Ujwala Nagari

   The next morning came early with the saccharine chirrups of the birds spreading melody and an aura of optimism in the surrounding. The morning breeze was easing the gingerly surging heat rays of the sun. The cool and chilled night was long lost, and the bar of mercury was rising slightly.

It was the first and foremost hour of the day, but two individuals were still snuggled in the arms of each other, sleeping in plenty of peace. The sudden barking of the dogs in the backyard and shufflings of the heavy steps disturbed the slumber of Harsh.

It was their last day to stay at that cottage. He brushed his thumb roughly on her cheek, and his lips kissed on her forehead. Her arm circled around his back and grabbed his chest closer to her body. Their lips met again, and soon enough the time stretched as their breaths got ragged and waves of pleasure came crashing down on her. She was melting like a wax in his arms and he burnt like a sun to heat her up with pained pleasure, showing his utmost love for her.

They got ready together, with a rosy glow radiating off them. They moved to their next destination, the celestial lake. Taj was walking ahead as the guider of the path, unaware of the privacy he was providing to the newly formed couple following him.

" I am tired now." Harsh mused in Mrinal's ears.

" Huh?" She gave him a look that clearly stated she didn't at all believe the nonsense he just spoke.

Who would believe it, when you know how good a warrior he was? He had spent most of his lifetime in fighting battles, roaming through the jungles and getting tired of such a short trek was out of the list for a man, having a character alike him.

Seeing his princess, strolling ahead leaving him on his spot to ponder and stand alone in the scorching afternoon sun, he ran softly to her and grabbed her hand, yanking her towards him.

His eyes smiled with mischief, as he clipped her lips with his fingertips, preventing the scream that would've threatened out of them. Mrinal's brown eyes were staring at him in pure shock.

He pushed her to the trunk of a fully bloomed mango tree, the newly sprouted mango flowers were falling with even the slightest movement of the tree in the airy day. The bougainvillea rashly climbed over the wooden logs and the pink and purple paper flowers, contrasting with the greyish brown wood added to the beauty of the nature in the background.

Feathering kisses on her lotus petal shaped closed eye-lashes, he breathed near her lips and ear lobe, stimulating her senses quite sensuously.

Playing with her lips by his own lips, he kept drawing circles on her bare waist. The intimacy of the few days back, was so clouded over his mind till now that his body refused to stay apart from her body.

The next few months went by, walking all day to find the dark tower and amorous nights in the jungle down the open sky. It was blissful. Taj, who now knew about their romantic relationship, never left a chance to tease them till they were redder than roses itself.

It was dark all around, and two bodies had cuddled near a fire place in the cold wintry night with the canopy of the huge trees of the forest meddling down the sky, obstructing their view of the moon-lit sky with the golden glow of fire.

Out of nowhere, Harsh slashed the tip of his thumb in the sharp edge of his knife. He looked at the woman sleeping beside him. Unknown to him, his hand stretched forward to fill her hair partition with his metallic red liquid, his blood.

His movements near her, forced her eye lashes to flutter open.

" My Queen." He exclaimed.

She smiled sweetly at him, as her arms stretched sleepily. He was basking in her sweetness. Drowning his head into the crook of her neck, he smelled his wife.

It never takes two individuals to just marry religiously and take vows to be married, it takes only two hearts madly in love and readiness to accept eachother as life partners.

" I love you." He heard her say, above his skin that tickled him.

The next day, they reached the celestial lake along with Taj leading them. Soon, there appeared a smoky figure out of nowhere and started laughing at them . Taj introduced them to Jimmy, the care taker of the celestial lake . It was where, Taj had to return back. That was the distance, Taj could walk with them, not a single step ahead from this point was he allowed to move. So, Mrinal and Prince bid him goodbyes with a smile. While, the trio hugged before parting ways.

Jimmy eyed Harsh and Mrinal. He then asked them to halt on their tracks. They halted on their tracks and looked at Jimmy. What he said, made a huge difference.

