The Last Rudra

From his guru, Onish heard a well-known story of King Janak who once ruled Mithila (Currently Nepal). The philomath king whose love for knowledge can be surmised by the sukti ( a wise saying) written on the entrance gate of his capital city "विद्वत्वं च नृपत्वं च न एव तुल्ये कदाचन्। स्वदेशे पूज्यते राजा विद्वान् सर्वत्र पूज्यते॥"

Meaning: Intelligence and kingdom can never be compared. A king is respected in his own land whereas a wise man is respected everywhere.

He once allowed a vidushi (a bluestocking) to possess himself so that she could challenge the wise men in debates. Vidhusi, through the king, defeated many scholars of Vedanta until a brahmin (one who thinks knowledge as his only possession and moksha his only goal) noticed the abnormality of the king. He forcefully expelled the learned woman out of the king's body.

Young Onish, fascinated by the tale, wanted to give it a try. However, his guru, who had 'para chitta adi abhigynata' siddhi ( power to know others' minds), warned him against it. Possessing a dead body was one thing, but possessing an alive body was another. It could be fatal for both.

The enlightened Guru had narrated the legend of Machhendranath, the guru of Gorakhnath, who once possessed a he-goat.

A Tantrik (occultist) woman noticed him, and she trapped the great Tantrik Machendranath in the animal's body.

Gorakhnath, who was guarding his master's original body all the while, grew worried when his guru didn't return for two years straight. The wise sage of his time decided to look for him. So after making sure his guru's body would be safe in a Himalayan cave, he left.

It was said that Gorakhnath found his guru in a village of Assam, tethered to a tree in the tantric woman's yard. He called out his Guru's name from the street.

Gorasknath's divine voice stirred his guru soul and thus awakened him from the dark sorcery. Awakened Yogi forcefully broke the casted spell and escaped the wicked woman.

The story always gave Onish a thrill. Maybe this was also the reason he was left behind. In contrast, all his seniors, after enlightenment, had left for Brahmloka long before him.

Nonetheless, Onish had broken his promise given to his guru. It was not that he had a choice.

After entering the body, he spread his spiritual sense through the nadis. He was amazed to see their size and sturdiness. His pranic energy rushed through them like a broken dam. Strangely he didn't face any resistance. Yet Onish didn't dare to let his guard down. He ascended through chakra, marking them with his consciousness. Within a few moments, he was before the heart chakra, where the soul resided.

He could feel the presence of the boy's soul. Onish knew it was the final hurdle. If he wanted to reside in this body, he had to suppress the host soul first.

He calmed down his flickering emotions and sneaked in.

No sooner did he step in, myriads of tiny specks, glowing brightly, rushed towards him like crazed bees. As though they had been waiting for him. Horrified, Onish tried to dodge them, but he found himself shackled, unable to move even an inch.

Ethereal chains, glowing with faint white light, began to wriggle. Onish saw the tiny specks filling the fine cracks over his subtle body. His consciousness was growing hazy. He tried chanting to clear his mind but to no avail. Myriads of strange memories flooded his mind. It didn't take him long to realize he had fallen into a trap. The question was, where was the trapper. Or where was the boy's soul? It was clearly not in the heart chakra. Onish saw his consciousness being dragged into a strange state. Where he was merely a spectator, and a familiar scene began to unfold before him. The same crying woman whom he had seen a few moments ago kissed the baby on his forehead. Onish subconsciously knew that he was the blue baby. The woman's lips moved. This time Onish heard her clearly as she said,

"Remember your home is Samara. and..." a light brighter than the sun itself dazzled him, and Onish lost his awareness.

Onish didn't know how long he had been blanked out. When it came around again. A woman's worried face welcomed him. He tried to recognize her, but there was no memory.

"Oman, Oman... come here soon. Our son has awakened. He finally opened his eyes." The woman cried out aloud, crying with happiness.

She cupped his bewildered face, sobbing. "You finally woke up. Don't you recognize your mama." seeing the frown on Onish face deepened, she hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter. Now you have woken up. Everything will be good."

With the sound of shuffling of feet, two figures dashed into the chamber.

One girl, with a snowy dove fluttering above her, and a man with his temple hair growing grey. The worried face lit up as he saw Onish sitting on the bed.

"He has really woken up. Nimohi hasn't lied to us.", the man mumbled as if trying to believe what he was seeing. However, the beautiful girl cried as she threw herself over him. "Little Ishi, you finally get up. You don't know how hard it was living without you."

Though Onish couldn't recognize them, he could sense their deep affection for him. So he didn't push them. Instead, he tried to recall who he was.

He felt a sharp pain in his brain as memories came rushing. But that didn't help him much. They only put him out more.

How he was supposed to interact with them. He couldn't tell them that he was not their son. So far, his experience in this world had taught him that he couldn't disclose his identity to anyone. Not even to the woman whose eyes were overflowing with love and adoration. Hence, there was only one path left before him that he should pretend to be their son and play along. Though it would be difficult, he could always blame his illness for any blundering.

With this thought, Onish gave a bright smile to his new family. And his new journey, as the young Lord of Minaak, thus officially started.

Onish found himself drenched in sweat when the overexcited family reluctantly decided to leave him alone. And it was all thanks to the elderly Nimohi. Onish learned that a Nimohi was like a physiker of his previous world, with some strange siddhis. Whatsoever, Onish was grateful that the elderly man strengthened his limbs and his throbbing brain.

