“We are sorry that we attacked you.” The larger nagin who had been listening in a cobra pose lowered her head. “We were afraid when we heard about your interaction with Garuda, and the pishacha used that fear. We wish to make up for our actions. We will help you with your journey. Our people will protect you. Our leader is coming in the morning. He has heard of what happened after your battle with the aghori. We will tell him of the events that have taken place thereafter. He will know what to do. Meanwhile, please sit and rest while we stand guard.”
Gerua nodded in acceptance. She took out the scroll and looked at it briefly. Satisfied, she put it back. “We need some firewood.”
One of the nagin slithered into the bushes and returned with a lot more naga. Gerua gathered some dry wood and lit up a fire. Gerua saw massive serpents slither into the lake and disappear, and all kinds of serpents, big and small, surrounding them. They kept a respectful distance, their posture non-threatening and friendly. Some coiled themselves and put their heads down in their coils. Others were in the trees, resting their long bodies in the branches. And still, others were hidden in the bushes. They had new friends just as Danta had predicted.
The fire was now burning bright. Gerua sat next to it with her son close to her. She took the bag off her shoulder and pulled out the fruit she had gathered earlier. After eating, Gerua and Danta prepared to rest. Danta lay down using her crossed legs as a pillow, quietly staring at the stars before falling asleep.
Gerua meditated while Danta slept, her senses fully alert. She stared far away over the lake and focused on relaxing and resting her body. In a few minutes, her heartbeat slowed until her heart was barely beating. Her body was utterly relaxed, and her other organs began to slow down too. Her body slept and rested, repairing her cells. Her mind could visualize all beings and creatures around her. She could see the serpents in the water as well as the crocodiles, fish, turtles, and all other creatures in the lake. She could see various land-dwelling creatures like monkeys, birds, above land in the trees. She could feel the naga around her awake and alert, even though they appeared relaxed. Gerua expanded her mind even further to be one with all nature around her and could visualize the energy around her. She detected nothing hostile other than the little blue pishacha in the distance. Gerua knew she was being watched and the pishacha posed no threat for the time being. The aghori master would know she has new friends.
While Danta was asleep in the night, Gerua saw the crocodiles approach the shore. Huge snakes in the lake coiled around the crocodiles, constricting just enough to make them go away. With so many naga around, she felt reassured and safe. But she never let her guard down, activating the belt and shielding them both.
The stars moved imperceptibly across the sky, the moonlight reflecting off the lake. As the stars completed their journey across the sky, sunlight began to bathe everything. The birds in the trees started chirping. Gerua heard tree-dwelling monkeys become agitated. They were alarmed at the sight of so many snakes and dragon-like serpentine creatures of all sizes and shapes around them. Seeing Gerua and Danta in the midst of the naga agitated them even more. The naga stayed very still and made no threatening moves toward any of the tree-dwelling creatures. Seeing Gerua calm, the monkeys also calmed down.
CHAPTER 40
RESPITE
The sun’s rays began to warm them from the east. Gerua emerged slowly from her meditative trance, relaxed and revived. Danta stirred, and Gerua smiled at him. Danta smiled back, stretching and yawning loudly. He wrapped his arms around her stomach, and she brushed his hair with her fingers.
Danta and Gerua stood up and thanked the naga for standing guard and protecting them through the night. Some of the nagas slithered away, making space for the naga leader, who had just arrived. “I am Vir. These are my people. I apologize for what happened yesterday and thank you for saving the nagins. My people did not know what they were doing. We will protect you on your journey until you reach your destination, or until you ask us to leave.”
“Danta and I are grateful. However, I believe we have met before. And it is I who have to thank you for what you did years ago.” Gerua smiled gratefully. “I am privileged to have you and your people as our companions and protectors. I assure you that though my son believes he can call upon Garuda whenever he wants, he promises not to do so as long as your people are around.” She looked at Danta, who nodded vigorously.
Vir looked amused and then slithered behind Danta, covering his head with his hood, making his intention very clear. “I was forbidden to speak about you to anyone including my people. We are really happy to have been your guardians for this night.”
“We would like to freshen up in the lake before we resume our journey,” Gerua said, acknowledging Vir’s arrival.
“The water is cold but clear,” said Vir. “You can go in. My people are in the water to keep you safe.”
Gerua held Danta’s hand and stepped in the lake. She walked until she was in above her waist and her son’s head was just above the water. She turned her belt off, and the chilled water flooded and bathed them instantly. She squatted in the lake and cleaned herself. Danta dipped his head under the water and came out quickly, making big splashes as he waded out of the lake. She smiled. The boy was used to cold and was strengthened by it. They sat facing the rising sun. Time passed as they meditated in yogic Maha Bandha, balancing and revitalizing their energy.
After meditation, Gerua and Danta performed a yogic form known as surya namaskar. They repeated the form nine times. Upon completing the exercise, they stood with their palms clasped. Then Danta performed a unique breathing technique perfectly with tremendous control, sitting in a Maha Bandha. His aura expanded illuminating the naga near him, bringing a sense of bliss and peace to those that were encompassed within his aura.
