The Journey Beyond Bhuloka

by Krutant Iyer

  Seeing Murari come out of the shrubs, the boys were taken aback for a moment.

  “Where the hell have you been? We have been searching for you all over?” Ballu yelled at him.

  “What happened to the pirates?” Murari asked.

  “They have been captured. Now, let’s head back. Teacher is quite upset with your reckless action.” Ballu said as he turned around.

  He knew he had acted impulsively and without a plan. It would be natural for Vajra to be upset with him. Murari silently made a mental note to refrain from acting impetuously in the future.

  Soon, they reached the edge of the jungle, where Murari was surprised to see that instead of the inhabitants of the island, the pirates were now secured within the net. The inhabitants were nowhere to be seen, but Vajra was seated right next to the entrapped pirates, on the sand.

  Murari learned that Vajra and the boys had managed to free the inhabitants of the island from the net while the pirates were looking for him in the jungle. With the help of the islanders, they had ambushed and captured the pirates.

  Murari walked over and stood in front of Vajra. Seeing him in front of them, the pirates started hurling curses. A threatening look from Vajra shut them up for good.

  Vajra turned his gaze towards Murari, who had a goofy look on his face.

  “Sorry about that.” Murari smiled sheepishly as he apologised.

  “You fool! Did you even think before acting out? What would have happened if the pirates had caught you? You would be dead by now.” Vajra shouted at him.

  “Err… My bad. Sorry.” Murari said while scratching the back of his head.

  Vajra shook his head at his childish demeanour.

  “By the way, where were you all this while? The three of them couldn’t find you when they went into the jungle earlier.” Vajra asked him.

  Murari recounted everything that had taken place after he accidentally discovered the cave.

  Vajra listened to him intently with calmness, that amazed Murari. The only time when Vajra knit his brow during his narration was when Murari told him about the Tree bestowing upon him the Eye of Indriya.

  After he heard everything in detail, Vajra pondered over how he and Veera could have missed noticing the cave on their previous visit to the island. With their Siddhi, it should have been easy for them to notice something as powerful as the Paramshakti Vruksha.

  Could the tree have… he thought while rubbing his leg with the limp.

  Just then a huge ship appeared from around the bend. Murari tensed upon seeing it.

  Were there more pirates? he wondered.

  Vajra and the other boys were undeterred. As the ship arrived closer to the shore, Murari noticed the islanders onboard it. They steered the ship as close to the shore as they could, before jumping down in the shallow waters and making their way to the shore.

  Vajra got up with the support of his Lathi.

  “Sir, we have got the ship as you asked,” a middle-aged man said, as the rest of the islanders made their way onto the shore.

  “Thank you for your help, Sumanth. We will be leaving now,” Vajra responded, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder.

  “Can I not convince you to stay a little longer this time?” the man said.

  “I would have if I could. But we are short on time. We need to get to Dvaitavana as soon as possible.”

  Sumanth’s face tensed on the mention of the island.

  “Sir, I know you are strong, but I still advise you to stay away from that cursed island. I have heard ships getting lost in the thick fog surrounding that island.”

  “I thank you for your counsel, old friend. But that’s precisely why it is the ideal place for us.”

  “Since I cannot convince you to not go, at least allow me to return the favour for saving us.”

  Saying so, Sumanth gestured a few of his fellow islanders to bring forth a large rucksack they were holding.

  “This rucksack contains several bundles of fruits, nuts, and herbs from our jungle. The pirates had stolen it from our jungle and our homes. I request you to kindly accept this as our token of thanks.”

  “How can I do that, friend? It will deprive you of the necessities,” Vajra responded.

  “Our jungle provides us in abundance. Please honour us by accepting this little token.”

  “In that case, I thank you for your kindness,” Vajra said, accepting his host’s gift.

  “Seeing that you are heading to that dangerous island, I also wish to give these young boys something.” The man said, looking at the boys.

