Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod (45 page)

Brihaspati told Indra what had transpired since his near fatal encounter with the Vishkanya. Indra listened quietly as the priest narrated the prophecy of Ugra's tribe and the circumstances that had led them to this beautiful valley. Indra voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the menace in his tone.

'If that is our destiny, then let us prepare to embrace it. However, I do not share your trust of the dark one. Tell him to lead us to the place where the waters and clouds are trapped and then stay out of our way. If I get even the slightest hint of treachery, I will tear his body to pieces and feed them to his pagan god.'

He then called to Soma and asked him to mix up some of his brew. Brihaspati smiled. He was glad to see that Indra had fully recovered. He took the king's leave and rushed off to find Ugra.

The priest found the Gond warrior on the shore of the lake, sitting cross-legged, hands joined in prayer. In front of him, fashioned out of the wet mud, was an idol that looked suspiciously like a human phallus to Brihaspati. As an Aditya priest who worshipped the elements in their purest form, the idea of worshipping the male organ repulsed him. He waited for Ugra to finish before he allowed his curiosity to get the better of him.

'Why do you worship your god in so base a form?'

Ugra turned to him with a quizzical look on his face; he did not understand why the form of his deity was repulsive to his friend.

'The Supreme One led us out of the forest where we barely carved out an existence into the great plains of the Terai. He gave us seeds for crops and taught us how to farm the land. Our tribe grew and prospered. We worship him in this form to always remember him as the giver of life.'

The gods that Brihaspati was accustomed to were angry beings that had to be appeased with sacrifices so they wouldn't unleash their fury on his people. He had never heard of a god that took the hand of his people, taught them how to live and led them to prosperity. This god did not seem to want anything in return for his service. He instilled unwavering faith in his devotees even when they were going through their worst times. As he looked at Ugra's little mud idol, his path ahead became very clear to him. Before he discovered the answers to all the questions that ran through his head, he must first discover himself.

That evening Brihaspati informed Indra and his commanders that he would not be accompanying them any further on this journey. There were furious protests from Aryaman and some of the other Adityas at this announcement. Indra looked into the eyes of the Aditya priest and saw something there that took him back to his childhood. It was the same look Mitra had whenever he was about to set off on one of his mysterious trips. Brihaspati, like Mitra, had become a seeker of the Light.

Ugra had mixed feelings when he heard of Brihaspati's decision. The priest was his only friend in this expedition. He would miss him, yet he knew that each of them had to follow the path Fate had ordained for them. The dark warrior looked up into the night sky. Around them the peaks of the mighty Himalayas gleamed in the moonlight. This was the domain of the Parama Purusha, or Supreme One. Brihaspati, like many great men from around the world, had fallen under His spell. Now, no worldly duties or attachments would hold him back.

***

From the entrance of a cave high on the Trikuta Mountain, Brihaspati watched Indra and his army as they left the valley of Kash and made their way east. From that height the formidable army looked like a column of ants on the march. Brihaspati sighed to himself; all his worldly attachments seemed to be leaving with that departing force.

He had been taken aback to see that his decision had not surprised Indra one bit. It was almost as if the king had expected it. He regretted that he had been unable to explain the situation satisfactorily to Aryaman. Through the years, he had come to love the Aditya prince like one of his own brothers, and he was pained to see the sadness and confusion in the eyes of the young warrior. But he had no explanation to give him; Brihaspati barely understood why he was doing this himself. He just felt in his heart that it was the right thing to do.

Ugra was at the head of the column. A fair distance separated him and the rest of the men. The dark warrior stopped and looked up in his direction. In spite of the vast distance between them, Brihaspati could feel the strength of his gaze. Ugra raised his hand in farewell, and Brihaspati reciprocated the Gond warrior's gesture.

Ugra tore his gaze away from the mountain and concentrated on the trail ahead. They made their ascent out of the valley of Kash and set out in the direction of the rising sun. It had taken a lot of persuasion on his part to convince Indra to leave the horses behind. It was only the Ashvanis' decision to stay behind and care for the animals that had finally made Indra agree. The Devas' and the Adityas' distrust of the Gond warrior increased greatly after this decision. The hostilities were so open now that Ugra made sure he slept away from the main encampment when they stopped to rest at night.

Their journey took them through hills and dales of exceptional beauty. Although the rivers of the region all ran dry, there was plenty of water to be had from the many glacial lakes that dotted the landscape. But the terrain became increasingly difficult: they encountered sheer rock faces and treacherous glaciers that tested the limits of their strength and endurance.

They soon arrived, exhausted, on the shores of a beautiful lake in the shape of a crescent moon. Ugra announced that the final leg of their expedition would begin from there. He advised them to stock up on water as there was none to be had for the rest of the journey. The men refreshed themselves in the waters of the lake and made camp for a couple of days while Ugra went ahead to scout the uncharted terrain.

When the Gond warrior returned, he was immediately summoned to Indra's war council. Atreya was the first to address the assembly. He was frank and forthright with his views. He expressed the apprehensions of the majority of his men. He posed the question that was on everybody's mind, including Indra's. How did a warrior, who had never left the plains of the Terai, know his way through this terrain? What if they were being led into a trap?

Ugra looked around at the gathering of men. Of one thing he was certain: these northerners did not fear an honourable death in battle. What they feared was an inglorious end to their lives through altitude sickness or a fatal drop into the deep ravines and crevasses that dotted this landscape. They did not want to put their lives in the hands of someone they distrusted immensely.

