THE CURSE OF BRAHMA by Jagmohan Bhanver Read Free Book Online Page B

had thought was buried in his heart forever.

    ‘Your mother was born to King Satyaketu of Vidarbha. They called her Shooraseni and she was supposed to have been the most beautiful princess in all of Bharat. Her beauty was so alluring that kings of different nations in Bharat and other lands in Mrityulok all desired to marry her. Even though her family and ours wanted her to be married to me, we knew some of the other kings might oppose, much as Somdatta did in the case of your sister. But I had the support of Vasudev’s father, Surasena, and the other kings knew that if they had to battle the combined force of Madhuvan, Bateshwar and Vidarbha, they may not win. Finally, I married Shooraseni and brought her to Madhuvan. After marriage, I liked to call your mother Padmavati, the name given to her by my father.’

    Kansa listened to Ugrasena’s every word, hoping that somewhere in those words, he may get to know the reason why his mother hated him so much. Ugrasena sipped some water before continuing.

    ‘Padmavati and I were very happy together. She loved me more than I had thought was possible and I realized that her external beauty was nothing compared to her inner loveliness. She was flawless. And she was devoted to me as few queens could ever be to their husbands. One day, we received a message from Padmavati’s father. The king of Vidarbha was ill and wanted to see his daughter. I had to go out for a few days to quell some disturbance that was taking place in one of our outer provinces, and I suggested that Padmavati go and visit her father during that time. I told her I would join her there in a few weeks. Padmavati left for Vidarbha and I set out with a battalion towards the province where the unrest was happening.’

    Kansa looked at his father with concern. Ugrasena’s voice was sounding increasingly strained and Kansa guessed that whatever Ugrasena had kept from him all these years was close to being revealed. A part of him wanted to ask Ugrasena to stop, but the other craved to know the truth. It drove him just as a moth feels drawn towards the flame, pulled by an uncontrollable force. Ugrasena continued with his story.

    ‘After Padmavati had been at Vidarbha for a month, her father began to get a little better, though his condition was still critical. Padmavati had not left his bedside for the entire time he had been bed-ridden. She was exhausted. Now that he was feeling slightly better, the old king asked her to take a break from nursing him and get some rest. I had sent a messenger to Vidarbha to let Padmavati know that I would be reaching in a couple of days’ time to join her. Seeing her father’s condition slightly improved, and on being goaded by him to take a break, she took few of her lady attendants to go to Puspavan. Puspavan was a beautiful mountain close to the king’s palace and it was believed that the Brahma kamal flower could be found there if you were fortunate enough to locate it. Your mother wanted to get the Brahma kamal for her father.’

    ‘The Brahma kamal?’ Kansa said in surprise. ‘But isn’t the flower only found in Swarglok?’
    Ugrasena looked at Kansa with a wan smile. ‘Yes it is. But Puspavan is the only place in Mrityulok where the flower is believed to grow.’ He looked forlorn as he said, ‘And it was this very thing that led to all the tragedy later.’
    ‘I don’t understand,’ Kansa said. ‘Why did Mother want to get the Brahma kamal for grandfather?’
    Ugrasena sighed. ‘The flower is supposed to have magical life-giving properties. It is said that if you drink water poured over the petals of the Brahma kamal, it can restore life, or at the very least, make you stronger if you are weak. If you remember, when Lord Shiva attached the elephant’s head to Lord Ganesha’s body, his body gained life only after the Mahadev sprinkled water on his body. That water was sprinkled from a Brahma kamal.’
    ‘I see,’ nodded Kansa. ‘So Mother thought if she