The Legend of Agniruddha - The Last Path

Finality

“You have no right to be here.”

“Reparation!-” “it shall never be thine!”

“Now come! Prepare to die!”

“My will prevails!”

“Come embrace me! Let’s be one!”

“NO!”

Shulvaratha’s eyes were set upon the rising moon, yet his vision was clouded by dark memories. In the silence of the night he heard soft whispers and haunted cries, as though someone was trying to talk to him. All around he saw ghosts of a forgotten past; faint silhouettes of people walking past him; people clad in quaint attire, with an ancient glow in their faces. The vision soon changed into a horrible spectacle; he saw men and women running everywhere, yet in the end they all burned away into the night. Ash mounds were beneath him, being reminiscent of the vision that he saw; desolation and emptiness was within him and without. In the dead silence of the night, a hideously inhuman wail traversed the air, striking a cold anxiety in his heart. He couldn’t control himself any longer and he leaned on the balcony; his agony almost tearing his heart out. The Guardian could do nothing but speak to a high grave far way yonder, his ancient heart was crying out but his voice was stone cold. The horror was too great to withstand, even if it was in the past. Yet the grief was near to him. He knew that he had to be strong, lest evil gain upon him.

“When will you come, my prince? When will you come?”

“How long can you bear this torture, mother?! Why cannot we fight back? Why are you so frightened and pathetic?”

Kubja whimpered on as Shouka bellowed and raged around. The full moon rode into the night sky, casting a silver sheen on everything that was under his gaze. All of earth was illuminated in his pristine glory. Rarely did earth see such beautiful nights. Yet all that beauty went unnoticed in Shouka’s agony.

Kubja had lived a life of atrocity and discrimination, owing to her blood status; a Shudra-born would never find a place free from any discrimination in the land of Bharatam. In the village of Nemawar, never was anyone treated with such contempt and disgrace but her. However, Kubja was brave enough to stand firm against all odds and lead a worthy life, no matter how painful it was. Her existence was still mired with pity; had she been branded as a witch, her agony would have gained terrible proportions. 20 years she had spent on the outskirts of the village, never attempting to involve herself into the affairs of the villagers. It was in such a scenario that news spread that Kubja was seen with a child, which had rocked the roots of the highly social and moral society of Nemawar.  Shouka was brought into a world wherein he never belonged. Since his existence, Shouka had never known anything but ridicule and disgust at the hands of the villagers. The villagers never hesitated to pick up a fight with him, all for the sake of their entertainment. But that, in return, fuelled a strange fire within him, which caused about the development of a fiery attitude in him and thus a violent reaction to anything discriminatory. He was always confused about how could he be so distant from his mother, who despite her iron will, was still frail and fragile in the eyes of the world. This, in turn, disgusted him to his core.

“Son, why do you torture your throat thusly? What happened that you should behave in so rash a manner? ” asked the bereaved mother in a broken voice. Shouka was silent for a while; this silence was broken with heavy breathing and a depth of silence which they could not comprehend. After what seemed to be an eternity, he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, “the entire village was on the verge of madness, each one of them... only Mithra and Ashta were supportive”-“How many times do I have to tell you that the villagers despise you for this reason alone? How can you be so sure that those two do not feel or think like the rest of them?” Kubja retorted harshly. Shouka, who was well known for defending his only friends fierily, somehow remained silent to her question. Kubja was surprised by his silence, yet her surprise was cut short when he replied in a slow and a starkly menacing voice “Mithravrinda and Ashtabahu are the only two souls in this entire village who share some love for us, mother. I am not sure whether their love is born out of sympathy or something else, yet I am grateful to them, for it is all that I have – that we have.” He paused to get back his grim bearing and then continued in the same deadpan, hoarse voice “I got into a fight with one of the villagers, for he had insulted my parentage. He insulted my father.”- 

He suddenly broke off and began to cry uncontrollably. Before Kubja could even console him, he suddenly rampaged around, knocking down the only minimal furniture present in the house and bawling with rage. Kubja grabbed him and held him tightly till he could steady his nerves. They cried together, being unable to hold back their pent-up grief. It was a grief that was held up for a long time; a grief which had no end. After a long while Shouka asked in a battered voice “mother please! Tell me at least now- who is my father? Too long have I wasted like this, haven’t I? Seventeen years is all that I have lived. It was an eternity, mother.  Please tell me!”

Kubja was taken aback upon hearing his plea. The agony in his voice was too great for her to bear. She stared at him mutely, with tears streaming down her pale cheeks, being unable to bring herself to answer his question. She slowly got up and limped towards the door. She sat at the threshold and stared listlessly at the radiant full moon. Shouka looked at her the whole while, visibly annoyed by her lack of response. He asked in a low voice “how long do you think your silence will avail you, mother?”

“It’s beginning.”

Great clouds wreathed Mount Kailash, thus effectively cloaking it from the rest of the world. Yet one Eye remained steady, its vision unclouded. And it saw all and it felt the agony that was within what it saw. “And when will you step in, my lord?” asked Lady Parvati. “That time is close... this continuum is changing. It won’t be long before he becomes aware.”

“You are implying a change that hasn’t happened in a thousand years”, she replied in a solemn voice.

“Even Fate has become desperate.”

His golden voice resonated in the air and Parvati looked at the starry and unclouded sky, wondering about the chaos that was about to follow, yet not forgetful of the chaos that led to this.