‘No, my lord. I don’t feel you have failed as a husband. But what makes you get involved in adulterous relations with other women? What makes you so angry that you give the command to kill someone’s innocent husband? What makes you so proud that you don’t value anyone’s sentiments any more?’
‘You’re right. I may come across as cruel and insensitive, but I feel like conquering more than ever before—even if it is beauty in the form of a woman.’
‘The elixir you consumed is responsible for every change in you, my lord.’
‘Don’t blame the elixir! Can’t you see the power of that potion? The healing ability of my skin has increased tremendously. In a few years, I’ll stop ageing. No other asura on this earth has held nectar in their body before. No one else was successful in producing amrita the way I was.’
‘But, of course, my lord, I blame that so-called amrita you produced. It is nothing but a poison in you—it may give you a long life, my lord, but it is has taken away the very essence of your character.’
‘Whether you blame the elixir I created or you blame me, in any case it is a part of me now. And I don’t have any alternative but to live with it. I accept your charges, my queen, because you made me realize that my actions are not ethical. And as your husband, I promise I will be careful about my actions.’
‘Promise me, my lord, that you will do nothing to destroy the faith that your people and family have placed in you.’
‘I promise you, Mandodari. I promise you with all my love for you.’
The surgery and the use of nectar was kept a secret from everyone except close family members. The people who were aware of it were Mata Kaikesi, Vibhishana, Kumbakarna, the vaidyas who performed the surgery and I. Soon, Dashaanan continued on his journey of exploring other lands looking for possible allies. As promised, Dashaanan controlled his temper and for a few weeks we went on with our lives as usual.
Kumbakarna visited Dashaanan to congratulate him for his success in producing the nectar. He also instigated Dashaanan to put himself to a robust test by challenging their perpetual rival—Indra of Amravati—to a duel. Kumbakarna’s grandfather-in-law, Virochana, was defeated and killed in battle by Indra. Since then Kumbakarna had wanted to defeat Indra and take revenge. There was no end to Dashaanan’s aspirations. Together with his brother, he planned to challenge Indra. The next day, I got news that he had already left for Amravati.
He returned after two weeks and met me as soon as he landed. The victory melody was played by musicians as an indication that Dashaanan had been triumphant. I could see it clearly written on his face. After their battle, when Dashaanan detained Indra, Prajapati Brahma sent his disciples to request Indra’s release. Although Dashaanan’s arrogance was at its peak, he released Indra on Brahma’s request.
The inebriated feeling of victory kept Dashaanan thrilled for a few days. His ego was satisfied. Kumbakarna was pompous about it too. A few days later, Dev Rishi Narad came to meet Dashaanan. This son of Brahma’s was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. It was believed that he could travel to distant worlds and realms. He was known for being dishonest, but nobody stopped him from entering any court, meeting, celebration or sacrifice.
Mata Kaikesi welcomed him at court and offered him a seat close to Dashaanan’s asana. Although I had heard a lot of anecdotes about him from Mai, this was the first time I was seeing him in flesh.
Dashaanan entered the court and greeted Narad by bowing low. Rishi Narad responded by bowing lower and Dashaanan was surprised.
‘Don’t be surprised, Lankesh. People of the three worlds are talking about you,’ said Narad Muni, and Dashaanan’s heart swelled with pride.
‘Good to see you, dev rishi. Tell me, what is the purpose of your surprise visit today?’
‘I came to congratulate you on your victory, Lankesh. I heard how you defeated Indra. He was terrified for days,’ Narad Muni said with appreciation in his voice.
‘I am grateful for your appreciation, dev rishi. It has been quite a few days since that incident,’ replied Dashaanan.
‘Oh, I am aware, Lankesh. And I would have come sooner to congratulate you.’ Narad Muni smiled silently.
‘So what delayed your visit, dev muni?’ asked Dashaanan.
‘Well, I was delayed by a vanara.’ said Narad Muni.
Dashaanan looked at him in surprise, ‘A vanara?’
