No one spoke. Kanakpratap was silent. Even Satyavachana, who was usually the first to leap to her defence, was subdued.
Maya realised the gravity of her indiscretion. She was angry with herself rather than with Jignesh or the Sangha. What he said was true. She should have controlled the urge to enter the Dandaka. If she had the ability to control herself while travelling through the Mists, she should have been able to resist the lure of the forest.
Maya realised that, for the first time, Jignesh was questioning not her ability but her will.
For, Maya realised with a shock, she had wanted to enter the Dandaka. It wasn’t that she was unable to hold back; she had not even tried.
‘And this isn’t the first time,’ Parth added, a tinge of regret in his voice. ‘You violated the rules once before, when you went to the Gandharva valley last year.’
‘You were forgiven then,’ Usha added, ‘with the hope that you would learn from your mistake. But clearly you have not learnt anything at all from that misadventure.’
Maya stood, trembling with fear and fury. How could she have been so careless? She could not blame anyone for what was happening now.
The law of karma. She had acted in a manner that invited consequences. And now she would have to take responsibility for her actions and face those consequences.
Whatever they were.
Jignesh’s voice boomed in her ears and his next words fell like bombs, each one blasting her dreams and ambitions to smithereens.
‘You are hereby expelled from the Gurukul and from the Sangha. You will have nothing more to do with any of our Gurukuls or the Gana network. You will return to Delhi by yourself. Since you have no one to take care of you, Maharishi Ratan will be your local guardian until you reach an age when you are able to be on your own. You will leave tomorrow morning.’ Jignesh looked at Kanakpratap. ‘Will you drop her at the Gwalior railway station and make sure she takes the train to Delhi?’
Kanakpratap nodded. ‘I will, Mahamatra.’ His voice was low and sad.
‘Go now. You may say farewell to your friends in the Gurukul,’ Jignesh said. ‘You have our blessings.’
For a few moments, Maya stood rooted to the spot, transfixed by the sentence that had been pronounced. A storm of emotions raged within her. Hurt, rage, disappointment, regret, all swirled together, making her head spin.
She suppressed her emotions and went up to each of the elders in the room, touching their feet and obtaining their blessings. But she could not meet their eyes.
When she was done, she turned and walked out of the hall, looking more frail and vulnerable than she had ever appeared.
Chapter One Hundred and Five
Exile!
The Gurukul
Maya sat back against the trunk of a tree and hugged her knees, as she allowed the reality of the situation to sink in. Her right hand had not completely recovered all its functions yet and was still weak. She clasped it around her knees with her left hand.
When she had entered the Gurukul almost one year ago with so many hopes, she had never, in her wildest dreams, imagined that a day like this would dawn.
Her lower lip trembled with emotion as she contemplated a future without the Gurukul or the Gana. She had been banished to the sadh world.
And she had only herself to blame for it.
Maya allowed herself to wallow in self-pity for a while. There was nothing she could do to reverse the sentence that had been passed on her. Nothing she could do, or promise, would make amends for what she had already done. It was too late for remorse.
She pulled herself together. Why was she going to pieces? The law of karma worked in more ways than one.
Sadhs often used it to explain why bad things happened to good people. To explain concepts like destiny and fate. And how one’s actions in a past birth were responsible for all that happened to them in their lives. But Maya knew that this explanation was effectively an abdication of accountability. This simplistic interpretation of the law of karma effectively took away the onus from a person for what happened to them in their current lives.
Sure, she reflected, our past life and our actions in it do influence the circumstances of our birth and some of the things that happen in our present life. But many things that happen in our lives are a result of the choices we make and the decisions we take. Very often, luck—whether good or bad—can be attributed directly to these.
And Maya was keenly aware of this. It had been her decision to enter the forest. It was that action of hers that had led to the situation in which she found herself now.
But that didn’t mean all was lost. There was always something one could do, no matter how hopeless the situation. Maya was sure that there was some way in which she could redeem herself; something she could do to prove to the Sangha Council that she was, in fact, worthy of being re-admitted to the Gurukul and deserving of a place in the Gana.
