THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (8 page)

‘The Brahma kamal?’ Kansa said in surprise. ‘But isn’t the flower only found in Swarglok?’

Ugrasena looked at Kansa with a wan smile. ‘Yes it is. But Puspavan is the only place in Mrityulok where the flower is believed to grow.’ He looked forlorn as he said, ‘And it was this very thing that led to all the tragedy later.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Kansa said. ‘Why did Mother want to get the Brahma kamal for grandfather?’

Ugrasena sighed. ‘The flower is supposed to have magical life-giving properties. It is said that if you drink water poured over the petals of the Brahma kamal, it can restore life, or at the very least, make you stronger if you are weak. If you remember, when Lord Shiva attached the elephant’s head to Lord Ganesha’s body, his body gained life only after the Mahadev sprinkled water on his body. That water was sprinkled from a Brahma kamal.’

‘I see,’ nodded Kansa. ‘So Mother thought if she could find the flower at Puspavan, she could restore grandfather’s health by getting him to drink water poured from the magical flower?’

Ugrasena nodded. ‘Yes, that’s what she thought. Mind you, she was not sure that she would find the Brahma kamal at Puspavan. But she felt that it was at least worth a try. After all, various travellers from time to time had mentioned sighting the golden-white petals of the flower on the higher reaches of Puspavan. Padmavati thought if she could somehow get the flower it might restore the old man’s health.’

‘Did she find it?’ Kansa couldn’t contain his curiosity.

Ugrasena didn’t seem to hear him. He was back to narrating the story.

‘Padmavati hiked up the mountain, accompanied by her attendants. Being an avid mountaineer from her early days, she easily walked ahead of the other women in the group. She was wearing the traditional silk dhoti tied around her with the loose end of the garment drawn in between her legs and hemmed in around her waist. Over that, she wore a conservative angvastram leaving her arms free to hack through the forest of Puspavan. It was a welcome break for her and out in the nature, she began to enjoy the scenery. The thought that I would be arriving in a few days buoyed her mood further. However, as it began to get dark, she realized that her companions had been left way behind, owing to the swift pace she had set for herself. She thought she would retrace her steps and meet up with her companions. They could put up camp for the night and the next day, they would start early to look for the Brahma Kamal flower. She turned around and tried retracing her steps. It took her a few minutes to realize that she had gone off track and was now completely lost in the forests of Puspavan. Padmavati was a very brave woman. She did not panic, as others in her situation might have. The forest was known to be inhabited by wild animals that ventured out at night. All her attendants were trained in martial arts, just as she was, and in a camp there would have been no cause for worry. However, alone in the darkness of the night, even a valiant woman like Padmavati would be hard-pressed to take care of herself if a particularly vicious animal were to attack her. Yet she kept her cool and weighed her options. She decided it might help if she were to shout for help. There was a chance that her companions might hear her and find her. She called out, but they had gone over to the other side of Puspavan to search for her, and they could not hear her.’

‘It must have been terrifying for Mother,’ Kansa said, thinking of how Padmavati must have felt, alone in the night, with just her sword to protect her.

Ugrasena looked kindly at him and patting his hand, continued.

‘While her companions could not hear her, someone else did. A Gandharva was sleeping on the tree beneath which Padmavati was standing and shouting for help. His name was Dramil. While he was a Gandharva—a celestial being—he had the blood of an asura. In the world of Asuras, he was known popularly as Godhin. The vile Gandharva was instantly taken by Padmavati’s unnatural beauty and he began to covet her. He knew Padmavati would never give in to his lustful desires of her own will. And he didn’t want to force her as he wanted to enjoy her beauty in peace. So like the craven demon that he was, Dramil used his unholy powers to take my physical form. Having taken my form, he approached Padmavati. She was surprised at seeing who she thought was me at Puspavan, as she had been told earlier that I would arrive after two days. But Dramil was a cunning asura, and he told her that he had wanted to surprise her and arrived earlier than he had planned. He said that upon reaching Vidarbha, Padmavati’s father had told him about her trip to Puspavan. Believing Dramil to be me, Padmavati naively believed all that he told her.’

‘But even if he took your physical form, did she not make out the difference in voice or the mannerisms?’ Kansa was aghast at the possible consequences of his mother confusing an asura with his noble father.

Ugrasena, who had lived for years with the truth of what had happened that day, smiled sadly at his son. ‘Gandharvas have the gift of not only being able to take the physical form of any person that they desire; they can look into your mind and fathom the slightest nuances of the person they want to impersonate—mannerisms, voice, tone—every other aspect of the person gets replicated to perfection. It’s like they can look inside the deepest recesses of your mind. And whoever exists in your mind, anyone that you have ever known, is visible to them as if they were right in front of their eyes. Whatever interaction you have had with anyone can be seen by them as if its happening again in their mind’s eye. And they can observe how a person talks, walks or otherwise conducts himself and can immediately clone those facets to masquerade as that specific person.’

Kansa was pale as the first glimmerings of what must have happened that day on Puspavan began to dawn on him. ‘So Dramil looked into Mother’s mind, and was able to see not just how you looked, but also the exact manner in which you behave with her?’

‘Yes.’ Ugrasena replied quietly.

‘Oh God! Then what happened?’ Kansa asked, gritting his teeth, fearing for the mother who had not once showed any love for him. Ugrasena continued with the story.

‘Thinking that her husband had arrived early to surprise her, Padmavati embraced Dramil. At her touch, he lost whatever constraint he may otherwise have had. Her beauty and the wild environment, coupled with the way she embraced him, made him lust for her even more. He held her close and during the night, the dastardly asura made love to Padmavati. When she got up in the morning, she found herself alone. Dramil was gone. That was the first inkling she had of something being wrong. She knew I would never leave her alone in the forest under any condition. After wandering around in circles, she finally met her companions, who had also been looking for her since the first light of dawn. She asked them if they had come across me. They were surprised at her question as all of them were aware that I was not expected back for another day. Padmavati kept her misgivings to herself but she was now very anxious. Her companions asked her if they should go deeper into the forests of Puspavan to look for the Brahma kamal. But she was impatient to get back to the palace. By now she had started having grave suspicions about whether she had really spent the night with me. She knew the answer lay in Vidarbha. If I was there, she could ask me why I had left her alone in the forest. If, however, I wasn’t there… She didn’t even want to think of what that would mean for her and for everyone else in the royal family. However, more than one tragedy awaited her when she reached the outskirts of Vidarbha. On their way, they were met by a group of the king’s personal bodyguards sent to call them back urgently. The king had taken a drastic turn for the worse during the night. The royal vaid did not believe he would survive the day and he had sent the bodyguards to look for Padmavati and get her back before the king breathed his last. They had brought along a horse for her, in order that she made better time on the way back. For a brief moment, Padmavati forgot what had happened the previous night in the forest, as she desperately rode the horse, spurring him on to an impossible speed. By the time, she reached Vidarbha, the mourning in the streets told her that her father’s soul had already departed his mortal body. A second shock awaited her. I was not at the palace, and as per the guards, I had not arrived yet. Padmavati collapsed before she could reach her chambers. The attendants thought it was the shock of her father’s death but only she knew that wasn’t the real reason.’