  On his signal, the men opened up another large rucksack and emptied its content on the ground. Various weapons came clanking out of the rucksack.

  “Please take your pick.” The man invited the boys.

  They looked at Vajra, who gave his assent with a nod.

  First Ballu stepped forward excitedly. After sorting through the weapons on display, he picked up a blunt mace made of metal. He held it in his right hand and spun the mace twice, testing its grip. It was heavy but felt right.

  “That’s known as Gada. With your body frame, it is the perfect weapon for you to wield.” Sumanth said.

  Vajra seemed satisfied with Ballu’s choice of weapon.

  Raaka picked up a double-bitted battle axe, made of iron, attached to a long wooden handle at its pole. A leather cloth was wrapped firmly around its knob to provide a better grip to its wielder. The weapon reminded him of his father’s axe, which was much smaller and more suited to cut down trees, or split logs. Wielding this weapon came naturally to him.

  “That’s a Parashu. It’s been used by our tribe since generations and is one of the oldest weapons,” Sumanth stated.

  Mitra walked up and immediately went for the bow and quiver full of arrows. The bow was made of wood, with its two ends joined together by a string made of natural fibres. The quiver was made of leather and held at least two dozen arrows in it. The arrows had both, barbed as well as non-barbed arrowheads that were secured tightly to the wooden shafts.

  “Oh – you have chosen a projectile weapon. It’s a good choice, given that you are heading to Dvaitavana. This bow can shoot a target as far as 50 yards.” Sumanth said.

  Finally, it was Murari’s turn to pick his choice. He walked over and scanned the weapons. He couldn’t decide what to pick. All of the weapons seemed to be strong.

  A sharp pain shot through the back of his eyes, forcing him to shut it tight and press his knuckles over them to try and subdue it.

  Vajra squinted on seeing this but did not react.

  The throbbing sensation reduced a few moments later. Murari opened his eyes and found that his vision had gotten blurry. He looked around and could only see a shadowy contour of the people around him. Everything was grey. To him, it looked like the world had been robbed of all its colours.

  He turned towards Vajra and had to immediately shield his eyes with his hand from the blinding light emanating from him.

  So, this is the power that the tree bestowed on me.

  As his eyes got accustomed to the light, he lowered his hand to see the brightness of the aura surrounding Vajra’s body.

  Smiling to himself, Murari turned his gaze back towards the weapons.

  Somehow, all the weapons lying on the ground seemed dark and dull now, except one. One of the swords seemed much darker than the rest of the weapons, particularly around its hilt. He picked it off the ground and pulled the sword from its sheath. As soon as he did, a blazing black flame emerged from the sword and covered it in its entirety. Flowing from the sword the blazing black flame poured onto his hand that held the sword. Instead of a burning sensation, he felt dense energy coursing through his hand. Loosening his wrist, he spun the sword freely. It was as if the weapon had chosen him, instead of the other way around. He placed the sword back in its sheath and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, his normal vision had been restored.

  He held out the sword as his weapon of choice.

&n
bsp; “Son, there are many weapons here that are better than that rusty sword. Its dull blade is not even suitable to cut the grass blade.” Sumanth advised.

  “Sir, if it’s okay with you, I have made my choice. I would like to choose this sword as my weapon,” Murari said, with a confident smile on his face.

  “Well… If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you,” Sumanth conceded.

  Vajra watched on in silence, while Ballu sniggered at Murari for picking a useless weapon.

  “We should get going now,” Vajra said, “We can reach Dvaitavana by nightfall if we hurry.”

  “Sir, what about the pirates?” Murari asked Sumanth.

  “They are coming with us,” Vajra answered.

  “What!? But Sir, they are pirates. What if they break free and hurt the children? Instead, let us ferry these louts to an isolated island and leave them there to fend for themselves.” Sumanth exclaimed with a worried look.

  “No, my friend. That would be a waste of good resource.”

  “Resource?”