Though he was supposed to take a rest, Onish decided otherwise. His mind was full of questions and apprehensions. However, He chose to put them aside for a while. The most pressing thing was to check his soul. He got out of the cozy bed and latched the heavy door from inside. His eyes searched the chamber for a mat or something.

Though kusa mat ( kusa is a type of grass) was an ideal seat for meditation, he could do with a simple cloth right now.

After searching for a while, a woolen scarf got in his hand. The fallen yogi sat on it in padmasana (lotus position). He took some water from the nearby pot and performed achamana (purification ritual), chanting the achaman mantra. Slowly exhaling, he closed his eyes and placed all three maha bandha ( locks in yoga). In no time, his awareness turned inward.

His soul was in the heart chakra, seemingly perfect except for the fine cracks that had somewhat mended. The ethereal shackles were nowhere to be seen. Feeling relieved, Onish visited his every chakra one by one. All were in order but dormant, making him realize he was not a yogi anymore.

After a muhurta ( 48mins), Onish opened his dark black eyes.

He had successfully possessed the body. However, he could never leave this body anymore unless he awakened his chakras again and mended his soul. That was just a fool's dream.

As for what happened to the host soul and the strange shackles, he still had no clue.

Onish shocked his head as he got up. His legs and his back were aching like hell. Clearly, he couldn't sit for prolonged meditation.

He stretched his body. It felt remarkable in a human body.

He unlatched the door and slipped into his cozy bed. Trying not to think about his future in the unknown world. He didn't know when the sleep had dragged him into her cozy arms.

A gentle kiss on his forehead woke him up. Onish saw a beautiful face smiling at him in the yellowish light of moonstones.

"Haven't you slept enough in three years? Now wake up, everyone is waiting for you in the dining hall. They all are starving." His mother pulled off the sheet, laughing lightly.

Onish felt warm in his heart. Though he knew it was not meant for him. He felt guilty for deceiving the woman, who was showering love over him since yesterday. Yogi knew the karma had entangled him again. He didn't know when he would be able to sever this chord again.

He got up and touched the woman's feet, making the woman puzzled. However, she asked nothing. Onish had to do this if he ever wanted to awaken his kundalini. Respect to the origin was the initial step to self-realization. And the woman was the origin of this body.

After donning the finest clothes Onish had ever had, Mother and son left the chamber. Son listening and mother chirping like a morning bird. She told Onish how she had personally cooked his favorite dishes. Calling out strange dishes' names. He could only smile and pretended to be excited.

The dining chamber is not a chamber but a grand hall, bustling with people, sitting at the tables filled with all sorts of steaming golden pots. Onish was startled seeing so many people, all staring at him like he was some kind of oddity. Hall fell silent as the woman guided him to the seat beside Oman, who seemed younger than that of yesterday. He beckoned him all smiling. When Onish took his seat. The Lord of Minaak rose to his feet.

"By the grace of Spirit, and good wishes of all, my son, Ishit, has defeated the strange illness, proving again that a yoddha never loses hope." the hall clapped and cheered as they all raised their cups. When the clamor subsided, Oman continued,

"I know this reason is not enough to summon all of you." Oman's face turned serious. A whisper ran through the crowd.

"As all of you must have heard by now the rumors, floating around. Gandar is planning to attack our kingdom again." the whisper became aloud.

"It might be another feint or a real declaration of war. His majesty Aslan has sent a warning to every Samant to be ready for anything." Oman flicked his hand. With a blue flash, a roll glowing with golden light unfolded before the stunned crowd.

Being seated on the opposite side, Onish couldn't read the parchment. However, he saw, the cheery faces turned grim. With another flick of his hand, the roll vanished.

A bearded man, past forty, rose to his feet, he gave a swift look to the crowd.

"May I know what Lord thinks of it. I don't believe that Gandhar would be so daring to attack so soon. Its wounds must be bleeding till now." The man's eyes were as sharp as a blade.

"My thoughts are the same, Lord Kruma. However, We should never underestimate spirit-defamers. There is nothing wrong with taking precautions. So, I agree with His Majesty on this."

"I understand your concern, Lord. However, wouldn't it create panic in people if we started preparing for war?" the man said, looking around to get some support from the quiet crowd. However, none backed him up.

"I'm aware of this, and so is His Majesty. However, we cannot afford carelessness. Besides, there are some things I couldn't voice out. So, I will only say one thing: we should follow His Majesty's decision." Oman said in finalizing tone.

"But..." Kruma was cut off.

"Enough of this, falconer. Lord Oman has said clearly. We are following His Majesty, and that's the end of it. And if you need a debate then seek out Lord later. I'm starving here. So I would urge Lord to start the feast?" A man with an eye of stone said irritatingly. Kruma gave him a look and sat down.

"Sure, Lord Suka. There is no need for formality." Oman laughed as he beckoned to the gathering to dine, and sat down smiling.

"Son, You can also start. I really doubt your choice to eat veg only. How can you be a yoddha eating these grass and fruits?" Oman shook his head disappointingly.

Onish was surprised to hear her new father. His mind was weaving plans after plans how he could escape the dinner. As there was nothing but meat in every pot. He had never imagined the previous host was vegan, too. He hurriedly lifted the lids from the plates placed before. Sure enough, they were all vegan dishes.

He devoured them like a hungry wolf. The dishes were all delicious.

Onish , after having his fill, was listening to the crowd's chattering. When someone patted his shoulder from behind. He looked over his shoulder.

"Congratulations! on your recovery brave cousin."

A boy with long hair tied in a ponytail said, smiling brightly.. The well-chiseled face seemed glowing in the light.