‘Yes, Lankesh, I was on an excursion near the region of Kiskinda and this vanara named Vali, who happens to be the king of Kiskinda, insisted that I stay there as his guest so he could talk about his adventures. I told him I was on my way to meet you but I was surprised when he said he hadn’t heard of you.’
Vanara was a forest-dwelling tribe headed by humans that included apes and monkeys of the forest too. The monkeys and apes were trained by the male head of the humans. Men of the vanara tribe proudly displayed monkey-like characteristics in their clothing and habitations.
‘You say that the vanara hadn’t heard of me?’ asked Dashaanan.
‘Oh, I was surprised too, Lankesh. Everyone around the three worlds is talking about your valour and victory over Indra but this mighty vanara seemed too proud of himself.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Yes, Lankesh, he has fought and won many battles alone. And he is famous for his boon too.’
‘What kind of boon, dev muni?’
‘That anyone who fights Vali in single combat would lose half of his strength to him. He is invincible to any enemy.’
Dashaanan was stunned to hear that. He didn’t blink and kept staring in the distance; various thoughts were running through his mind.
‘Lankesh . . .’ Narad Muni called out, ‘What are you thinking about?’
‘Where did you say this vanara lives, dev muni?’
‘In the Kiskinda region of Bharatvarsh. He has an army of monkeys. And do you want to know who Vali’s father is?’
Dashaanan nodded.
‘None other than Dev Raj Indra!’ said Narad Muni.
Dashaanan rose from his asana. ‘Vali, son of Indra! And you say he doesn’t know what happened with Indra recently?’
‘I am not sure, Lankesh. Or he must have heard about it but he doesn’t care much. As I said, he is too brave and too proud.’
I was not sure if Dev Rishi Narad’s purpose of visiting Lanka was to simply congratulate Dashaanan or if he wanted to sow the seeds of wrath in his mind. I remained seated as I didn’t want to interfere in their conversation and face Dashaanan’s anger.
‘Well, dev rishi, in that case, this vanara should hear about me soon,’ claimed Dashaanan.
Narad Muni smiled, ‘What do you plan on doing, Lankesh?’
‘I am not sure now. But very soon he will learn about me.’ Dashaanan’s voice echoed.
‘I shall take your leave now, Lankesh. Narayan Narayan!’ said Narad Muni and left.
SIX
Dashaanan was fighting unrest within himself after Dev Rishi Narad’s visit. The thought of the vanara kept him awake for nights. Then one day, he took his vimana and flew towards Kiskinda to challenge Vali in combat.
He returned after several days. When he stepped out of his vimana, he was limping on his left leg. He had scars on his face and arms. He looked dreadful. The guards took him to his chambers and his injuries were well-tended to. I didn’t allow anyone to meet Dashaanan till he had completely healed.
‘My lord, what took you so many days to return?’ I asked.
‘You know I was in Kiskinda.’
‘Yes, what happened? How did you get injured?’
‘When I landed at Kiskinda at sunset, I saw a huge moving rock at a distance in the river. I walked towards the river and learnt that that rock was actually a vanara. He was none other than Vali. I misunderstood the brown hair on his body for a rock. He facing the west, saying his evening prayers. When he came out of the water, I introduced myself and challenged him to a duel.’
Dashaanan went quiet suddenly.
‘What happened nex
t, my lord?’ I asked him.
‘That vanara paid no attention to my challenge. Instead, he smiled at me and said, “Go back to where you came from or else I will crush that vimana you flew into my kingdom.” I got angry and attacked his tail first. I thought his tail was probably the weakest part of his body and I could drag him with it. But when I tried lifting his tail, to my surprise, I couldn’t move it at all. He got angry and coiling his tail around my body, locked my arms and threw me into the river. I have never been insulted like this before, and that too by a vanara!’
His eyes went red while he narrated the incident. I felt sorry for him. He had allowed himself to get carried away with his recent fame and had gone after that vanara unarmed and without any royal guards, merely to show off his courage.
