KRISHNA CORIOLIS#6: Fortress of Dwarka Page 7
Some time later, Uttanka came before his preceptor and asked him once again, ‘My guru, command me what guru-dakshina you desire that I may give it you.’
Rishi Veda said, ‘Uttanka, my son. So many times have you asked me already what guru-dakshina I desire. I am still unable to think of anything. Yet you deserve an answer, therefore go to my wife and ask her if she desires anything. Give her whatever she demands and I shall consider it as my guru-dakshina.’
So Uttanka went to the guru’s wife and joined his hands before her. ‘Shrimati, my guru says I have completed my education and may go home. But I must give him guru-dakshina before I take my leave. He has sent me to you. Command me what you wish and I shall bring it to you as a guru-dakshina.’
The preceptor’s wife thought briefly and replied: ‘Go then to King Paushya, your guru’s patron. His queen possesses a certain set of earrings that she wears. Ask him to give you those earrings and fetch them to me. In four days, there shall be an important ceremony and I wish to appear most radiant before the brahmins who will attend. Bring me the queen’s earrings and you shall have the blessings of your guru as well as my own good wishes!’
Happy to finally have a task to perform, Uttanka set out at once for Raja Paushya’s palace.
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Krishna smiled and shook his head as if remembering. “Poor Uttanka had to suffer a number of mishaps and adventures but finally, after great effort, he procured the ornaments in question and was returning home to give them to his Guru’s wife when the earrings were stolen from him by Takshak, the king of Nagas. Uttanka immediately gave chase to Takshak and would surely have caught him. But then Takshak dropped out of sight, literally, for he had jumped into the earth to reach the same city where we are traveling now.”
“Samyamani,” said Tvasta with wide eyes. “Is it the city of Nagas?” He swallowed, visibly nervous as would be any man who was told he was entering the fabled kingdom of the Serpents.
Krishna shrugged. “The Nagas dwell there as do many other species. But the realm itself is governed by another master.” He gestured. “We shall speak of him another time.” He seemed distracted for a moment.
Tvasta gazed around as he waited for Krishna’s attention to return to him. He saw the ocean passing by outside the bubbles of air, vast and dark and forbidding. By now they were traveling at a great depth, so deep that sunlight did not penetrate and all was dark and mysterious. The bubbles captured light with them as well, and within their confines, it was as bright as the sunlight in the sky above—as if Krishna had captured entire snatches of air, complete with the sunlight passing through them and trapped them in the bubbles.
This light lit up the ocean passing by, and occasionally Tvasta caught glimpses of a few strange beings that moved ponderously through the depths. They were vast and dark in visage and size and inscrutable. He felt himself cringe at the thought of what might happen if one of those sea giants were to penetrate the bubbles or attempt to assault himself and his companions. Even though he knew Krishna and Balarama were capable of taking on any opponents, he still feared for himself. To distract himself, he turned to his Lord again.
“My Lord Krishna,” he said. “Tell me everything, in all its detail? I wish to hear the full extent of the tale?”
Krishna returned from his distant thoughts and looked at Tvasta again. “And so you shall, good Tvasta. For katha-vidya is the foundation of our cultural heritage. Even the great Vedas, the Books of Knowledge which contain the wealth of our collective wisdom from ages past, convey their greatest messages through the medium of katha. Story is the highest form of shared knowledge, the most exalted form of learning. No mere recitation of facts and numerals can equal the insights conveyed through a simple story effectively narrated. Listen now and I shall tell you the rest of Uttanka’s tale. For there is a message within it that concerns yourself.”
***
It was a long distance to the palace of Raja Paushya and while he was walking, Uttanka saw upon the road the largest bull he had ever seen in his life. Seated atop the bull was the largest man he had ever seen! Intrigued by this extraordinary sight, Uttanka slowed to stare at the enormous bull and the giant seated atop it.
