Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Author:Vaishnavi Patel [Patel, Vaishnavi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2022-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

One week into the trip, the boys reached the edge of the world they knew. They had never been farther than this while hunting, and they did not want to stay trapped inside the carriage any longer. They rode beside me for as much of the day as they could manage, commenting with wonder on everything they saw: the cone-like trees bristling with slender needles, the vast rolling hills, the roaming herds of shaggy goats and horned sheep.

Their enthusiasm gave me fresh eyes, and I viewed it all with pleasure. I remembered all too well feeling trapped inside the carriage on my bridal journey from Kekaya to Ayodhya.

At the end of the second week, we reached the bridge that spanned the Sarasvati River. I remembered my adventure with Yudhajit near its banks long ago, that surreal glimpse of the rakshasa in the hush of the forest, and apprehension rippled through me.

As we had written back and forth over the last eleven years, our blue bond had grown. But it did not even approach its former strength. The love and tranquility of his letters, filled primarily with news of our respective courts and memories of childhood, might not translate when he set his eyes upon me.

Even though I could gain no real assistance from the goddess, when I saw the river, I longed for the calming ritual familiarity of taking its blessings.

I stopped our party on the banks and instructed everyone to bathe their faces in the water. Manthara waded in several steps, an expression of true contentment on her features. She had insisted on accompanying me, for she was getting older and might not be able to make the long journey back to her homeland again.

“Why is Manthara so cheerful?” Rama asked me. Excitement shone in his features, boyish enthusiasm propelling him onto his toes.

“The Sarasvati River is sacred to us,” I answered. “We say that it is the pathway to heaven and the stars. The goddess protects our rivers and waters and expands the minds of men.”

Rama shook his head. “Lord Vishnu is the protector, not Sri Sarasvati,” he argued.

I turned to look at him. “Rama, you cannot say such a thing in the presence of this holy river. Apologize at once.”

“Why? What can she do to me?”

Irritation flashed through me at his dismissal of the goddess, followed closely by fear. If Sarasvati heard such blasphemous words, she might rise up to strike my son.

I positioned my body between Rama and the river. “Sarasvati is a goddess, and worthy of your respect.”

“I respect her. Of course I do,” Rama said quickly. “But I do not—”

A scream came from behind me, and I spun around, pushing Rama farther back. The steady waters of the river had become a churning menace, creeping up the banks toward us. The servants were scrambling backward and away. With the cloudless, sunny sky above us, there could be no question what was causing this.

“Move,” I told Rama. “You need to run.”

“I am not afraid. I will not flee.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.