Chapter 16: The Divine Intervention
He was her, she was him, they were one.
Translation
He holds the principle of soul
migrating from one body to another
Who the mighty can speak about
the powers of such Guru?
Adding further, he shows the
path to salvation
Dance, conceding by such an authentic
guru!
—Siddhar Pampatti Hymn (016)
Fusion of two equivalent forces, either ebb and flow out in circles, creating waves of smooth eruptions and growth or blast open furiously, destructing everything connected with it, either way, they reach out and send sharp tremors across, both the acts of salvation and repugnance happen with fusion, as it spreads out, the devastating effects of the gigantic fusion of the great powers, sharply tend to outreach the desired objectives, the passion overwhelms, carries forward a strong movement to reach out and implant its seedlings, if the force is destructive in nature, it pulls out every root from the dark earthen soil, comfortably sheltered deep within the crevices of the hard penetrated crust, in the eyes of the nature, both destruction and creation are one and the same, in fact, they follow one another, it’s a cycle, contraction and expansion; destruction and creation; dormancy and growth, nature is unbiased, it doesn’t take sides, it just flows with open arms, it takes the lucid course, the most simplest, the shortest, and the easiest one to reach its destination, on its way, it might either create or destruct, it is so wholesome and undivided, it doesn’t even know the difference between creation and destruction, as it goes, it may even explode, where it has to, not at a fixed point, not at the premeditated targeted location, but at the point where it naturally tends to, when the human mind transgress, manipulate, hamper such natural flows, the ends jolt in an unexpected location, in an unexpected moment, in the most unexpected way, again it could either be constructive or destructive, therefore, some die, some live and some thrive. If death and growth are natural, they are harmonious, pleasant and peaceful, whereas, if they are manipulated, the same manipulation hits back outrageously and cruelly, the same unconquerable nature, can be easily seduced, wholeheartedly, by the divine souls, wooed lovingly to take the sides of the association of good hearts, if then, the victory can be largely, soundly announced, even before the wars erupt, there isn’t anything greater, mightier, bigger, more powerful, than the mother nature—win her heart, win the war, win in glory.
When they were some 20 feet apart, Killivalavan leapt up five-feet high in the air, with his surul pattai firm in his right hand, raised well above his head, ready to pounce and slash the sides of the opponent, into 8 different pieces, presumably in one full lethal out swing, the act and the intention triggered immediate response from Muthupandian, in a split second, he too pounced with his spear, held in his right hand, ready to strike hard at the notorious weapon, contrary to Killi’s point of attack, Muthupandians’s focus was on surul pattai alone, springing up in the air, he lashed out hard on the mighty weapon, pulled it out forcefully, while trying hard to pierce through and pull out the weapon from Killi’s hand, his supple spear swirled and reached almost the hilt of surul pattai, but in vain, both of them landed on the ground unharmed, without any casualties, but well armed with the weapon of their choice. The clinking sound of the metals synchronized and echoed beautifully with the roaring thunders and the sparkling lightnings, emanated from the hard strike fueled by the two great forces of their time, yes, indeed, nature responds to human minds alike, the truth holds good, when it happens the other way around too. Though Muthupandian was able to strike hard, he was not able to stop the surul pattai from creeping up his spear, the supple blades spiralled up his iron rod faster than he expected, reached out at an alarmingly high speed, hissing at him, threatening to spit venom even at the slightest intention of a forward move, thereinfore, he has to sway around, pull out his spear in a rush, to evade those flexible blades, hypnotized and shot across, to ravage his chest; commanded to end his life. After this first attack, both of them drew themselves few feet away, giving each other some space to recollect, plan and attack again, their minds raced faster than their impulses; sensed one another strengths and weaknesses; planned their next moves, drawing back their weapons they steadily closed in for the kill. Blades of surul pattai tend to furl and curl its way through any type of hindrances, onto the targeted location, there is a high probability that in one single whip, one of the blades may taste the blood of the opponent, on the other hand, a supple spear can deflect the blades and still get close to the enemy’s chest, provided the warrior beholding the spear is still alive, to get considerably that close, amidst the menacing blades of surul pattai, shining with sharp edges on both the sides, hissing at any forward move one could possibly make, needs real courage and extraordinary mastery over the self and the weapon being used. Muthupandian was very confident that he could not go anywhere near the lone assassin without getting himself bruised or even slashed into pieces, unbelievable! Were the sharpness of those edges, extraordinary! Were the strength of those thin blades, hence he changed his strategy, he is going to fight with all his might against the weapon, not the holder of the weapon, thus allowing himself ample time and mastery over the weapon and its ruthless warrior.
