He approached one of the women of the gurukul. She had radiant skin, a slender body, and big, playful eyes. She held her neck and back erect, attracting attention to her slim midriff and navel. Her arms were toned, and one could tell from her movements that she had a flexible body due to the regular practice of yoga. She had long, black hair, wore a short, knee-length skirt made from cotton over her slim legs, and a cloth tied around her breasts. She also wore copper anklets. She appeared busy with her chores.
“Namaste,” Angad said politely. His voice came out little hoarse. “I am Angad, a Vanara, the prince of Kishkindha,” he continued.
“Namaste visitor. I am Savi, a student at the gurukul,” she said in a leveled tone, pushing locks of hair behind her right ear. Looking at him, she continued, “Per my guru’s instructions, we need to provide visitors with any help they may need. Do you need anything?”
“My friends and I would like to pay our respects to Agastya Muni,” Angad tried hard to focus on the conversation rather than looking at her pretty oval face.
“He has not returned from his visit to the neighboring kingdom yet. You may see him tomorrow. It will be dark soon, would you and your friends like to rest in the guest quarters?” She pointed to the huts some distance from the main cluster at the gurukul.
The forest around the guest quarters was cleared, giving a direct view of the rooms, preventing any surprise moves. The guest quarters had a small wooden fence to protect it from beasts. The fence around the gurukul was much stronger and taller. The entire path between the guest quarters and the main gurukul was well lit with torches. Angad was thinking about the offer when a Vanara came running toward him.
“Nal built a comfortable bed for the Muni. We have enough food and water. Prince Angad, let us have dinner,” the Vanara informed him. “Unless you want to stay in the guest quarters,” he added mischievously.
“Very well, we will see you tomorrow then,” Angad said to the lady, trying to catch one more glimpse before turning away. His steps back to the Vanara camp did not have the same spring as before.
Back at the makeshift camp, everyone ate. One of the Vanara played flute by the bonfire. Another got his drum out and started playing a melody. The combination of the flute playing the softer, feminine raagini with a quartertone variation and the male raaga, conveyed a deeper meaning to the music.
Another Vanara told the story of a great warrior, Parshuram, who killed all the arrogant kings who mistreated the common man. The dancer employed skillful use of hand gestures, limb movements, movement of eyes and cheeks, speed, intensity, and patterns to convey the story quite vividly.
“You are good students of the Natya Veda,” remarked Ashthvakra. A prahar period of three hours had passed after the sunset. Everyone was getting sleepy.
“I am too tired… going to sleep—not my turn to keep guard!” Neel said. “Everyone can sleep. Angad is wide awake thinking about the lady anyway. He will keep guard,” he joked. Everybody burst into laughter.
“Be respectful, she is your future queen,” a Vanara said.
“She looks like one,” another commented. Angad did not protest the bantering as he was enjoying the thought of being together with the lady.
Hanuman was seated by the Muni. They were looking at the night sky. He wondered about the stars, the planets, the constellations, their movements, and how time was kept using these movements. Hanuman remembered his mother telling him about the extra month in that year.
“What is a leap month?” Hanuman asked.
The Muni explained, “There are thirty lunar days in a month. The moon takes 27.3 days to complete a trip around Earth, but the Earth also moves during this time. Thus, from Earth, the moon appears at the same phase, one new moon to the next, in an average of 29.5 days. We use twenty-seven stars, such as Chitra, or group of stars, such as Krittika, as a reference to describe the position of sun, moon, and comets. A moon-year is twenty nine and a half days time twelve, which equals three hundred fifty four and thirty six hundredths days.
“A sun-year is when Earth completes one round around the sun, and the sun appears at the same location as seen from Earth. That takes 365.25 days. Thus, the difference between moon and sun year is 10.892 days. In an average of two years and 8.5 months, this difference is around thirty days. Hence, we add a leap month every three years or so to bring sun and moon calendars in harmony.”