"What are you here for? " Jimmy asked shutting them up , then the realisation struck them hard that they were here to save their loved ones not to have a romantic journey deep in the forest.

A pained expression was painted on Harsh's eyes as he remembered his mother's condition and same was seen in the brown orbs of Mrinal as she thought of her dearest brother lying on a pool of blood, an arrow piercing his heart. His heart thumped and her jaw clenched with her tensed up muscles. Harsh's grip on her waist loosened and soon, fell off. Mrinal could only look at his dropping down hand. One thing was clear, though the bubble of misunderstandings were cleared, still their intention to set on this journey wasn't even touched and in this stage, they were completely distracted and fell off track their goal.

Distractions can be a easy killer, if you aren't courageous enough to dodge them !

Jimmy again broke the silence by saying, " I know, where is Laal ChandraMani . You don't need to search for it, you just need to answer three questions. Questions, that has all the answers." This kind of relaxed Mrinal and Harsh and but their eyes shot back to inquire in unison " what's the question?"

" Which is the ultimate dharma or moral duty ?" Jimmy spoke up throwing them in deep thinking.

" Truth" Mrinal blurted out immediately.

"Compassion." Harsh then answered.

The disappointed look on Jimmy's face made it clear, that they were wrong. After pacing back and forth for a sweet long one-sixth part of an hour, both Mrinal and Harsh faced each other and shouted-
" अहिंसा परमो धर्मः
धर्म हिंसा तथैव च "

{ Non-violence is the ultimate dharma.
So too is violence in service of Dharma. }

"Great. So, you both got the answer ." Jimmy squealed like anything.

" Your next question will be asked the next day in the lake. " Jimmy informed them, before disappearing into the sky again.

Harsh and Mrinal, both shared a look of hope, of getting the holy stone to save their dear ones. The fire of saving their family that was swayed a bit in the air of love, was now re-ignited in them. The night went event- lessly, as they both kept thinking about the next day.

The sun was up, so were they both. They quickly guided themselves to the brink of the celestial lake. To vanquish her thirst, she gulped a handful of the lake water, and then appeared Jimmy.

" Ready for the question. " Jimmy asked and the other two nodded.

"Tell me, who is regarded as an ignorant?" Jimmy asked them with a smile, that seemed to be hiding something underneath them.

Harsh and Mrinal, thought for a while in a calm and composed mind. Jimmy was about to say something, it was when, Harsh sounded out.

" य एनं वेत्ति हन्तारं यश्चैनं मन्यते हतम्।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायं हन्ति न हन्यते॥"

{ He who thinks that the soul kills, and he who thinks of it as killed, are both ignorant. The soul kills not, nor is it killed.}

Jimmy's eyes shone with pride, as he heard Harsh explaining and pin-pointing the answer of his asked question so accurately. He looked at Mrinal, to see her already looking at Harsh with pure pride and unadulterated love.

Jimmy handed them thinly- cut bark of a tree trunk.

" See the bark clearly and search around this forest to find out the tree, out of which this is extracted ? There will be your next question to acquire laal Chandramani. " Jimmy again vanished.

" What is true love?" They read the letters carved in charcoal on the wooden bark. Wandering all around for hours in disseminate directions, they found it out at last. It was a large sprawled banyan tree at the end of the coconut tree orchards. The yellow daffodiles and daisies prettily bloomed all around the lake and the orchard.

To disturb the settling peace, again Jimmy appeared from behind.

" So, what's the answer to the last question?" Jimmy asked joyously, but the cheerfulness seemed pretended. It indicated that something was going to happen.

" वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिता: |
बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागता: "

{ Being freed from attachment, fear, and anger, becoming fully absorbed in godliness,and taking refugee in god, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge, and thus they attained divine love. In other words, a love free from expectations and attachments is a true love.}

Soon enough Mrinal described about love, Jimmy's smile dropped and he dropped the next bomb.