With the self-enforced change in the strategy, the fight went on and on, knowingly, the pair allowed it to happen it that way, throughout the fight, Muthupandian evaded the attacks, deflected the blades, hammered the weapon, never once he aimed at the warrior nor did he attack him back, whatever it might be, nothing stopped the ferocious attack of the unstoppable, reckless lone assassin, he was just untameable, he continued to storm around heavily, it even created a beautiful circular patch around them, his body was well attuned to handle the deadly weapon at ease, almost equivalently flexible to that of the hissing blades, charmed well by the master, each individual blade slithered the way he wanted them to slither, they were so synchronized, they acted in the same frequency his mind raced along, as one being, one in harmony, in union, the blades literally acted as his extended arms, it was a spectacular display of mastery of the self, as well as the extended self—the weapon, what not, even after many daring stunts, arrays of moves, various styles of attack, none of the blades ever reached anywhere near Muthupandian, that is the caliber of impeccable defense he put forth against Killi, hence, the fight went on and on, it never seemed to end, both the warriors were completely worn out, absolutely fatigue ridden, about to collapse, they have been fighting off each other for almost an hour continuously, uninterrupted, at one point of time, as though by mutual concern, they slowly pulled apart, panting, gasped for breath heavily, even great heroes need a bit of rest and rejuvenation, though spirit abode in each one’s mortal body has divinity in it, a finite part of god form, body is still perishable, except for few divine personifications, who have become immortals by sheer virtue, divine endowment and natural abstinence owing to deeper, prolonged samadhis, all others are prone to become dust, only dust, after a few moments of lapse, sucking in enough air, they set themselves in motion again, along with the heavy downpour, the fight reached its height, they clashed mightily than before, the ultra booing sound of the surul pattai beat, mixed harmoniously well with the most bizarre of the lightnings and the musical ramming of the loud thunders, this time, Killivalavan was exceedingly aggressive, Muthupandian’s defensive mode has triggered him further to pounce on him heavily, unruffled by the sudden surge in attack, Muthupandian retained his composure, he defended meticulously, methodically, deflecting the blades as before, unyielding, he fought bravely, his understanding of the weapon, as well as the attacker grew much in clarity over a period of time, threw him deeper, appreciable insights, he slowly started maneuvering the attack, he added a little more pressure to his deflections, guiding and turning the blades against the attacker himself, to his dismay the flexibility of the weapon worked to his advantage, it was like he was possessing the attacker’s own weapon, it worked the way he wanted it to, making the attackers deadly weapon work against himself shows the remarkable heights attained by an expert in Adimurai, it would have raised a great applause and hearty showering, if they were standing in a roman amphitheatre, looked down by thousands and thousands of spectators, on the contrary, here they were showered by heavy rain, noisy thunders and bright lightnings, onlookers being gods and goddesses. On sensing the changes in Muthupandian’s defense, Killivalavan pulled off straight and fast, instantly, without a bit of mild hesitation, amazed, stood silently gazing at the towering opponent in awe, he then, quickly took in his moves, deciphered his strategy, changed his own stance, moved forward in slow pace, in a closed stylish walk, this time, he held the weapon differently, his open palms faced the opponent with the loosely held weapon, expected to be dropped at any given moment, it was more like a dance, he never exerted force, he never attacked fiercely, he never indulged, rather, he let his weapon dance with him, he was baiting the opponent, provoking him to come at him madly, Muthupandian realized that he can no more use his opponent’s force against him, rather, he has to exert his own force, now, he didn’t have a chance than to attack, slowly the pair circled, clashed, circled, clashed, circled again, this upbeat, this dance went on and on, without an end—the glorious dance of the warriors, at the peak of their perfection, showered by heavenly down pour, was an awesome sight to watch, the gods and goddesses were immensely enjoying every bit of this golden moment.