“Wow! That is very elegant and smart,” said Hanuman. He then remembered that it was his turn to keep guard. “It is my turn, please get some sleep, oh wise one,” Hanuman requested the Muni.
Ashthvakra laid down on the bed that Nal had put together for him using the available supplies.
“You be careful Hanuman,” warned the Muni.
The fire was dying by now. Hanuman added some logs to the fire to keep it going. He climbed a tree to keep guard over his sleeping friends. He noticed there were guards at the nearby gurukul too. Their torches were lit, and they were carrying bows, arrows, swords, and spears. Hanuman’s thoughts went back to the man-eating Rakshas he had killed that day. The Rakshas’ last breath left his body as his windpipe was crushed under Hanuman’s strong foot—his eyes popping out.
The Rakshas had let out a beastly cry before he fell on the dusty ground below. There was regret in his eyes that he did not fight well.
Three more prahars had passed. Hanuman was resting as his turn for keeping guard was over. There was a cool breeze blowing. Everyone, including the guard, had dozed off. Ashthvakra was at the center of the camp. The strong Vanara, including Hanuman and Angad, were on the periphery. The smaller ones formed the inner circle. At pre-dawn, an arrow came whizzing from the direction of the gurukul toward the camp. It hit the tree above and fell, but did not land on anyone. Two more arrows were fired in the same way—one with fire on its head. The fiery arrow fell on a Vanara in the inner circle. He was awakened from sleep and suffered minor burns on his chest. He did not know what to make of it and decided to wake up Hanuman.
“Hanuman wake up, somebody fired this burning arrow!” the Vanara said as he shook Hanuman. Hanuman was up in a flash. He held his gada and looked around.
“Which way?” Hanuman whispered. The Vanara pointed to the gurukul. Hanuman woke up the guard with a whistle. He jumped on a tree and looked toward the gurukul. The gurukul was bustling with activity in the pre-dawn hour. Everyone was pointing toward the jungle.
The gurukul had fired a warning shot toward the camp to wake them up. The Rakshas’ raid to avenge the death of their brother was underway. The Rakshas were always looking for an opportunity to attack the Vanara and hermits, both of whom always sided with the humans. In addition, whatever weapons and other technologies were developed at the gurukuls were always shared first with humans, giving them an upper hand. The Rakshas thought they were treated unfairly because of the way they looked and behaved—unkempt and uncivilized due to their consumption of human meat. They consumed abundant amounts of hallucinates, did not pursue the arts, used too much violence, and showed no apparent respect for females. They had no respect for the knowledge contained in the Vedas either.
In their defense, they didn’t know there was anything wrong with their way of life, and believed there was no need to contain their basic instincts. The Rakshas in the raiding party were screeching and shouting. They were led by a female. She was known to be of unstable mind, but a fierce warrior. The Rakshas had their favorite weapons—hammer heads with sharp edges and large-bladed, saw-tooth swords. These were supplemented with big, sharp nails and extremely strong arms, useful in hand-to-hand combat. Some of them could jump high in the air as if flying.
At the camp, Hanuman woke everyone up. The Vanara had the stream behind them and the hermitage on one side. They were safe from those sides. Hanuman assumed the lead and Angad was assisting him. Nal and his friends uprooted some trees and placed them in heaps around the camp to force the hordes of enemy to break up. It was much easier to deal with individuals than with a group encircl
ing the Vanara fighters.
The fighters from the hermitage came out and formed a defensive perimeter around the gurukul. They employed concentric, Asanhata formation. The senior, and most experienced, student fighters were on the outside. It was their opportunity to put the knowledge and skill they had acquired from their guru to practical use and defend their gurukul. Their teacher had not yet returned. A small stockpile of special weapons was in the center hut. The teacher’s wife, and other female students, were stationed in the huts near the center. Female fighters with swords and daggers were guarding them.
