The Gods Retreat

A pair of red eyes emerged from the dense atmosphere, followed by the body of a woman. Having a horrific appearance, this terrific warrior goddess was killing armies of demons with her sharp scythe. One by one she slivered the demons single-handedly. History had perhaps never seen such marvellous female warrior. Puddles of blood gushed out from the veins of the decapitated asuras, but she, undeterred, maintained her bloody combat.

A manly demon advanced towards her, striking from the left. She dodged towards the right and with one strike of her scythe, split the demon into half.

Another demon ran forward, ready to strike. But she caught his sword with her bare hands, twisted his hand, and snatching his own sword, sliced out both the eyes of the demon from their sockets.

Her scimitar dripped blood, which fell on a blood-puddle and formed disturbances in the fluid.

“AAGH!”a blood-rending cry was let out by the woman, who was now approaching Parvati.

“AAGH!”shrieked the woman again and in one clean motion she swung the scimitar at Parvati.

Parvati sat up, gasping, dumbfounded at the slaughter and decimation she found in the startling vision.

“What on earth did I just see?” thought Parvati. Mayhem had always sickened her, and for a good, sweet, motherly and docile woman like her, this hallucination was something which Parvati could never imagine in her thousand dreams.

“Who is this warrior? And what is the significance of this vision?” pondered Parvati. She decided to inquire of Lord Shiva, her husband, about her illusion. Shiva had always provided solace to Parvati in times of need, and naturally, this time as well, she needed to discover unwinding in the soothing hands of her better half….

XXX

The white misty clouds parted to give way to a bright full moon. The ice caps of Kailash glittered like stars under the moonlight. Parvati absorbed in the beauty of the scene, when she saw a silhouette of Lord Shiva, the destroyer, dancing.

Shiva was as accomplished in dance as in warfare. But he only donned his skills when it was the time for pralaya, performing the dance of destruction, the Tandav.

But why was he dancing in this beautiful night, thought Parvati. The day of Brahma, the creator was not over. In fact, the creator god was busy creating new galaxies.

Then it struck her. Shiva was performing the anand-tandav, the opposite of the fearsome Tandav.

Parvati stared on with awe and affection as Shiva’s body moved mystically. His eyes were open, but he was in his own world. He did not dance for anyone. He danced for himself. His lyrical hand movements graced the mystical dance.

There was no music to give Shiva’s dance a company. But it clearly wasn’t necessary.

The masculine and solid structure of Lord Shiva looked noticeable under the full moonlight. The formidable Trishul, which was dreaded by all the three worlds, stood far away from him. His ardent devotee, the snake Vasuki, coiled around his neck, wrapping up his Neel Kanth, the blue throat in which was held the world’s most dangerous toxin, the Halahala.

Parvati thought of that dreadful day Shiva had swallowed the Halahala. It was one of the numerous tussles between the devas and the suras, that time in the quest of amrit, the nectar of immortality. The sagar manthan, or the churning of the Ksheer Sagar, was performed. But instead of the much-sought amrit, the deleterious Halahala had risen.

Then Shiva, the destroyer, stepped down from his function of a destroyer and became the savior, drinking in the Halahala and storing it in his throat, and from then on, his throat had been an eerie iridescent blue in colour.

Finally, the anand-tandav which threatened to continue for eternity ended with Shiva’s highlight of the day, the Nataraj pose. A gentle breeze blew, as if applauding for the moving dance.

Grabbing his Trishul, Shiva marched towards Parvati. Parvati noticed drops of water rolling down his cheeks.

“Excessive happiness expresses itself through tears,” said Shiva, before Parvati could ask anything, and planted a kiss on her cheek. Parvati blushed and was about to give a return to Shiva’s gesture, when the mission of the interpretation of the frightful vision struck her.

“What about my kiss?” asked Shiva cynically, noticing the sudden mood swing in Parvati.

“My L-”

“MAHADEV!”

Parvati was interfered mid-sentence by the combined vocalisations of the wounded and crushed devas.

XXX

“What happened devas? Who did such a condition to you?” Parvati asked worriedly, seeing the devas bruised. She knew that the gods had gone to war, but did not expect them to lose.

“Two demons, named Shumbh and Nishumbh, have dispossessed us, stripped us of our powers and appropriated our wealth and privilege. My sovereignty over the three worlds and my portions of the sacrifices are taken away by the Shumbh and Nishumbh, by force of their pride and strength. The two powerful demons have taken over the offices of Surya, Chandra, Kubera, Yama, and Varuna, Vayu’s and Agni’s portfolios as well. We have come to seek refuge at Mount Kailash.”

“But what about the daivi astras? How could they fail?” asked Parvati.

The divine weapons leave behind a huge trail of uncontrollable destruction. They were pure nuclear fission weapons, customised with the special powers of its holder. So, they would be an obvious choice for finishing a war within seconds.

“This is the mystery which troubles us, Mother,” said Indra.

“Shumbh- Nishumbh cannot be killed by the gods,” revealed Shiva.

...to be continued