The fight never seemed to end, exhaustion brimmed on the faces of both the great warriors, neither did they lose their patience nor did they give up, every second of it was a treasurable momentous pack of events, a history in making, watched not only by gods and goddesses, but also by nature and the spirits of the dead alike, soon it all has to end, even if the gods desire to wait, time is adept at steering the natural course of the fate, even if gods forbid the natural course, the great show of infallibility has to end, one of them has to die, patience too has a limit, the fight has to end or it will be ended by the supreme beings, it would be highly illogical to let such remarkable tenacious players to make wrong moves, so nature intervened to play its game, a sudden darkness engulfed the pair, a heavy downpour lashed hard on their stiff backs, their flowing hair dripped rapidly, it washed the dirt off their handsome faces; eased their hard, stiff backs; cleaned their weapons; softened their hearts, allowed the clash to continue in a well composed manner, at one point of time, under a heavy lightning, while defying an attack, Muthupandian stepped on a stone bit smaller than the size of his toe, lost his balance, moved a foot forward and took the most unexpected slash on his right shoulder, though the cut was not deep, it let the first blood of the fight to ooze out, both the warriors stood staring at each other, they knew that the end has come, though this cut may not decide the winner, it obviously will end this long fight, one of them will have to die tonight, with that thought in the mind, drowned by fatigue, pushed to the vulnerable edge, at the verge of losing patience, they raced across, headlong, in full speed, when they were about to pitch against one another, the first drop of the red hot blood touched the hard war grounds, its smell filled the lungs of Goddess Makali, as she was inhaling it, the whole environment got terribly electrified, it led to an abrupt transformation in the immediate surroundings, a strong wind, a rough current, circled Muthupandian thrice, she passionately ran towards him with wide open arms, hugged him close to her bosom, lovingly kissed the crown of his head, greedily licked the warm blood trickling out of his wound, not wanting even a drop of it to be wasted, not even for such a grand cause, the very next moment, in a minuscule second, she forcefully entered his body, jolted by that powerful current he trembled convulsively, his whole body quivered uncontrollably, it was a very dear sight to behold in one’s heart, with the spear in his right hand, his whole body set ablaze in divine spasms, Killivalavan was virtuous enough to behold the endearing sight of the divine intervention, amidst a life or death fight, the mad shudder subsided exactly at the 8th second, unannounced. There was a deep silence for a moment, Muthupandian’s face grew stiff, his veins throbbed with a sudden surge, his heart pounded faster than usual, his muscles hardened, his back grew stiff, his chest heaved and grew broader, he was almost standing at the tip of his toes, his eyes bulged and grew larger in size, he looked alarmingly threatening, for his eyes were already big, he stood tall and erect like a pillar, his enormous shape looked absolutely terrifying, he balanced his spear straight on the wet grounds, centering on it, he started swaying sideways, to and fro, in a natural rhythm, while holding to his weapon tight, he opened his mouth wide, let his tongue out, looked upto the skies, screamed heavily from deep within, a high-shriek, a large piercing sound left his throat, all these happened involuntarily, slowly, the swaying stopped, he then, grasped his weapon hard, laughing heavily, lifted it high above his head, started dancing furiously around Killivalavan, to the raw beats of the nature and its allies.
The rhythmic impinging of rain on the flexible blades created peculiar beats, a naive music, a beautiful heart melting tone, that which mixed uncommonly well with the sweet drizzling night, abundantly drunk on the heavenly showers, it slowly pacified Killi’s heart, mellowed by nature's own music, he keenly watched the sacred dance of the divine goddess, the first blood shed by Muthupandian has invited her, she has come down for him, to stand by his side, guard him from death, give him a great unsurpassable victory, the very thought of it injected bitter melancholy into Killi’s spirit, she has fully taken him now, Muthupandian was no more a single entity, he was her, she was him, they were one, it doesn’t matter anymore, whether it is Muthupandian or Goddess Makali, the fight has to end, if Killivalavan has to win, he has to fight against this divine goddess, his instincts warned against making any such audacious move, he knew not to launch attacks on this divine being, it is equivalent to waging a bloody fight against the gods, that would be unscrupulous, on the other hand, she fervently circled around Killivalavan, her deep shrieks reached out to other gods in the heavens, she is not going to let her son die at the hands of a lone assassin from Velir Thopu.
