Vishwamitra

by Vineet Aggarwal

  Vishwamitra read the thoughts coursing through the king’s mind and said, ‘I shall help you achieve your aspirations, Rajan, for I myself do not believe in the limitations set by Indra and his cronies regarding what a human being can or cannot attain in this mortal form.’

  Satyavrat’s voice trembled as he said, ‘My lord, I do not know who you are, yet I believe every single word you say. I have propitiated the gods with various rituals and reigned over my subjects conscientiously. All my life, I have given alms to the needy and the obligatory appreciation to the gurus. Yet, when I asked for a boon, my mentors cursed me with such a deformity!’ His voice choked with emotion and he took a pause to calm himself.

  Then with folded hands he said to the rishi who had come like a messiah into his life, ‘My lord, please know that if you help fulfil my last wish, I shall not have anything to repay you with. I have renounced my kingdom and have no claim to any property or riches that I can share with you. The only thing I possess is my body that you have so mercifully restored and I, Suryavanshi King Satyavrat, descendant of the great Ikshvaku himself, promise to remain your devoted servant all my life.’

  Vishwamitra put his hands on the king’s shoulders and spoke in a way that soothed the mind of the tormented king, ‘Rajan, I do not require any servants nor do I wish to reduce someone of your stature to a mere page boy. I, Vishwamitra, the son of Kadhi and the erstwhile scion of Chandravansh, shall help you fulfil your ambition even if it means sacrificing all my yogic powers in return.’

  Satyavrat’s eyes split wide open for he had not realized till now who his benefactor was!

  The legendary ruler of Mahodayapur who had obtained divine military technology and almost breached the boundaries of Kosal was now willing to act on his behalf, putting his hard-earned powers at stake. He prostrated himself on the ground, touching his head to the dust on the rishi’s feet.

  Vishwamitra made him rise and asked him to get ready for the biggest transformation of his life, realizing that this was the opportunity he had been waiting for all these years. His earlier encounter with Vasishth had been an impassioned act of revenge. This time, it would be a well-thought-out act of not just settling scores but exacting justice.

  Adhyaye 34

  Securing Satyavrat a position in heaven was easier said than done.

  For starters, such an undertaking had never been attempted and there were no clues in the scriptures as to how it could be managed. Vishwamitra knew he would have to rely on his creativity and intuition and fabricate new spells to achieve this objective.

  He knew Brahmarishis and their offspring sometimes travelled to Swarg but he had heard of no human ever going there before; except maybe Pururavas who was invited by Indra himself. The only way a human could reach heaven was if they earned enough good Karma, and that too after discarding these gross bodies.

  He realized that he would first of all have to create a protective shell around the king so that his body was not damaged on its journey to heaven. The layer of protection would have to allow the king to breathe and perform other bodily functions normally as well as prevent him from burning up like a meteor in the atmosphere of Swarg at the time of entry.

  From the in-depth knowledge he now had of the universe, he knew that sound was a form of energy and he planned to utilize the oscillations of pressure in the sound waves and convert them into an electric shield that would form a spacesuit for Satyavrat. But to achieve that conversion, he would need a transducer and, as he wandered around the ashram, he came upon the perfect choice.

  The locals grew a lot of sugar cane at the edge of the forest and he realized that the sugar in them could act as the perfect piezoelectric substance!

  Using his newly acquired magical skills, he managed to fashion his own personal Brahmadand from it. The memories of how the same instrument, in the hands of Vasishth, had defeated his Divya Astras haunted him, and he thought it only fitting that his own innovative gadget would help him balance the score now.

  Besides creating a protective covering, he would also need a vehicle for Satyavrat’s interstellar travel, like the Pushpak that Kuber used. The lord of the north, however, was a close associate of Indra and would never let him study the design of his vehicle. And he was not sure if the other space engineer he knew of, the Asur Maiy, would be of any help either. Widely recognized as the best viman maker in the three worlds, Maiy was after all an Asur, and both the Devas as well as his kind considered humans inferior and would never come to Satyavrat’s aid.

