Daughter of the Naga

by Svetlana Ivanova

  "He looks strong and proud," I said. "No wonder why Tusita is the same."

  "Lord Indra brings us rain to prosper our land," Amarisa said. "With his power over the weather, our people pray to him more often than any other gods."

  By the door frame, I noticed another sculpted images of two guardians in a demon form.

  "Why do you have the demons at your temple too?" I asked again.

  "These are not Asuras," my princess said. "We call them Dvarapal, the temple watchmen. They protect the sacred place from evil intruders. Not all demons are bad, Nikita. Some of them are innocent and mild."

  "I see," I said with a nod.

  We crossed the causeway that led to the next enclosure. The stone path was lined up on either side with stone posts. Amarisa showed me of the bas-relief of Shiva, the God of Destruction with his wife Uma, riding their sacred bull, Nandi. On the other side was a gallery which showed Vishnu, the God of Protection. He was tearing the chest of a demon king.

  Then we reached a platform of the temple. Its antechamber connected to the sanctuary by narrow corridors.

  Six short stairways leading up to the entrance. Two pairs of the gatekeepers had the bodies of a human but the heads of a monkey, a lion, a Garuda and a demon giant.

  "What a strange temple," I murmured to myself. Amarisa sniffed in amusement as she looked at my astonished face.

  At last, we reached the heart of the complex and found a life-size bronze statue of Shiva at the far end.

  In the middle of his forehead was another open eye, glittering like a diamond. He wore a crescent moon on his bun and a cobra around his neck. His many arms spread outward. At his feet were a drummer. The statue was so well-made it looked like the god could move at any moment.

  I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach.

  "I have never seen anything like this," I said softly, intimidated by the statue.

  "That is Shiva performing the Cosmic Dance, the rhythm of the great destruction," Amarisa explained to me. "He dances to bring the end of the world cycle. Don't be afraid, Nikita, come now, we must pay respect to the Lord."

  I swallowed dryly in discomfort. Amarisa came to put her arms around my waist.

  "Are you alright?" she asked.

  "Yes...yes, I'm alright," I said with a nod. Then she smiled and coaxed me forward. We came to kneel before the statue. There were white lotuses in the clay vases and garlands on golden trays along with other offering fruit. This reminded me of the time I found myself on top of the pyramid, and the memory shook me even more.

  Amarisa told me to pray inside my head, so I forced my brain to think of a message to send to the god.

  Dear third-eyed Lord, may I discover all the answers I need to know, like why you have so many arms and what is the role of me being sent here.

  When we finished, we went to another chamber across the main temple. Through a corridor, I later learned that it was one of the two libraries we were going to stay.

  But I caught a glimpse of the front pediment. It had a strange scene of the multi-headed demon.

  "Who is that thing?" I said.

  "That is the tale of Ravana, who abducted Sita and was slain for that crime," Amarisa told me. "Here he is shown shaking the sacred Mount Kailasa, the abode of Shiva himself."

  I grimaced at the mention of the demon-king. His name always seemed to irk my inside.

  "He could shake a mountain?" I said.

  "He was feared by the gods and mortals alike," she said. "Lord Vishnu had to send his avatar to save the three worlds from him."

  We went past it and found another vivid carved scene of a majestic man sitting under the tree whereas a smaller woman offering him a garland of flowers. Behind them was a flying man armed with a bow and a flower-tipped arrow.

  "What is this about?" I said.

  "It is a tale of Shiva and the god of love, Kama, the inspirer of carnal desire, lust, passion and bodily pleasure," she said. "After the suicide of his first wife Sati during the incident of Daksha Yagna ceremony, Lord Shiva was heartbroken. He renounced the world in a fit of great rage and started meditating endlessly. Indra, the leader of the Devas called upon Kama and asked him to inflict love in Shiva's heart. The love god fires his arrow risking the Lord's wrath in order to make him fall in love again."

  It reminded me of what Kama told me about his true form destroyed by the third eye.

  "Why did he do that?"