" Well, that is exactly you need to do to get the Laal ChandraMani, you need to sacrifice your most loved thing." Jimmy sighed gloomily as he said.

"What?" Both Prince and Princess were gobsmacked.

"Yes, this is the truth. You both need to choose only one. For Harsh, it's between his mother and Mrinal. Whereas for Mrinal, it's between her brother or Harsh. " Jimmy left saying this, leaving both of them in a deadly situation.

As Jimmy disappeared, a red light flashed all over the place. The reddish hue was blanking their vision totally. A golden charm on the sky caught their attention, as sky lotuses flooded the amber with a humongous red diamond in their heart. The arrangement of the flowers and the gem, looked as if a gold chandelier with a red stone on its centre.

Harsh's eyes were moist with tears for the second time in his life, he inner conscience was crying for him saying, If he can't save any one of them also, it will be his defeat . Mrinal had an emotional breakdown too.

Their eyes met, this time pain evident in place of the live earlier. A pain of loss. A pain of depart. And, a pain of heartbreak. Harsh warily stabbed Mrinal piercing the dagger into her stomach, simultaneously Mrinal too stabbed Harsh right on his chest. They both left the dagger and fell on the ground together with a thud, still their eyes immobily staring at each other.

The blood lavishly seeping out of their wounds, but they cared the least. This moment, the pain of their hearts were way greater than that of their agonising wounds. Thinking may be the destiny had written their fate only upto this moment with an abrupt ending, tears rolled down their eyes. They wanted happiness of their families and of their own, but happiness at such a high cost, is absolutely painful !

Coming out of their reverie, Mrinal spoke, " I swear to Moon, I am yours from the day our love bloomed, and till the day there is moon. I love you to the moon and back, Rana sa."

She leaned forward and left a lingering kiss on his forehead, representing her unconditional love for him.

Harsh gave a peck on her cheek and said slightly, brushing his lips on her ear lobe, " I swear to the sky, my love will never be limited for you like this unlimited sky. I love you to the square of infinity, Mrinal."

With these words, plaintively his lips hold on to hers and kissed them as softly as possible. The whimpers due to pain on their bleeding wounds, got submerged in the intensity and love in their last kiss. Their eyes sparkled with crystal tears but, had the assurance of meeting again in the next life and living a life happily together as a family. Holding onto each one's hands, their united souls departed their bodies, evacuated the mortal land.

In that very moment, the closed off petals of the sky lotuses blossomed and the laal Chandramani casted it's spell as Queen Rajshri and the Dravidian Prince, Roop came alive. The United blood of the two lovers trailed as if a small meadow down the valley. When the combined blood of both of them, sprinkled on the diamond the red hue of the diamond glistened more powerfully, turning the red roses of the garden into purple and pinks. It marked the magic, that was to happen years down the lane.

Love never dies, what dies is the temporary shell , we say body.

Love never stops, what stops is the blood pumping organ, we say heart.

Love never ends, what ends is just ounce of gases ,we say breath.

Love is unstoppable like the forest fire.
And love is unlimited like the unceasing sky.

Seeing the lifeless bodies of the both lovers, Jimmy and Taj folded their hands and Jimmy quoted their future saying -

" वासांसि जीर्णानि यथा विहाय
नवानि गृह्णाति नरोऽपराणि।
तथा शरीराणि विहाय जीर्णा-
न्यन्यानि संयाति नवानि देही॥ "

{As a man casts off worn-out garments and puts on others that are new,
So does the soul cast off its worn-out bodies and enter into body that's new.}

Supporting his saying, Taj spoke up -

" नवारंभः अन्यारंभस्यांतादायाति।"

{ Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.}

___________

Thank you so much for reading this book. 🙏

Please vote, comment and share.🎉

Happy Reading. 🌸

Stay safe and take care :)

Love,
Biswa ❤️