40 The God's Mistake [Puru]

Once Lord Puru and Lord Gajanan returned to heaven after their efforts in the Eastern Kingdom of Asaya, they were immediately sent for by Lord Arya for a full account of the events. The messenger took the two gods to Lake Vihara, where the gods would go for rest and leisure. The messenger stood outside while the two gods were shown in. The entire area of the lake was busy as ever, sprawled in front of Kalpavriksha, the divine tree, and bordered on all sides by mountains. The gods and goddesses submerged their divine bodies in the placid waters of Lake Vihara to wash away the impurities from their beings. In their midst, celestial maidens, the Apsaras, splashed around, playful and teasing, bringing an impish presence to the activity. The nature spirits, Gandharvas, husbands to some of the celestial maidens, sat on the edge of the lake and made light music with chorus and stringed instruments as the gods lost themselves in their sonorous voice.

The two gods sauntered over to Lord Arya, who was sitting on the other side of the lake, underneath the Kalpavriksha. The Kalpavriksha was majestic and yet, only a few centuries old. It came into being when the Asuras had taken over the reins of the universe and joined hands with Lord Arya to churn the great ocean of the universe, the Milky Way. Puru had grown up knowing it as Samudra Manthan, a joint endeavor between the Gods and the Asuras to find the seeds of Holy Asayan Lotus, which produced the Elixir of Immortality. In the end, Lord Arya redeemed himself by defeating the Asuras with his wit and recapturing the control of the universe.

Lord Arya returned to the Heaven, with his spoils, the yields of the churning, one of them being Kalpavriksha, which he then planted near Lake Vihara. In only a few centuries, the tree had grown enormous, bringing the entire lake under its sentinel shadow. Its roots are of gold, the trunk a glistening silver, while the emerald leaves shimmered green. Scriptures said it gave one what they wished, but Puru did not know what to ask.

The two gods ambled around the lake's edge, towards where Lord Arya was waiting. A Gandharva spirit took off with Lord Bhaga's loincloth, causing him to fume and chase the male spirit through the petals of flowers floating on the lake. The silliness made the Apsaras giggle, and eventually, the god grabbed the Gandharva spirit and punished him properly with slaps on the rear, causing more giggles.

"Welcome back, Lord Gajanan, Lord Puru." Lord Arya motioned them to join him in the lake's lukewarm water. "Sage Mahathi has informed me of your success in the Kingdom of Shivalikaksha."

Soon as the two gods discarded their garbs and stepped into the water, a Gandharva spirit swam up to them with two chalices full of Soma, the sap of Kalpavriksha, humming a tune of his own. He briefly nodded at the gods and swam away, never pausing his hum.

"Hmm. In that case, my lord, we must warn you our account would be not as vivid and colorful as Lord Mahathi's. Puru's could be a bit more flamboyant than mine." The Elephant God, Lord Gajanan, plopped down on the floor of the lake, spilling a little bit of the Soma from his chalice.

"I do not mind the colors, Lord Gajanan. But, I do care for the truth and the truth only," Lord Arya spoke frankly as he turned to set his chalice on the edge of the lake.

The two companions exchanged a furtive glance before Lord Puru spoke, "Then, may I begin, my lord?"

Upon receiving a slight nod from Lord Arya, Puru narrated the events that unfolded in the Eastern Kingdom, before, during, and after the flood.

"How many dead?"

"Around a hundred men, and two hundred animals."

"With the fish?"

"With the fish."

"Tell me about Yaman. Do you have his whereabouts?"

"No, my lord."

Lord Arya's jaw tightened. "Ask Mahathi. See if he can learn of the hiding place." Puru nodded as he took a swallow of the sweet Soma from his chalice. "What of that creature? Are you certain it is not something conjured from the power of Yantra?"

"I am certain. It lives in the netherland, a being of darkness. I can sense its life force in my heart. I cannot be mistaken."

"Then you must find that creature too and slay it before it wreaks more havoc on earth."

"Pardon my boldness, my lord, but that creature did not harm one soul. And if it were not for Sheshanaga, the entire kingdom would have flooded, causing enormous casualty." Puru did not shy away and spoke firmly.

