Chapter 3: You must remember the name
The shepherd took the baby in his arms and lifted him in the air as he laughed uproariously.
“This is my child! Good child!”
He looked at his wife who was also smiling as tears kept rolling down her cheeks.
She said, “He is Zaria.”
“Zaria! Good name!” The shepherd nodded happily.
Zaria!
The storm had completely dissipated by now and it became bright outside. Everyone in the town came out of their houses and gathered around the hut.
They looked intensely towards the small hut.
They had just witnessed an out of the world phenomenon which they could not make any sense of. First, there was this incomparably heavy off-season rainstorm which looked like it could uproot the whole town. Then, they heard a cry of a child and they felt there souls tremble. They thought of it as something divine and had the urge to prostrate themselves. They felt amazed, suspicious, curious and also fearful.
The priest had also come out of the barn by this time and was looking at the hut. He was wondering about the phenomenon too and had a certain inkling but could not put his finger on what exactly.
Has the wheel of fate started moving again.
He was suspicious but could not confirm his theory.
However, at this point he felt an extreme blood lust coming from outside the town. Suddenly his body palpitated rapidly. Time seemed to slow down. He turned his head in the direction of the extreme bloodlust.
What he saw made his mind reel uncontrollably.
He saw a massive mountain heading extremely fast towards the town. As he narrowed his eyes he was shocked beyond words..
No it’s not a mountain. It’s...it’s a gigantic serpent!
When his thoughts get to this point, he felt like thunder has struck his mind as he remembered a name.
Akaal..Akaal Naag!
How can it be! Why has it revived!
No! It is still very weak...
Suddenly he came to a realization and turned his head towards the hut.
Could it be...the child…
He no longer thought any further and moved like a flash.
Whoosh..
The next moment he was already inside the hut.
He saw a man laughing merrily as he was lifting a new-born child in the air and two women beside a bed.
The shepherd’s wife noticed the priest first and was startled as she did not realise someone entering their home.
“Gurudev”
She slightly lifted her body and put her palms together and bowed slightly as she greeted the priest who came in their home without anyone noticing him.
When they heard her, the other two looked surprised and turned to see the priest as well but they also greeted the priest in the same way.
“Gurudev”
The priest raised one of his hands to greet them and looked meaningfully at the child. Then he blessed the child in a voice which reverberated throughout the room.
“Svasti te cāntarikṣebhyaḥ pārthivebhyaś ca putraka
divyebhyaś caiva bhūtebhyas tathā toyacarāś ca ye
Śivās te santu panthāno mā ca te paripanthinaḥ
āgatāś ca tathā putra bhavantv adrohacetasaḥ”
(May the creatures of sky, earth, and heaven, and those that live in the water, protect you, little boy. May your roads be auspicious, and nothing stand in your path; and let those who encounter you, son, have minds without malice.)
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The shepherd and his wife bowed again to the priest. They could tell the priest was no ordinary priest through his bearings. They felt very grateful that their child was blessed by such an eminent priest.
“Gurudev, we are eternally grateful for your blessings. Please let us be at your service in our humble dwelling.” The shepherd offered the priest.
The priest was very conflicted at this moment. After all, he was the harbinger of bad fortune at this moment for them.
Though, no matter how conflicted he was, his eyes remained absolutely still like water without slightest of ripples.
He looked at the couple and then at the old woman. When the woman looked into his eyes, her eyes lost lustre as if there was a haze surrounding them. Her senses went blank and she sat there like a statue.
The priest then said to the couple emotionlessly, “Your child has brought forth great fate along with him in this world. But he will soon bring a catastrophe upon this land too.”
He did not wait for the couple’s reaction and continued, “You have two choices now. First, let me deliver this child’s soul to the underworld so that he may never reincarnate again. If you do that you may avert the catastrophe.”
He paused for a brief moment at this point.
“Or let me take this child away with me so that he could live past today. But if you choose to do so you will, in all likelihood, perish along with all the people in this town. You should know that these people will resent you even in death and you have to bear their resentment for all of eternity.”