Vir felt the bliss and approached Danta and Gerua, feeling veneration for them. Vir began to shift shape as the upper part of his body took a human form up to his waist. The remainder of his body remained in the serpentine form. Gerua knew that the naga could change their shape and take a serpentine-like form or a partial or fully human form.
Seeing Vir change his form, Danta ceased expanding his aura and got up. He looked at his mother amazed and excitedly tugged his mother’s arm. “Mom, I want to be able to do that! Can I become a naga? Then I will also be able to change form, and I’ll make sure that Garuda is friends with all naga, and we will be stronger than all. Then I can protect all the forest animals.”
Gerua laughed. “Okay, okay, but we have to keep moving. You can learn to change shape later.” She looked at Vir expectantly. “Going around the lake will take too long. Will you help us get across?”
“There is danger in the water. I fear for the boy,” said Vir.
“There is also danger on land. You can help us get across very quickly,” said Gerua. “We need to find the banyan tree.”
“There is a banyan tree east of here, slightly north. The lake is shaped like a crescent moon. A great sage meditates under the tree. He has been sitting there for so long that the giant Himalayan termite ants have built a home of clay over him. These are huge insects, almost nine inches long from mandible to tail. Their huge mandibles have razor-sharp marginal teeth and can separate a limb from a grown man, and they will even attack supernatural creatures. They spray acid over anything that seeks to harm the sage or their home. I would suggest extreme caution near the banyan tree,” Vir warned.
Two huge serpents that had been submerged in the water came out of the lake. They were thirty feet long, and their girth was equal to that of a tree trunk. They slithered to the edge of the lake, and Vir moved closer to Danta to lift the boy onto the back of one of the serpents. Gerua mounted the same serpent in front of Danta, and Danta clasped his hands across his mother’s waist. The serpent entered the water and began to swim across. The other serpent and Vir flanked the serpent on which they rode, and they began their journey across the water. The serpents swam fast. While the other two
serpents swam like sea snakes, Vir swam like a whale, dipping his head under the water and then bounding out, repeating the process again and again. Vir was looking for dangers under and above the water.
They should reach the banyan tree in under an hour, Gerua thought. Danta had not been tainted, and she must keep him pure until they reach the gate. Nothing with an impure heart could see or be around the gate. She was fully aware that the edict intended to corrupt Danta, and she would not allow that. She had seen Danta’s ability during the journey. He was beginning to use his supernatural siddhi powers. He was young, and it was possible for him to be consumed and fall prey to the edict. She would not let that happen.
Gerua wondered what the edict was up to now and whether she and Danta would reach their destination before another attack. She knew that on the water, protected by the naga, they were safe.
The edict could not muddle the minds of the two huge naga or that of Vir. These were fearless naga that treasured virtuosity and strength. Their resolute serpentine auras were too clear, and their minds were strong. The aghori could not attack them physically in the lake, especially when they were going so fast. In the watery domain, the aghori were of no match for the naga. Gerua, Danta, and the naga were nearly at their destination.
* * *
Bubba reviewed the events. He spent the night pondering over how Gerua had escaped him again, and he still did not know what she was doing on the mountain. He was frustrated that he had been unable to implement his strategy effectively. He saw how easily and quickly she banished the pishachas possessing the nagins. He didn’t foresee that she would befriend the naga despite Garuda. He had seen how the boy interacted with Garuda. Still, the naga had befriended Gerua and had now become their new protectors. Could it be that Garuda intended there to be peace between him and the naga? Was Gerua creating some sort of alliance against his edict? All the more reason to get her and the boy to serve him.
It was of utmost importance now to know the extent of their siddhi. Could Gerua or her son control supernatural and immortal beings? Could they have such powerful siddhi that could even make Garuda show himself and assist them? Six years were too less to accomplish such mastery, and the boy was too young.
However, he could not ignore the fact that his aghori were already defeated even before Garuda appeared. Gerua had no help with the possessed nagins, and at the village. Gerua had repeatedly thwarted his design with ease each time, and he had no real proof that she had used siddhi. The masters had trained her well. He hated them even more for not training him with the same intensity when he was at the ashram. They had not even let him know what they possessed. He felt his rage rising and he forced himself to calm down. He had to think.
Bubba needed to up the ante. He decided that he would launch another attack using the aghori, the pishachas, as well as the most terrifying of the forest creatures. This time he would participate himself ensuring victory.
He summoned two of his most monstrous pishachas and his two favorite aghori warriors. These aghori were his strongest and most disciplined lieutenants, who he had personally trained. He went over his strategy, giving them specific instructions on tactics and objectives, covering all eventualities. Satisfied, he instructed them to cross the lake and wait for Gerua and Danta on the other side. He would let the pishachas know when they were to attack.
Bubba knew that he had to isolate Gerua and Danta. Once that happened, the rest would follow. He could send an army, but the forest was too dense for any action. And if Garuda appeared again, his army would fail. He also didn’t know who else would come to their aid. He needed a surgical strategy.
The little blue pishacha had been following Danta and Gerua, keeping its distance. To its dismay, it had seen them going across the lake with the help of Vir and two huge naga northeast, away from where the attack was to take place.