‘I got up again. With all my strength, I ran towards him and tried lifting his legs to make him fall on the ground. Once again he coiled his tail around me, lifted me and dropped me on the ground forcefully. The third time I went close to him, he tied me up for an entire night. I tried to get out but in vain. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even release my hands. He waited for me to give up. This took all night and soon it was time for sunrise.
‘“You don’t look like an ordinary person. Who are you? Where do you come from?” he asked. I introduced myself again and he simply nodded.
‘He then invited me to stay in his palace as a guest for one day. “Lankapati Ravana, you have fought with all your strength today. I respect you for that. If you wish to challenge me again, then I suggest you stay in my palace as my guest for a day. After all, you are a king too and I would like to give you a welcome in my kingdom. Take proper rest, eat and sleep for a night. We shall combat again tomorrow.”
‘I was tired but I wanted to challenge him again. So, I had no choice but to accept his invitation.’
‘You accepted his invitation?’ The whole incident was sounding a little strange to me. How could Dashaanan have lost against a vanara and why did he accept the enemy’s invitation?
Dashaanan looked at me and said, ‘I was amazed that someone in a battle situation could invite his enemy over to his palace. He was mighty, courageous and also very hospitable. Even though I lost in combat, he treated me with great respect as a king would treat another.’
‘But, my lord, I thought you were blessed with absolute invincibility. Prajapati Brahma blessed you with that boon. Then how could you lose against a vanara?’
‘I thought about the same thing the entire night. Then I realized that while asking for the boon from Brahma deva, I hadn’t ask for invincibility against any vanara. I never knew a vanara could be so powerful. I didn’t mention them because I didn’t think any vanara could stand a chance against me. You can call it my ego or my negligence,’ answered Dashaanan.
‘What happened the next day?’ I probed him.
‘The next day we started after dawn and the battle went on till sunset. I lost again. Finally, I concluded that I could not win over Vali. I had to put an end to our battle. I bowed and accepted his victory over me.’
It was unbelievable. Finally there was someone who could defeat Dashaanan! At first I felt bad that my husband had lost in battle against a vanara. It took him time to overcome the despair of his defeat. He was upset that his boon of invincibility was incomplete and that his entire tapasya had been somewhat worthless. But later I realized that the incident had made him wiser than before.
‘Vali offered his friendship to me. I accepted, not because he defeated me, but because he was exceptionally courageous and generous at the same time. There was no alliance this time, but in future I may offer him that too. I couldn’t win the battle but I won his friendship,’ said Dashaanan.
‘My lord, this incident with Vali has brought about some good changes in you. I have never seen this side of your personality before.’
‘I don’t know if the changes are good or bad but I am glad I encountered someone more powerful than I. I was under the impression that I was invincible, and this encourages me to improve myself more.’
Soon Dashaanan became occupied with research work. Then one day, Shardula, a spy of Lanka, reported with news at the court. Dashaanan had appointed several emissary spies to ensure the safety of his immediate family and also to gather information in case of any threat to the kingdom from outside forces. This time the news was concerning his sister Meenakshi. She had reportedly secretly married Vidyutjihva, a danava prince of the Kalkeya clan of which he was the head. Kalkeyas were Lanka’s avowed enemies since ages, and Dashaanan was furious to learn of his sister’s involvement with his enemy.
Dashaanan commanded his guards to present Meenakshi and Vidyutjihva in front of the court. He blamed the women of the family for being negligent.
‘Mata Kaikesi, can you explain how Meenakshi met the danava prince? Had you no idea about her secret marriage? And Mandodari, surely your supervision of the queen’s palace needs more focus. With so many women around, you have to know their whereabouts! Bhabhi Sarama and Bajrajala, you are equally responsible for what goes on in the palace. When Mandodari is occupied, can you not take over her responsibilities?’ he screamed at everyone and no one dared to answer him back.
‘My lord, we should give Meenakshi a chance to explain herself,’ I said in the softest tone possible.
‘What explanation? That she is young and got carried away? She has proved she is a fool!’ screamed Dashaanan.
