Shakra nodded in agreement and said, ‘That is exactly my reading as well. She might have enjoyed the change in scenery in the beginning but now she stays on for her love for this man. I worry that we may soon lose another Apsara to a human and that too our very best one. If this continues, Swarg will be bereft of all its Apsaras very soon!’
All four of them sat pondering how to deal with the situation and, after some brainstorming, Vayu said, ‘Why can’t Kama remove the effect of his arrows from both their hearts? He fuelled their love, he should be able to take it back as well!’
Kama shook his head and said, ‘It is not as easy as you think, Vayu dev. My arrows just serve to ignite a spark but the fire can only flare up if there exists some amount of attraction to begin with. With time, the effect only intensifies and it will be almost impossible to remove it completely after they’ve been together for so many years.’
Shakra agreed with the logic but asked for a way out. ‘If not this, then what else can we do to break this infatuation? For I have a feeling that what Menaka’s love could not put an end to, her betrayal definitely will!’
Kama thought about it for a while and said slowly, ‘I hate to admit this but I think I have a way to break their relationship.’
All three Devas looked at him expectantly and he said, ‘Instead of trying to remove the effect of my arrows, how about enhancing it further? I could stir up the emotion in Menaka’s heart to the extent that she feels compelled to come clean with the hermit about her original intentions.’
Shakra marvelled at the ingenuity of Kama’s suggestion and gave him a pat on his back. ‘Bravo, my friend! I believe you have hit the nail on the head, for this way we are saved the trouble of getting into both Menaka’s and the human’s bad books while still managing to break their relationship. I am sure the heartbreak will kill him, or at least his spirit, and the threat to Swarg will be neutralized forever.’
Kama received Agni and Vayu’s congratulations with a smile, though his own conscience pricked at his heart. He was fond of Menaka and he could not break her heart suddenly. He thought of buying some time for her and said to the other Devas, ‘Even though my purpose in life is to spread love, yet for the first time, I shall be responsible for breaking it for the sake of my loyalty towards Swarg. I shall do this only for you, Devraj, but I shall do it slowly and gradually so that it doesn’t seem contrived.’
Shakra nodded in agreement to Kama’s plan and concluded, ‘So be it!’
Adhyaye 29
After coming back from Swarg, Menaka had decided to plunge head first into the relationship to extend its life as much as she could.
For the next couple of years, she devoted herself completely to her paramour and he reciprocated with equal fervour. They had become inseparable and their passion and longing had only deepened. They spent more and more time with each other, making crazy love irrespective of the time and location.
Many a time Menaka thought of coming clean to Vishwamitra but was too scared of his reaction. She was determined to try and prolong the life of this relationship as much as she could, even if it meant hiding her true identity. She could not afford to lose him for he meant too much to her. In order to consolidate their relationship, after years of being together, she decided it was time to conceive a child.
When she gave him the good news, Vishwamitra was ecstatic. He had never been happier in his life, not even at the time of his eldest son’s birth for it had meant nothing more than begetting an heir for his kingdom.
He admitted as much to Menaka and said, ‘This will be the first child born of my loins that I will truly consider my own!
I am so happy, Mena, that I don’t even know how to express myself. You have filled my life with love and supplanted the hatred from my heart completely, and I can’t thank you enough for this transformation.’
Menaka didn’t have the heart to say anything so she just nodded quietly as tears spilled out of her eyes.
Vishwamitra hugged her and said, ‘Do not cry, my dear; we have defeated fate and fate readers alike.’
He reminded her of the time they had met at the beach and how helpless she had been then. ‘In spite of what your astrologer had said, we have been happier than most married couples can ever hope to be. And now, I am going to spoil our little daughter and shower her with all the happiness in the world.’
Menaka looked confused with the last sentence and he said, smiling, ‘I used my yogic powers to divine the sex of our child. Goddess Lakshmi herself is arriving in our humble ashram.’
Menaka was overjoyed and clung to him joyfully. ‘Oh, Mitra,’ she said, ‘I never imagined becoming a mother could bring so much joy!’
Vishwamitra nodded. ‘Indeed, becoming a parent is one of the greatest joys in the world. I am thinking of moving back to the kingdom for your proper care. If you agree, we should make the trip soon, before it becomes harmful for our unborn child.’
Menaka couldn’t stay silent any more. Overcome with guilt, she blurted out, ‘Mitra, ever since we met, more than a decade ago, I have lived every single day of my life seeing you, breathing you and loving you. But there’s a part of myself I have kept hidden from you that I want to share.’
Vishwarath thought she was trying to be funny. ‘Yes, I know,’ he said, laughing. ‘I have never been able to find out the secret of your agelessness! While I have been turning older and older, your skin glows with the same radiance as the day we met and your beauty is undiminished. Come now, spill the beans and share the secret so that your lover can look as young as you,’ he said with a wink.
Menaka tried to smile then bit her lip; this was not going to be easy.
She continued the thread he had started and said, ‘Have you never wondered why that was so, Mitra? Why my appearance remains unchanged or why I have not conceived for so many years?’
Vishwamitra looked at her quizzically, wondering what she was trying to convey.
