Murkier Vijayadashami

The gloomy weather engulfed the village of Marathahalli. The ominous wind hooted mournfully as if to pay homage to a dead body. The village head, Raja, and his wife, Radha, got out of their car and hurried towards the river bed. Their body, brimming with perspiration, seemed to project the relentless anxiety churning within them. They had heard bad news, which prompted them to come here. As soon as Radha saw the head of her daughter, Sheela, she freaked out in horror. Sheela's head had been beheaded. Her body was also lying next to her head which was indeed a gory sight to witness. Raja controlled his tears, but his wife fell, and her wails echoed across the river. This turned out to be a barbaric murder. In contrast, the pristine river flowed as if nothing happened. Raja tried to console his wife but to no avail. Vijayadashami evening had turned into a nightmare for the couple. A stream of tears poured out from her eyes which reflected her unconditional love towards her daughter. Someone covered in a woollen blanket seemed to pass the trees ahead of them. 

"Catch hold of him," Raja passed the orders. 

His security guards ran after him.

They eventually cremated her body after attaching it to her head. They incessantly looked at the flames that encroached upon their daughter's dead body. It was indeed painful for them to overcome their daughter's demise. 

"Let the holy flames facilitate my daughter's journey towards heaven," Raja lamented.

Months flew by. Raja showed no interest in the work. He even went to the extent of abdicating the village head post unable to grapple with the bitter reality. But his security and the other villagers consoled and convinced him to stay in the post for the welfare of the people. Raja had lost his brother the previous year on the same Vijayadashami. He had also lost his father on the same festival day two years back. He had lost his mother in his childhood itself. There seemed to be some secret hidden beneath the cloak of Vijayadashami day. His team had investigated, too, but to no avail. The man who ran away covered with a blanket was nowhere to be seen, which further raised eyebrows. Many villagers believed that an evil spirit had cast its eyes on his family. Maybe there was something that had materialized in the past which is leading to these terrible events. Radha was still gripped by her daughter's untimely death. Raja saw her being in a miserable state.

"It's very painful to lose our loved ones every year. I never thought our daughter would be killed in such a barbaric manner," he said.

The wave of silence retreated away from his wife as she allowed the words to flow out of her mouth, "Why was she killed? What wrong did she do? I can't even imagine a life without her presence."

"Every time, we investigate to determine the culprit, we end up getting zero evidence. I am clueless," he looked perplexed.

"I, too, believe there is an evil spirit which is causing this mayhem in our family. We need to trace back the past and figure out what is leading to these horrific events. I strongly believe Goddess Durga will help us to conquer the darkness. We need to meet a spiritual guru," she said.

"I have lost conviction in God. We have never skipped any Pooja and firmly believed in God. Consequently, we have been compelled to get swept away by the storm of bad news every year. It's horrendous to lose my family members every year. Why should I do Pooja anymore?" he exclaimed.

"Let us not lose faith in God. Maybe something wrong was done in the past due to which we are suffering in the present. It is important to figure out the underlying issue which causing these troubles. We need to meet a spiritual guru who would have answers to all these worrying questions," she said.

"Fine, I respect your decision. There is a powerful spiritual guru in the adjacent village. Let us meet him soon," he promised.

On a bright sunny morning, the flock of birds flocked to the sky to hold a secret meeting. The sun God battered the earth with his fierce rays that threatened to ignite a spark. Such was the summer heat but the people in the village were acclimatized to the relentless heat. Even the occasional breeze seemed inadequate, in the searing heat. Raja and Radha travelled to the adjacent village to meet a spiritual guru. They were desperate to find a solution to the never-ending problem that plagued them. A spiritual guru was seen counting the beads with closed eyes. He seemed to recite hymns silently. He opened his eyes upon their arrival. 

"Looks like you are affected by the mental turmoil," he said.

The couple shared their grievances with him with the hope of finding a suitable solution to extinguish the curse.

He closed his eyes for ten minutes and then slowly opened it. The couple waited with bated breath to listen to his forthcoming words.

