SAMRADITYA SAGA Part 4 - DISORDER OF ENMITY

Back to the pavilion

It was dusk. Sridevi was sitting alone in the garden of the palace. She was flying in the sky of thoughts. Though she was thirty-five, she looked much younger than her age. Her body was as radiant as gold. Her body language was quite attractive. She had a tall and well-developed physique. Her elegance and grace cannot be described in words. She had big black eyes while her ears were thin, small and delicate. Her jet black hairdo was adorned with pearls. She had an attractive figure. She was wearing yellow and white summer clothes.
Sridevi did not have a child and was longing for one. She was married to Vaishraman who was one of the leading merchants in the city of Susharm. She had all sorts of worldly pleasures. She belonged to a noble family and had beauty, wealth as well as a loving and handsome husband. There was only one short coming, only one sorrow - she did not have a son!
Vaishraman was a majestic man. He was compassionate, emotional and pure hearted. A prominent industrialist, he earned a lot of money. At the same time, he was equally spiritual. He spent a happy married life with Sridevi.
Inspite of having all this, Sridevi was not satisfied. The longing for a son had created a strange void in her heart. Still, she was conscious of her dignity, character and responsibility.
Even though Vaishraman was forty years old, he was courageous and full of joy. Always being cheerful and taking everything lightly was his unique nature. Every drop of his blood was filled with happiness, excitement and aspiration! Sridevi was enchanted and fascinated by the healthy nature and masculinity of Vaishraman. In the beautiful flower pavillion, she was thinking about her husband Vaishraman only. She kept wondering, “Why is it that I don’t have a child despite having such a great husband? Why don’t I get to experience the happiness of becoming a mother?”
At the same time, Vaishraman also came to the garden. He entered the beautiful flower pavilion and saw Sridevi sitting there with a blank look on her face. She looked dull. There was some sadness in her eyes. When Vaishraman entered the garden, Sridevi looked up. She stood up as soon as she saw her husband.
She welcomed him saying, “Welcome, Swami!” 
Vaishraman stood there, holding one vine of the flower pavilion. He kept gazing at Sridevi.
“What’s the matter today, Devi? Why are shadows of sadness floating on your face? You look stressed. Some sorrow has surely engulfed you. What is it? Which pain has piled up in your heart?”
“Swami, my sorrow is not hidden from you.”
“Devi, we should not be upset about things that are controlled by fate. The birth of a child is subject to destiny.”
“Whatever is dependent on fate, can be in the control of the divine power too, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Destiny changes by worshipping the miraculous gods. To change our destiny, we need to make efforts!”
“Alright, you tell me the name of that miraculous god. Hardwork is my life; I neither get tired nor bored of making efforts.”
“You might be knowing that there is a temple located on the outskirts of the city. The name of that deity is Dhandev.”
“Oh! He’s the God of wealth, isn’t he? How will he become the God of children?” Vaishraman reminded her of his jovial nature.
“You just take everything very lightly! Dhandev is just his name! He bestows all kinds of help to his devotees. He gives money, children, basically everything!”
“You have the correct information, right?”
“Of course, it’s absolutely true. I have inquired properly. I wouldn’t have spoken to you about it if it was just some rumour!”
“Okay then! We will do whatever is required to be done!”
“First you meet the royal astrologer and fix an auspicious day. On that day, we will visit the temple. We will worship the deity with sincere devotion and pray to him to bless us with a son!”
“Alright! I will go tomorrow itself and ask the astrologer about the auspicious day!”
Sridevi got delighted. She didn’t expect that Vaishraman would accept the proposal to worship the deity so easily. She returned to the palace with Vaishraman.  
***
“Oh deity!”
We have all kinds of pleasures except one. You are omniscient. You know our sorrow. In spite of that, I am gathering the courage to tell you that we are not able to conceive a child! Without a son, what is the point of all this wealth, honour and luxuries?
“Oh Lord! We have come to your shrine.
May we receive a son with your blessings.
As soon as we are blessed with a son, we will organize a great festival in your honour! We will invite people from all parts of the city for this grand festival!
We will name our son after you!
You will be the creator and the protector of our son!
Please bless us!”
On an auspicious date and time, Sridevi and Vaishraman visited the temple and worshipped the deity. They offered fruits and sweets. After singing hymns devotedly and resolving in their minds, they returned home!
“Devi, are you happy now?” Vaishraman asked cheerfully.
“Even you felt happy, didn’t you?” 
“Your beloved husband always stays cheerful. Have you ever seen me sad, frustrated or restless?”
“You are great, Swami,” Sridevi looked at Vaishraman joyfully.
“But Devi, there is one danger. When you’ll give birth to a child, your love for me will get reduced by fifty percent!”
“The remaining fifty percent will be fulfilled by your child.”
“Oh no! But I wanted hundred + fifty, total 150% love. What about that?”
Both of them laughed merrily!
Their days were passing by happily! Their faith had become strong; they were sure that the grace of the deity would surely change their destiny! A son would soon be born! With patience in their hearts, they were living peacefully without any sort of restlessness.
A few days passed by.
One night, Sridevi had a delightful dream.
An elephant entered Sridevi’s mouth and settled in her womb. It was not an ordinary elephant. It was white in colour, quite tall and surrounded by a swarm of bees because of the honey flowing from its body. It had four tusks and was moving its trunk up and down. Sridevi had seen such a charming and captivating elephant in her dream.
Sridevi woke up on seeing the dream. She narrated the dream to Vaishraman exactly the way she had seen it.
Vaishraman was thrilled on hearing this.
He said happily, “Devi, it seems our wish is going be fulfilled. You will give birth to an extraordinary son. He will bring fame and glory to our family. You will be the mother of a philanthropic son.”
