Suddenly his body started to shiver and twitch uncontrollably. The icy confines of his prison began to crack and slowly break off and fall to the snow. The man dropped his foot to the ground and brought his arms down as he tried to make sense of what was happening to him. Then he felt an intense heat, deep within his lower abdomen in the region where his inner thighs met. His body began to convulse violently and his eyes rolled back up into their sockets. He felt the heat now move upwards into the area between the base of his spine and his loins.
The man began to see visions of beautiful women, scantily garbed, their eyes filled with longing, enticing him with lewd gestures. He found himself transported into the middle of an orgy with hedonistic music and dancing. He felt the arousal in his loins and was ashamed at his own inability to control it. His body continued to shake and he felt himself ejaculate violently. Now the visions began to change, the beautiful faces started to turn demonic. They abused and taunted him, increasing his sense of shame and revulsion. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out. The visions disappeared and he now found himself looking down into a narrow, dark tunnel. He suddenly realised that he was looking into his own body from the head down to his abdomen along the spinal column. From the bottom of this tunnel he saw a fiery serpent begin to rise up till it reached the area around his navel. The brightness of its flames now forced him to look away into darkness.
He now felt an intense hunger and thirst. He stuck his tongue out, lapping up the air, craving to taste something. Strange sounds began to emanate from his mouth. He felt a sense of foreboding that turned to fear and slowly transformed into pure terror. He began to sob uncontrollably. A myriad negative emotions like jealousy, anger and hatred rushed through his mind. As the heat began to course upward through his chest and throat, the agitation in his physical body began to subside. He felt a deep connection with all other life forms. A great sense of love and compassion for the Universe engulfed him and he began to revel in it.
Then the force began to push itself up into his head. The man's eyeballs returned to their normal position and he found himself floating in an infinite white void. He felt nothing but a supreme sense of calm. As he opened his eyes, he saw an intense beam of light like a golden spear burst through the top of his head, pierce through the thick clouds and make its way into the heavens. As he looked down at his body he realised he was no longer flesh and blood, but a creature made up of pure light. As he looked up again, the clouds seemed to explode soundlessly, turning the sky into a vibrant gold that shone with the brightness of a million suns.
That was the last vision of Raja Mitra, the warrior sage and ruler of the Adityas, before he fell to the ground, lifeless. How long he lay there he did not know, then from somewhere within the dark recesses of his mind he heard the voice of his Master, clear and strong.
'You, Mitra, have been destroyed and resurrected. You are no longer a seeker of the Light but a part of the Light itself. Rise, Rishi Vishwamitra! Go forth and illuminate the world.'
Vishwamitra opened his eyes and found himself lying in the snow, curled in the foetal position. He picked himself up and made his way across the frozen landscape; naked as the day he was born. His body had returned to its prime physical condition and it cast a warm glow that could be seen for miles across the endless plateau.
Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod Page 35