As he was staring at them curiously, the man called out to him. ‘Uttanka!’
He was startled to hear his name shouted by a stranger. The man called out to him, ‘Uttanka, eat the dung of this bull!’ Uttanka recoiled in disgust at the very thought. Naturally he did not comply with the giant’s request. Once again the giant called out, ‘Uttanka, eat it without hesitation. Your guru himself has eaten in his time.’
Despite his disgust, Uttanka felt a powerful urge to do as the stranger said. Somehow, he overcame his repulsion and ate the bull’s fetid dung and even drank its urine.
Soon afterward, Uttanka reached the palace of Raja Paushya and went before the king. He introduced himself and announced, ‘Raje, I am the disciple of your guru Rishi Veda.’ King Paushya replied warmly, ‘Then you are as a god to me. Speak. What can I do for you?’
Uttanka told him about the earrings his queen possessed, which were desired by Rishi Veda’s wife, to wear for the ceremony before the brahmins. ‘I beg you to give me the earrings that I may present them to my guru’s wife as my guru-dakshina.’ Paushya answered without hesitation: ‘Of course. Go directly into the queen’s palace and ask for my wife. Tell her I sent you and you shall have what you desire.’
Pleased to hear this, Uttanka went into the inner apartments of the palace of the queen. He searched everywhere but could not find the queen.
Returning to the king, he said with some irritation: ‘Raje, you ought not to have lied to me. You said the queen was in her palace but I looked everywhere and could find no trace of her.’
Paushya was taken aback at first, then thought for a moment.
Finally he said, ‘There can be only one explanation. You must be somehow impure or polluted. Since she is a faithful wife to me, she cannot be seen by anyone who is not immaculately clean.
Somehow, you must have consumed leftover food or in some way rendered yourself unclean. Think and try to remember.’ Uttanka thought back and realized the king spoke the truth. ‘Indeed, it is as you say. As I was in a hurry to come here and reach back to the guru’s house before the ceremony, I performed my ablutions on the road, while walking.’ Paushya nodded. ‘That would explain why you did not see the queen. Ablutions must always be performed while sitting, never while standing or walking.’
Uttanka saw the wisdom of the kshatriya’s words and performed his ablutions again. He sat facing the east, then first washed his hands, face and feet thoroughly and without making haste. Then, maintaining absolute silence, he sipped just enough clean water, ensuring it was completely free of scum or froth, in precisely the right amount that was required to reach his heart. Then he washed twice and cleansed his orifices with water.
Only when he had duly completed these ablutions to perfection did he rise once more and enter the queen’s inner apartments. At once, he saw the queen, seated where she had always been, now made visible to his senses.
At the sight of Uttanka, the queen rose and greeted him appropriately with respect befitting an acolyte of her husband’s guru. ‘Great one, command me. What can I do for you?’ Uttanka said to her gently, ‘Good queen, I ask that you give me the earrings that you are wearing. I wish to give them as guru-dakshina.’
Without hesitation, the queen removed her earrings and proffered them to him gladly. But as she gave them she cautioned him in a whisper: ‘Good man, know this. Takshak, Lord of Nagas, dearly desires these earrings. He would do anything to possess them. Carry them carefully.’
Uttanka thanked her for the earrings and for her warning and assured her, ‘Shrimati, do not fear. This is my guru-dakshina. Even Takshak, King of Snakes, cannot take them from me now!’
He bid the queen farewell and returned to Paushya. The king asked him if he was satisfied now and Uttanka replied, ‘Oh yes, raje, I am very ple
ased. I shall now take your leave.’
Pausha bade him wait, saying, ‘Great one, you are clearly a person of great learning and note. I have been waiting to perform an important shraddha. By your grace, we may now perform it before you leave.’
Uttanka was reluctant but felt obligated to the king for his gracious treatment and generous gift. ‘Very well, raje. I shall stay a short while. But I ask that rather than prepare special food which will take a great deal of time, let us consume whatever food is already prepared.’ The king agreed and sent for food for Uttanka at once.