“Swami, what you are saying, is factual! I want such fruits of this dream.”
The happiness that Sridevi experienced in the last moments of the night, was the most blissful moment of her life. A great soul had descended in her womb. A heavenly being had reincarnated on the completion of his life!
• It was the soul of Shikhi!
• It was the soul of King Gunsen!
Since the time the soul had descended in Sridevi’s womb, her speech, thoughts,  behaviour, everything became better. There was a tremendous transformation in her life! Vaishraman used to fulfill all her auspicious and wonderful wishes. Sridevi started donating to the poor, orphans and needy. Celebrations were organised in the temples of the city! She would go to the temple riding on an elephant daily. Nine months passed by in this manner. She gave birth to a charming son.
• Vaishraman celebrated the occasion happily.
• He donated whole-heartedly to the underprivileged.
After the completion of a month, Sridevi took a bath. She dressed her son in sophisticated clothes. She put a tilak on his forehead and a pearl necklace around his neck. Along with thousands of people from the city, they reached the temple of the deity.
They worshipped Dhandev with utmost devotion. They kept the child at the deity’s feet.
Vaishraman joined his hands and prayed, “Oh merciful! We experienced your divinity. You fulfilled our age-old desire of a child. Truly, you have given us immense happiness. As per the promise we made in the past, we are naming our son Dhan.”
The crowd cheered with glee.
They started shouting slogans, “Dhan, may you live long!”
That day, Vaishraman presented sweets to all the citizens. The women of the city sang auspicious songs. Dance performances were organized in various places of the city. 
***
In this Susharm City itself, lived another wealthy merchant. His name was Purnabhadra. He was famous in the city. He was a very skilled businessman. Being kind hearted, he used to give donations to the poor and orphans. Purnabhadra’s wife was Gomti. Though Gomti was a devoted wife, yet she was rude by nature. There was no sweetness in her tongue. Her behaviour was also very cold. Even then, wise Purnabhadra used to handle Gomti very calmly. He would fulfil all the responsibilities of life.
As time passed, Gomti conceived. 
Jalini’s soul entered her womb. After completing her life span in hell, her soul kept wandering in different lives. She faced death and rebirth many times. She continued to suffer various sorrows helplessly. Finally, her soul reincarnated in the form of a girl in Gomti’s womb.
Since the time Gomti got pregnant,
• Cruelty arose in her thoughts
• Bitterness emerged in her voice
• Deceit and carelessness made way in her behaviour.
This was all because of the soul that came in her womb. Purnabhadra was extremely upset due to this inappropriate and unloving behaviour of Gomti. However, he was unable to control these changes.
Nine months got over. Gomti gave birth to a daughter.
After a month, the daughter was named Dhanshri. She was beautiful and adorable. Dhanshri was brought up in Punyabhadra’s luxurious mansion. Punyabhadra had appointed two clever attendants to look after Dhanshri. Dhanshri started living with the attendants. Anyway, Gomti had no affection towards Dhanshri. Therefore, she had no problem with Dhanshri living with the attendants. Infact, she was happy.
Time kept passing by. Dhanshri entered puberty. She was taught various arts. For this, Punyabhadra had appointed women who were skilled in sixty-four forms of arts practised by women. Now, Dhanshri had grown up to be a young girl.
***
There was ‘Moon Festival’ on the day of Ashtami in Susharm. This festival would be arranged at a park named ‘Madan-Leela’ which was situated on the outskirts of the city. This festival was only for women. Mostly young girls and ladies participated in this festival. There was a lake in the centre of the park. Many swans were swimming in that lake. Cranes and other birds were chirping melodiously. Innumerable blue and red lotus flowers were enhancing the beauty of the lake. On the banks of the lake, there were hundreds of trees laden with fruits and flowers. Towards the west, there was a vast flat land. The festival used to be held over there.
Dhanshri was also enjoying the festival playfully with her friends. Her big blue eyes resembled sapphire. She had crimson lips and bright white teeth. A gold chain tinkled around her thin waist. Her red silk outfit was adorned with golden stars. Dhanshri continued singing, dancing and laughing for a long time. The audience kept cheering and appreciating her.
The dance got over. Dhanshri left the park with her friends. They were laughing and giggling amongst themselves while going back to the city. The road was quite enchanting. There were rows of date palms, silk cotton and Indian Bayleaf trees. The afternoon sunlight seemed to penetrate through the trees and scatter on the road. A gentle breeze was blowing.
A young man was standing under the shade of a dense Indian Bayleaf tree. Birds were chirping on the branches of the trees. All of a sudden, Dhanshri’s eyes fell on the young man. She stopped there. Her friends went ahead singing, laughing and humming. Dhanshri stood there alone. The young man’s eyes fell on her. Both of them stood still. Affection brew in their hearts. Neither of them moved or walked nor did they utter a single word.
The young man looked intelligent and impressive. He had a good physique and charm. He had worn yellow coloured clothes. An expensive gem studded necklace was swinging around his neck. His long black hair reached his neck.
Seeds of affection sprouted within them!
The affection of one was pure while that of the other was mere attraction. Young Dhan, son of Vaishraman, was genuine not only since birth but also in his previous lives. He was very friendly. Today, he saw Dhanshri for the first time, and could not stop gazing at her. The values of affection from previous lives awakened. His mother from the previous life was standing in front of him with a different name and look. His heart was brimming with love.
For a long time, both of them stood there staring at each other. Then Dhanshri moved and quickly started walking on her way. Dhan gazed at her as she walked away.
A witness stood quietly behind the tree and watched the silent meeting of Dhan and Dhanshri. He was Somdev, the son of the royal priest.
After Dhanshri left, Somdev also vanished from there. Dhan was unaware of Somdev’s presence. He sat there for sometime, took some rest and then proceeded towards his home.