***
From the entrance of a cave high on the Trikuta Mountain, Brihaspati watched Indra and his army as they left the valley of Kash and made their way east. From that height the formidable army looked like a column of ants on the march. Brihaspati sighed to himself; all his worldly attachments seemed to be leaving with that departing force.
He had been taken aback to see that his decision had not surprised Indra one bit. It was almost as if the king had expected it. He regretted that he had been unable to explain the situation satisfactorily to Aryaman. Through the years, he had come to love the Aditya prince like one of his own brothers, and he was pained to see the sadness and confusion in the eyes of the young warrior. But he had no explanation to give him; Brihaspati barely understood why he was doing this himself. He just felt in his heart that it was the right thing to do.
Ugra was at the head of the column. A fair distance separated him and the rest of the men. The dark warrior stopped and looked up in his direction. In spite of the vast distance between them, Brihaspati could feel the strength of his gaze. Ugra raised his hand in farewell, and Brihaspati reciprocated the Gond warrior's gesture.
Ugra tore his gaze away from the mountain and concentrated on the trail ahead. They made their ascent out of the valley of Kash and set out in the direction of the rising sun. It had taken a lot of persuasion on his part to convince Indra to leave the horses behind. It was only the Ashvanis' decision to stay behind and care for the animals that had finally made Indra agree. The Devas' and the Adityas' distrust of the Gond warrior increased greatly after this decision. The hostilities were so open now that Ugra made sure he slept away from the main encampment when they stopped to rest at night.
Their journey took them through hills and dales of exceptional beauty. Although the rivers of the region all ran dry, there was plenty of water to be had from the many glacial lakes that dotted the landscape. But the terrain became increasingly difficult: they encountered sheer rock faces and treacherous glaciers that tested the limits of their strength and endurance.
They soon arrived, exhausted, on the shores of a beautiful lake in the shape of a crescent moon. Ugra announced that the final leg of their expedition would begin from there. He advised them to stock up on water as there was none to be had for the rest of the journey. The men refreshed themselves in the waters of the lake and made camp for a couple of days while Ugra went ahead to scout the uncharted terrain.
When the Gond warrior returned, he was immediately summoned to Indra's war council. Atreya was the first to address the assembly. He was frank and forthright with his views. He expressed the apprehensions of the majority of his men. He posed the question that was on everybody's mind, including Indra's. How did a warrior, who had never left the plains of the Terai, know his way through this terrain? What if they were being led into a trap?
Ugra looked around at the gathering of men. Of one thing he was certain: these northerners did not fear an honourable death in battle. What they feared was an inglorious end to their lives through altitude sickness or a fatal drop into the deep ravines and crevasses that dotted this landscape. They did not want to put their lives in the hands of someone they distrusted immensely.
Ugra addressed Indra as he spoke.
'My lord, the fears of your men are justified for no one truly knows for sure what awaits us at the end of this journey. Many years ago my tribe, just like the many others in this land, sent an army to these mountains to investigate the cause behind the death of our rivers. Only one man returned: he was terrified and half-crazed with fear and did not make any sense. But he had this map tattooed on his thigh.'
He parted his skirt and revealed the tattoo on his leg.
'This map is inscribed not only on my body but in my mind as well. Every prince of the royal house of the Gonds bore this mark and considered it his foremost duty to serve the liberator of these waters. I am the last of my kind. Once I am gone, this secret will die with me.'
Yadu laughed sarcastically.
'So we embark on this quest based on the testimony of one crazy man. What was it that caused him to go mad with fear?'
'He spoke of an army of monsters that descended on them from the clouds. They tore the men from limb to limb and devoured them alive.'
Ugra now had their undivided attention. He knew now that all he had to do was wound their warrior pride a little and they would fall in line with his plans.
'I understand your fears. It is possible that an enemy unlike any you have ever faced before awaits you. So do not worry, my lords, history will not think any less of you if you wish to turn back and abandon this perilous mission.'
'Silence, you impudent dog!' Indra roared as he got to his feet. 'I would rip that tongue out of your mouth if I did not need you to fulfil my destiny. We are Devas. We fear nothing. You saw what we did to the monsters you dispatched against us; the same fate awaits this enemy of yours. Now hold your insolent tongue and lead us to this place.'
Ugra hid his triumphant smile and bowed low to the king. He knew he would have no more trouble with these foreigners.
15
Days after they left the beautiful crescent lake, they encountered a frozen desert. Thanks to Ugra's warning, they had stocked up on their food and water and were now able to admire the stark beauty of the landscape ahead rather than be intimidated by it. They saw a few herds of mountain goats, but no sign of any human presence in the vast lands. They soon came upon another dry riverbed; the smoothened rocks and pebbles that littered the ground were the only signs left of the great river that had once flowed through there.
Ugra informed Indra that this dry river would lead them to their destination. They followed its course up into the great mountains. Ugra had wisely divided them into groups of twenty men who were then roped together. Thus, when they encountered snowdrifts and avalanches, casualties were minimised.
