THE CURSE OF BRAHMA

by Jagmohan Bhanver

  At that very moment, a bolt of blue edged lightning shot out of nowhere and struck Amartya in the centre of his chest. Amartya’s body was thrown backwards and he flew in the air to land several feet away from where he had been standing. Everyone looked to see where the lightning bolt had come from. They saw Brahma standing there, the index finger of his right hand, where the lightning bolt had been fired from, still pointed at Amartya. Brahma stood immobile, his face a mask of horror.

  Amartya got up dazed as Brahma approached him. ‘I used the Vajra Astra on you just to show the devas that you can stand up even against my weapons. You could have stopped it with the same ease as you controlled the weapons of the devas. Why didn’t you shield yourself?’ Brahma asked him with a mix of bewilderment and anger. ‘That lightning bolt could have seriously hurt you!’ he seethed.

  Amartya bent down to touch the feet of his former guru. ‘How can I shield myself from you, Gurudev?’ he said softly. ‘Everything I know today, I have learnt from you. I know you would never hurt me. The thought of needing to protect myself against you never even entered my mind.’

  Brahma brought the palm of his right hand down on Amartya’s head to bless him. Amartya had picked up the secrets of Brahman energy in a fraction of the time that veterans like Vashishta and Vishwamitra had done; faster even than Brahma himself. His face reflected both, pride and love for his pupil who was now a brahmarishi.

  Vishnu looked at Brahma and Amartya from a distance. But his mind was not on the affectionate expression on Brahma’s face as he blessed his pupil. Vishnu’s entire attention was riveted on the last thing Amartya had said to Brahma—‘The thought of needing to protect myself against you never even entered my mind.’ And Vishnu shuddered inwardly at the implication of that sentence. He knew in that moment what even Shiva had not guessed as yet. Amartya’s blind trust in his guru would one day prove fatal for him; and what was worse, it would lead to events that might even bring about the destruction of the three worlds. He only hoped his fears would prove unfounded.

  Meanwhile, Brahma was speaking to Amartya. ‘Brahmarishi Amartya, you have now understood the entire secret of Brahman energy. From this day on, you will feel neither thirst, nor hunger; death will not touch you, nor will any enemy be capable of attacking you, unless you yourself decide to drop your guard like you did just now with me. Even in your sleep, your consciousness shall be alert to danger, and you will be able to perceive whatever transpires anywhere in the universe through cosmic consciousness and cosmic telepathy. You will be immortal and invincible as a god.’

  As the devas and the senior members of the ashram raised their voices in honour of the youngest brahmarishi in the universe, Shiva looked kindly at Amartya and spoke, ‘Brahma gave you all the reasons why you deserved to be a brahmarishi, Amartya. But he failed to mention the one reason that made me decide in favour of ordaining you as one.’

  Brahma’s face mirrored the confusion in Amartya’s eyes, as he too waited to hear what Shiva wanted to say. Shiva smiled in his usual open-hearted manner as he continued, ‘For me the thing that mattered most about you was the goodness of your heart…in the millions of years that I have been around, I am yet to see a heart as pure and as uncorrupted as yours.’

  Amartya looked like he wanted to say something but Shiva didn’t give him a chance. ‘And for this reason alone, Brahmarishi Amartya, from now on you shall be known as Amartya Kalyanesu—immortal goodness!’

  The Dark Lord got up with a jolt. It was as if an iron rod had seared his heart. Shiva’s words—immortal goodness—still rang in his mind. He had always wanted to be on the side of good. He didn’t remember a time when he had hurt anyone or even thought of causing harm to anyone. But that was all in a different time; a past life that even he did not have the courage to think about, at least not when he was awake. Brahma’s betrayal had changed that forever.

  Brahma! The one person he had respected more than his own father; trusted with his life. And yet Brahma had turned out to be so fickle that he had called him a demon and banished him from everything that he held precious. Brahma had proven by his deeds that he was not worthy to be counted amongst the three supreme gods. Yet Shiva and Vishnu had done nothing about it. But then they hadn’t done anything about Indra either. And Indra was the one responsible for Brahma turning against him. Even so, Vishnu and Shiva allowed Indra to continue as the lord of the devas. There was no justice in Swarglok. Corrupt and fickle people had been left to their pursuits, without being hauled up.

