“Why doesn’t avva ask about the girl?” Aryaman asked.
The prince looked at the old woman expectantly. Her face was solemn. She did not reply.
“You cannot speak about it, avva?” the prince said softly sensing her hesitation.
The old woman smiled lightly. “Always the perceptive one,” she replied. “Yes, this old one cannot speak of certain things.”
The prince considered this. He had known the old woman for some years yet this was the first time she had withheld information from him.
“I just need to know one thing,” said the prince aloud in a quiet but firm tone. “Is she a threat to Arang?”
“No,” replied the old woman without any ambivalence.
The girl must not be a demon. Avva wouldn’t shelter them, he thought. Who cast that illusion in the forest then?
“Hmm,” said the prince. “I found the girl lying unconscious in Dandakaranya. When I was about to pick her up, an illusion was cast on me – It felt so real, I struggled for some time before I could break free.”
The old woman understood what had happened.
“It was not her,” she said. “A preta made that illusion.”
“A preta?”
“Indeed,” said the old woman. “It must have been trying to protect the girl.”
“Ohh,” said the prince. “I didn’t know they could guard people. Is the preta related to the demons?”
“This particular one has no connections with the demons as far as I can sense,” said the old woman. “It’s harmless.”
“Hmmpf!” scoffed the prince. “Harmless! That illusion was no joke!” The prince was about to begin a rant but he stopped himself. “Avva, did you say, as far as you can sense, is the preta here, right now?!”
“Yes,” said the old woman. “It is hovering near the girl.”
“……….”
The prince turned around to look in the direction of the unconscious girl, he could not see anything out of the ordinary. A chill ran down his spines. He gripped the sword he had placed beside him for reassurance.
A carrier pigeon arrived just then and entered the hut. As if sticking to an old rule, it walked to the old woman and nudged her with its beak. The old woman pet the bird lightly and carefully untied the paper tied to its feet. She felt it with her hands to read the message.
“You should head back,” she said and read out the message. “Jatayu is falling.”
“What?” said the prince in disbelief getting up immediately. He paused only for a moment. “I will be back avva. Please take care of her till then. She is the only lead I have right now.”
“Do not worry, child,” assured the old woman getting up with the help of her staff and seeing him off. “This old one knows her duty.”
The prince caught her frail hands and pressed them. “Thank you, avva,” he said gently and left in a hurry getting on his reluctant disgruntled horse who had planned to take a nap after the long day's ordeal.
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Lady Sachi, queen of Swarga-loka, watched her husband, Lord Purandhara, in visible dismay. The sheer silk shawl draped over her, flowing from the chignon at the nape of her slender neck, fluttered in the softly blowing wind. The diadem on her head was bejeweled with diamonds. She wore her usual two-piece white silk dress, an upper garment covering her torso and a pleated saree maneuvered into a dhoti. Gold ornaments with beautiful designs and inlaid with precious gems covered her neck, hands, and feet. She looked ethereal as she stood in the floating pavilion. Her beautiful eyes were pregnant with concern and her comely lips were drawn into a thin line.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Lord Purandhara levitated at a distance from the divine barrier and kept directing the power of his weapon, Vajra, at it. The Vajra was a scepter with a sphere at its head surrounded by a double trident. Thunderbolts emanated from the glowing sphere and charged relentlessly towards the barrier. The barrier, in turn, absorbed these jolts continuously; the thunderbolts would spread across the barrier for a short while, their rumbles audible across the Swarga-loka before dying off. This was the fifth human day and Lord Purandhara showed no signs of stopping.
“Lord Vaiswa,” said Lady Sachi turning to the god who had joined her to watch the spectacle, “are you not going to stop him? He is going to exhaust himself this way!”
“I wouldn’t be worried if I were you, Indrani,” returned Lord Vaiswa. He stood with his hands tied to his back. “It’s better than him taking it out on either of us.”
