Return of the Demon Lord Durbheeksh

by Utkarsh Srivastava

  That man laughed again, 'I think your mental condition is also not stable. You need rest.'

  Shivanya walked towards the edge of the pull. There was no activity in the river, she couldn't find Dushal or that child.

  'It means, it was an illusion.' Without thinking anything, she jumped into the river.

  The crowd was stunned seeing this. None of them could find her, after she falls in the river.

  While on the other side, Dushal opened his eyes. He was in the dark forest.

  'Where's that child? And where I am?' Dushal was quite shocked.

  Soon he decided to walk towards a definite direction.

  'Shivanya is all alone in the fair, I should come out of this place as soon as possible.' Dushal thought while walking towards that definite direction.

  Suddenly he found a place, from where a dim light was coming. It was a ray of hope for him, he rushed towards that place. Finally he found a huge gate and one Brahmin who was only the guard of that gate.

  Dushal was quite confused, he stepped towards that place slowly. The sounds of his steps were heard by that guard. He turned towards Dushal and smiled.

  'Welcome Dushal, we were waiting for you.'

  Dushal came closer to that guard, he was stunned when he looked over the face of that guard. It was same as that child who was fallen in the river.

  'Don't be so surprised. I am Vaman, the guard of this palace.' That Brahmin smiled again.

  'V…Vaman. The great Vaman Avtar, it means I have reached my destination. The palace of Lord Mahabali.' Dushal was quite delighted, he touched the feet of great Vaman.

  'This is just the beginning. My blessings are with you, who knows you may need it.'

  Dushal was unable to understand that mysterious language of the great Vaman.

  'Don't be so confused. Go inside, your ancestor Lord Mahabali is waiting for you.' The great Vaman opened the gate, and showed him the path.

  Dushal followed the path showed by him. The great Vaman was staring at him continuously.

  Dushal entered in the palace of Lord Mahabali. All the guards were down on his knees, in respect of the scion of Lord Mahabali. Soon he was in front of King Bali.

  He was ascended on the twenty yards higher throne, it was constructed through pure gold. Dushal joined his hand in front of his ancestor, he was unable to utter a word and was continuously staring at him.

  Lord Mahabali stood up from his throne, stepped down and came nearer to Dushal.

  'How are you Dushal?' Bali asked.

  'Ah…….I am f…fine.' Dushal was hesitating.

  Lord Mahabali hugged him tightly and said, 'I've heard a lot about you Dushal. And I must say, I am very proud of you. You are my true scion, who still follows my principles of ruling.'

  'It's an honour for me, my lord. I am glad to receive your appreciation. But how come you know, that I am arriving here?' Dushal asked.

  'At every festival of Onam, I use to visit my kingdom. I also visited this time, and I felt your presence in my region. I have heard about you earlier, and really I was desperately waiting to meet you. That's why I requested the great Vaman, to bring you here.' Bali explained.

  'That's great, my lord. I also arrived in your region, just to meet you.'

  'To meet me? But Why?' Lord Mahabali was quite astonished.

  'The demons are again going to rise against the humanity. The mentor of demons Bhairavnath, and the new leader of Demons 'Durbheeksh' has defeated me and acquired my throne. And to defeat that wretch demon, I need the divine VijayDhanush. That's why I've come here.'

  Lord Mahabali smiled at Dushal, 'Sorry to say Dushal. But if you want that divine bow, you need to prove yourself capable for it.'

  Dushal joined his hands in front of him, 'I am ready to pass through your every tests.'

  'Ok, that's fine. But remember one thing, you will not get any advantage of being my scion. You have to pass all the tests as a common warrior.' Bali warned Dushal.

  'I am ready for it, my lord.'

  Lord Mahabali clapped. One warrior with the swords in his both the hands, arrived there.

  'Defeat this warrior, that's the first stage of your tests. You are disarmed, and you have to defeat this armed warrior.'

  Dushal looked over that warrior, he stepped towards that warrior. He looked in the eyes of that warrior. That warrior rushed towards Dushal and swings the sword around his neck, but Dushal successfully saves himself. Thereafter, he smashed on the right hand of that warrior. As a result, the sword in the right hand of that warrior falls, Dushal grabbed that sword quickly. Within few moments, he made a fierce attack on the left hand of that warrior. That warrior was now disarmed, and both the swords were in the hands of the fierce warrior Dushal.

  Lord Mahabali clapped once again, 'I am feeling very proud of you, Dushal. He was one of the most powerful warrior among our guards, and you defeated him so easily. You passed the test of your strength, now it's time for your second test.'

  Dushal was waiting for the next challenge.

  'Turn back, Dushal.' King Bali commanded.

  Dushal turned back listening this. He was completely stunned seeing Shivanya in front of him, she was injured. He thrown the swords, and rushed towards her, 'Sh…Shivanya, how come you reached here?'