  If Shiva and Vishnu were not willing to do what they had to, then he would do it himself. All Amartya had thought of in the past two hundred years was of how he would bring about the downfall of Brahma and Indra. Between the two of them, they had converted the entire Swarglok into a place of rot and corruption. If a few people had to die in order for him to succeed in his plans, then it was a necessary sacrifice. A little bit of evil was justified if it resulted in greater good. Still, it disturbed him every time he had to do something wrong, even now. On all these occasions he would seek out Bhargava—the one person who had saved him from insanity when he was thrown into the deepest hell within Pataal Lok. Bhargava could always be relied on to make him feel better about what he was doing.

  I have to see Bhargava, he resolved, as he got up from the bed and changed his clothes. The man who was once known as Amartya Kalyanesu, covered his head and face with a cloak and walked out of the room.

  Jarasandha Unveils Part of the Plan

  arasandha sat alone in his room. It had been a day since he had returned to Magadha with Kansa, who had shared the painful secret of his birth with him while they were enroute from Madhuvan. Jarasandha had been shocked. He wouldn’t ever have guessed something like this. All these years that he had known Kansa, he had not once heard even the whisper of the prince’s controversial birth. With the exception of his sisters, there was no one Jarasandha cared for more than Kansa and he was genuinely concerned for his brother-in-law. However, he couldn’t help seeing an opportunity now that had been eluding him for a long time.

  This may be just the break we need, he thought to himself. The rift between Ugrasena and Kansa, and the fact that Kansa now knew he was no longer bound by blood to his father, may possibly make his task a little easier. The Dark Lord would be pleased. The only element of rancour was that the success of the overall plan depended to a large extent on Kansa’s involvement. And Jarasandha wanted to avoid any potential pain to his best friend that could possibly occur due to that. Jarasandha shook his head in consternation. He would take things as they came. Right now, he had to have a clear head for his meeting with Chanur and Banasura.

  Jarasandha stared at the two powerfully built warriors sitting on either side of him. Both Chanur and Banasura were amongst the foremost warriors in the land of Bharat. When the Dark Lord had suggested that these two could possibly be involved in their plans, Jarasandha had thought they would never be able to convince them to join their cause. Yet the Dark Lord had proved again that there was nothing that he couldn’t accomplish. Chanur and Banasura had somehow been persuaded to work along with Jarasandha to give the plan its final shape. Jarasandha looked closely at both the warrior kings. The two seemed different; their faces had an uncharacteristic hard expression and both appeared as if they were in some kind of a trance. As if their actions were being controlled by some third force—something much larger and powerful than either of them. Jarasandha recognized the Dark Lord’s hand behind it all. Yet even he did not know how the uncrowned master of Pataal Lok had managed to bind these two valiant warriors to do his will.

  ‘We need to smuggle another ten thousand asuras into Mrityulok,’ Jarasandha said softly. ‘And there is very little time to accomplish this.’

  Chanur looked expressionlessly at his old friend. He had known Jarasandha since childhood and had been the one several years ago to suggest Kansa’s hand in marriage for Jarasandha’s sister, Prapti. But today he felt void of any feeling for either Jarasandha or anythi
ng else. The only emotion he was capable of feeling was whatever was dictated to him by an unknown force. He didn’t know what that force was, but a strange power seemed to have caught hold of his mind and he felt compelled to do anything that he was mentally instructed to do. He looked at Banasura and recognized the same vacant expression on the king of Banpur’s face that he had observed on his own several times over the past few weeks. ‘Why do we need to smuggle the asuras into Mrityulok?’ he mouthed the words in a mechanical tone.

  Jarasandha nodded thoughtfully at the question, locking his eyes with both Chanur and Banasura, at the same time. ‘It’s a long story. Let me start at the beginning.’

  The two warrior kings stared at Jarasandha, waiting for him to start.