  What if he could provide the king his own siddhi that allowed him to travel between worlds? But that meant he himself would have to forsake it forever. No, he had to come up with some other alternative.

  How about tapping a natural wormhole that existed between the solar system and the galactic centre? He knew a portal existed at the very centre of the Milky Way that connected to Swarg. If he could somehow utilize that, Satyavrat could reach Swarg using a hyperspatial jump within a matter of seconds.

  Listing out the probable problems helped him find the potential solutions and, after thrashing out all possibilities, he began preparations for this never-tried-before ritual. He remembered that the Gayatri Mantra he had discovered could turn matter into energy and vice versa and knew that if he could but use it properly, he would be able to achieve his objective, however difficult it seemed right now.

  While he meditated, formulating new mantras, Satyavrat diligently worked to make the hermitage fit enough to conduct a sacrifice. The king, who had never lifted a finger to even clean his own bed, began clearing the ashram of excessive vegetation and followed up by collecting sufficient amounts of offerings so that the ritual would not have to be interrupted midway.

  They toiled in their own ways, bonded by a mutual wish to help each other and, after a few days, a sort of friendship sprang between the two. In the evenings, they would sit together over supper, the Suryavanshi king sharing his life story with the Chandravanshi hermit-king who in turn would tell him the tales from his own life.

  Both their dynasties had begun in the faraway mists of time when Vaivasvat Manu, the eldest offspring of the sun god, had sired nine sons and a daughter. While his sons, including Satyavrat’s ancestor Ikshvaku, had given rise to the solar dynasty, Manu’s daughter Ila had proceeded to marry Budha, the son of the moon god, and given birth to the lunar dynasty.

  Vishwamitra was the thirteenth in his lineage while Satyavrat was the twenty-seventh. They discussed this apparent mismatch between their generations and came to the conclusion that the Chandravansh must have begun much later than the Suryavansh.

  To give him confidence, Vishwamitra decided to discuss his plans with Satyavrat, telling him exactly how he planned to execute this impossible feat and the king marvelled at the ingenuity of his new preceptor. He had revered Vasishth and his guidance throughout his kingship but now he had a feeling that this raj-rishi may well turn out to be even superior to the Brahmarishi in his spiritual accomplishments.

  Vishwamitra had calculated astrological alignments to check the best possible time for the opening of the wormhole and he planned to start the yagnya twenty-four hours before that muhurat to make sure Satyavrat’s protective gear was in place before he entered hyperspace.

  On the appointed day, both of them took a dip in the Kaushiki, chanting prayers to Ganesh, the remover of obstacles, who was not a part of Indra’s coterie. Vishwamitra knew the multitude of gods and goddesses residing in Swarg would never help him and hence he had warned the king not to waste any time remembering them. He realized, though, that the ritual still depended on one Deva, Agni, but trusted him not to defy Brahma’s orders of being a friend to all species of life irrespective of his personal opinion about them. All this was, however, kept out of any outsider’s vision by a veil of invisibility that Vishwamitra had spread around the ashram for he did not want the meddling Devas to send their minions to disrupt his procedure.

  Their prayers completed, both of them stepped out of the wate
r in the inky-blue darkness of predawn and came to sit beside the yagnya vedi that had been prepared earlier. The sacred fire was lit using arani wood and, as the sun rose upon the horizon, Vishwamitra poured the first offering to Shri Hari Vishnu, requesting His support in this endeavour, just as the lord had helped Brahma in the beginning of creation.

  As the fire grew in intensity, both the participants began chanting verses for Shiva, the primeval purush whose union with Shakti had made possible the coming together of matter and energy in this universe. They then paid tribute to Brahma, the maker of all living beings including Manavs, Danavs and Devas, reminding the Creator that all of them were equally his progeny.

  Once the holy trinity had been appeased, Vishwamitra prayed to Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, to bless them with success; Kali, to remove all obstacles from his path; and finally Brahma’s consort Saraswati, focusing on her aspect as Gayatri.