In reality, the priest did not need to give them a choice. He was more than capable enough to take the child away. But he could not do so. Only his parents had the right to make a decision regarding this. He knew if he took the child forcefully, he would sow bad karma and that would surely impede the child in the future even if he took him away right now.
And so he could only wait for the two to come to a decision of their own.
He was not sure though.
What they had to choose was not easy at all.
On one hand they would be plagued by self guilt of filicide for rest of their lives.
On the other hand was eternal damnation!
The priest knew it was a hard decision but when he looked at the couple he was slightly surprised.
He was surprised because he could see no anxiety or hesitation in their eyes. Their appeared to be no dilemma in their minds. They were unnaturally calm. In fact, they seemed to be relieved somehow.
The priest could not understand this. Even if they made their decision they should at least have some second thoughts about this situation.
At this point the shepherd kneeled on the ground and said humbly, “Gurudev, it will be our greatest wish come true if you could save our child.”
The shepherd’s wife also struggled out of her bed and kneeled alongside her husband. It was apparent that both of them were of the same will.
The priest suddenly felt admiration and lamentation in his heart at the same time. He admired their devotion and love for their child but lamented their fate. He thought to himself.
These people do not deserve eternal damnation even if the whole world deserved it. Fate is indeed cruel and beyond one’s comprehension no matter how profound one’s knowledge gets.
He let out a long sigh inwardly as he thought about it.
At this point, the sky became dark all of a sudden and a voice rang throughout the town.
“Bring me the child or perish.”
Everyone in the town was stupefied. They were scared out of their wits as the voice resonated in their heads.
When they turned to look in the sky they saw a gigantic serpent which rose in the air and covered the firmament. It had nine heads and nine pairs of gloomy green eyes. It looked extremely frightening!
They had just overcome a storm and now suddenly a huge serpent was there, looking down at their town with gloomy green eyes.
They thought it was doomsday!
“Have we angered the heavens! Why is this happening?”
“Are we all going to die?”
Everyone in the crowd started shouting while trembling unceasingly. Nobody could keep their calm any longer. Children started to wail loudly. Soon it became a raucous.
Someone in the crowd stepped forward and prostrated in front of the serpent and said, “Oh great one! Have mercy!”
When people heard him they also imitated the person and kneeled
“Have mercy!”
“Have mercy, Oh great one!”
Everybody started clamouring. They did not know what was happening. They just wanted to live.
The serpent scanned through the crowd with its gloomy eyes after which his voice echoed in everyone’s head again.
“Bring me the child or die.”
Everyone was trembling. They were scared and confused.
Whose child did the serpent want?
Suddenly someone remembered the baby cry from earlier.
“Maybe it is talking about the cry earlier.”
When others heard this they also remembered and looked at the hut again. Some of them even had cold faces.
In the hut, the shepherd and his wife also heard everything and so did the priest. The couple became deathly pale. The shepherd hurriedly handed the child over to the priest and looked at his wife.
She was calm but tears kept flowing from her eyes which were fixed on the baby in the priest’s hands. She stood up and walked to the baby. She gently kissed the baby on the forehead and tied a plain red ribbon on the baby’s hand.
“His name is Zaria.” she said to the priest in a very loving voice without lifting her head.
“You must remember the name.”
The priest looked at the woman and nodded lightly. After which he became a blur and vanished. The couple was startled but soon felt relieved.
Now they had faith that their child was going to be alright.
The shepherd came to his wife, hugged her and said with determination, “Let us go outside.”
The wife kept crying in his embrace for a few moments. Then she wiped her tears and nodded firmly. Both of them walked outside hand in hand.
The priest was already very far but could still hear screams from afar. He did not know what was happening but he could take a sound guess. He didn't look back and kept putting distance from the town. He knew that the serpent was still very weak and will be sealed again very soon but despite that he remained cautious and kept running for three days and three nights.
He stopped at the dawn of the fourth day. He scanned the area around and found no traces of pursuit. He found a brook in the forest he was in and relaxed his nerves slightly.
Finally, he looked at the baby in his arms. The baby also opened its tiny eyes and looked at the priest.
Zaria!
“I will remember the name.” the priest muttered to himself.
He stood up and started moving again.
Twelve years passed in the blink of an eye!