‘Well, as for your beauty, you are not even thirty and I don’t see any reason why you should show any signs of ageing yet. You eat healthy, get enough exercise and have a loving partner who takes care of your every need—in short, your life is stress-free and that is the reason of your glowing skin!’ he finished light-heartedly.
Menaka smiled at his logic; men could be so dense sometimes!
She went close to him and ruffled his hair. ‘And what about the fact that I had not conceived during a decade of us going at it like rabbits?’
Vishwamitra guffawed at her analogy and said, ‘Well, I never had any complaints on that aspect. It is easier for me to live the way I want if I don’t have any additional responsibilities and I actually thought it a blessing that you were not conceiving even with our, what you so eloquently call, “going at it like rabbits”.’
Menaka felt guiltier than she had ever felt before.
How much this man had trusted her and how badly she would break his heart if she confessed the real purpose of her coming to Earth! Still, she decided, she had fooled him long enough and could not carry on with this charade any more.
She took his hand in hers and said, ‘Mitra, you know I love you more than my life and that is why I am willing to risk your anger and resentment by telling you what I am about to say now.’ She looked at him helplessly and said, ‘I wish things had not started the way they did but I can’t change the past however hard I try. All I know is that I cannot lie to you any more. I want our present and future to be different.’
Vishwamitra was genuinely puzzled. ‘Different?’ he asked. Menaka nodded slowly and said, ‘Not different in the way we love each other for I have never felt so much love in my long life. But different in terms of my honesty towards you.’
‘Have you been cheating on me, my love?’ he asked with a surprised expression for he did not see how that could have been possible. They lived in the jungle, secluded from the world, and she had spent every waking minute of her life at the ashram looking after his needs. In turn he had done the same, a
nd he had never felt a disconnect between the two of them.
Menaka didn’t know how to convey to him the turmoil in her mind. This was the most difficult thing she had done in her life but she knew it had to be done, and done right now for she would not find the courage to do it ever again.
‘I am not a helpless human girl who was left behind by her relatives based on some astrologer’s recommendation; I am Menaka, the chief Apsara from Indra’s court, who was sent here with the sole purpose of disrupting your advancing penance for he felt threatened by your growing yogic powers,’ she said in a rush.
Vishwarath looked at her with shock on his face. What was she talking about? He had found her in a pitiable state when she was trying to end her life . . .
‘No!’ he cried out. ‘This cannot be true! Why are you saying all this? Why do you want to ruin this perfect moment?’ He looked at her with pleading eyes. ‘I have felt nothing but love from you since the moment we have been together. Had you been playing with me on someone’s instructions I would have sensed it sooner or later. Do you wish to leave me now? Is this a strategy to do that?’
Menaka was sobbing hard. ‘You did not sense my guile, my love, because I was and still am genuinely in love with you. My feelings for you are as pure as the waters of the Saraswati but it pains my heart to admit that I was sent here with a nefarious design to ruin your tapasya.’
Vishwarath’s head was reeling; the woman he had accepted as his soulmate was a charlatan! He had never imagined the Devas could play such a cruel joke on him. All this love and affection had been Indra’s ploy to make him forget his chosen path. He felt like a fool falling for it the way he did! All the negative emotions he had let go off years ago came rushing back.
His eyes burnt with rage and he rose, addressing Menaka, ‘So you played with me all these years? You whore of the heavens! You used my love for you to twist my mind and keep me tied to your bosom! I loved you the way I haven’t loved anyone in my whole life and this is how you repay me?’
Menaka was petrified as she saw the change that came over him. She had never seen him this angry and realized her betrayal and the hurt it had caused went deeper than she had imagined it would.
She fell at his feet, shedding copious tears and begging for forgiveness.
‘Mitra, please,’ she said between sobs, ‘I have come clean and told you the truth, please don’t break my heart with such harsh words!’
He looked at her contemptuously and said, ‘You haven’t come clean; you have opened my eyes to how cruel and deceitful you’ve been! You can cry and beg and cling to my body but I damn you now. You have broken your heart yourself while breaking mine. I can’t even convey the loathing I feel for you right now.’
Vishwamitra stood rooted to the ground, fuming at his own stupidity and hating the Devas even more than before. They had humiliated him through Vasishth earlier and now they had broken his spirit using a celestial wench. He had fallen so madly in love with her that he had never sought to find out her antecedents or check her story. They had had such a beautiful life together . . . he had felt complete in every meaning of the word and now she was telling him that all that was a lie!
Blood boiled in his veins and he shoved her away. ‘Get away from me!’ he roared. ‘Get as far away from me as you can for I do not want to hurt you in my rage. Take my warning and run away to your master, you filthy animal. You did his bidding like a slave and in turn made me your slave but I will not be bound by your fake affections any longer.’
Menaka couldn’t believe the words she was hearing. This was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives and here she was, witnessing all her hopes and dreams come tumbling down, being treated worse than an animal! She knew she had to get out of his sight right now for the sake of her daughter, else in his rage he might just attack them both.
Vishwamitra sensed her fear and said, ‘The only thing you Apsaras are good at is screwing and you screwed me quite well, both figuratively and literally. I do not wish to harm you nor the unborn child so I implore you to leave my ashram right this instant.’