When the food arrived and was served to Uttanka, he was upset to see that it was brought cold and there was a hair in the food. Angered by this extremely rude slight, he threatened Paushya: ‘You dare offer unclean and cold food to a guest? I shall curse you with blindness!’
Paushya reacted equally sharply: ‘In that case, since you wrongly accuse me and spoil food that was unspoiled, you shall lose the ability to have offspring!’ B
ut as the host, Paushya felt obliged to investigate his guest’s complaint. On examining the food closely, he found that it did indeed contain a hair and was quite cold; he enquired further and learned that this was because the food had been prepared by a woman who was careless and had not braided her hair.
Apologizing for this grave lapse in his hospitality, he joined his palms before Uttanka and said in a contrite tone: ‘Great one, the fault was entirely my own. You spoke truly. The food served to you was indeed cold and unclean. Please forgive me for this error. Please do not curse me with blindness.’
Uttanka sighed and shook his head regretfully: ‘What I pronounced shall surely come to pass. You will go blind but I shall counter the effect to ensure that you regain your eyesight soon. Now that you admit your fault, you must also take back your curse. Do not render me incapable of bearing offspring.’
Paushya rubbed his face in misery. ‘Great one, would that I could. But as you know, a brahmin’s heart is soft as ghee even though his words may be sharp as razors. A kshatriya is the opposite: our words may be soft as ghee but our hearts are sharp instruments. Even now, my anger has not been quelled completely. I cannot take back my curse. Please, just go.’
Uttanka rose and said, ‘I spoken the truth. The food was impure just as I said. Yet I allowed myself to be appeased by you. Earlier, you cursed me saying that I had wrongly accused you and spoiled food that was unspoiled. But my accusation was true and the food was spoiled, therefore your curse is ineffective. Let the matter end here.’
So saying, Uttanka left Raja Paushya’s palace, taking the earrings with him.
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Uttanka was eager to return to his guru’s house and complete his mission. He put aside all thoughts of the events preceding and pursuant to his procuring the earrings and kept his mind set on reaching home at the soonest.
But after walking a fair way, he saw a peculiar sight. There was a man on the road ahead who kept appearing and disappearing.
As Uttanka approached, he was able to make out that the man was a kshapanaka, a mendicant given to wandering naked and begging for alms. But there was something most peculiar about this mendicant. One moment, he could see the kshapanaka quite distinctly, standing on the road, the next moment, the kshapanaka was nowhere to be seen.
Uttanka was vexed by this sight, remembering the equally bizarre incident that had occurred when he was en route to Raja Paushya’s palace. ‘I shall ignore this phenomenon completely and concentrate only on reaching home quickly,’ he told himself.
He continued walking. But instead of passing by the kshapanaka, somehow the man always stayed several yards ahead of him on the road, continuing to appear and disappear in random flashes.
Tense and disturbed by this vision, Uttanka found himself exceedingly thirsty. Due to the altercation with King Paushya, he had been unable eat or drink anything since leaving his guru’s home days earlier and was desperately in need of refreshment.
Spying a pool just beside the road, he bent down to drink. As his simple garb contained no compartment, he was compelled to set the earrings down beside him for a moment while he cupped his hands to drink the water.
The instant he set them down, the kshapanaka appeared in a flash beside him, snatched up the earrings and disappeared.
Uttanka sprang up and chased after the kshapanaka. At first the mendicant continued his vanishing act, but as Uttanka gained on him and began to grasp hold of his limbs and struggle to get the earrings back, the being finally gave up his disguise and assumed his true form.
He showed himself to be Takshak, king of snakes, and in his true body, it was impossible for Uttanka to grasp hold of him. Uttanka struggled manfully with him for a while, but Takshak slithered out of Uttanka’s grasp and slipped into a chasm in the ground that had miraculously appeared.
