THE DIVINE ASTRAS

Chapter 2

Undisclosed Location
As he walked past the indistinguishable weapon in the shrine, he was wondering as to its effects, it was kept in a holder of some sorts, which was in the shape of a ring, on a stone pedestal, which had some words inscribed into it, it was not very visible because of the darkness there, he tried to pull it out, but was unable to.
He left it there, he was not there for it. It would not fulfill his purpose, he loved her and would do anything for her, she was the only one who mattered to him and He took him from her, she, who was a strict devotee. He didn't want revenge, he just wanted her back, this was the only way to do it, the 'Brahmānda Astra', said to contain powers greater than even three of the most powerful astras, the 'Nārāyana Astra', the 'Pashupata Astra' and the 'Brahmashira Astra'.
But he would have to learn how to use it, among all the astras, this was created for defensive purposes and had the power to destroy the universe(Brahmānda), the power to destroy the 14 realms, created by the Saptrishis, it could counter any weapon, and if used aggressively, nothing could stand in its way.
According to Guruji, this shrine was where this was, near the legacy of Lord Parashurāma, the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu, the only person to possess the knowledge of the entire use of this astra, if he could find it, his Guruji would teach him how to invoke its power and resurrect Vijayā.
Now Jai, began to look for this legacy, a sign of Lord Parashurāma, a symbol, whatever.
He started looking around, there was almost nothing around, except for that glowing light near the weapon which illuminated nothing.
Jai was almost sure he would find it here, at least something would then be accomplished. This was the last famous shrine of Parashurama, this was the only place where this could be.
He looked again at the indistinguishable weapon, he went to it and touched it, felt its surface, it felt like a staff, but towards the top there was a handle, a hilt of sorts, to which a blade was attached, the staff itself was made out of a metal, and the blade, well, the blade was curved, he felt the whole surface.
This was an axe! Could it be?
The blade was only present on one side, the axe, he was almost sure, that this weapon was Parashurāma's axe, which gave him this name, Parashurāma, which meant 'Rāma with an axe'.
This was given to him by Lord Shiva, his mentor, his Guru, as a result of severe penance by him.
As he travelled his fingers towards the other end of the weapon something was inscribed in the middle, as he felt it. It felt more embossed than engraved, as if it had been written on top long after the creation of this amazing weapon, finally he took out a pocket torch to see what was embossed, something his Guru had told him to avoid,"The light there will lead you to what you desire." That's what he had said, anyways, as he flashed it's light on the inscription, he gasped.
"Parashurama's axe!" he whispered.
ॐ Namah Shivāy
As Lord Parashurāma was a disciple, it would be obvious then, he would have somehow managed to burn this over this weapon as it appeared, after becoming Shiva's student.
"Wait a minute!" he gasped, "Is that what I think it is?" he said looking at the light, which was throwing off only a little light.
The light there will lead you to what you desire.
Had he kept the torch switched on, he wouldn't have cared much for it.
Was this it?
The Brahmānda astra, the most terrible weapon in the history of mankind, was this it?
Just this simple stone, emanating yellow light?
He took out his rubber gloves and a plastic bag with a zipper, he grabbed the stone and it's glow vanished, almost instantaneously, it was nothing more than a small stone, with a rough texture, on which 'Shri Brahma' was inscribed in Sanskrit, with a picture of Lord Brahma and his five heads along with it.
This was it, the Brahmānda Astra, the ultimate weapon, something which could render the power of the Brahma Astra negligible, even Vishwāmitra's divine weapons proved useless when Guru Vashistha used the Brahmānda Astra.
Now he would return to his home, in Sambhala village and finally could proceed further and could bring his loved one back.
"Vijayā, you'll be back soon. I promise you."
He put the divine astra in the plastic bag, put it in his pouch, put the torch back in his pocket and moved out, as he walked away, he thought much of his troubles were over, but they were just about to start.
Their master plan was only beginning.