  ‘In the land of Pataal Lok, there resides a powerful Being…more powerful than anyone else I know. It is whispered that his prowess equals that of the three supreme gods and even the asura philosopher, Shukra, is in awe of this formidable person. No one knows who he is or his real name. It is not even known where he came from but a couple of hundred years back his presence suddenly started to be felt in Pataal Lok and since then, every creature—pisacas, bonaras, danavas, kalakanjas—every known form of asura in Pataal Lok is in mortal fear of him. No one knows why he hates the devas and Swarglok. But I know for certain that he has sworn to destroy the land of the devas. This person—this formidable force—is known in Pataal Lok as the Dark Lord!’

  Chanur and Banasura blinked as they listened to Jarasandha. Jarasandha paused for a moment, deciding how best to continue.

  ‘You are aware that in the past the devas have taken the help of mortals to defeat the asuras. And on every occasion, Swarglok with the help of mortals from Mrityulok, has been able to defeat the asuras. This happened before the time of Lord Rama when his father, King Dasarath, helped the devas to defeat the asura forces. And later, Lord Rama himself allied the forces of Mrityulok and Swarglok to defeat Ravana, the king of asuras.’

  Jarasandha paused again. What he had to say next would come as a shock to both the warrior kings. He took a deep breath and continued, ‘This time around, the Dark Lord wants to reverse the past. He plans to combine the forces of Mrityulok and Pataal Lok in order to wage a war against Swarglok.’

  Banasura and Chanur blanched. Even in their trance-like state, what Jarasandha had just said, staggered both of them. Banasura was the first to voice his thoughts, ‘But why would Mrityulok side with the asuras against the devas?’

  Chanur was quick to add, ‘The kings of Mrityulok would never fight against the devas.’

  Jarasandha nodded as he heard the two kings speak. He didn’t know the extent of the Dark Lord’s influence over their minds yet but he hoped it was enough to make these two warriors go along with the plan. Else, everything he had achieved till now would be lost.

  ‘You are right. Most of the kings in Mrityulok would never side with the asuras in a fight against the devas. But the Dark Lord doesn’t need all of them to side with him in any case. All he wants is for a few of the most powerful rulers to be on his side. Once that is done, the smaller kingdoms will be compelled to go along with them. The ones who do not agree will be executed.’

  Banasura and Chanur jumped out of their seats at the same time, the trance that held them in its power temporarily broken. Both of them were outraged at what Jarasandha was suggesting. For a brief moment, Jarasandha contemplated that they might physically attack him. He flexed his muscles for a possible assault.

  And then it happened! A bright light shot out of the ground, apparently out of nowhere. Chanur and Banasura were enveloped within the eerie glow that eclipsed everything else in the room. The two warriors initially appeared to fight against the ball of light surrounding them, but gradually their bodies grew limp and their efforts waned at thwarting the force that engulfed them. Their eyes once again took on the vacant expression they had had when they first entered Jarasandha’s room. The Dark Lord had them back in his power.

  The intense light that had surrounded Chanur and Banasura began to dim and was soon gone. The room seemed to return to its normal state. Jarasandha looked at his two powerful former friends who were now reduced to puppets in the hands of the Dark Lord, shuddering involuntarily. He waited for Chanur and Banasura to settle down. Chanur was the first to resume his seat.

  Banasura looked around, his expression a mix of confusion and fear. Like Chanur, he too had been feeling for the past few weeks that a strange power appeared to have him in its hold. But he couldn’t figure out what it was. Every time he felt he had control of his senses, the invisible force would take over his mind and he would again feel powerless to do anything of his own volition. He shook his head, trying in vain to shake off the feeling of being out of control. But the action did not seem to help. He could feel and see everything as he used to, but the conscious part of his mind that dictated what he must do or should do, seemed to be dead. He felt like a zombie. He looked at Chanur, and saw the same vacant expression in the Yavana king’s eyes.

  Jarasandha resumed talking. ‘As I was saying, the Dark Lord wants to ally the forces of Mrityulok and Pataal Lok in a fight against the devas. In order to do this, he wants to be certain that he has the support of the most powerful kingdoms of Mrityulok. I have already pledged the support of Magadha to him. He wants to know whether he can rely on the Yavana kingdom and the kingdom of Banpur.’ Jarasandha looked pointedly at Chanur and Banasura as he said this.