  'I jumped in the river, following you. I, l..lost my consciousness after this, and now I am here in front of you.' Shivanya was in pain.

  'Y….You don't worry, you'll be fine.' Dushal hugged Shivanya, and holds her tightly.

  'Stop it Dushal.' King Bali shouted.

  Dushal was quite astonished, he stared at King Bali. King Bali came closer and picked up a sword from the floor.

  'Take this sword, and kill her.' King Bali commanded Dushal.

  Dushal was completely stunned listening this. He was staring at King Bali surprisingly.

  'What are you waiting for? Take this sword and kill her.' King Bali confronted again.

  Dushal stood up and asked, 'But why? Why you are asking me to do so?'

  'You want the divine Vijaydhanush. It's not so easy to get it. Do you know one thing? Centuries before, when Lord Rama invaded on Lanka. The Demon King Ravana also came to me for help, for the sake of this divine bow. But he failed to pass my test, so he has to return back. You cannot get this divine bow without any sacrifice. So you have to kill a person whom you love the most, then only you can get this divine bow. Everything in this world has a cost, and if want the divine Vijaydhanush, you have to pay for it.' Bali given him the option.

  Dushal was in great dilemma, his mind was not working, and hands were also shivering. He lied down on his knees. His eyes were filled with tears, he looked over Shivanya. She was not able to utter a word.

  'I am sorry, my lord. I can't do this. I can sacrifice my own life, but I can't kill her with my own hands.' Dushal joined his hands in front of Bali.

  'It means I was wrong. You are a selfish person, because the love for your wife is much more important than the welfare of your people. You need this bow to defeat that wretch demon Durbheeksh, and in spite of that you are choosing the life of your wife. You proved me wrong, you are not my true scion.' Lord Mahabali confronted his scion Dushal.

  Those harsh words of Lord Mahabali hurts Dushal. He stood up and requested, 'Please my lord. Don't force me to do this.'

  'I am not forcing you, it's a matter of choice. Either you kill your wife, or you can leave.' Lord Mahabali strictly said.

  Dushal was in great dilemma, he was not able to utter a word. Shivanya looked at him for a while. Dushal hugged her tightly, his eyes were filled with tears.

  'We don't have much time, take your decision soon. Either you choose your wife or the safety of whole Aaryavart and demon's race. If you choose your wife, Durbheeksh will be the leader of demons, and surely there be huge war among humans and demons. Just remember these things while making your choice.' Lord Mahabali reminded him about the situation.

  Dushal closed his eyes, tears were continuously streaming from h
is eyes. He tried to gain control over his mind, and stabbed Shivanya. The heart of Dushal was terrified listening the screaming voice of Shivanya.

  'Our love will be immortal Shivanya. You don't worry, wherever you'll go, I'll follow you there.' Shivanya was lying on the floor.

  Shivanya closed her eyes soon. Dushal tried to gain control over his mind. Lord Bali puts his hand on Dushal's shoulder.

  'It's time to lift the divine VijayDhanush. It's in front of you now.'

  Dushal raised up his eyes, the huge enlightening divine bow was in front of him. He stood up from the ground and stepped towards that bow.

  'A selfless person, whose heart is filled with compassion, whose mind is stable and who is devoted towards his goal. A person filled with these qualities, can only lift this divine bow.' Lord Mahabali continued explaining him.

  Dushal came nearer to that bow, and looked over that bow. He closed his eyes, and gained all his strength. At the next moment, the divine VijayDhanush was lifted up.

  Lord Mahabali was proud to see this, 'You are the second warrior who lifted this divine bow. You deserve this honour, you are my true scion, and I am really very proud of you.'

  Dushal turned towards Lord Mahabali, 'I respect you a lot my lord, just because you are my ancestor. But I'll never forgive you for this. Now I have only one motive remaining in my life, i.e. to defeat Durbheeksh. So I have to leave.' Dushal said arrongantly and looked over the main gate.

  Lord Mahabali was smiling at him, Dushal turned towards the door. He was stunned at the very next moment. As the door opens, his beloved wife Shivanya was in front of him. He was unable to utter a word seeing this, while Shivanya was smiling at him.

  Lord Mahabali came nearer to him, 'That was just an illusion which you have seen earlier. It was to test your dedication towards your goal. And I am very proud of you that you have passed your test. You deserve to lift this bow.'

  The eyes of Dushal were filled with tears of joy. He joined his hands in front of Lord Mahabali, 'I am sorry for my harsh words, my lord.'

  Then Lord Mahabali ordered them, 'It's all right, it's time for you to leave. You have to defeat that wretch demon Durbheeksh.'

  Dushal and Shivanya touched the feet of Lord Mahabali. He blessed them.

  After this, both Dushal and Shivanya left for their destination. Lord Mahabali continued staring at his scion Dushal.