Uttanka understood at once that the queen’s warning had come to pass. If he allowed Takshak to escape now, the lord of the Nagas would wriggle all the way home to the realm of snakes and Uttanka would never recover the earrings. His only chance was to plunge in after the Lord of snakes.
Determined to fulfill his obligation to his guru, he leaped into the chasm moments before it closed.
Uttanka tumbled through empty space for what felt like an endless period of time.
Finally, he found himself on solid ground with no recollection of having suffered any impact on landing. He was in a rock tunnel deep underground. Hearing a slithering sound from ahead, he moved in that direction and spied Takshak’s tail sashaying from side to side as the Serpent Lord slipped away.
He followed the Naga for another endless period of time, through tunnel after tunnel, through bifurcations and intersections, through small narrow tunnels where he had to slide sideways to avoid striking his shoulders or elbow and through enormous vaulting tunnels where the ceiling was too high overhead for him to see and his footsteps echoed cavernously.
Through all this pursuit, he could barely see anything, the entire journey being in darkness. Only the sound of Takshak slithering ahead guided him. He was in perpetual fear of the Naga Lord slipping through a tunnel before he could follow, leaving him at a loss to know which way to go next.
By some instinct, he was able to avoid striking his limbs on the rocky outcroppings as he went, and to avoid the numerous pitfalls and yawning abysses that lay at every turn. After an unknown duration, he finally saw light up ahead and emerged to find himself in a wondrous place.
At first, he thought he had somehow emerged into the upper world again, and was standing on a vast plain beneath the open sky. By degrees, he realized that he was in fact farther underground than any mortal had been before. Many miles, certainly several yojanas beneath the surface of the earth.
The place he had emerged into was a vast underground cavern, so enormous that he could barely glimpse the roof of it, high, high above. The cavern’s other dimensions were equally epic: from one side to the far end was a distance so great, he could not accurately judge how many yojanas it might cover.
There were entire townships nestled on the ground of the cavern, gleaming cities and individual nests where Nagas lived in uncountable profusion. Lakes, even oceans, mountains, valleys, hills and dales, it was a world unto itself, but all formed of the craggy black rock of the underworld, and lit by a luminescence alien to the illumination of daylight and sunlight. It was perpetual night here but without stars or moon or celestial orbs visible, only utter blackness beyond the phosphorescence of the inhabited regions.
He climbed down from the tunnel’s entrance and walked to the nearest city of the Nagas. He began to see many of the denizens of the underworld, some in anthropomorphic form with only some vestige of their snakelike nature, others more serpent than human in appearance, and still others neither snake nor human but something else entirely.
There were as many varieties of Nagas as there were species of living creatures on the surface of the world. Uttanka marvelled at their profusion and variety and despite their fierc
e outlook, he found himself curiously without fear.
As he stopped in the center of the city, he felt certain shlokas form in his mind unbidden. Following his instinct, he recited these aloud:
|Beautiful sarpas, subjects of Airavata!|
||You victors of wars, you wielders of lighting!||
|Handsome and many-shaped with chequered coils,|
||Adorned with jewels of shining hues||
|You shine as the sun shines|
||In the great cavern of the sky||
|Myriad are your pathways on the banks of the Ganga|
||Who dares march against your assembled might?||
|I salute you who salute the great Takshak, Airavata of the Nagas|
||I salute you Takshak son of Kadru and your son Ashvasena||
|By the banks of the river Ikshumati in Kurukshetra, you lived|
||Alongwith your youngest brother Shrutasena||
|Who lived in Mahadyumna and coveted your throne|
||May you march with 20,000 men at war and always find victory!||
After he finished chanting these shlokas in Sanskrit, Uttanka was able to pass unmolested through the land of the Nagas. But although none obstructed his way or threatened his well-being, he also did not find that which he sought, namely, the earrings he wished to carry back home to his guru’s wife.