The question was: what?
Long moments went by as Maya pondered the question.
Then she rose. She had made a decision.
Maya knew what she was going to do. And nothing was going to sway her from her course of action.
Chapter One Hundred and Six
Plans
The Gurukul
Arjun opened the door of the cottage and stuck his head out.
Darkness cloaked the Gurukul. No one was about. The moon lit up the Central Avenue, giving it a silvery sheen.
Good.
He slipped out, followed by Agastya.
‘Okay,’ Arjun whispered, as he shut the door of the cottage, taking care to ensure that it didn’t slam shut and wake someone. ‘Let’s go.’
The two boys made their way down the Central Avenue and past the Assembly Hall, heading for the Kshatriya practice field, along the river Ken.
Just as they were crossing the classroom blocks, a dark form disentangled itself from the shadows and stood in front of them, barring their way.
Instantly, Arjun’s sword appeared in his hand and Agastya’s brahmadanda was in his grasp, both boys ready to attack or defend as required.
‘It’s me,’ a familiar voice said.
‘Vidyutate.’ Agastya created a glowing ball of light that lit up their features. Arjun’s uncle stood before them, a stern expression on his face.
‘And when were you going to tell me about this little expedition of yours?’ he demanded.
Arjun looked downcast. He hadn’t expected this.
‘I’m sorry, Uncle,’ he said, unable to look Kanakpratap in the eye. ‘I didn’t think you would allow me to go if I told you. We were planning to be back in a couple of days. I left a note for you in the dorm with an explanation.’
Kanakpratap said nothing but studied the faces of the two boys.
‘And where were you going?’ he asked finally. ‘I presume this has something to do with Maya’s exile?’
Arjun nodded. ‘Maya came to see me earlier today. To say goodbye. She told me that she wasn’t going to wait until morning to leave the Gurukul.’ He hesitated. Maya had confided in him about her encounter with her father’s spirit in the Mists. Dhruv had told her not to reveal their meeting to anyone in the Sangha. But Arjun was not part of the Sangha. And if she couldn’t trust Arjun with the information, there was no one she could trust. She had made him promise that he would not tell anyone, even his mother or uncle, about it.
‘And you decided to go with her,’ Kanakpratap said.
‘Well, someone has to accompany her. She’s going to need help,’ Arjun said.
‘Where does she plan to go?’ his uncle asked. ‘What is she going to do that she needs help?’
‘I don’t know exactly,’ Arjun admitted, ‘but she wants to try and find the means to translate the verses in the diary.’
‘And how does she plan to do that?’
‘I don’t know, Uncle. But I trust Maya. And the Sangha Council isn’t exactly going to allow her to present her ideas. So she’s decided to do it without their help o
r approval.’
When Maya had met Arjun earlier in the evening, she had been hazy about her plan. All she was willing to share was her objective. And the fact that the meeting with her father in the Mists had given her some direction. Maya hadn’t told Arjun that it was her father’s plan that she was going to put into motion. Nor had she revealed exactly what her father had told her. That was between her father and her. But she knew she needed help, and had, therefore, approached Arjun.
‘I will understand if you say no,’ she had told Arjun. ‘After all, I am asking you to do exactly what I had refused to do for you earlier, when you wanted the Saptas to embark on a search for the prophecy. It’s strange how the wheel turns. Then, I preached to you about respecting the rules of the Sangha. Now I am asking you to break them. So feel free to refuse. I am already an outcast. What more can the Sangha do to me? But you have a great deal at stake.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Arjun had replied immediately. ‘When I insisted that we leave the Gurukul, I had no plan in mind. Just a vague desire for us to prove ourselves. In hindsight, it was silly and impetuous of me. But you … you know what you are doing. That makes it different. And if we succeed, we will have given the Sangha something to make them proud of us. I’m coming with you. And I’m going to ask Ags as well.’