  He thought of the goddess as his own personal discovery; out of the millions that populated this planet, she had chosen to become visible only to him. As the day progressed, he methodically kept fusing hymns he had borrowed from the Kalpa Sutra with the powerful Gayatri beej mantra, resulting in verses that were not mere words but powerful spells that possessed the power to alter physical reality.

  The piezoelectric effect of these verses gave rise to crackling blue electrical energy on the Brahmadand and Vishwamitra kept diverting it towards Satyavrat’s body, forming a high-voltage layer of protection around the king as he stood transfixed by the miracle that was unfolding in front of his eyes.

  Even though it surrounded him completely, the electrical charge did not come in contact with the king’s skin and he could move his limbs and breathe and speak without any restriction. The only limitation he faced was in ingesting a new substance into his body because the protective shield would not let any external substance, material or otherwise, affect his body.

  Vishwamitra told him that his novel spacesuit would last for at least another twenty-four hours, which was enough time for him to enter the environs of Swarg and become accustomed to it. Thereafter, the energy of Swarg’s sun would recharge it allowing it to keep renewing itself till such time as Satyavrat felt he could do without it.

  The process went on for close to six prahers and Vishwamitra knew the time for opening the portal was close. He had managed to locate the wormhole that would help Satyavrat travel to Swarg within minutes, if not seconds, and he needed to tap into its opening at the opportune moment. The fact that he could also utilize the same sometime in the future did not escape him.

  It was the last praher of night, yet the otherwise pitch-dark jungle glowed with a supernatural light. Satyavrat was bathed in his protective gear even though its intense light did not inconvenience him inside the shell. Hungry flames leapt to the sky while Vishwamitra kept pouring oblations, channelling Agni’s energy into the creation of the portal through which Satyavrat would access the space tunnel.

  His face glowed with the warmth of the sacred fire and shadows flickered around him as the flames changed shapes. As the auspicious muhurat approached, Vishwamitra signalled to the king to get ready and Satyavrat waited in anticipation.

  Within seconds, the space behind him began to shimmer and an oblong, undulating doorway appeared in the emptiness. He gulped nervously and hoped the rishi knew what he was doing, for the alternative would either fry him in the heat of the sun or, worse still, freeze him in the coldness of outer space.

  Vishwamitra’s entire concentration was focused on keeping the portal open so he gestured with his hand for the king to enter as soon as possible. The king had come so far that he had no option but to trust his benefactor and believe in his capabilities. He bowed low to the rishi and, taking a deep breath, stepped into the doorway to the other world.

  Finally the moment of reckoning had arrived.

  Adhyaye 35

  Satyavrat’s body hurtled through a dark tunnel and it seemed to him that his very organs were being turned inside out.

  Even though he knew, or rather believed, that his body would not be hurt in this process, yet he wasn’t sure how his mind would react to it. It was one thing to know the theory of the principle but completely another to experience it first-hand.

  What if Vishwamitra had miscalculated the distance or the route of the journey? He had a sinking feeling of not finding any object to grip in this weightlessness and getting lost in the surrounding vacuum. He prayed fervently to the holy trinity to save him from bumping into a passing asteroid or being incinerated within the core of a sun.

  The journey to the galactic centre lasted half a muhurat but to Satyavrat it seemed like a lifetime had passed before he switched tunnels and then abruptly landed at the pearly gates of Amravati, the capital city of Swarg. He took stock of his surroundings and steadied himself. Because of the protective shield his body had remained completely unharmed and he could breathe properly even in this alien land. He looked at the huge glittering postern in front of him and noticed two very tall creatures guarding it.

  As he approached the door, the creature on his left raised a hand to halt his progress. The king looked around and gradually became aware of the entire perimeter being guarded by more such beings. They had bodies similar to humans except for an extra pair of limbs sprouting from the midriff in each of which they held an intricate weapon. They wore black armour that glinted in the bright light of Swarg’s two suns.