‘Calm down, my lord. Perhaps she loves him? And what can we do if she is married now? We have to accept him as her husband.’
‘I will not accept him . . . come what may.’
‘Don’t say such words, my lord. I request you to forgive your sister. It is possible that she may have been scared that you would reject her decision.’
‘I cannot forgive them!’ declared Dashaanan and stormed out angrily.
Mata Kaikesi and I tried our best to convince him. At last, he agreed to forgive them and accepted their marriage because of the affection he had for her. However, he was still angry with her husband for getting married secretly without taking the consent of our family.
The next day Meenakshi and Vidyutjihva were presented at court. Meenakshi fell at Dashaanan’s feet, seeking his apology.
‘Bhrata Dashaanan, forgive me if I have hurt you. I have done nothing wrong . . . ’
‘You may not have done anything wrong, but you have certainly done it the wrong way,’ said Dashaanan.
Still sounding offended, he turned towards her husband and said, ‘Kalkeya kumar, if you have the courage to marry my sister, you should have shown the courage to face me and ask for her hand in marriage. I would have appreciated your bravery. Not only that, I would have happily given her to you, even forgetting the fact that our families have never really got along very well. Because of my affection for her, I accept you as a member of my family. But I will never forget that you have an evil mind that brainwashed my sister into doing something against her family’s wishes. In Lanka, you will henceforth be known as Dushtabuddhi.’
Meenakshi looked upset by the new name given to her husband but refrained from saying anything.
Dashaanan took a sea voyage to monitor the progress of the other islands ruled by him. In a way, he wanted to escape the ongoing turmoil over his sister’s marriage. Any sea voyage would usually take around a month or more before he returned. I was concerned about him this time. He had left abruptly without saying much.
One night I woke up, suddenly feeling very worried about him. I hadn’t had a nightmare but something had made me restless the whole night. The next day my uneasiness increased and I was sure it had something to do with my husband. I met Nanashri to talk about Dashaanan’s absence.
‘Nanashri, a month has passed and there is no news of Lankeshwar’s exact whereabouts.’
‘I understand your concern, Mandodari, but Dashaanan should be fine. He is travelling towards the east of Bharatvarsh to meet with one of our allies. He might also meet his Mama Marichan an
d cousins. Don’t worry,’ he assured me.
‘Still, I insist you send a few guards to ensure his safety. I have never felt this way before. I am afraid Lankeshwar is in some kind of trouble,’ I added.
‘We are talking about Ravana here—the mighty emperor who scared Indra with his supremacy. He is in no trouble. But if you insist, I will send a group of guards and a spy for his safety.’
Nanashri sent a few guards off to sea with a message for Dashaanan. I was growing restless with each passing day. I started seeing visions of a young woman standing inside my chambers. She was dressed in tree barks; her hair half matted like a yogini. She would keep staring at me as if she wanted to communicate. I was scared that my lack of sleep was resulting in such hallucinations. In a few days, thankfully, my visions discontinued.
Shardula, the chief spy and other guards reported back after some days. Nanashri summoned me to a restricted area below the court where most confidential matters were discussed. He was accompanied by the leader of the guards. He looked tense.
‘Rani Mandodari, thank you for joining us on such short notice,’ said Nanashri.
‘Is everything all right, Nanashri? Did Lankesh send any message with our guards?’
‘Lankesh will be back in a few days. Apparently, the guards have some news for us . . . ’
‘What is it? Did you meet Lankeshwar or not?’ I asked Shardula.
‘I did meet him. He said he will be back in a few days and commanded me to return. He has sent no message,’ answered Shardula nervously.
‘Then what news did you want to give me? Where did you find him? Is he all right?’
‘He is all right. However, he has encountered some misfortune while he was on his way to the east of Bharatvarsh. After meeting his uncle, Marichan, he had landed his vimana in the forest of Pushkara to find some water. There he happened to meet Vedavati, who was deeply meditating near a river. She was the daughter of Brahmarishi Kusadhvaja. It is believed that Vedavati set herself on fire because of Lankeshwar.’
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