Ugra addressed Indra as he spoke.

'My lord, the fears of your men are justified for no one truly knows for sure what awaits us at the end of this journey. Many years ago my tribe, just like the many others in this land, sent an army to these mountains to investigate the cause behind the death of our rivers. Only one man returned: he was terrified and half-crazed with fear and did not make any sense. But he had this map tattooed on his thigh.'

He parted his skirt and revealed the tattoo on his leg.

'This map is inscribed not only on my body but in my mind as well. Every prince of the royal house of the Gonds bore this mark and considered it his foremost duty to serve the liberator of these waters. I am the last of my kind. Once I am gone, this secret will die with me.'

Yadu laughed sarcastically.

'So we embark on this quest based on the testimony of one crazy man. What was it that caused him to go mad with fear?'

'He spoke of an army of monsters that descended on them from the clouds. They tore the men from limb to limb and devoured them alive.'

Ugra now had their undivided attention. He knew now that all he had to do was wound their warrior pride a little and they would fall in line with his plans.

'I understand your fears. It is possible that an enemy unlike any you have ever faced before awaits you. So do not worry, my lords, history will not think any less of you if you wish to turn back and abandon this perilous mission.'

'Silence, you impudent dog!' Indra roared as he got to his feet. 'I would rip that tongue out of your mouth if I did not need you to fulfil my destiny. We are Devas. We fear nothing. You saw what we did to the monsters you dispatched against us; the same fate awaits this enemy of yours. Now hold your insolent tongue and lead us to this place.'

Ugra hid his triumphant smile and bowed low to the king. He knew he would have no more trouble with these foreigners.

15

Days after they left the beautiful crescent lake, they encountered a frozen desert. Thanks to Ugra's warning, they had stocked up on their food and water and were now able to admire the stark beauty of the landscape ahead rather than be intimidated by it. They saw a few herds of mountain goats, but no sign of any human presence in the vast lands. They soon came upon another dry riverbed; the smoothened rocks and pebbles that littered the ground were the only signs left of the great river that had once flowed through there.

Ugra informed Indra that this dry river would lead them to their destination. They followed its course up into the great mountains. Ugra had wisely divided them into groups of twenty men who were then roped together. Thus, when they encountered snowdrifts and avalanches, casualties were minimised.

In spite of these precautions many fell to their death into the treacherous crevasses and ravines they encountered. At long last they came upon a green plateau hemmed in by magnificent snow-capped peaks. The lack of any shrubs and trees gave them a clear view all across it.

'The people that once lived here called this place the roof of the world,' Ugra told Indra when he was summoned by the Deva king.

'What happened to them?'

Indra's question was answered soon enough when they saw the grass ahead littered with human bones bleached white in the sun. Ugra stopped to examine them; they bore marks caused by razor-sharp teeth. There were no remains of the creatures that had done this. It had not been a battle. It looked more like a feeding frenzy. These men had been slaughtered and eaten, their bones picked clean.

As they continued their march through this graveyard of bones, the mood became sombre. The Devas now realised that whatever they were up against was clearly not human. As they moved on, the piles of bones only started to get bigger and there were quite a few nervous faces among the men now.

A thick gathering of clouds lay between the two great peaks ahead, in the otherwise clear evening sky. They decided to make camp for the night. There was an uneasy silence around the encampment as fires were lit and the men settled down for some well-deserved rest.

That night, Indra, Soma, Varuna, Vayu and Agni gathered around a fire. None of them slept, but spent the night drinking copious amounts of soma as they readied themselves for battle. Ugra watched them in the darkness; he hoped these warriors would be the answer to the troubles that ailed his land.

As day broke, the members of the last watch woke the rest of the men. Indra and his men watched spellbound as winged creatures emerged from the clouds. They floated high above them on leathery wings and their numbers seemed to blot out the rising sun as they started to swoop down on them. They were unlike anything the men had seen before. They looked like giant winged lizards. They had thick heavy-set hind legs on which they walked and their forelegs were smaller but covered with lean cords of muscle and talons at their business end. They also had formidable jaws filled with razor-sharp teeth.

The archers began to unleash volley after volley of arrows into them, but they merely bounced off the thick armour-like scales that covered their bodies. Indra was quick to spot that their wings were the only parts vulnerable to injury. Even as the first creatures began to swoop down on the men to carry them off, Indra screamed to his archers to aim for their wings.

The men responded to his call and directed their volleys into the creatures' wings, tearing them to shreds. The great beasts fell to the ground but picked themselves up and charged at the archers. Yadu and his Yavanas closed ranks around the unprotected bowmen and prepared to face the threat from the ground.

More and more creatures burst through the clouds and began to fill the sky. They learnt quickly from their first attack and this time swooped down upon the Devas with the sun behind them. With the sun's glare in their eyes, the archers were severely disadvantaged and unable to get a bead on their targets. Indra watched in dismay as they picked up his men and soared high in the air before they dropped them to their death.

Ugra worked his way through the throng of warriors and reached the king. The survivor of the last expedition here had been dismissed as crazy by Ugra's grandfather and lived on the largesse of the other members of the tribe. Ugra had taken food to him on several occasions and the old man had told him about these flying lizards. He had told him that one beast, their leader, controlled the creatures telepathically. Ugra had not repeated the story lest he be dismissed as insane. He had scarcely believed it himself until now.