  "It was said that there was a demon named Tarakasura. He had received two boons from Lord Brahma which made him invincible. The first boon made him the ruler of all the worlds. The second declared that he would only be slain by an offspring of Shiva. All the gods were worried, thinking that Lord Shiva would not remarry or have children after the sad loss of Sati's life. Tarakasura would soon terrorize all of heaven and earth. The Devas were quite wary of his dangerous strength, so they implored Kama to intervene."

  "Did he succeed?" I said.

  "Yes, but not without the Lord being furious. Shiva opened his third eye and burned Kama to ashes, yet the deed was done. Shiva found himself gazing with great passion at Uma, the reincarnation of Sati herself. Their union gave birth to Murugan, the God of War. Kama later resurrected from his death with the mercy of the Great Destroyer."

  "Now I see," I said with a nod. "Kama told me of the same story when he visited."

  Amarisa lifted her face to me in surprise.

  "The god paid you a visit?"

  "Yes, the night you finally confessed your hidden feelings to me," I said with a mischievous grin. Amarisa bit her lips.

  "What did the lord say to you?"

  "Nothing made sense," I said. "He just told me of his profession and how important it is to all living things, and that he also shot me. I was also furious, but sadly unlike Shiva, I didn't have a destructive third eye to set him ablaze. I threatened to eat his divine bow instead."

  Then a sweet laughter overcame the lovely princess, and I joined her.

  "I am grateful he paired me up with you though," I said and wrapped my arms around her. "Sometimes I think he might not be quite right in the head."

  Amarisa quickly put a finger on my lips to silence me.

  "Please, don't say that," she hushed. "The god might hear you. His arrows enhance your senses like the blissful sunlight to a blooming lotus. If he found you're worthy of the seed of passion, he would not hesitate to cause its growth. You never know what the gods plan for you."

  "What? You're afraid Kama would shoot me again to make me fall in love with someone else?" I said.

  Amarisa gave me a disapproving glare.

  I grabbed her hand and kissed her palm and wrist before landed one on her lovely cheek.

  "I will never fall in love with anyone but you, Amarisa," I said. "You're the only girl I desire, and that is the truth."

  Amarisa smiled again.

  "Likewise."

  After a moment later, the maids came in. They brought our meal on trays. Then they put it on a small wooden round table. Amarisa told them to leave the chamber again, so we both could have our privacy.

  ~*~

  After we washed our hands in a bowl of water, I looked at the myriad of dishes and fruit that I couldn't recognize. The delicious smell of cooked river fish and roasted goat meat with steamed rice made my stomach growl.

  The fair princess moved over to my side, and with her delicate hand, she picked a small ball of rice and held it to my lips. It wasn't my intention, but it reminded me of Kesar. They both loved me with all their hearts. My feelings with Amarisa were always a sweet longing tenderness I could barely stand. With Kesar, there was always a strong hint of lust and pity mixed like poison in my veins.

  Did Kama use his wicked arrows on us all? How could I recover from this madness when I was struck unknowingly?

  I had to shove the thought to the back of my mind. With a smile, I opened my mouth and nibbled the rice off Amarisa's hand.

  I hand-fed her back. We laughed as we ate in merriment. After we w
ere full, the servants cleared the table. I suggested we toured around the temple one last time before we got back to the palace.

  I was determined to learn everything about this world as much as I could. Amarisa had become a great source to all my unsaid questions.

  On the south side of the tower, we found a lintel of Lord Yama, the God of Death. He was on his steed, a water buffalo, passing his judgments in the Underworld.

  At the west tower, we saw Varuna, God of the Sea, riding a crocodile. The northern tower was God of the North, Kubera, sitting on a throne supported by Simhas, the kings of lions. There were too many gods to keep count.

  But as I listened to Amarisa, my eyes traced over a carving of a demon swallowing a round-shaped object.

  "What is that demon doing?" I pointed to the wall.

  "His name is Rahu," Amarisa told me. "He was a serpentine Asura who stole and drank the divine Amrita during the Samudra Manthan."

  "You mean when the gods and demons churned the Ocean of Milk?" I said.