Killivalavan didn’t have a choice than waiting patiently, he earnestly looked out for ways to end this terrible fight, she never stopped dancing around nor did the incessant downpour, more than his muscles, his mind and spirit ached for rest, he knew, he was losing focus, his eyes often closed involuntarily, he pushed himself harder to keep his senses alert, but everything, altogether suddenly, started to work against him, even the sounds made by the splashing rain; high pitched cries of the goddess; heavy panting of the possessed being; the whirling winds; the dripping waters, almost everything that kept him awake, wooed him into a deep slumber, soon a dizziness fell over him, he felt like he was in a dream, it was a magical spell, a stealthy trance, it finally took over him, he collapsed and fell sideways, on the wet grounds he dreamed, in his dream, he saw a dark, reddened female face, fuming with red hot anger; eyes reddened, wide open, blazed with rage; tongue bloodied and red, struck out, fell down, almost touched the wet grounds, ready to savor gushing blood, a tirisulam was pointed at him, every time she swayed back and forth with heavy breath, the tirisulam moved along with her, the divine goddess very much wanted to kill him, but something very sacred stopped her from making the kill, right at that moment, a form of light, a young man with a handsome face, beautiful athletic frame, walked fast steadily towards them in lithe swift moves, stood majestically besides Killivalavan, he had in him, an air of authority over everything he came across, with utmost sincerity, he earnestly looked at Goddess Makali, the same moment she recognized him, her eyes shone bright, it gleamed with joy, all her fuming rage subsided, she was literally drenched by the divinity, exuding from the embodiment of the divine light standing right before her, she smiled at him through the dark warrior, the great Muthupandian, they both conversed in a language that humans can’t understand, words were not spoken, but what has to be said was said, well spoken between the two divine hearts, she then happily surrendered his soul to him, satisfied that he was in good hands, she left the war grounds in peace, exactly at the same moment, there in the dreams, Adhavan saw a Black Lion smiling at him, here at the war grounds, both the warriors, unaware, were thrown into a deep trance, they were lying side by side, unknowingly guarding one another’s back, sheltered by dark clouds, blessed by soft drizzling, secure and safe on the soft lap of mother nature.
Moments drifted away, both the warriors drowned immensely by the divine blessings, slept peacefully next to one another, embraced by absolute serenity; caressed by chill breeze; sensuously protected by nature. The downpour stopped, letting the bright moon and the twinkling stars fill the mother earth, with gentle pleasantness, known especially for such long silent nights, it also let the wild creatures stray around, looking for their nights fill, the pair needs to wake up from their much enjoyed heavenly trance, they have been given enough time to rest, as though only to wake them up, a wild pig grunted twice from a remote place, that distant grunt obviously woke them up, they looked at each other in surprise, they can’t help smiling at one another, they smiled and their smiles turned into innocent laughter, Killivalavan asked Muthupandian, straight from his heart,
“Will you join me?”
He hesitated a bit, looked straight into his eyes, said in a coarse low whisper,
“As long as my commitments doesn’t clash with yours”.
Killivalavan remained silent for a moment, looked deep into the stars, continued politely with due respect,
“I like you, I like the smell of your soul, it is immaculate, frankly, I would like to have men like you by my side, if you have the heart to have an open discussion, I strongly believe that we can make a truce, I am willing to take you to my home, treat you well, give you ample time to make your decisions. Come with me, enjoy our homemade food, a good warm bed and peaceful nights, for at the least a few memorable days, please honor me, by being my guest.”
Muthupandian was moved by the invitation, he didn’t have the heart to resist the goodness offered, it will also give him enough time to forge his mind, gather his kins, build his army, plan his next moves, but then everything will depend upon the outcome of the pact he has to make with Killivalavan, he silently prayed to his divine mother Makali, uttered softly,
“Yes, let me come with you, my soul is very badly in need of rest.”
Killivalavan smiled to himself, whistled one of his tunes, his handsome dark brown stallion came galloping from nowhere, splashing water across, wherever its feet touched the grounds, pulled right before Killi with soft neighs that expressed its inherent happiness, whining it came close and nuzzled up Killi, stroking him gently he foraged the packages, hanging on both the sides of the horse and found nothing to eat, empty handed, upset, he turned back to Muthupandian and said,
“Do you have any food? I am Hungry”
Muthupandian can’t help laughing at the situation, he replied,
“I am hungry too, let me see, if my horse is somewhere still around here.”