"There is an evil spirit that has targeted your family."

"I told you," Radha looked at her husband with trepidation. 

"Your late father had sacrificed a human being on the day of Vijayadashami. He has now become an invisible ghost. It is the same ghost that killed your father and your brother. It has vowed to wipe out your family. Unless the spirit doesn't get liberation, you continue to lose your family members."

These words had a deep impact on them. Raja had never expected his father to kill a human being even in his wildest dreams. 

"For every problem, there is a solution," Guru said.

"Please let us know the solution. Or else even we may die in the subsequent Dusshera," Raja lamented.

"Your wife is an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga. In the next Vijayadashami, she has to walk barefoot on the bed of hot stones praying Goddess Durga to liberate the evil spirit. If she manages to do so, the evil spirit will get liberation, and your family will be saved."

Raja was shocked to hear this and he protested. "How can my wife do such a perilous ritual? Isn't there any other way? I am ready to do this myself. I don't want to see my wife do it," he said.

His wife interrupted and promised that nothing harm would happen to her since she is an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga. Even though Raja was hesitant for his wife to pursue the ritual, the latter convinced him to avoid the destruction of his family.

Dusshera festival was celebrated across the village in full swing. The festival ambience reverberated across the village with fervour. People performed Pooja to the Goddess Durga with much finess. The large idol of Goddess Durga was indeed a sight for the sore eyes. The much anticipated Vijayadashami arrived with grandeur. Raja and Radha walked towards the idol and performed a grand Pooja in the morning. Radha was to do firewalking in the evening to allow the light to defeat the darkness. Will she end the evil spirit's hegemony? Is anyone in their family going to die? Will Goddess Durga act as a protector to destroy the evil entity? A million questions hung in the air. Even the villagers wanted to quench their curiosity. The idol of Goddess Durga shimmered as the day transformed into evening. Radha had donned a red saree. Her forehead was anointed with a vermilion. She prostrated before Goddess Durga to gain her blessings before attempting the ritual. The people of the village thronged at the spot

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to view the ritual. The sound of drum beats and flutes carried the spiritual fervour in the air. Hot red coals glittered, exhibiting their red light to the village. Raja folded his hands and observed the ritual which was now being set in motion. Radha walked barefoot on the hot coal. People gathered over there had to stay a long distance away from her. Everybody hailed her courage. Suddenly, something seemed amiss. She screamed in agony and fell on the hoat coal and the relentless heat consumed her. The whole village rooted to the spot looked in horror. Raja raced towards his wife but was stopped by his security because Radha had already breathed her last. 

"Where is God? If there was God, my wife would not have died," he lamented.

The villagers, too, agreed with his statement. 

"There is no God. It is just an illusion," a chatter filled the air.

Eventually, they extinguished the flames and pulled out her dead body which was roasted in flames. 

"This is horrific," some of the women cried.

The soul had already departed the body. The Vijaydashami curse continued for Raja's family. He was now the only one who survived in the family. 

"The evil spirit has yet again conquered us. If there was God, this would not have happened. There will be no Pooja to any God going forward," he screamed.

Something weird materialized catching everybody off guard. The dead body of Radha seemed to be possessed by an entity. Everybody looked petrified unable to fathom the proceedings. Radha got back to her feet and danced like Goddess Durga which persuaded people to fold hands and watch in awe. 

The elegant dance moves, coupled with loud shouts, echoed around. She rubbed the hot coals on her body and protruded her red tongue out. Her widened eyes brimmed with anger. Nobody dared to move. This was unprecedented hitherto never seen before in the village. She pulled the trident off the ground and circled the hot coals. 

"Jai Durga Mata," people heaped praise being awestruck by her.

The drumbeats and flute sounds resuscitated back to life. She approached the head of the village. Everybody felt the village was deeply blessed. In an astonishing turn of events, she pushed him, and he fell flat on the ground. With the anger exploding in her eyes, she raised her trident and delivered a killer blow. Blood spewed out of his body as he slowly inched towards death. Everybody opened their mouth in horror seeing their village chief covered in a pool of blood. 

