Dhi

Beyond Dilemmas; With Faith

The corridor felt shorter than usual. He slowed his pace even further letting himself indulge in this short rare interval of his life. Faint sweet music reached his ears from the gardens outside. The air contained the fragrance of various flowers.  With sparkling diamond pillars and gold bedecked walls encrusted in precious stones all glimmering under the sunlight, Vaijayanta was the heart of Amaravati. Yet it felt bleak to the King of the Gods. Most of the gods, goddesses, celestial nymphs and sages were on Bhulok (earth) playing different roles which left Swarga almost empty; devoid of its general liveliness. It was for only a short while. Time flew differently in Swargalok than Bhulok afterall.

"Praise be to the King of the Devas," a nymph greeted Indradev folding her hands in reverence. Generally he would stop to exchange a few pleasantries but today other important things demanded his attention. Forcing his lips to curl in a polite smile, Indra gave a nod of acknowledgement as he walked past without pause. The nymph looked confused before her eyes widened in surprised. She scurried away to share what she had seen to her friends. Devraj was walking around without his crown!!!

Indra rolled his eyes. It looked like he was going to be the subject of gossip for another 100 earth years. He wondered what exaggerated version they would come up with this time. He would never admit it out loud but Maharishi Narad's exuberant narrations about the current gossip in Swarga did amuse him tremendously.

His light-hearted train of thoughts were cut short when a familiar door came into sight. He started feeling jittery all of a sudden. Indra came to a halt before the door. Placing his palm over it, he tried to push the door open but his strength failed him. He stood there staring at the intricate carvings for sometime.

"Sakra," her eyes held an unexplainable melancholy. "This is how things have been."

He hastily removed his hand and stepped back. Another pair of eyes flashed in mind.

"Sakra," there was an esoteric contrast of confusion and knowledge in her eyes.

He hadn't ventured to this part of his palace in years much less this chamber. Perhaps all this could have been avoided if only he had listened to her then. But he knew he had acted as he was supposed to. There had been no other way. Indra took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. He needed answers. Last time the doors had been an impenetrable wall when the King of Devas had come. This time a son came to visit his mother. Indra knew in his heart he would not be denied today for his head was not high with arrogance but low in surrender. He moved forward and the door swung open on its own.

His step faltered momentarily in astonishment. No one has been able to enter this room since the door was sealed by his mother. His gaze settled on the lone figure sitting on the floor of the vast vacant room.

If one were to observe keenly, then they would find her floating 3 fingers above the floor. Seated in lotus position, her dainty hands were laid one open palm over the other on her lap. She had her almond shaped eyes closed in meditation. Her lengthy dark tresses flowed down unrestrained over her shoulders until they kissed the floor. Her figure was wrapped in a plain red bordered white saree. Despite the absence of accessories, her warm honey complexion was radiant. From the vermilion bindi on her forehead, arched eyebrows, curled lashes, lotus petal like soft lips formed into a slight smile to her straight spine, broad shoulders, narrow waist, red mahavar painted feet, she was beauty expressed in the simplest form.

The absolute silence amplified his footsteps as Indra walked closer to the Goddess. Behind him, the door closed with a muffled thud. He felt overtaken by long buried emotions all of a sudden. With shakily folded hands and uneven breath, he fell on his knees before the Goddess and whispered," Maa."