I have not seen him for years.. Is he all right?
Yes, Mother.
Brother Shesh is utterly fine.
Despite the vast distance, he thinks of you
and of Aunt Kadru every single day!
Are you aware of something, Mother?
Brother Shesh
begins his day by taking
Aunt Kadru's name even before taking Lord Vishnu's name.
Sister Kadru will be immensely pleased to hear that.
She might not utter anything in relation to this
but I am well-acquainted with her heart.
After Ananth and Vasuki went away
she had been consumed by woe.
'You two may go wherever you please.'
'Irrespective of where you go'
'may you be blessed with joy.'
Owing to the blessings of aunt and you
Brother Shesh's meditation had reaped the desired fruits.
He had even reached Vaikunth.
However, he has not yet had the honour of basking in the glory
of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi.
But after Goddess Lakshmi entered the Kingdom of the Ocean
Lord Vishnu
immersed himself in meditation, Mother.
Were you blessed with
the honour of basking in Lord Vishnu's glory?
Though afar
I was blessed with the honour of basking in Lord Vishnu's glory.
Pray tell..
What is it that My Lord looks like?
Being in close proximity to him
bathes one in the divinity
and purity of his being
and it is impossible to word it, Mother.
However, since this is an order of yours
I will indeed make an earnest attempt.
My Lord is immersed in meditation, Mother.
The ornaments which adorn him
have lost their lustre
as the entire universe
has been robbed of Goddess Lakshmi's grace.
Despite the grave circumstances
his entire being radiates a divine glow
which is more brilliant than a thousand suns!
However
it is not fierce
or fiery.
It is nothing but soothing and calming.
It is wondrous, mild, soothing and calming.
Mother..
Remember the blessing that you gave me? May I
be blessed with the honour of being Lord Vishnu's devotee..
Only when I beheld him
did the realisation dawn upon me that your blessing
had merely veiled the joy you wished for me to receive.
Listening to your words pleases me immensely, Garud.
Despite your tender age, you were blessed with the honour
of basking in the glory of Lord Vishnu!
This makes me immensely proud.
It seems as though
I have finally reaped the fruits of my years of meditation.
May no one cast the evil eye on you..
'For how long will he while away the time'
'by speaking of such things?'
'All I wish to know is what precisely Sheshnag'
'apprised him of pertaining to Vinta and me.'
Garud.
What did Ananth apprise you of?
The truth is bound to surface one day or another, my son.
Brother Shesh apprised me of everything, Mother.
From the very beginning..
That there was affection and love between aunt and you..
That you were the apple of her eye..
When you would succumb to illness
she would offer you
her servitude by remaining awake for nights on end.
However, the day
Sage Durvasa gave his necklace made of the Parijat
to you instead of her
everything changed, Mother.
'The one who wears this'
'will be blessed with valorous and eminent children'
'whose glory, magnificence and majesty'
'will permeate the entire universe.'
Then aunt was consumed
by envy towards you.
But I failed to comprehend it..
Such is the nature of vices, Mother.
We fail to recognise them while there is still time.
Sometimes, we fall prey to them
and remain utterly oblivious of this fact.
Before Brother Arun and I were born
the birth of the serpents
had made envy consume you as well.
However, you were oblivious to it.
'Now, I must learn'
'if my children are growing in these eggs or not.'
'What I did with the egg Arun was growing in was a sin'
'and Garud is acquainted with it..'
Mother.
I comprehend your emotions.
Your motherly love had transformed into envy
but you were utterly oblivious to it.
But it was not entirely your fault, Mother.
You were blessed with the boon of being the mother
of immensely mighty sons.
And owing to that
aunt had fallen prey to insecurity.
Hence, she planted
so many seeds of suspicion in your mind
that you failed to grasp the reality that lay before you.
And when Brother Arun
gave you a terrible curse in a fit of rage
you deemed it your destiny.
And then owing to your guilty conscience
you had been rendered so utterly feeble, Mother
that you were incapable of taking the correct decision.
Hence, you failed to see the trap laid by aunt and..
And you kept getting entangled in it.
And then the entire blame of Brother Arun
being born incomplete
was gladly accepted by you.
And you pardoned aunt with utter ease
when in fact, aunt
did not deserve to be pardoned.
'I do not hold Sister Kadru guilty of what happened.'
'It is I who erred, is it not?'
All this..
Did Ananth apprise you of it? - No, Mother.
Brother Shesh is unaware of the events which took place
after Brother Arun's birth.
For a moment, I too felt as though
my attempts to learn the truth about your enslavement
would go in vain.
However
Lord Vishnu gave me a sign..
That I should approach Lady Aditi.
'Glory to you'
'O Narayan.'