In spite of these precautions many fell to their death into the treacherous crevasses and ravines they encountered. At long last they came upon a green plateau hemmed in by magnificent snow-capped peaks. The lack of any shrubs and trees gave them a clear view all across it.
'The people that once lived here called this place the roof of the world,' Ugra told Indra when he was summoned by the Deva king.
'What happened to them?'
Indra's question was answered soon enough when they saw the grass ahead littered with human bones bleached white in the sun. Ugra stopped to examine them; they bore marks caused by razor-sharp teeth. There were no remains of the creatures that had done this. It had not been a battle. It looked more like a feeding frenzy. These men had been slaughtered and eaten, their bones picked clean.
As they continued their march through this graveyard of bones, the mood became sombre. The Devas now realised that whatever they were up against was clearly not human. As they moved on, the piles of bones only started to get bigger and there were quite a few nervous faces among the men now.
A thick gathering of clouds lay between the two great peaks ahead, in the otherwise clear evening sky. They decided to make camp for the night. There was an uneasy silence around the encampment as fires were lit and the men settled down for some well-deserved rest.
That night, Indra, Soma, Varuna, Vayu and Agni gathered around a fire. None of them slept, but spent the night drinking copious amounts of soma as they readied themselves for battle. Ugra watched them in the darkness; he hoped these warriors would be the answer to the troubles that ailed his land.
As day broke, the members of the last watch woke the rest of the men. Indra and his men watched spellbound as winged creatures emerged from the clouds. They floated high above them on leathery wings and their numbers seemed to blot out the rising sun as they started to swoop down on them. They were unlike anything the men had seen before. They looked like giant winged lizards. They had thick heavy-set hind legs on which they walked and their forelegs were smaller but covered with lean cords of muscle and talons at their business end. They also had
formidable jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth.
The archers began to unleash volley after volley of arrows into them, but they merely bounced off the thick armour-like scales that covered their bodies. Indra was quick to spot that their wings were the only parts vulnerable to injury. Even as the first creatures began to swoop down on the men to carry them off, Indra screamed to his archers to aim for their wings.
The men responded to his call and directed their volleys into the creatures' wings, tearing them to shreds. The great beasts fell to the ground but picked themselves up and charged at the archers. Yadu and his Yavanas closed ranks around the unprotected bowmen and prepared to face the threat from the ground.
More and more creatures burst through the clouds and began to fill the sky. They learnt quickly from their first attack and this time swooped down upon the Devas with the sun behind them. With the sun's glare in their eyes, the archers were severely disadvantaged and unable to get a bead on their targets. Indra watched in dismay as they picked up his men and soared high in the air before they dropped them to their death.
Ugra worked his way through the throng of warriors and reached the king. The survivor of the last expedition here had been dismissed as crazy by Ugra's grandfather and lived on the largesse of the other members of the tribe. Ugra had taken food to him on several occasions and the old man had told him about these flying lizards. He had told him that one beast, their leader, controlled the creatures telepathically. Ugra had not repeated the story lest he be dismissed as insane. He had scarcely believed it himself until now.
'My lord, we must kill their leader, that is the only way to stop these creatures.'
'Lead me to him,' Indra screamed over the din of battle.
Varuna and the other Falcons formed a protective ring around their king as they hacked and cleaved their way through the creatures and made their way forward as they followed the Gond warrior.
Ugra thrust his spear into the neck of one of the beasts that accosted him; its armour was weak around that area. The spear bit deep into its flesh. Ugra twisted it viciously and wrenched it free, and the creature fell to the ground. Drenched in its warm blood, Ugra smashed its head with an axe that he carried in his left hand. He roared in triumph, and the Devas, Adityas and Yavanas now took his cue and began attacking the vulnerable necks and bellies of the creatures.
Now the battle was more or less evenly matched. Indra and his small band made their way towards the valley under the clouds. A high wall that had several ridges running horizontally across it blocked the gorge formed between the two mountains like a huge dam. Ugra called out to him frantically.
'The waters lie trapped beyond this wall. We must break it.'
The creatures had by now noticed Indra and his men and turned their attention on them. Varuna and the others were now hard-pressed by the attack as they put themselves between Indra and the beasts. Indra, Kadaag in hand, made his way towards the wall and struck it with a mighty blow. The wall twitched and then began to move along its horizontal ridges. Indra realised to his amazement that the wall was made up of the coils of a giant serpent. Then the head of the reptile appeared--it was bigger than an elephant. Indra ran to the mountain on his right and began to frantically scale it.
The soma that coursed through his body gave him tremendous strength and agility as he leapt from rock to rock up the steep slope. In a few minutes he found himself at the top. The giant snake turned its head towards him. Indra held the black sword in a two-handed grip and leapt at it. He swung the blade with all his might and struck the creature on the side of its head. The snake did not even flinch and the black blade shattered like glass on impact. Indra fell back, staring at the hilt of his broken sword in disbelief.
As he got to his feet the serpent opened its mouth and bared its great fangs at him. They were more than the length of his body. Two drops of venom fell from their needle-sharp tips to the earth around him. It scorched the snow off the mountaintop, turning the grey rock below dark as coal.