  “Yes. They will serve as good candidates to train the boys on the Dvaitavana,” Vajra said.

  “Your methods are beyond our understanding, my friend. I wish you all the luck, and hope that we may meet again soon.”

  Vajra decided to leave their Schooner in care of the islanders, while he and the boys boarded the bigger ship of the pirates. Sumanth and some of the islanders helped them secure the pirates on board the large vessel.

  Vajra and the boys waved goodbye to their benefactors as they stood on the ship’s deck.

  ✽✽✽

  Shat

  The Mysterious Jungle-Island

  The large vessel entered the cloudy blanket, even as the pirates shivered in horror, and kept hurling abuses at the boys to free them.

  Vajra was calm as usual, as he navigated the ship through the thick blanket of fog expertly.

  As their ship went further in, the fog thinned to reveal the shadow of a mountain looming over them. As they neared the mountain, the mist cleared up and the structure of the island became more apparent. Even the pirates stopped yelling and stared in disbelief on seeing the dark mountain. The darkness of the night added to the island’s menacing mien.

  It was unlike any other island they had ever seen. Its surface seemed much smaller than the other islands, but it widened and soared over the mist as it rose over the sea-level. But what really flummoxed the boys, as well as the pirates, was the fact that the island didn’t have any shore. It just looked like a gigantic cocoon, rising from the depth of the ocean, and cutting through the misty cloud, beyond which it wasn’t visible.

  As Vajra steered the ship closer to the island, a small opening at the base of the rocky island emerged beyond the mist. It was big enough for their ship to pass comfortably through it.

  As their ship went underneath the gigantic rock island, its mossy roof blocked the rays of the moon from penetrating its surface, and absolute darkness enveloped them.

  Unexpectedly, a small parcel of the shore came into sight. It was hidden underneath the island’s structure.

  Vajra dropped the anchor of the ship. There was no fear of it drifting away into the sea, given the layout of the island.

  Vajra got off the ship first.

  The boys cuffed the hands of the pirates with a long, thick rope they had found on deck. The rope was long enough to cuff all their hands, one behind the other, allowing the boys to lead them in a chain-like formation.

  The boys led the pirates off the deck, and onto the sandy shore. The pirates were so stupefied by the island, that they did not put up any resistance.

  The topography of the island was one to marvel at. The beach itself was not too vast. It was in the shape of an arc and cut off in the corners by the rocky walls. Apart from the entrance, the only way out of the enclosure was through a huge opening in the rock on the right side of the beach. The door-like opening in the rock was the only way to enter the island from the beach. The area behind the opening was hidden in the darkness of the night. Looking at it, Murari wondered if it had naturally formed over the years or was the handiwork of humans at some point in time.

  Vajra asked them to wait by the shore, as he walked towards one end of the rocky wall.

  He stood there observing the wall silently. A few moments passed like this. Vajra removed the cap of lathi by turning it clockwise, and pulled out a sharp dagger, about the size of his palm.

  The boys were astounded on seeing this. They couldn’t have imagined that Vajra’s lathi also served as a container for more weapons. There was much for them to learn about his world and way of life.

  Meanwhile, Vajra held the dagger firmly in his hand and carved a strange symbol on the rock wall with it. After he was done, he put the dagger back inside the lathi and closed the cap. Then placing his right hand over the inscribed symbol, he muttered a mantra under his breath, that wasn’t audible to Murari and others at the distance. As soon as he had done that, a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere and swept across the island. The boys and the pirates lost their balance and fell on their back due to its force. It had come and gone before they could fathom what was happening.

  “Now we are secure. No one will be able to locate the island until I lift the protective spell.” Vajra stated as he walked back towards them.

  The pirates shuddered on seeing Vajra at that moment. Somehow, he had not seemed so intimidating earlier in the day. The boys knew of Vajra’s power of Siddhi, but the pirates were not aware of such a power.