"No?" Lord Arya gave him a crooked smile. "Lord Puru, you have little knowledge of the cruel tricks your ancestor has played upon us in the past. He was a feisty young demon when I took him in as my ward, a mere child of ten. I owed your family a great debt, in the battle against Daitya King, Prahlad. And to honor that loyalty, I decided to foster and train your ancestor. He was a quick learner from the start, mastering all divine powers in the universe before every other god. I would take days to create a tantric chant, and he would learn it in hours." Lord Arya's eyes glistened, and his face grew soft.

"But as with all remarkable minds, his curiosity grew with each passing day, and so did his pride. I sent him to the East on a mission that he accomplished with great success, saved every life, human and animal. They called him the savior of the East, and I could not be prouder. And the pride made me blind too, to his growing conceit. The more lives he saved, the more catastrophe he averted, the more boastful he became, and I turned a blind eye, blaming it on his youthful naivety. And then one day he announced that he had grown too old for my patronage, that the heaven was too small a place to restrain him.

"Yaman wanted to travel to the East, where he had first found his name, and establish his own faith and followers. I hesitated, but in the end, I gave him my blessing. And then, they started coming in. Reports of him using unjust and foul means to spread his faith and gain more devotees. It took me too long to act on what I had learned, and by that time, thousands of innocent lives had been sacrificed. After I destroyed him, I swore a vow that I would never let even his shadow set foot in this universe again, and that pet is his shadow.

"You speak of the quakes you felt with the creature around. Can they not be the same quakes that moved the seabed? That agitated the ocean water and brought the giant waves?"

The revelation stunned Lord Puru into silence.

Lord Gajanan sipped his Soma, as he contemplated for a moment, before speaking up at last. "Hmm, there is some likelihood of that, my lord, but we have no evidence on the matter."

"Then find the evidence for me. Find Lord Yaman and his pet. There would be two empty seats on the highest level of my court, soon. No one would be more pleased than me to see you two up there."

Two Apsaras made their way to the divine threesome, carrying silver bowls of scented oil. Puru knew them as Lord Arya's handmaidens.

Soon as the dainty maidens reached the gods, Lord Arya stood up, tall and handsome. "I will leave the two of you to enjoy the company of my Apsaras for the rest of the evening. I will see you tomorrow at the court."

The God King climbed out of the lake with a natural elegance and padded away in delicate steps with two of his celestial handmaidens. A soft slick hand touched Puru's shoulder, and he returned his gaze to the lovely maiden sitting beside him.

"The Apsaras are chatting about your feat, Lord Puru." The celestial maiden spoke in a thin, soft voice, her big doe eyes full of wonder. Puru remembered her looking at him the same way many times before when he visited Lord Indra's Palace. They never spoke until now.

"What did you hear, my lady?" Puru asked, doing his best to show interest in her words. He was a little light-headed, partly from the Soma and partly from the maiden's soft, wet skin touching his. He could hear voices floating in from the direction of his companion, but he was too distracted to pay attention.

"That Lord Puru has done just the bravest thing in the world," the maiden cooed as she slowly rubbed some of the scented oil on the demon's thick arm. Her fingers stretched and bent as she carefully pressed on the muscles and lightly ran a finger down the thick vein on the front of his forearm.

"Have you visited the earth before, my lady?" Puru asked, pouring a little bit of the oil in his hand and rubbing his hands together to warm it up.

"No." The Apsara smiled up at Puru with an inviting look.

"Then you must come with me." Puru gently placed both his hands on her neck and slowly slid them down, reaching her shoulders and then her bosom that was hidden under the surface of the water, covered with petals.

"Yes!" The maiden let out a gasped approval.

Puru's eyes intently watched every catch and sigh in the maiden's breathing as he continued to run his slick fingers further down. He looked up from her chest and caught her eyes staring right into his. Remembering to continue her own ministrations, she rubbed some oil on her palms and moved over towards Puru. Settling on top of the Demon God, she firmly pressed her palms on his chest, running them down slowly.

"Where will you take me, first?" She asked, eyes hooded, voice soft as a kiss.

"To East," answered Puru.