  Chanur and Banasura nodded mutely, pledging their support to Jarasandha, in favour of the Dark Lord. Jarasandha gave a satisfied smile and continued.

  ‘The next step will be to gain the support of the other major kingdoms—Madhuvan, Bateshwar, Hastinapur, Panchaal, Bahlika, Chedi, Gandharva, Madra, Kishkindha, Saka, Salwa—all of them need to be spoken to and brought over to support the Dark Lord in his plans. If any of these kingdoms do not agree to join our plans, we will need to find other means to persuade them.’

  ‘Kingdoms like Hastinapur and Panchaal will never agree to join this plan, Jarasandha,’ Chanur said skeptically.

  ‘Neither will Madhuvan or Bateshwar. And they are too strong to be threatened or destroyed,’ Banasura muttered mechanically, under his breath.

  Jarasandha smiled. He had anticipated these sentiments from the two kings. If they hadn’t reacted this way, he would have felt they had lost their strategic wisdom. He decided it was time to explain the rest of the plan to them.

  ‘Those kings who do not agree to support our plan will be dealt with in a different manner,’ Jarasandha said softly.

  ‘Differently? How?’ Chanur asked bemusedly.

  ‘It is very simple,’ Jarasandha answered. ‘The kingdoms we feel are agreeable to our plan of supporting Pataal Lok in the fight against the devas will be told the entire plan and will begin training their armies for the war that is inevitable. Those kingdoms that are not in line with our plan and are weak will be crushed in battle by us in the next few months. We will then take control over their land and their military.’

  Jarasandha paused before continuing, ‘We will, however, use a different strategy for kingdoms like Hastinapur, Panchaal, Bateshwar and the others that are not agreeable to our plans but are too large or powerful to subdue.’ His eyes glittered as his two companions waited expectantly. ‘If they can’t be with us, they shouldn’t be against us. If they are kept busy handling their internal issues, they will not get the time or opportunity to meddle with things that are happening outside their kingdom’s boundaries.’

  Chanur interrupted Jarasandha, ‘So you mean we keep them so busy trying to resolve internal matters that their entire attention is focused on getting things right within their own land rather than focusing on what we are doing!’

  Jarasandha smiled. Chanur was smart, even in a situation where his thinking abilities were under the Dark Lord’s control.

  ‘Yes Chanur. In the time that they are resolving their own matters, we would be able to assemble most of the kingdoms in Mrit
yulok under our banner. We will then be prepared to join our forces with Pataal Lok. By then even if there are a few kingdoms in Mrityulok that do not support us, we will be able to subdue them with the might of our combined forces.’

  Banasura still had a confused expression. ‘I don’t understand how we are going to keep these kingdoms busy in their internal matters. Exactly what did you mean by that?’

  Jarasandha flashed him a triumphant smile as if he had been waiting for this very question. ‘Over the past few years, more than a hundred thousand asuras have been smuggled into our world from Pataal Lok. There are only a handful of kings who know about this, including me. Those kings who are aware of this are my vassals; their lands are ruled by my generals and they are under complete control of Magadha. Majority of the asuras have been brought in to Mrityulok through Magadha and we have allowed this to happen surreptitiously. Once these asuras enter Magadha, my confidantes ensure they are scattered around different parts of Mrityulok, so that they mingle freely amidst the people of various kingdoms. The asuras then take on any work or profession they can manage to, without too much difficulty. Here too, my confidantes and close associates help the asuras to secure jobs that do not attract too much attention. As we speak, these hundred thousand asuras have infiltrated almost every nation in Mrityulok.’

  Banasura and Chanur stared at him in disbelief. ‘Are there any asuras in Banpur too?’ Banasura asked incredulously.

  While the question had been asked by Banasura, Jarasandha knew the answer would interest Chanur too. He referred a scroll of paper that had a series of numbers and codes written on it in a certain order. His fingers traced a pattern on the paper as if searching for something. Finally, he smiled as he looked at the two warrior kings seated in front of him. ‘As of today, there are three hundred and sixty-nine asuras in Banpur, and…’ he turned his attention to Chanur, ‘one hundred and seventy-three of them in the land of the Yavanas.’