One of the skilled archers from the gurukul fired ten arrows in rapid succession, two to three at a time, toward the Rakshas hordes. The arrows were meant to display the skills of the gurukul and serve as a warning not to mess with them. At the Vanara camp, Ashthvakra Muni was seated quietly at the center under the tree. The Vanara felt some kind of energy field around him. He could not be harmed. He closed his eyes for some time and visualized what was about to happen.
He called to Hanuman. “Bless you, oh brave, indestructible one. You and Angad take the fight to the enemy before they reach the camp and cause unnecessary deaths. These Vanara fighters are not trained soldiers, and as such, it is not their dharma. It is yours and the prince’s duty to protect the weak. Use the narrow pass that the enemy must cross. Do not worry, you will be successful.”
Hanuman and Prince Angad were fired up. They shouted the battle cry, “Jai Mahadev, victory to the Great God,” and took a long jump from a tall tree. They reached the narrow pass just as the Rakshas were getting ready to cross. Hanuman directly engaged the female Rakshas commanding the hordes. Whoever crossed the narrow pass was mercilessly slaughtered. Both of the young Vanara attacked with such ferocity, and broke skulls with such speed, that the Rakshas were stunned. The two Vanara were hitting the pressure points with force and precision, and the Rakshas were dying instantly. Between the two, they were moving methodically to block the enemy.
The female leader realized she was losing troops. In a desperate attempt to break the line held by the two Vanara, she jumped high and landed her sledgehammer directly on the young prince’s head. He managed to dodge the full force of the blow, but not completely, and broke his nose, gashed his eyes, lost his balance, and fell on a boulder with her on top of him. He broke his shin bones as well.
Hanuman noticed this and landed a fierce blow to the female’ s head, knocking her unconscious. Her troops flocked around her, lifted her, and retreated in a defensive formation. Hanuman lifted the prince in his arms. “We saved our friends,” the prince said smiling.
“You fought like a prince. I am privileged to fight by your side,” Hanuman said as he carried Angad in his arms back to the gurukul for treatment.
The entire gurukul saw the valor of the two Vanara. “Jai Mahadev!” they welcomed the young heroes. Angad was taken straight for treatment. He could not have chosen a better place to break bones. The gurukul was well known for medical know-how.
“Tie clean cotton cloth to stop the bleeding,” Savi shouted. In the absence of her teacher, she oversaw medical care. “Check for poisoning from the weapon, clean the wound, prepare for Nasika Salya Tantra or rhinoplasty using a forehead flap.” Then, she turned her gaze to the prince. “So, you are very fond of reckless adventures, are you?” Gone was the polite student from the evening before—here she was the surgeon in charge of her patient.
“Just doing my duty,” Angad replied, trying to hide his pain. His wounds were excruciating as the adrenaline of the battle subsided.
“Well, your nose is a mess. I need to fix it. Another surgeon will fix your broken shin bones. The good news is, you will not be completely blind, just one eye is damaged,” she said flatly.
Savi was nervous about performing her first solo surgery, but tried to put on a brave face. “Do not worry, you are in good hands. I have practiced this procedure many times.”
“Go over the procedure with me,” requested Angad.
“I will measure the portion of your nose with a leaf, cut the nasal stump with a knife, cut a piece of skin from your forehead in the desired shape, cover the nose with it, and a small pedicle will still be attached. Then, I will apply stitches and put tubes of castor oil plant in your nose. I will sprinkle lycorine, red sandalwood, barberry, cover it with cotton, then apply clean sesame oil,” she continued and recited the entire procedure.
Angad took a deep breath. She looked bewitchingly beautiful as she recited the procedure. He loved the hint of worry for him in her voice, and the nervous energy due to her first surgery. He slipped his hand around her waist, pulled her close with a strong jerk, and held her. She leaned forward to keep her balance. Her breasts were touching his chest. He kissed her lips even as her hair covered his face. He heard footsteps approaching.
“Everything will be fine,” he said changing the subject as she got away from him. Neatly arranged, clean surgical instruments were brought in.
