THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (60 page)

The beautiful maiden had braved the steep climbs of Kailas only once before in her life. But that time she had Brahma as her companion. His mere presence had been enough to ease her tired limbs as she scaled the mountain. Today, however, she was alone, and though she was a goddess herself, the treacherous terrain of Kailas was testing the limits of even her endurance. And it wasn’t just that. Every now and then, she would feel some presence around her. It was as if something was trying to throttle her as she slept or in an unguarded moment. But then, these feelings and sensations would go away almost immediately and she would feel safe and calm. She shook her head frequently in an attempt to clear her mind of these feelings. She put down the sensations to an overactive imagination. But somehow, she wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination.

Bhoomi Devi—the keeper of earth and the mortal world—sighed as she told herself to trudge on. She knew that in a few days the dusty and dry terrain would give way to expose the true beauty of Kailas and reveal the mountain to her in its full glory. On the fourth day of her travel, just as the hour of noon was approaching, Bhoomi Devi came to a point where there were four different paths to choose from. Each path took you to the top of Kailas from a different side of the mountain. Each side was made up of a singular material. The north was made of crystal; the east of ruby; the south face of the mountain was pure gold and the western front was made of lapis lazuli. The whole mountain of Kailas itself was located at the heart of six mountain ranges, symbolizing a lotus.

Bhoomi Devi paused to consider which of the four routes she should take. The lapis lazuli pathway on the western front fascinated her but the last time she had been to the mountain, Brahma had taken her through the south side, and that route had been fast and unhindered. While she was tempted to experiment with a different path today, her pragmatic side favoured taking the old route, especially since she was in a hurry and needed to meet Shiva urgently.
I can’t afford to waste time
, she thought to herself.
If the gods don’t help me soon, the demons will destroy the mortal world
. Her breath quickened as she considered this, and she hastened her steps in the direction of Shiva’s abode on the peak of Mount Kailas.

Shiva was in deep meditation when Bhoomi Devi reached the summit. Even though his eyes were closed, his cosmic vision saw everything. He knew why a senior goddess like Bhoomi Devi had personally travelled all the way from Mrityulok to meet him. He also knew what she wanted from him.
It’s a pity I won’t be able to help her though
, he thought with a sigh, still in meditation.

Bhoomi Devi waited patiently for Shiva to come out of his meditative state. She knew it could take days or even weeks before this happened, but disturbing Shiva in meditation could invite his wrath. That was the last thing she wanted to do at this moment. She knew that sometimes supreme gods like Shiva could decide to communicate telepathically with other gods or demi-gods. They could do this while still in meditation.
I wish he would communicate with me now
, thought Bhoomi Devi, trying to suppress her anxiety.
They never use telepathy when you want them to
, She couldn’t help thinking sardonically.

Her mind had not even completed the thought when she felt a sudden jolt; it was as if something had entered her mind, unbidden, a force quantum times stronger than her own. ‘So, we never use telepathy when you want, is that right?’ growled Shiva. Bhoomi Devi jumped at the sound of his voice. It was as if Shiva was speaking from inside her head. She looked at his face; He was still meditating and his face was inscrutable.
Oh Lord, he is using cosmic telepathy
, she suddenly realized.

Cosmic telepathy was a rare power wielded by the three supreme gods and the brahmarishis. While basic telepathy allowed communication between two people, through the transmission of information from one person to another without using any sensory channels or physical interaction, cosmic telepathy went much beyond that. Using cosmic telepathy, the supreme gods could read and control the minds of life forms on multiple planets at once. They could transmit and receive information from multiple planets, while also creating illusions and controlling emotions of the same scale.

Bhoomi Devi felt rather than heard Shiva laughing inside her head. It was his typical deep-throated and clear laughter. ‘My Lord, this is not fair. You should have warned me you were entering my mind,’ she said, a little upset with Shiva. The laughter died down as quickly as it had started, and Shiva spoke to her in a kind tone. ‘Forgive me, dear, I get carried away with this cosmic telepathy thing sometimes. Tell me what I can do for you.’

She couldn’t help smiling. It was impossible to stay upset with Shiva. Even though Vishnu was generally considered to be the charmer, she personally found Shiva’s rustic charm more appealing. She never mentioned this to anyone, though. She knew Shiva’s wife, Parvati, would kill her if she caught her admiring her husband, even from a distance. Suppressing a smile, Bhoomi Devi forced herself to return to the matter at hand.

‘Lord, since you are using cosmic telepathy, you would already know why I am here,’ Bhoomi Devi said softly.

‘I do, goddess, I do.’ Shiva sounded thoughtful.

‘Then will you help?’ Bhoomi Devi’s voice was pleading.

‘I am not the one who will help you, Bhoomi Devi. Your saviour is elsewhere.’ Shiva’s cryptic answer confused her even more.

‘Who?’ Bhoomi Devi started to say as the voice of Shiva in her mind interrupted her.

‘You need to go to Svetadvipa. Reach there as soon as you can. Brahma is already waiting for you there.’

‘Brahma? But he doesn’t like to leave his abode in Brahmlok for any reason whatsoever. How has he gone to Svetadvipa?’ Bhoomi Devi was genuinely taken aback.

‘The situation demands his presence there,’ Shiva said. ‘You should know how serious it is. After all, that’s why you came to me, didn’t you?’

‘Y-yes, My Lord, I did. But I came to you for
your
help. Why are you sending me to Svetadvipa and why did you say you can’t help in this situation?’