  The pirates had travelled the seas and seen many things over the years. So, when they were ambushed and caught earlier in the day, they weren’t alarmed to see this gigantic old man. But, seeing him now, at this moment, looming over them in the darkness, they couldn’t keep their knees from wobbling.

  Murari and the boys got up and dusted their dhoti.

  “Warn us before you do something like that,” Murari grumbled.

  “You can rest here tonight. Tomorrow, your training begins.” Vajra announced.

  “What about them?” Murari asked, looking at the pirates.

  “You can uncuff them now. They won’t be able to escape from here anyways.”

  “Teacher, if we untie them, they might attack us during the night,” Ballu said.

  Even though he did not dare say it, Ballu was worried that Vajra was being too lenient with the pirates.

  “They wouldn’t,” Vajra said, as he turned his gaze over to the pirates.

  “Sir, please uncuff us. We wouldn’t give you any trouble. I swear.” the captain of the pirates pleaded with Vajra.

  On Vajra’s signal, Murari and the boys set about untying the knots on the rope. They shared the fruits, gifted by the islanders with the pirates. After finishing their meagre meal, all of them fell asleep, exhausted from the day’s long ordeal.

  The next morning, the boys woke up sprightly. They couldn’t wait for their training to begin. They were also keen to learn more about the mysterious power of Siddhi that Vajra kept referring to so often.

  The sun’s rays could not be seen, but the island was well lit due to the reflection of the light carried by the waters.

  They stepped carefully around the pirates, who were not in the habit of waking up early in the morning. The boys took off their dhoti and khaki vest, and carefully placed their weapons besides their clothes, before jumping into the cold water for a quick bath.

  Once they had freshened up and changed into a fresh set of clothes, they met up with Vajra, who had already finished his morning ablutions before them and was standing in one corner of the beach, leaning against the wall.

  Vajra signalled them to sit down.

  “Before we begin, let me tell you how this will work.” Vajra said, “From where I come if a disciple seeks to learn under the tutelage of a Teacher, he needs to absolutely commit to the process and show his will to learn. But even that’s pointless if the disciple doesn’t have an affinity for the desired skill.”

>   Seeing their blank expressions, he understood that subtlety was futile.

  “What I am trying to say is, even before I begin your training, I need to see your determination to learn, and test your commitment to the process in the face of adversities.”

  “Teacher, please tell us how we can prove our willingness to you,” Raaka asked, even as his face remained as impassive as ever.

  The others grunted to show their willingness to take Vajra’s test as well.

  Murari was surprised to hear Raaka speak, instead of Ballu. He had always remained in Ballu’s shadow. Murari looked at Mitra and Raaka and saw sincerity to learn in their expression. It was as if, they wished to step out of Ballu’s shadow and come into their own.

  Vajra smiled at their resolve.

  “Very well. Follow me then.”

  Saying so, Vajra walked over to the huge hole in the rock wall towards his left. Signalling them to follow him closely, he entered through the opening. The boys jumped off the ground and immediately followed after him.

  They had to walk in a single file as they stepped through the opening in the rock wall, into the narrow tunnel. Even this early in the morning, the sunlight did not dare pierce the darkness of the tunnel. The boys walked behind Vajra for a short distance, before the path turned towards left. Now they could see a dim light at the end of the tunnel. As they neared the mouth of the long narrow passageway, they noticed large leaves blocking the exit.

  Vajra parted the leaves using his stick and held it in place for the boys to walk out.

  They walked out of the tunnel and into a large clearing within a lush green jungle. They were not expecting to see such an enormous, dense jungle growing within the huge rock island. From where they stood, they could see the jungle’s expanse on all four sides, rising all the way up to the top of the cylindrical rocky island. But what took their breath away was not the horizontal vastness of the jungle, but its unique vertical edifice. The jungle rose to the top in a tiered structure, like a flight of steps on all four sides, with the inside of the rocky island acting as its border on all edges.