“There are 125 types of instruments described by our guru. We will only use a few on you,” joked another surgeon who entered the room.
The team of medical practitioners got to work. Hanuman kept an eye on the proceedings from the window. He stayed near Angad for some time. Everything seemed to be going smoothly so Hanuman wandered around the gurukul. This place is wonderful, so much to learn here. The guru and the students are a repository of so much knowledge and wisdom. Why do the Rakshas want to destroy this? Hanuman wondered as he sat at the Muni’s feet.
“Son, it is very important you understand the answer to your question. Listen carefully. Hundreds of students are helping with transferring the knowledge accumulated at such places of education in writing for future generations,” the Muni said as he brushed his tuft of hair with his fingers. “There is a lot of work on mathematics here, too. Do not forget that mathematics is the language that this universe speaks. One of the greatest breakthroughs achieved here is the representation of the largest to the smallest values using just ten numbers—shunya, ekah, dvau, tryah, catvarah, pancha, sat, sapta, asta, and nava. There are numerous other aphorisms to do with shapes of objects, areas, relation between the diagonal and sides of squares, fractions, etc.”
The Muni paused. He looked at the sky and closed his eyes. “Philosophy, yoga, mathematics, and science are nurtured here side-by-side. They have benefitted from each other and pushed the boundaries of knowledge. The aim of all fields of study is to understand the workings of the universe, including the human body, and use it to improve the living conditions in this world.” Hanuman was listening intently.
“The ultimate aim of this endeavor is to realize and experience the true nature of the universe and function in this world in a free, liberated state. Function in the world, not as a slave to your desires or the desires of others, but to enjoy life as the master. You will never achieve this goal if you follow the Rakshas path of slavery to your uncontrolled instincts. This is the major difference between the two approaches. Violent force is necessary to keep order and to destroy those who are more interested in using power for their own dominance rather than creating an environment where everyone can realize the true nature of the universe and their own power as humans. If these forces are not destroyed, they can change the direction of human development completely. That is not acceptable and will not be allowed to take place at any cost,” The Muni spoke in a steady and assured voice.
The Muni looked straight at Hanuman and said, “You have an important role to play in influencing the outcome of these events. You are of great physical strength, tremendous mental capacity, and outstanding moral character. In addition, you are not influenced by carnal pleasures and other senseless enjoyments. You are the result of a lot of hard work and good fortune. Everything has come together nicely in you. The timing is also appropriate for a decisive war to determine the course of human development on this planet.”
Hanuman felt the weight of those expectations on his shoulders. He had goose bumps all over his body
. There was a mixture of anxiety and elation in his heart. While maintaining his composure, he said in a slightly skeptical voice, “I feel proud that you and others show so much faith in me and my abilities. But, will I be able to fulfill these tall expectations all by myself?”
The Muni smiled at the young boy’s hesitation and doubts. “You will have all the support you need. You will have partners and a leader. Do not worry, you will also get a lot of training for handling special weapons and for protection against deadly weapons. We are with you. Equally important is that you will train in yogic sciences and understand the philosophical and mechanistic aspects of the universe. You will help us win this war and sustain the results for hundreds of generations to come. The stakes could not be higher. May you be successful in your mission. Jai Mahadev!”
Chapter 6
Quest for Proof
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Modern Day California
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Hurdles test the intensity of fire within.
Krish was awoken by the buzz of his phone. He read the text message that flashed: ‘Good morning. I’m downstairs, open the door.’ It was Kathy. Why is she here? Is it Dave? he thought to himself as he went downstairs to open the door.
“I brought you some coffee,” Kathy said as she entered the house. She was in her faded blue jeans, light berry-colored top, and a black cardigan.
“Thanks! That’s really nice, but…um, what brings you here?”
“Just came to say hi,” Kathy said. “Let’s look at that mathematical approach you want to take for your hypothesis. I’m curious. I hope it’s okay,” she added.
Tenth Avatar: A quest for answers Page 6