Menaka summoned her inner strength and tried to get up. She had never imagined someone could be this hurt, least of all she, the darling of Swarg.
How had things turned so bad? She knew she had lured him into her trap but she had also spent a long time loving him and caring for him. She had to try to make him understand. She folded her hands and said, ‘Mitra, I had no reason to tell you all this even today but I did it out of the loyalty I have for you.
I could have kept quiet and spent a lifetime living this dream and you wouldn’t have been any wiser, yet I did it for you, for us, for our love. I have been a whore most of my life but you are the first person I have loved truly, deeply, in a life that is much longer than your own.’
Vishwamitra looked at her with bloodshot eyes but didn’t answer back.
Emboldened, she pushed on, ‘I confessed today to get rid of the guilt that has gnawed at my heart every single day I have spent with you. I have thought about confessing to you so many times but the idea of losing you was too much to bear and I could not do it. But today is a new beginning and I wanted to tell you everything even if you hate me for the rest of our lives.’
Vishwamitra’s anger evaporated but his heart broke down. His eyes started watering and he looked at Menaka with tears stinging his eyes, ‘There shall be no new beginning for us. The only thing I see in your eyes is the laughter of Indra and his coterie of demigods who have watched me making a fool of myself while I thought I was living the perfect life. If you ever really loved me, Mena, Menaka, whoever you are . . . don’t show me your face ever again.’
He took a deep breath and said, ‘And when you reach Swarg, tell Indra your actions have only served to revive my determination . . . and this time, it’s war.’
Adhyaye 30
Vishwamitra had not come out of his stupor for more than a day now.
He was furious at Menaka for betraying his trust and livid with himself for letting his craving for love overpower his mental faculties. Having stayed alone for so many years, he had started to yearn for someone’s company and her arrival had fulfilled an unmet need, making him believe he had found his soulmate.
Her confession had shattered his heart into a million pieces and he felt foolish and used. And now, he would have to begin the difficult task of mending. He could not stay at this place even a moment longer for everything around reminded him of her.
The floor was still decorated with rangolis made by her delicate hands and he could almost imagine her sitting there, a vision in off-white, drawing patterns on the floor and filling them with different colours. The cooking pot still contained the kheer she had prepared and he realized she must have meant to give it to him after sharing the news about the baby.
Oh, how he missed her right now! That she had wronged him was undeniable but was his reaction justified? He had kicked her out of their house on the day she had told him she was carrying his child. He felt remorse tear at him and stood up to go and look for her but then reality hit him.
She had just been a pawn in the hands of Indra, and even if he took her back, his heart would never be able to trust her the way it did earlier.
How many mornings had he watched her face glow as the golden rays of sunlight teased her eyelids open? Her shapely arms would stretch towards him but he would deliberately stay out of their reach, tempting her, tormenting her when he himself wanted nothing more than to fall into her embrace.
So many winters they had spent cuddled together in the bed, making love again and again under the pretext of giving each other warmth. Summers had been spent frolicking in the waters of the small river by his ashram, watching flamingoes turn the estuary pink when they visited from the northern countries.
How could he forget her pearly giggles when she was happy and the way her red-rimmed eyes looked at him when he unknowingly upset her! He longed now for their arguments and invariable reconciliations, their longin
g and loving, their verbal play and physical intimacy. While she played the veena, he would give her company using makeshift drums and they had spent many a rainy evening practising inside.
And now, his life seemed deathly silent, bereft of all music. He suddenly felt the need to check on her condition and focused his energies on locating her. Soon images started to swirl in his mind and he caught flashes of what had happened to her since he had thrown her out, starting from her limping out from the ashram in a semi-dazed condition.
He saw her taking refuge in the nearby grove where she was received by some forest spirits, followed by a vision of her belly swelling and then a flash of brightness when she delivered the baby. He was surprised; how could she deliver so soon! But then he remembered that Menaka was not human and concluded that perhaps her body followed a different gestation cycle. He tried to focus on the baby, her daughter . . . his daughter . . . the most angelic child he had seen in his life!
He wished he could touch her face, hold her in his arms but by that time he had already moved to the next vision which was disturbing. He saw Menaka leaving the baby at the ashram of Rishi Kanav who lived further inland. Vishwamitra’s anger resurfaced and he cursed her for coming into his life. Why couldn’t she take the baby with her? With a start he realized that perhaps the baby would cause her to lose her market value! How completely heartless these aliens were; if he had his way he would never ever let a single one of them step on Earth ever!
He felt sorry for the child, abandoned by her own mother and father, and felt remorse for not being there for her. He was relieved by the next vision which showed the baby being taken in by the kind sage and his wife who were alerted to her presence by the shakunt birds of the ashram. With all the yogic energy he had amassed within himself, he blessed his daughter with a future that she truly deserved. She would have a good upbringing, a wonderful life partner and an illustrious son who would unite all the kingdoms of Nabhivarsh and change its destiny forever by giving it a new name. What his own sons may not be able to accomplish, his daughter’s son would achieve in the future.
Vishwamitra Page 14