  "Indeed," she said with a nod. "But before the Elixir of Immortality could go pass his throat, Mohini, the female avatar of Vishnu chopped off his head. The head though remains immortal and still powerful. Rahu was furious of two planetary deities who had informed the other gods of his act of thieving. He swore to devour them for revenge."

  I looked at the details of the carvings. The bug-eyed demon had sharp buck-teeth and fangs. His enormous mouth went half way through the round object.

  "So that is Rahu swallowing a god?" I said.

  "Yes, either the sun or the moon," she said, turning her face to look at me. "For countless ages, the two are consumed by Rahu, yet they would always pass through the opening of Rahu's throat. This causes the eclipse as we know it, but luckily, it never lasts."

  Suddenly, I remembered what the sun god had said to me.

  "Lord Surya blessed me as the next conqueror of Rahu," I told her. "I wonder why he said that."

  Amarisa looked back at me. Her glittering eyes stirred with unsettling emotions. It seemed as though she knew an omen of the god's blessing. Then she came to hold me in her arms.

  "Sometimes I wish the gods would leave you alone," she whispered.

  "It is alright, Amarisa," I said to change the subject. "Maybe it's just the way old gods talk. They make up riddles to confuse your mind."

  I put my arm around her shoulder and steered us away.

  Before we left, I stole a glance back at the fierce demon. I just couldn't imagine anything so powerful that could devour a planet whole.

  Until the evening drew close, we left the beautiful temple together. This time, the guards accompanied us in an oxcart out of the small city. We arrived at the place where we left Pisey.

  At first, we didn't find her inside the resthouse. I was utterly worried that we might have left the Ashva alone far too long, and she had decided to fly back to heaven.

  Then Amarisa beckoned to me and pointed to a tall tree nearby. Pisey was snoring on a tree branch with drool oozing from the corner of her mouth.

  It took some calling and yelling to wake her. The winged-horse was quite annoyed for the disturbance. She neighed and snorted, but she did fly down to us at last.

  After a while, we mounted on our beloved yet grumpy Ashva and flew back to the Royal Palace.

  The memory of our conversations still lingered in my mind.

  Twilight had deepened into the beginning of the night when we landed.

  We stood at the outskirt of the Asoak Garden with a smile still marred our faces. I told Pisey to go back to her stable. She bobbed her head and shook her mane before bursting her wings open and flew away.

  I took Amarisa's hand in mine, and we started to walking out of the garden together. We had nothing to say, but neither of us was bothered by the silence. I was contented just to walk by her side as she was by mine. When I smiled, Amarisa also smiled.

  A pale moon started to show itself from behind a pack of the darkening cloud. We passed through a fragrant hedge of plants and flowering trees.

  When we almost reached the palace ground, we stopped. It was obvious that none of us wanted to part way. Then I leaned towards Amarisa and kissed her again.

  She returned the kiss instantly. We stood kissing and listening to our thumping hearts. After a while, our lips separated wetly, still throbbing with needs.

  "Thank you for today. I had a very pleasant time with you," Amarisa spoke in a whisper.

  "No, thank you," I said and traced my fingers over her face. "We will do it again when occasions arise."

  Amarisa smiled, leaning up to kiss me but only briefly.

  "I must go," she said. "Tomorrow my parents are back to the city. I will have to curb my desire to see you for a while."

  I pouted, which made her laughed. Then when we turned to leave, we found the presence of palace maidens and royal guards. They stood a few yards away from us. What startled us even more was the sight of Queen Jayara. She was sitting inside an open-air palanquin. Her eyes looked directly at us.

  "Mother," Amarisa let out a gasp of surprise. Regardless of the shock, our hands still remained holding. It was too late to hide anything now.

  "Your Majesty," I said with an awkward bow at the older Queen.

  Queen Jayara didn't say a word. Her eyes never left us. After a silent moment, she got out of the golden palanquin with the help of the maids and made her way towards us. Amarisa's face lowered to the ground. I could feel her anxiety as Queen Jayara stood a few steps away.