He whistled one of his traditional tunes thrice, it was so loud, shrill and clear, it just pierced the ears of Killivalavan, in less than 5 minutes, another big brown stallion raced swiftly towards them, he checked it carefully and whispered softly in its ears,
“Thanks for being there.”
He then looked at Killivalavan, with his big bulging eyes, it was a look of acknowledgement, a mutual understanding to work together, then they jointly started looking around for food, after the terrible fight, both of them felt sharp twitches in their bellies, they both yearned for some food, every tiny fiber in their muscles was pulled and stretched beyond their limits, after that exhaustive, life wrecking fight, miraculously, both of them were still alive, what may, hunger is hunger, it has to be satiated, it won’t wait, it won’t listen to one’s pathetic story, even if you have come back from the grave alive, the twitches in the belly will not subside, unless you quench its fire down with enough of feed, it won’t stop yelling at you, it was a memorable day for both of them, rain had washed their dirt, spirits have purified their soul, but an empty stomach is still a miserable pain, more acute it is, more unbearable it would be, with heavy hunger spasms wrecking their empty bellies, they strolled around aimlessly looking for a subtle prey. Killivalavan then, came close to Muthupandian, started studying the unfortunate cut on Muthupandian’s right shoulder, the solemn act had a touch of love to it, besides his broad towering presence, Killivalavan looked bit shorter and thinner, on seeing the condition of the bruise, he flung into instant action, collected few herbs, started attending to the wound with an air of inherent expertise, wound it with cotton, torn from his fresh dhotis, no sooner the bandage was done, they heard the same wild grunt, that woke them up earlier, from the deep trance they were thrown into, on hearing the sound, the late night's distress vanished off their faces, they eagerly looked at each other, the next immediate moment, they were on the back of their horses, thanking their gods, they raced towards the bush from where the grunting sound came from, Killivalavan was ready with bow and arrow, Muthupandian with his short flexible spear.
Some 1000 feet away, a wild pig was digging the grounds, here and there with its curvy tusks, earnestly looking out for bulbs under thick shrubs, its search was more than fruitful, it found one of the biggest bulb it had ever seen in all its lifetime, whence it had seen the potential prize of the hard work it had been doing lately, it dug faster than before, in order to have a hold on its treasured finding, it completely uprooted the plant, in a split second, took its life nastily, laid its feet victoriously on the immovable prey, grunted happily at its supper, but it never realized, sooner or later, it is going to be, the night’s grand supper for the two great warriors of their time. Unaware of the events in line, it savored its supper voraciously, involuntarily munching out the dormant life hidden in the bulb, when it was almost done, it heard fast approaching sounds of the racing horses, panicked, it finished the remaining part of the bulb in one full mouth, ran fast into the nearby thickness, but not fast enough for the eyes of Muthupandian, the chase continued, the prey led them rapidly to the hill base, there, nearby a banyan tree, when it swivelled around a bush, exposing its sides, Muthupandian threw his short spear, it took the wild one in the center, off balance, it was thrown by a few feet, it squealed and wriggled under excruciating pain, immediately Killi shot two arrows, one after another in line, to put an end to its suffering, thus that night, they got their supper with one short spear and two arrows, under a moonlit banyan tree, nearby a hill base. Without wasting a moment further, Muthupandian got to work immediately, he expertly dressed the wild pig, put it on the grill in less than fifteen minutes, their hunger will be satisfied in another one hour, their fatigue will be eased in another four hours, very soon, well before sunrise, they will spear through the wind, race against wild streams, sprint up hills, for a new beginning.
(To be continued...)
Written on Dates: 05/13;06/22;06/23;06/25;06/26;06/27;06/28
About Adhavan
Chapter 01 The Realization of the Vocation
Chapter 02 The First Glimpse of the Third Eye
Chapter 03 The Complete Surrender
Chapter 04 The Sacredness of the Divine Incarnation
Chapter 05 The Veneration of a Guru
Chapter 06 The Immortality
Chapter 07 The Art of Dying
Chapter 08 The Good Cause
Chapter 09 The First Dissemination
Chapter 10 The One behind the Spiritual Transformation
Chapter 11 The Smothering of the Class Distinctions
Chapter 11 The Smothering of the Class Distinctions
