Premalaya~ Padmavati Srinivasa

Chapter 1

The Dwapara had come to an end with the Nirgamana of Krishna, the eighth Avatara of Lord Vishnu

Kali was taking reign of the people's mind; they were straying from the path of Dharma that Krishna had shown to them

The lord of Kailasa, Mahadeva, sat in the yoga mudra, pondering upon the ways in which the people of Kaliyuga could be protected from complete damage that Kali would create

"Narayana, Narayana! Greetings, Umapathi" Narada bowed deep as Shiva opened his eyes with a smile

"Welcome to Kailasa, Devarishi. May I know the reason of your visit?" Shiva asked with a knowing smile

Narada laughed.

"Oh Mahadeva, it is you who summoned me, and you yourself ask the reason?"

Shiva too smiled

"You know your job, Narada" He said.

Narada joined his hands in front of him

"Consider it to be done, Prabho. Narayana, Narayana!" With that, he disappeared.

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The fire raged furiously, until it appeared to touch the skies. The Mahayagya being done in that ashrama was extremely beneficial, the fruit of it would make the one recieving it to be honoured world wide

Narada appeared in the ashrama and bowed to the yagya hotra, and proceeded towards Maharishi Bhrigu, the one to whom the said ashrama belonged

"Greetings, Rishi Narada" Bhrigu greeted him, to which Narada reciprocated

Now, this Rishi was not a very common one. He possessed great aura and strength, and was feared and respected by all. But, he had a single flaw- Arrogance.

He thought he was above all, and this was the very quality that Narada was going to use for his task

"The yagya is going on in full spring, I see!" Narada laughed gently, before he earned a proud nod from Bhrigu

"The deity who would recieve the fruit of this yagya would be worshipped all over by one and all even in this ghor Kaliyuga" He said, to which Narada feigned confusion

"But who, Rishi Bhrigu? Who will be the one to recieve the fruit of this Mahayagya?" Narada asked, to which Bhrigu did not respond, making the answer obvious. It was not yet decided.

"You better decide it sooner than later, Maharishi" Narada disappeared into thin air after that, leaving Bhrigu to ponder

Soon, Bhrigu too disappeared, determined to find a deity who would benifit from his yagya

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Shiva, the ever antarayami, understood that Narada had done his job. He smiled at gauri, his beloved wife, who in turn had gotten an idea about her lord's intentions

"Fancy a game of chausara, Girija?" He asked, to which Parvati smiled wider and settled down near him for the said game

"Nandi!" Shiva called out

The said person appeared in less than a second, and bowed deep

"Your orders, Prabho" He said

Shiva smiled

"Do not let anyone disturb us, Nandi. Protect our privacy until further order" He said and Nandi agreed and left

"So? What is going in my Bholen ath's mind? May I know?" Parvati smiled mischievously

"Nothing is hidden from you, Gauri. It's time, yet again" He said, rolling the dice

"You mean Bhrata and Devi Lakshmi are to incarnate yet again?" She asked, exasperated