his birth.

In the end, he willed himself to be strong and turned towards Jarasandha. ‘We will leave in an hour. I want to say goodbye to Devki.’

Jarasandha nodded as Kansa made his way out of the room, in search of his sister. He was dying to know what had happened between Kansa and Ugrasena. But the thought that troubled him the most was how Ugrasena knew about the presence of the banished demons from Pataal Lok in Mrityulok. Ugrasena could upset all his plans.
I have to find out how much the old king knows
, Jarasandha thought, as his face creased into a frown.

he Dark Lord moved in his sleep. It was rare for him to lie down at all. Sleep gave way to nightmares. Sleep brought back too many memories of his past life, ones that he had tried to bury over the last two hundred years. Sleep was an enemy!

But even he had to sleep occasionally. The force of Brahman running through his system kept his senses aware of what was happening around him at all times, so that even in his sleep no one could take advantage of him. But even the powerful energy of Brahman wasn’t enough to prevent his unconscious mind from walking over the footprints of his past. There were always a few recurring memories that hounded him every time he lay down to sleep; the close relationship he shared with his guru, Brahma; the betrayal he experienced when Brahma banished him to Pataal Lok for no reason, almost killing him and ravaging his soul and mutilating his face forever; and the horror he experienced when he regained consciousness to find himself in the deepest pit of hell where Brahma had unfairly banished him for eternity.

The most feared figure in Pataal Lok lay curled up like a child in his sleep, his knees pulled up towards his chest, and his arms tightly hugging his legs. His disfigured face lit up with a smile, as his unconscious mind took him back to some happy moments from his past life…

‘Amartya, hurry up! Today is your initiation,’ his mother bellowed from outside his room. Amartya grinned to himself. Today was the day when his guru, Brahma, would pronounce him to be a deva—a demi-god. At the age of twenty-two, this was an unprecedented honour. Yet it didn’t stop his mother from treating him like a child. She was banging on the door and mumbling to herself, about how late he was for the initiation ceremony. It was still the beginning of the first prahar of the day. The ceremony was scheduled for the dvitiya prahar (the second period of the day, each day being divided into six prahars of four hours each). He decided he had enough time to perform his morning prayers and meditation, even though his mother was acting like he was already late.

Amartya focused inward on his energy centre, and willed himself to concentrate his energies on achieving a meditative state. He slipped into meditation with the ease of a person who had been doing this for the past twenty years of his life, since he was two years old and Brahma had pronounced him to be an extraordinarily gifted child. Time passed quickly as he sat in meditation. At last he came out of the state of concentration and got up to leave for the ashram where Brahma awaited him.

‘You are so late, Amartya!’ chided his mother as he stepped out of his room. She was busy trying to get her other six children ready for the day. Amartya was the eldest of her seven sons. The younger six also went to an ashram, but theirs was the regular gurukul where all the rishi’s children went for their education in philosophy and other studies. Amartya was the only one singled out by Brahma in the past several millennia to be trained and educated under his own tutelage. A lot of Amartya’s peers, including his own siblings, were not too happy at the special treatment Amartya received from Brahma. Amartya had discussed this with Brahma on several occasions, but Brahma had merely said, ‘You are different, my child, and hence there will always be people who envy you. But you are meant for greater things; and one day all of them will know this!’ Amartya had no idea what Brahma meant and what greatness he was destined for. But he had unshakeable faith in his guru and if Brahma said something, then it must be so.

Amartya touched his mother’s feet as he prepared to leave for Brahma’s ashram. As she touched his head with the palm of her right hand to bless him, he heard the barely suppressed giggles of his younger siblings. Amartya looked indulgently at his six brothers. He loved them even though he knew they envied him. All six were standing in a group giggling and chattering amongst themselves—Hansa, Damana, Suvikrama, Ripurvardana, Kratha and Krodhanta. Amartya walked up to them and patted Krodhanta, the youngest of the brothers, on his head. ‘What’s the joke, brother?’ he smiled. Krodhanta looked away nervously, while the others still giggled. Amartya cupped Krodhanta’s chin in his palm and raised his brother’s face to look into his eyes, ‘What is it, child? Tell me,’ he coaxed.

Krodhanta looked up at him, undecided whether to share the joke with Amartya. Somehow, it didn’t seem as funny as it had when he had been laughing with his other brothers. But he couldn’t refuse Amartya, and he was compelled to lower his eyes at the intense gaze of his eldest brother. ‘W–we were jo–joking about Brahma,’ he stammered. Amartya unconsciously tightened his grip around his brother’s chin, and Krodhanta winced in pain. Amartya didn’t seem to notice. ‘What was the joke?’ he asked in a tight voice. Krodhanta looked miserable. He had realized by now that the joke wasn’t funny at all, but he knew Amartya wouldn’t let go till he had told him everything. He pointed at two of his older siblings—Hansa and Damana—and whimpered, ‘Th–they were laughing at…at Brahmaji.’

Amartya’s grip on Krodhanta’s chin tightened further. ‘Why?’ he said quietly, his fury barely controlled.

Tears of pain sprang into Krodhanta’s eyes, as Amartya’s grip on his face intensified. ‘They said Brahmaji married his own daughter…and that he….’ His sentence was cut short by a tight slap from Amartya. Krodhanta ran crying to his mother, who looked on speechless at what had happened. She knew it was a sin to make fun of your elders, especially your teachers. And for that ridicule to have been aimed at Brahma himself—that was unforgivable. If anyone got to know about it…she shuddered to think what would happen. She understood why Amartya had slapped his younger brother so uncharacteristically. He was completely devoted to Brahma and to hear anyone ridiculing his guru would have been unacceptable to him.

Amartya hadn’t moved. He stood rooted to the spot. Krodhanta’s words rang in his ears: ‘Brahmaji married his own daughter…’ The giggling of his other brothers too resounded in his mind. But above all of this, he had a premonition of something that was about to happen, something that would change his life forever. For a fleeting moment, he saw a terrible vision of Brahma’s face contorted in rage. But his guru’s fury wasn’t directed at his brothers…it was directed at Amartya.

The Dark Lord groaned in his sleep, his breathing ragged and irregular, as if the events of his past life had happened in front of his eyes, yet again. He pulled his knees tighter against his chest, as if this action would enable him to ward off the disturbing thoughts. Gradually, however, his body relaxed and his breathing returned to normal.