Maya had been grateful for his help and they had agreed to meet at midnight in the Kshatriya practice field.
Kanakpratap sighed. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I’m not going to stop you. You are old enough and, after all, both you and Agastya are now Gana members. You can take decisions by yourself. You don’t need me chaperoning you around.’
Arjun looked at his uncle in surprise. He hadn’t expected this.
Kanakpratap smiled at his shocked face. ‘Remember all those times when you asked to be allowed to do things on your own and kept trying to shake off my presence, and I would tell you that someday it would happen? That you would take your place in the world and face it?’
Arjun nodded. He remembered how frustrated he had been, badgering his uncle and mother in vain.
‘Well,’ Kanakpratap said, ‘that time has come. The time to be independent, to take charge of your life and take your place in the world. I believe that you are now prepared to face the dangers of the world outside the Gurukul.’
Kanakpratap held out his hand. He was holding a sheathed sword.
Arjun gasped as he set eyes on it. The golden metal scabbard had intricate carvings along its length and shone as if it had been polished yesterday. A magnificently carved hilt completed the picture, embellished with precious stones. In the centre of the pommel was a small cartouche, which Arjun did not recognise.
Kanakpratap drew the sword and held it aloft in the light.
Arjun was captivated by the fine lines of the weapon and longed to touch it, to hold it and wield it, just once.
‘I wanted to give you this,’ Kanakpratap said as he twisted the sword this way and that so its blade caught the light and gleamed. ‘This is your father’s sword, inherited from our father, going back I don’t know how long. I have been keeping it safe till the time you were ready.’ He sheathed the sword and held it out.
‘Here,’ he said. ‘Take what is yours. And wield it wisely.’
Arjun couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. With trembling hands, he took the sword and unsheathed it, marvelling at how well it fit his grasp.
‘Thank you, Uncle,’ he said gratefully, as he slid the sword back into its scabbard. ‘Thank you.’ He was at a loss for words.
‘May you succeed in achieving whatever you set your mind to doing,’ Kanakpratap blessed them as both boys touched his feet. ‘I will try and explain this to the Sangha Council so that you do not get into any trouble when you return!’
Without another word, he left them and walked away, back towards the cottages.
The two boys looked at each other. Arjun’s eyes were shining with excitement as he uttered the mantra to stow his sword away. ‘Fancy that!’ he told Agastya. ‘Let’s go. Maya must be waiting.’
They hastened towards the rendezvous point.
When they reached, Maya was already there, with Amyra.
‘Is she coming with us?’ Agastya asked in surprise.
‘Of course!’ Amyra said fiercely. ‘I’m not going to stay behind! And you will need me more than you can imagine.’
‘Thanks, friends,’ Maya said, almost formally. ‘I really am grateful to you all for coming along.’
‘Right,’ Arjun said, wanting to get on with their adventure. ‘What’s the plan? Where are we going from here?’
‘We’re going back to where we started,’ Maya told him. ‘Hold tight!’
Chapter One Hundred and Seven
The Search Begins
Shukra’s Cavern
Shukra appeared in the cavern, materialising out of thin air. A globe of light materialised next to him, lighting up the closed space. He closed his eyes and concentrated, then opened them slowly.
It would not take long.
Barely a few minutes had passed, when Vishwaraj appeared. He bowed with his hands folded.
‘Pranaam, Poorvapitamah,’ he greeted Shukra. ‘You summoned me? I have not yet completed my task, but am very close to accomplishing it.’
‘That is not why I called you here, my son,’ Shukra told him. ‘I too was elsewhere, engaged in my search, when I received news from Panna, from our spies in the bhutagana there. They tell me that the boy, Arjun—the One of the prophecy—has left the Gurukul, along with a few other children.’
Vishwaraj looked surprised. ‘No one from the Sangha is accompanying them?’
‘Apparently not.’
Vishwaraj smiled. ‘What is your command, Poorvapitamah? They will be easy pickings for me.’