Suddenly Indra felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach. It was unlike anything he had felt before. When the serpent struck, it was only his superb reflexes that saved the Deva king. Indra threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the lethal blow. The mountain shook from the impact of it and caused him to lose his footing and topple over the far side. He rolled down the steep incline away from his men and the battle.
On the plateau, the battle raged on. The men, oblivious to the fate of their king, continued to fight gamely on amidst the carnage being inflicted around them. Slowly the shadows began to lengthen on the roof of the world. As darkness fell, the creatures disengaged themselves from battle and melted into the landscape.
Exhausted, Varuna leant on his sword and looked around him. All his comrades, except for Indra, were accounted for. A little further away, Ugra stood, his left arm a bloody stump. One of the creatures had chewed it off at the elbow and eaten it. The dark warrior had bound the injured limb with his loincloth and continued to fight naked.
In spite of all his misgivings, Varuna could not but admire the man's bravery and fortitude. He asked Ugra if he had seen any sign of Indra, but the Gond shook his head dismally.
***
When Indra came to his senses, he was in a clearing surrounded by pine trees. He sat up and found himself staring at the hood of a king cobra. He screamed in terror. The snake crawled away to a little rock on which sat a man. His matted dreadlocks were piled high on top of his head; his ash-covered body, lean with sinewy muscle, looked like it had been carved out of black granite. He wore a loincloth of tiger skin and held a trident in his hand. The snake went to him and hissed.
The man smiled.
'Raksha's poison has scarred his mind. She has left him with an intense phobia of serpents.'
He stood up and went to Indra.
'You have finally known fear, oh brave warrior. Perhaps you are now ready to be a god.'
Indra was still shaking with fright and barely heard the man's words. The man took the Deva king by the shoulder in a firm grip and raised him to his feet. He then took Indra's face in his hands and drew it near. Indra felt an intense beam of heat emerge from the man's forehead and enter his. Then it was gone. The man gently rubbed Indra's temples and let go.
Indra felt all his fearfulness leave him. He looked at the man in front of him, confused. The man led him to the rock and made him sit beside him. His tone was comforting as he addressed Indra.
'Do not judge yourself too harshly. No man or god has ever faced Vrtra and lived to tell the tale.'
'Who is this Vrtra? And how did a lowly being such as a serpent accumulate so much power as to trap the waters and the clouds?'
There was a hiss of annoyance from the king cobra at his words. The man playfully admonished the snake.
'Don't take it personally, Vasuki.'
He turned back and looked into Indra's eyes as he spoke.
'Vrtra is much more than just a serpent. He is the king of the Danavas, or Dragons, an ancient race of beings that ruled the earth before the time of man. Their greed for power was such that they slaughtered and devoured everything and almost ended all other forms of life on earth. It was then that the sky gods decided to punish them. They rained down fiery missiles that scorched the land, made the waters of the oceans rise and destroyed the Danavas. Only a small number survived and found shelter in the mighty Himalayas. Amongst them was their queen Danu. She was farsighted enough to realise that in order for her race to regain their former glory, physical strength alone would not be enough. She assumed the form of a beautiful woman and seduced a powerful being. Vrtra was born of this union. He inherited great wisdom and intellect from his father and the physical prowess of his mother's race. In his mountain stronghold Vrtra waited, steadily increasing the Danava numbers while he weakened the humans by taking away their most vital resource, water. If he is not stopped now, he and the Danavas will sweep down from the Himalayas and take over the earth once more.'
Indra listened in shocked silence as he realised the enormity of the task at hand.
'How can I slay such a being?'
'Do not worry, help is at hand.'
Indra heard footsteps behind him and turned to see the man he knew as Travistr. He gave Indra a curt nod and bowed solemnly to the other man. His expression was grave.
'I am ready, Master.'
Indra looked at the two men in front of him. He did not understand what was happening.
'I know this man. Without his help I would never have gotten this far. How does he fit in with all this?'
The Master got to his feet and picked up his trident.
'Travistr is the cause of the problem that is Vrtra. You, Indra, are its solution. He has guided you before and he will guide you from here on. Farewell. May good fortune smile upon you.'
Indra looked at Travistr confusedly. Although the weapons master was doing a good job of concealing his emotions, Indra could sense that he was going through some kind of turmoil. Travistr turned to him and read the question in his eyes.
'I am Vrtra's father.'
Indra was stunned at this revelation. He turned to where the ash-covered man had stood a moment before, but he was gone.
'Come, we must hurry. Your forces will not last another day against the Danavas,' Travistr said as he led Indra down the mountainside. It was dark and the two men used the moonlight filtering through the pines to guide them. They soon came upon a clearing similar to the one they had just left. In the far corner of it, Indra saw a man sitting in a deep meditative trance. Travistr went to him, folded his hands in greeting and bowed low.
'Greetings, sage Dadichi.'
The seer opened his eyes and looked at the duo. His body had been ravaged by time and the severity of his penance. Indra wondered how such a man could be of service to them. Dadichi studied Indra carefully.
Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod Page 32