“Retreat!” Indra shouted over the din of the battle to his fleeing army, “Retreat, now!”
The army of the Devas were defeated by the Asura army led by Mahisha. Indra was forced to flee from the battlefield for his life. He collected his remaining soldiers and escaped from heaven to earth, shaking off the jeering Asuras who were in pursuit of the running Devas.
Indra felt deeply humiliated by his defeat. He hid himself and the rest of his army in the icy Himavan ranges. The jeers and insults flung towards him by the Asuras still rang fresh in his ears. But he knew he couldn’t defeat the demon forces alone. “We need help,” he said to his commander, “Kailash is nearby. I’ll go and ask Lord Shiva for his aid.” “Yes, my lord,” his commander replied, “It has been so many years since the Trinity had come together. This is a serious issue. Call upon them and they might be willing to offer their assistance.”
Indra willed himself to dissolve and materialize at the peak of the majestic Mount Kailash. There, half hidden by the snow, a male sat in deep meditation. With his deerskin robes, ash streaked arms and necklaces and armbands made out of the holy rudraksha seeds, he could have been mistaken for any sage. But Indra knew the existence of the closed third eye beneath his ash smeared forehead, the long serpant coiling itself loosely around his neck like a lethal garland and felt the power emanating from him, so much greater than any human sage. He gave out a feeling of warmth even in the icy peak.
Indra kneeled down, joining his palms and lowering his eyes in respect. Even though he stiffened at the sight of the cobra around Shiva's neck, he waited in that position till Shiva slowly opened his eyes.
“I know what brings you here Indra,” he said, his voice deep and powerful, “But I alone cannot help you.” Shiva looked behind Indra and smiled just as Indra felt two powerful presence materialize behind his back.
“Together, we might be able to aid you, but not as ourselves,” said another male voice, elegant, calm and vaguely cheerful. Lord Vishnu.
And Indra turned around to find Brahma and Vishnu smiling at him and Shiva.
The Trinity had come together at last.
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The Face of Dreams and Despair
Short StoryThese are the stories from millennia ago, when the humans had first settled in the land of the Seven Rivers, when the strife between the Devas and Asuras built up and gods and goddesses descended to the earth in various forms to restore harmony. Th...