  Fall of the Demon Lord

  Dushal and Shivanya proceeded towards the Ekchakranagari. While the Demon's army of Durbheeksh were busy in setup of army camps near Ekchakranagari.

  The eighteen years old warrior Durbheeksh was standing at one place, and looking over the moon. Bhairavnath came nearer to him.

  'Are you prepared for the war?' Bhairavnath asked.

  'Well, I am eagerly waiting for the rise of the sun. Tomorrow is the fourteenth day after my father's death. Each and every people of Ekchakranagari will pay for my humiliation, there will be a disastrous havoc among the people of this kingdom. I have promised my father that I will not kill my elder brother. But I'll make sure, he will beg for his death.' Durbheeksh was eagerly waiting for the sunrise.

  'Come with me, I have to talk with you.' Bhairavnath took Durbheeksh to a secret place.

  Coincidently, the place in the jungle where Bhairavnath took Durbheeksh, Vakrbaahu was just behind them sitting in the shades of a tree from where he could hear their conversation clearly. There Bhairavnath explained his plan to Durbheekhsh, Vakrbaahu was stunned listening this plan of Bhairavnath.

  Durbheeksh was furious listening his plan, 'No, never, Dushal is a legend. I'll not support you in this deceit against him.'

  While Vakrbaahu came in front of them, Bhairavnath was stunned when he saw him.

  'Durbheeksh, stop him. He can tell our plan to Dushal. If it happens Dushal will never opt for our side.' Bhairavnath was quite scared.

  'That's your evil plan, not mine, Gurudev. I'll not support you in this plan, but I'll make sure your plan will not be revealed, you words will not be insulted. (He turned towards Vakrbaahu ) Vakrbaahu, you have to take the responsibility of one part of our army. Sun is about to rise, you take our army to the gate of the palace of Ekchakranagari, and it's my order.' Durbheeksh commanded Vakrbaahu.

  'As you wish, my lord.' Furious Vakrbaahu left.

  With the rise of sun, the army of Durbheeksh were standing at the gate of the palace of Ekchakranagari. This army was under Vakrbaahu, he was leading from the front.

  One messenger arrived at the court of Ekchakanagari and informed Prince Saket, 'My lord, the demon's army has arrived at our gate.'

  Saket was terrified listening this. He stood up from his throne, and stepped towards that messenger, 'You go to Sage Omeshwar as soon as possible, and inform him about this situation.'

  'As you wish, my lord.' The messenger left to reach Sage Omeshwar.

  While in meantime, Durbheeksh also arrived at the gate of the palace. The gate was still closed, Saket had commanded his soldiers to protect the gate at any cost. While, when Durbheeksh noticed, there is no movement behind the gate, he asked Vakrbaahu.

  'Did you sent the message of attack, Vakrbaahu?'

  'Yes, my lord. A prahar before.' Vakrbaahu replied.

  Durbheeksh closed his eyes, and commanded his troops, 'This much time was enough. Destroy the gate.'

  Within few moments, the groups of demons brought a huge tree, and with the full force they smashed it on the gate. But the soldiers inside were continuously resisting, so that the door could not break. After many attempts, the demon's army failed to break the door. Then Durbheeksh commanded his army chief, 'Vakrbaahu, destroy this gate with your immense strength.'

  'As you wish, my lord.' Vakrbaahu collected his all strength, and rushed towards the gate. At the very next moment, he made a fierce blow on the gate. The soldiers were terrified with that blow, the gate was almost broken, and many soldiers were fallen on the ground due that smash of Mahabali Vakrbaahu.

  At the very next moment, Vakrbaahu again smashed the door. This time he destroyed that door, many soldiers were buried and died under that door.

  Saket was terrified when he saw a huge army in front of him. He turned towards his army chief, 'We cannot resist this army more than a prahar, so it will be better to use half our army to protect our people. And half of our army will participate in this battle.'

  'But my lord, your life is much more important to us. And it's my duty to protect you.' Army chief was worried about Prince Saket.

  'Don't worry about me, Surjan has promised that he would not kill me. But he is surely going to kill the common people of Ekchakranagari, because he wants revenge for his humiliation. So our preference should be the protection of the common people, so take half of our troops with you to protect them. I will lead the rest of the army.'

  'As you wish, my lord.' The army chief left to collect half of the army.

  While Saket and his army started gathering over the door. Vakrbaahu was standing at the door, but he didn't find right to do anything without the command of his leader.

  Durbheeksh pulled the rein of his horse, and rushed towards the door alone. He came near to the Saket.

  'You have come here, with just thirty thousand warriors. Strange, there is an army in front of you, which is as vast as sea. Anyone could not see at the other end of this army from here. Firstly tell me one thing, why you have opted for this suicidal step?' Durbheeksh asked his elder.