  Swarg had two suns!

  Satyavrat had never imagined it possible for two suns to bathe a planet with their light but now he knew how it looked. His energy shield protected him from the brilliance of their beams and he could see that one of them was reddish in appearance and gave off a warm radiance that gave Swarg its characteristic glow.

  The creature was now face-to-face with the king even though it towered above him by more than two feet. Satyavrat did not know how to communicate with it. In some cultures people liked to hug or shake hands or nod in acknowledgement or bow from the waist but he knew of other cultures where such gestures were considered offensive.

  Finally, he settled for a namaskar which was the least aggressive posture he knew and was least likely to be misconstrued for it involved no sudden thrusting forward of arms or baring of teeth or invading the other person’s personal space. Apparently it worked, for the creature nodded in acknowledgement.

  As the guard came closer, he got a feeling that he was being scanned from tip to toe and felt a little uncomfortable. Satyavrat hadn’t thought much about what he would do or how he would approach things once he reached heaven and he realized he should have planned a little before coming here. The thought of reaching Swarg itself had seemed almost impossible and consumed most of his days, hence he had not even bothered to think about the finer details.

  Now that he was here he had to improvise so he said to the guard with whatever confidence he could muster, ‘I am Suryavanshi Satyavrat, the son of Tryaruni and the descendant of Ikshvaku. I am here to visit Indra, the king of the gods.’

  The guard registered his response and nodded. After all guests were not unheard of in Swarg but it had not received any intimation of the arrival of this one. It had checked the antecedents of the guest with the database in its mind and it matched with the DNA of the person before it.

  It said in a toneless voice, ‘Greetings, king of Ayodhya. Your presence has been intimated to the royal court and someone should be here to welcome you shortly. May I request you to wait here till that time?’

  Satyavrat felt relieved for his first exchange with a Swarg dweller, even if just a guard, had gone off smoothly. He nodded in agreement and was pointed towards another gate that seemed to have materialized on his left.

  He entered the doorway gingerly, for the gravitational force here seemed stronger than Earth and he had to put in effort to lift his legs. As he slowly stepped inside, he saw a signboard telling him that he was in Nandanvana, Indra’s fabled garden where wish-fulfilling trees grew. The air was crisp and fr
esh and the breeze carried the heady aroma of parijat flowers that he knew could grow only in the pure environment of heaven.

  He spotted fountains of sparkling water and stooped to take a little water in his palm but, as soon as he touched it, his energy shield repelled the alien matter. Satyavrat realized his folly and desisted from touching anything else, strolling around the multicoloured trees that glittered with jewels and seemed to extend right up to Brahmalok.

  He was marvelling at how high they seemed to have grown even in this enhanced gravity when his contemplation was disturbed by the sound of marching footsteps. He turned around and what he saw made his eyes pop out in panic.

  A team of guards was walking towards him, their extended weapons clearly marking him as the target. Behind them walked a Deva even taller than them, looking both incredulous and angry at the same time.

  Satyavrat had never imagined that the first Deva he would face in Swarg would be Indra himself, for he was more than sure that this being who marched determinedly towards him was none other than Shakra.

  The scriptures described most celestials and he matched the portrayal of a red-faced angry young god with a superb physique and handsome features, dressed in fine clothing and accessories. And for confirmation Satyavrat needed to look no farther than at the weapon the being held in his right hand—it was the fabled Vajra!

  This was the dreaded weapon that Shakra had used to kill Vritra, the terrible dragon who had siphoned off all water from Earth, forcing its creatures to die of thirst and famine. Shakra had bested the beast, destroying his ninety-nine fortresses, and earned the epithet of Purandar. Reaching the inner cavern, he had finally slain the mighty dragon using this weapon that was considered invincible and Satyavrat now dreaded his fate.

  As the guards moved closer in a tight circle, Shakra glared at him scornfully. He paced around the king, still not believing that a human had managed to land in Swarg without his knowledge and permission!