Flashback:

Raja developed an interest towards an evil deity, Jakini in his childhood. He used to secretly read her books to understand her special powers. As he grew up, he was made the head of the village since his father grew old. 

He secretly built a cave for Jakini since he was drawn to the lower deity. Nobody was allowed to visit the place. Some guys tried to breach the rule and they all fell prey to his wrath. Following that, nobody dared to go to that place fearing dire consequences. The villagers believed the place to be haunted by ghosts, so did not show the audacity to venture there. Raja was assisted by his security guards and he paid them enough to make sure they never spilled the beans. One day, he understood from Jakini that he would gain special powers if he got rid of his family. On the day of Vijayadashami, he had to sacrifice his family members one at a time. Once he renounces the relationship with all his family members, the evil deity bestows him with special powers, which make him more powerful than human beings. His mind was encroached by Jakini and he never felt the need to save the relationship with his family. On the day of Vijayadashami, on the pretext of visiting Goddess Durga temple, he took a detour and went to the cave along with his father. When his father saw the idol of the evil deity he freaked out in horror. He was shocked to see his son being drawn to evil powers. He pleaded with him to stay away from Jakini since she was dangerous but his words fell on deaf ears. Ruthless Raja stabbed his father. Subsequently, he asked his minions to place the dead body on a stone that was kept opposite the idol of Jakini. He then recited her prayers and decapitated him which was a sacrifice to the evil deity. In the subsequent Vijayadashami, he targeted his brother. He had also played mind games to ensure his brother never got married fearing the arrival of new members into his family. He sacrificed his brother to Jakini by decapitating him. The next year, he targeted his own daughter, which was a testament to his addiction to the evil deity and his obsession to acquire special powers. On the day of Vijaydashami, he set about doing Pooja to Goddess Durga, drawing everybody's attention to him. He allowed his minions to abduct his daughter thereby taking her to the cave. He refused to show even an iota of compassion towards his own innocent daughter as he beheaded her in front of Jakini. Then he promised Jakini that he would sacrifice his own wife the subsequent year. His dwindling desire to save his family was palpable. When his wife persuaded him to meet a spiritual guru, he chalked out a plan to meet a spurious guru instead. He planned to make his wife walk on the hot coals. He had made preparations to ensure the hot coals also had piercing thorns in them, and the heat was on an insane level, which would bury the feet very soon. His plan worked to perfection since his wife couldn't tackle the brutal plan he had hatched. He tried to blame God to make sure everybody lost faith in God. Raja had now brainwashed everyone with no oppressor to oppose his moves. He was about to visit the cave and perform a Pooja to acquire special powers but his luck ran out. Had he successfully performed the Pooja, the villagers would have been bound to suffer in his tyranny. The Goddess Durga herself showed up to end his tyranny to restore peace and happiness in the village. Raja's perpetual hunger for power got nipped in the bud. 

Present: 

Raja's security, who supported him in all his evil endeavours, spat out the truth, fearing the wrath of the Goddess Durga. People of the village who had no idea about the gospel truth shared apprehensive glances at each other. The harrowing truth shuddered them for a while. Their eyes filled with fear took time to come to terms with the reality. The soul can never be battered to death. The soul can never be harmed. It is the body that gets destroyed and sees death. Radha, being an ardent devotee of Goddess Durga, was blessed since the latter possessed her body for a while. Her lifespan did not allow her to live more in this costume. Her demise was inevitable. She disconnecting herself from her evil husband was bound to happen. She gained the blessings of Goddess Durga who decided to show up herself to put a final nail in the coffin. The anger on her face was now replaced by serenity. The divine feminine at her ultimate best stood rooted to the spot ending the chaos. Everybody prostrated before the Goddess Durga and when they got back to their knees, she was nowhere to be seen. Raja's security guards received punishment for life for abetting the barbaric crime committed by their master. They demolished the cave of Jakini which was only propagating negativity. The Vijaydashami was no longer murkier in Marathahalli thereafter.