'Glory to you'
'O Narayan.'
What took place during her meditation
is something aunt has already apprised you of.
However, you are unaware of the fact
that towards the end of that war
Vajrang had been rendered defenceless before me.
'What happened'
'which rendered Vajrang defenceless before Garud?'
'Stop, my child! Stop..'
When Aunt Diti reached there to safeguard him
I was intransigent..
I learnt everything from Aunt Diti
everything Brother Shesh was unaware of.
'Until we learn the extent of his competence'
'we must keep Vinta alive.'
'Vinta and Vinta alone'
'will control her child.'
'So, Diti apprised him of the truth about me.'
Mother, you are unaware of this..
Aunt had betrayed you!
She took undue advantage of you placing a wager
and she deceived you, Mother.
The tail of that steed..
It was white, not black.
And in order to prove that its tail is black
her sons, in their serpent form, had entwined around its tail.
That implies
that you were aware of the fact that you were deceived!
I was unaware of it in the beginning.
When she said
that I must not break my promise
and that I must take a vow to remain
enslaved to her for life
I saw
her thousand sons crawling towards me
in their serpent form.
That is when realisation dawned upon me..
As to how Sister Kadru had won that wager.
Yet you put forth no questions to her!
You had won that wager, Mother!
So, why did you accept to be her slave for life?
'I too wish to learn of that secret, Vinta.'
'Despite learning of my deception'
'why did you accept to be my slave?'
Because it was my atonement.
Sister Kadru might have
won that wager with the aid of deception
but I was the one who committed the grave sin
of placing a wager in the first place.
And that was not the first time I did it.
Before that incident, on several occasions
I had placed such wagers merely for the fun of it
and doing so had become a part of my nature, Garud!
Had I attempted to win the wager that fateful day
I would merely have amassed more sins.
I did not wish
to possess any flaws at the time of my second son's birth.
'So'
'Vinta had lost that wager on purpose!'
If the mother possesses vices
how can the son be expected to act righteously?
I wished to rid myself of all vices and flaws
so that I truly deserve your respect.
That is precisely why I gave Sister Kadru my word
by deeming the Lord my witness.
You are aware of this..
My word is my truth.
And my truth is my duty.
I cannot shirk my duties, Garud.
But, Mother
why accept enslavement merely for the sake
of atonement.. - I do not
wish to discuss this topic any further!
You wished to learn how your mother became a slave, correct?
And now, you have learnt of it.
Now, you must also accept the fact
that your mother would rather relinquish her life
than relinquish her duties.
And neither would she ever break her promise.
'I was aware of the fact'
'that for Vinta, her promises and duties'
'mean more than anything else in the universe.'
'And I shall take advantage of this weakness of yours.'
Now, you should retire for the night.
Now, allow me to get some rest.
'When mother herself does not wish for it'
'how will I liberate her from her enslavement?'
Do not be wrought with worry, Sister.
I will not break my promise.
I am not concerned about you
but your son..
He too will do neither you nor your sons any harm.
How can you be so certain?
Your son travelled to Vaikunth without informing you!
He even battled the demons. So, he is capable of anything!
He is immensely powerful.
He is also responsible.
He would never employ his powers for anything unfair.
Apart from the values I imparted to him
he also possesses his father's traits.
Pray look at him..
Despite learning of a few shocking secrets
he is slumbering peacefully.
Sister..
You and I are the wives of Great Sage Kashyap
who is akin to a lotus growing in a lake.
Despite growing in a lake
a lotus is impervious to even a drop of water.
Similarly, our lord too
remains unattached to worldliness.
I am aware of that.
You need to apprise me of what you think I am unaware of.
All I wish to say is
that you should seek inspiration from our lord.
If you are consumed by the worry
pertaining to safeguarding your sons day in and day out
how on earth will you have any peace of mind?
Do you remember this?
When Sister Diti had approached my lord
with the intention of begetting children
do you remember what had happened?
What had happened?
It was dusk
and my lord was immersed in meditation.
What is it, Diti?
Blessed be.
My Lord.
Akin to Sister Aditi, I too wish to have children.
So be it.
My Lord.. I wish to have them this instant!
This instant..
It was sundown merely a few moments ago.
It is not the correct time to conceive.
Conceiving children at this time of day
mars them with unsavoury propensities.
And when they mature
wickedness tends to dominate them in entirety.
Hence, we
must await an auspicious time of day.
In that manner, you
will be able to conceive
sons who possess not only might
but also an impeccable character
both physically and mentally.
Then they will always tread the path of righteousness.
No, My Lord..
No..
I cannot wait.
'Irrespective of the knowledge you attempt to dispense to me'
'my sons will rule the world'
'but that is not possible as long as Garud is alive.'