  "Amarisa dear, would you mind returning to your chamber first?" she spoke to her daughter. Her tone was soft but held a firm edge that left no room for refusal.

  Amarisa bowed to her mother in agreement. She glanced at me with a conflicted look before she released my hand and walked off with the maids. Several royal guards brought out another palanquin for her. The princess climbed in and they took her away from my sight.

  I looked back at Queen Jayara, who was still so much alike to my birth mother. She kept staring at my face, but her expression was unreadable.

  "I would like you to accompany me back to my ashram tonight, my holy one," she said. "Would you mind joining me?"

  The way she said it held the same effect as it did to her daughter. I couldn't guess what she was planning to do with me, but I had to obey whatever she said.

  "No, Your Majesty," I said with a bow.

  The Queen then turned to the guards.

  "Ready our procession to Rajavihara temple."

  CHAPTER 36

  Rajavihara was the bronze temple Amarisa and I had seen last morning. It was the Royal Monastery.

  They carried me in one of the open-air litters. The Queen's procession moved swiftly through the quiet night.

  We stopped at the torch-lit entrance of the main Gopura. I could see enormous four-face towers rising high into the dark sky.

  The carriers lowered us to the ground. Then the maids came to assists Queen Jayara, and I got off mine.

  The Queen hadn't glanced in my direction at all since we left the garden. This sent me an uncomfortable stream of emotions. Was she disgusted by what she had seen between Amarisa and me? My chest tightened at the painful thought.

  Then I was led in silence down the cross-shaped stone terrace. The causeway passed the third enclosure. It went between the Hall of Dancers and the House of Fire.

  There were burning torches and candle-lit lanterns to brighten the whole temple. I could smell traces of incenses and fragrance of flowers as the night winds blew.

  All the while, the Queen still hadn't spoken. My tongue also felt heavy inside my mouth the entirety of the journey. If she asked me about my secret love with her daughter, I wasn't sure how to explain it.

  But why did the Queen bring me to the monastery instead of putting me in chains? I knew it was unlikely for her to do so as Queen Jayara was always kind and gentle, yet the look on her face gave me a bad feeling that something was seriously wrong.

  We climbed th
e main staircase and passed through another cruciform gallery. Then they led me into the main chamber.

  I saw the Hora and the Guru sitting on either side of the hall.

  They stood up and bowed as the Queen arrived with me in tow. She bowed back at the two men and came to sit on a golden mat. Behind her were many golden statues of important gods and the usual offerings

  "Sit down, young one," Queen Jayara said to me. I took a seat opposite hers.

  The Hora and the Guru kept staring at me in silence. I grew uneasy under their observing gazes. It was as if they had just seen me for the first time.

  "Your Majesty, why did you bring me here?" I finally had the gut to break the dead silence.

  The Queen took in a deep breath before she spoke.

  "As the fate has so punished me, I must be sincere with you," she said in a hollow tone. "But Nikita dear, tell me you truly know what your destiny holds."

  Her words caught me off guards. I looked down at my own hands. My mind was searching for the answer.

  "I...I don't know..." I said with a small helpless voice. "All I know is I'm here to fulfill the prophecy as you all have told me."

  "May I ask if you remember what the prophecy says?" the Queen asked me again.

  "I will have to go on an otherworldly quest?" I said. "I will enter a fire-lit realm where no living soul has ever gone. I will lead the Seven Race of the Naga to the war."

  The Guru nodded his elephant head and said, "You know this is a matter of life and death. Once in every five thousand years, the gods would allow such wars to relieve the Earth of her burden. The Asuras would reincarnate and they would sack the cities under the patron of the gods. They come in the darkest month of the year when the veil between our world and other worlds is thinnest. It is when the dead are unleashed and the gods are not allowed to remain on earth. It's the law of the abode, older than time, even the gods are powerless to revoke it. Our holy land shall meet the inevitable havoc when the godless month comes. Only the Prophesied Child can steer the course of this destruction."

  "But I still don't know if I am the true savior you seek," I said. "I'm not strong or skilled in warfare. Your prayers and sacrifices are all in vain."