“You speak the truth,” agreed Lady Sachi nodding her head. “His mood got much worse ever since you’ve awoken.” She eyed him curiously. “What did you tell him, Lord Vaiswa?”
Lord Vaiswa coughed in response. “Is Indrani holding me accountable for this?” he asked innocently.
She pulled him by the ear. “Of course I do!” she said. “Only two people can put him in such a state. One of them is you!”
Lord Vaiswa gently extricated his ear from Lady Sachi’s grip and rubbed it.
“Indrani must show mercy on this weak one,” said Lord Vaiswa. “I didn’t do anything.”
Lady Sachi opened her mouth to saying something but shook her head.
“When was I ever able to get anything out of you?” she sighed.
Ahead of them, Lord Purandhara kept fighting a futile battle against the divine barrier.
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"Can you hear me too, old one?" asked the preta.
"Yes," replied the old woman, who now sat beside the girl.
"Could you sense that young man's sword as well?" the preta said.
"Yes," the old woman replied.
"Ohh! But you are a human," said the preta, scratching its make-believe head trying to figure the discrepancy out. It looked at the old woman for clues as she touched the girl's forehead with her hand. It watched the old woman's eyes keenly.
"Why didn't you tell the young man about her eminence?" inquired the preta. "You were trying to protect her?"
"Her identity can become a danger to her when she is incapacitated like this," said the old woman. "While the young one who brought her here would cause her no harm, we cannot let anyone know who she is. It is up to her divinity to make such decisions."
"You are wise, old one," appreciated the preta. "Why do you help her? Do you already know her?"
"This is my first time, meeting her divinity," replied the old woman with patience. "Why would I help her? You may think of it as fate."
The preta pondered over this. No-god God, I guess, we have help. Is my meeting you also fate? It thought to itself.
"It's because of your Agya chakra, isn't it?" it asked after a while. The old woman by then had finished assessing the girl's condition. "You can sense the otherworldly things because of it, correct?"
"The preta is discerning," said the old woman with a smile.
"Were you born blind, old one?" asked the preta, its curiosity getting better of it.
"Yes," said the old woman.
"Hmm," said the preta. "No wonder, the Agya chakra is so well developed, you must have been cultivating it since the beginning."
"We get compensated for our infirmities, one way or the other," replied the old woman.
"I haven't received any compensation for being a restless spirit," muttered the preta. "But then again, not every preta gets to meet one of her kind." The preta referred to the girl. "Did you figure out what is wrong with her, old one?"
"Her spiritual energy is depleted," said the old woman. "A major part of her spiritual essence is removed. Her body hasn't adjusted to the loss yet."
"Can you help her recover?" the preta asked.
"Hmm," said the old woman. "I can try activating her Muladhara chakra. But it is only a temporary remedy. And I'm not entirely sure it would work."
The preta considered this. The Muladhara chakra was the root chakra where divine energy manifested in dormant form. The preta did not know much about its underlying mechanism but it knew one thing - the girl has to regain her spiritual powers afresh. She was stripped of all of her powers at the moment.
The old woman lifted the girl and made her seated in the lotus posture. She began transferring her spiritual energy through her palm and onto the back of the girl. The spiritual energy kept the girl steady in her seated position. Gentle waves of blue radiance passed from the old woman's palm throughout the night. The preta kept vigil.
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The early rays of the Sun diffused into the hut, the old woman still was passing on her spiritual energy to the girl. She began to show signs of weakness as her hand trembled. The preta kept watching them nervously.
The girl's eyes showed tiny movement. After some moments, she slowly opened them.
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Indrani – title signifying “queen of Swarga-loka” {Indra (king of heaven) + rani(queen)}
Vajra – a powerful cosmic weapon known for its indestructibility and irresistible force
Agya chakra - the chakra responsible for insight and perception
Muladhara chakra - the root chakra at the base of the spine and the seat of kundalini, a form of divine energy, usually feminine in nature.
the lotus posture - a cross-legged seating posture used for meditation.