‘Patience, goddess. So many questions!’ Shiva admonished her gently. ‘As the keeper of the earth, you came to me because you felt that the force of evil has become stronger than that of good and it threatens to destroy Mrityulok. But it is not I who will destroy that evil. In this case, it will be done through Vishnu. And he is currently at his celestial abode at Svetadvipa.’

Bhoomi Devi nodded as she began to understand somewhat. What Shiva said was logical. Though Shiva had destroyed forces of evil on numerous occasions, it was a fact that whenever Mrityulok had been threatened by dark forces, Vishnu had come to the rescue and decimated the evil. She remembered an occasion several ages back when the demon Hiranyaksha had abducted her and taken her to the Netherworld. It had been Vishnu who had come to her rescue and saved her then.

She understood now why she had to go to Svetadvipa. But she still wasn’t clear why Brahma was also there. Shiva read her thoughts through and continued, ‘You are aware that any god, demi-god or mortal can go up to Brahmlok and see Brahma when they face a problem in their world. And all those who can bear to climb the formidable Kailas are welcome to my humble abode, too. But it is different when it comes to seeing Vishnu.’

‘Why, My Lord? What’s different about meeting Vishnu?’

‘Vishnu has confined himself to his island at Svetadvipa for the past several years now. He hasn’t been too happy with the way things have been here.’

‘That still doesn’t explain why Brahma is going to Svetadvipa,’ Bhoomi Devi said, puzzled.

‘There are two reasons for that. The first is that he is carrying something I had instructed Narada to get from Mrityulok. Vishnu is going to need it if he has to help you.’

‘And the second reason?’ Bhoomi Devi asked, her curiosity piqued.

Shiva sighed. He had been hoping he wouldn’t have to explain that. But Bhoomi Devi was too smart to fool. ‘Brahma is there at Svetadvipa to use his force to cleanse that place of all evil. You may not be aware but the dark forces know of your coming to us for help. And they have sent some of their potent energies to try and harm you. You probably didn’t see them because they were invisible but they followed you all the way to my abode. If Parvati hadn’t been around you, they would have likely tried to attack you on the way here.’

‘Parvati? She was there with me on the way uphill?’ Bhoomi Devi said in a stunned tone. And then it struck her. She remembered the feeling of being strangulated at times when she was resting or sleeping on the way to Kailas.
That must have been the dark energies at work, trying to throttle me
. And then she recalled how these feelings would suddenly disappear and be replaced with sensations of calmness.
Ah, that would have been Parvati. She would have scared away the dark ones and used her own positive potency to calm me
. Bhoomi Devi mentally thanked Parvati for her help.

‘My Lord, if the dark energies followed me to Kailas, won’t they also come after me on the way to Svetadvipa?’ Bhoomi Devi’s voice was shaky as she asked the question.

‘They will, goddess,’ answered Shiva’s voice inside her head.

‘Then who will protect me on the way to Svetadvipa? Who will ensure I reach there safely?’

There was a long silence, making her think that the Mahadev had gone into deep meditation and was no longer tuned into her mind. But then she heard him, and his words left her both, secure and terrified at the same time.

‘Have no fear. I will come with you to Svetadvipa!’ Shiva’s words seemed to echo in her head. There could be no bigger comfort than knowing that Shiva himself was escorting her to her destination. The same thing also scared her out of her wits because she knew that Shiva would only come along if the dark forces had unleashed their most potent and deadly energies against her. She wondered what would happen to her when Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu or Parvati were no longer there to protect her.

In that instant, she saw Shiva’s eyes open and before she knew it she was being whisked away in a cocoon fuelled by his vital force. She couldn’t see Shiva around but she could feel his presence and as the cocoon flew away from Kailas, she saw looming in the distance, the milky waters of Svetadvipa, home to one who some considered the greatest god of all—the all-seeing Vishnu.

Brahma was standing on the shores of Svetadvipa. He wiped the slimy fluids off his body. The dark forces could make themselves invisible at will, but their cloak of invisibility did not deceive him. After all Brahma wielded the force of Brahman, which gave him powers beyond the imagination of any dark force.

He was breathing a little heavily after three continuous horas of battling the dark forces. When Shiva had told him about the possibility of the evil ones following Bhoomi Devi to Svetadvipa, Brahma had initially thought Shiva was being overcautious. After all, Svetadvipa was inhabited by Vishnu himself. And not even the dark forces could be as stupid or brash as to violate his domain. But he had been wrong. They had violated Vishnu’s most treasured environ, the place where he resided with his wife and most loyal followers.

However, this was not the only thing that bothered Brahma. He found it strange that it had taken him three horas to overcome the creatures sent from Pataal Lok. Normally, it would be a few moments’ work for him to restrain these demons. But today, the vile creatures seemed imbued with an uncanny energy and an eerie power—a power that did not seem to be their own; an energy force that seemed like it was being controlled from somewhere else or by someone else. Brahma recognized the presence of Aghasamarthan, the opposing force of Brahman. He knew Amartya couldn’t be the one behind this because the Brahman energy that flowed through Amartya would make it impossible for him to use the contrary power of Aghasamarthan. It had to be someone else in Pataal Lok; but who?

He looked around him. The place was secure now. He hoped Shiva would arrive soon. The packet that Narada had given him would need to be handed to Vishnu quickly if it had to be of any use.