CHAPTER 41
ENCOUNTER
“Ma, look, there’s the banyan tree!” Danta pointed excitedly toward a huge tree with roots dropping to the ground from its thick branches. The tree canopy was spread over acres of land. “It’s huge!” he exclaimed.
Gerua saw it too and sighed with relief. “I see it. We have to go directly south from the tree. But first, let’s pay our respects to the great sage who meditates under it.”
The naga stopped at the edge of the lake next to the massive banyan tree. Danta slithered down off the naga’s back and ran toward the termite mound. Gerua tried to catch him, but he was too quick again. To her relief she saw the termites scuttled aside, creating a path for him. Gerua followed Danta, and the termite ants closed the path after her. The naga lifted their heads on their long necks like a cobra, genuinely astonished by what they were seeing. As Danta got closer to the mound, it began to crumble, and a tall young sage with a small flattish nose and a slightly protruding mouth like a vanara emerged. He was built like an olympic sprinter, and he wore loose, baggy pleated orange pants till his ankles called a dhoti. The naga and Gerua were surprised to see the youthful sage in such perfect health. They wondered how the man could be so well built, sitting in meditation inside a termite mound for years.
“The termites take good care of you,” Danta said as he ran into the open arms of the sage. The naga were alarmed, but Gerua had learned that Danta had a gift for distinguishing friend from foe. She was calm and gestured to the naga to also stay calm.
“I am so happy you came.” The sage was smiling brightly. “I have been waiting for you, meditating and praying that you would come. Namaste,” he said to Gerua who reciprocated the greeting.
“I am happy to see you too,” Danta chirped merrily.
The sage hugged Danta gently, looked at Gerua, and said, “You must head directly south. You must hurry.” The sage put his hand on Danta’s head. “Go with your mother now. The fairies cannot come with you because they cannot be so far from their tree.”
Danta nodded, reluctantly releasing the sage. He and Gerua paid their respects to the sage again, ready to move. The termite ants moved aside to make way for Danta and Gerua. Gerua and Danta mounted the naga. Danta could feel that his mother was tense.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Nothing sinister can really see the sage,” said Danta. “Anything sinister being will just think I am playing and you are paying respects to the mound.”
Gerua turned her head toward him. Stop reading my mind, she said silently, and Danta giggled.
The naga began to swim south. Danta looked back and saw that the sage was gone and the termite ants were busy rebuilding their mound. He smiled to himself.
Swimming south, the naga veered off course. Something in the water nudged Vir, gently pushing him westward, and he saw an elephant head come out of the water. “Look! It’s the Makara again!” shouted Danta. “We’re off course. We’re heading slightly southeast, and we need to head south.” Vir heard Danta and changed direction until they were swimming with the Makara. Each time they would deviate, the Makara would nudge them in the right direction. They headed for a small clearing on the bank of the river. Huge cliffs that were many stories high bordered the small bank of the lake.
“Above the cliffs is the elephant country,” Vir informed. “Please permit me to carry you to the top.” Gerua accepted his offer appreciatively. Vir expanded his shoulders like the hood of a cobra. Vir helped them climb on his shoulders. When they were comfortably seated on his shoulders, he used the bottom half of his scaly serpentine body to slither up to the top of the cliff. Within a few minutes, they were on the top.
“Thank you for your help.” Gerua clasped her palms together. “We can proceed on our own now. I have to find what I am looking for only with Danta, or I will never find it,” she explained.
Vir had seen Danta’s interaction with the sage, and he had suspected they were looking for something mysterious. Upon hearing Gerua’s comment that the naga could not accompany them any farther, Vir began to suspect that they were looking for the mythical gate. Only he among the naga had been made aware of
the gate by the vanara, but even the leader of the fabled naga knew little about the gate or what it looked like. How would Gerua know where to find it? From what the vanara had communicated to him, the gate was never stationary. Vir also knew that neither he nor the other two naga would be able to see the gate.
Vir had learned that only one of the immortals knew of its location at any time. The only sure way to reach it—if the gate was real—was to find that immortal. The immortals too were elusive and had not been seen by anyone. This was the first time he had heard that any naga had seen Garuda in his full grand form. Recently, there had been rumors of a giant eagle with a huge wingspan in the skies. Apparently, Garuda was not the immortal with knowledge of the gate, or if he was, he had not told Gerua so. Garuda had left, and Gerua had still not known how to proceed. The sage had directed them south, but he was not an immortal.
Even if Gerua could find another immortal, which was nearly an impossible task, she could not be sure that this was the immortal that knew how to find the gate. After all, it was rumored that most immortals had left Earth and the remaining, if any, never appeared before anyone alive. He wondered even if by some miracle Gerua found the immortal that knew the location of the gate, would the immortal disclose it to her?
Vir was conflicted and confused. Vir realized that Danta was an extraordinary child. Everyone on the mountain had been waiting for such a boy. When the astronomic alignment had occurred, everyone had been hopeful. But as time passed, hope had waned a little. No child had been born that was so gifted. Could it be true that this was indeed the child who had been expected? He was the right age, and Garuda had been seen in its full form for the first time ever, and that too in Danta’s presence.
Dwandv:: The Battle for the Gate Page 21