Shukra shook his head. ‘No, Vishwaraj. Remember my principles. We are not savages. It is in Kaliyuga that people kill each other wantonly under the influence of Kali. Our target is the boy. None of the others are important for us. Why waste lives when it is not required? And I don’t want you to kill the boy either. Not unless it is absolutely essential.’
Vishwaraj’s face fell. ‘Then what would you have me do, Poorvapitamah?’
‘Watch them. If they have left the Gurukul, it is possible that the Sangha has tasked them with something important. Possibly something that concerns my plans. And I need to know what that is.’
Vishwaraj bowed. ‘I understand. Where are they now? I will go immediately.’
‘New Delhi,’ Shukra told him. ‘The house of Maharishi Dhruv.’
Maya’s House
New Delhi
Arjun, Maya and Amyra watched with interest as Agastya tried different mantras on the locked door of the house. So far, nothing he tried had worked.
‘Come on, Ags,’ Arjun goaded him, ‘surely you can’t let a locked door defeat you?’
Agastya gave him a withering glare in the light of the streetlamps. ‘This is not what I do for a living, you know.’
Arjun chuckled.
‘Don’t mind him,’ Maya said. ‘I’m sure you can do it.’
Agastya nodded and tried another mantra. ‘Visramsate taalayantra!’
This time it worked. They heard the sound of the latch unfastening, and the door hung loose on its hinges.
‘You did it!’ Maya said excitedly. ‘I knew you could!’
‘Yeah,’ Arjun said drily. ‘Great to have you along, Ags. This is what we needed you for.’
Agastya frowned at him. ‘Yeah, right. You needed someone to pick locks, right?’
‘Come on, guys,’ Amyra said, unable to contain her excitement. ‘Let’s go inside!’
Agastya pushed the door open and led the way into the living room. ‘Panchataya Vidyutate!’ Five globes of light spread out, illuminating the room and the study adjoining it.
Immediately, Arjun and Agastya stopped in their tracks, struck with horror at the sight before them.
Maya gasped as she saw the bloodstains on the walls
and the furniture. She had seen this room when she had travelled as an atma for the first time, a year ago, while staying in Ratan Tiwari’s house. But seeing it in what she had assumed was a dream, at that time, and seeing it in reality were two different things. She shuddered and closed her eyes, trying to keep out thoughts of what Shukra may have done to her father. Instinctively, she reached within herself to keep at bay the black thoughts that threatened to invade her mind.
It was even worse for Amyra. She had not imagined that she would be able to feel the horrifying reality of what had happened here, so keenly, almost a year after the tragedy.
But it hit her like a ton of bricks.
She screamed.
Maya clapped a hand over the younger girl’s mouth, afraid that the sound would draw attention to their presence in the house. Amyra broke down, sobbing in her arms. Maya suppressed her own emotions and held her, comforting her.
Meanwhile, Arjun and Agastya walked on through the living room. Arjun was familiar with the layout of the house, having once been a regular visitor, and they both knew that the study was where Maya had been headed.
Arjun walked into the study and looked around in the light of the globes that hovered above him. A thick coat of dust covered everything. All Maya had said was that they were going to her house in Delhi to look for something. She hadn’t specified what they would be looking for. And yet, Arjun had the feeling that she knew exactly what she wanted to find here.
‘Hey, Maya!’ he called out to her. ‘What are we looking for?’
Maya was still in the living room, sitting with Amyra, who had calmed down by now. ‘I’m fine,’ she told Maya, ‘thanks a lot. I … I just felt overwhelmed. The enormity, the ghastliness of what happened here was too much for me.’
‘I know, I know,’ Maya murmured. ‘You rest here for a bit. I’ll be right back.’ She gave her a pat on the back and went towards the study.
Amyra watched Maya walk away. She felt miserable. But how was she to tell Maya the truth? Maya had said she knew about the savagery, the awfulness of what had transpired in this room between Shukra and her father.
The Mists of Brahma Page 27
