A poet needs to write. A sword needs to fight. A warrior needs war. If there is no war, there is no warrior. I wanted a war, I wanted a fight and I wanted to fight but there was none to fight.
I was staring at a journey with no sight. I wanted immortality and I had it. There were no wars across the vast universe I now ruled. All my people were content apparently and even if they weren’t, who would dare cross me? Everything was quiet and peaceful. Peace is the enemy of a warrior. Now, I realized that Indra wasn’t my enemy, but peace was! Where was Indra, I wondered? I had hoped that he would reassemble an army and come back to fight me and take back his kingdom. But, he did not. My spies could no longer trace him. If they could, I would welcome him back and give him an army, not just any army, but my entire army and gladly fight all of them. But, who would fight me? Everyone knew that I couldn’t be killed and they would drop their weapons? Did Indra do the same? What happened to the wily Vishnu? Why didn’t he come out yet and challenge me?
I slipped into a world of pleasure. They say wine and women are the enemy of a warrior and now I’m befriending them so that I could fight my own inner battle. And so it continued for a long time. Time, what meaning does it have when you are immortal? I didn’t know what happened. Days came and then nights followed them. Sun came and moon came after him. At times, it would rain and at times it would snow. I did not care, until that day.
At first, it was like any other day. I was in my chamber with a few women and was in my inebriated stupor. Suddenly, I heard a booming voice echo’ing my chambers with the words of “I will fight this heinous demon and slay him to liberate the world”. It shook me out my stupor. Who was this self-anointed of the world? The voice was loud but were his actions louder than his words? Everyone was in a state of shock and wondered what I would do next. For none wanted to speak anything and invite my wrath. I rushed to the balcony to take a look. Many challenges were made to me in the past and the words usually lasted longer than the fights. Here the words were short, so I wondered how long the fight would last? Any battle, short or long was a relief to me.
I was shocked when I saw the person challenging me. It wasn’t a fool but a beautiful damsel. And she had already hurt me with her stare. It was more painful than the blows I received from any of the other battles. If Indra was behind this, then he finally found a weapon that would destroy me. She was riding a lion. How could such a slender beauty like her manage to sit on a lion? Even sitting on a swan would hurt her body. She would sitting besides me on the finest silk cushions. She laughed as she noticed my bewitched face.
I asked her to marry me and she turned me down with the meanest words. “Marry you, the ugliest and the lowliest of men!”, she said. I told her that I might be ugly but I’m the best warrior on the planet. “That we shall see”, she responded. I couldn’t possibly fight her in war, for she might get hurt. Even a speck on dust on her face would hurt her and I would not bear such a thought. I refused and asked her to marry me and she would rule the world. She refused instantly and told me that she would only marry someone who could defeat her in a battle. “Defeat her and marry her, but be careful to not hurt her”, I told myself. “I will fight you and I will make you my queen”, I boasted and I left off in a hurry towards my chambers.
I was about to step outside the palace when my commanders rushed to my side and stopped me. Each of them took turns to explain on why they should be fighting her instead. I will bring her back in a jiffy, said one. I would bring her without even shooting an arrow, another jumped in. One stare of mine and she would surrender, boasted another. I knew that these fools were trying to impress me and curry up favors with me. I wasn’t in a mood to listen to any of them and was about to brush them aside when one of the older commanders spoke. It could perhaps be the trick of Indra to malign your reputation, he suggested. I wanted to go to the battle and see her again, but I knew he was right. I couldn’t let my name and the name of the asura’s be maligned that we were fighting women. For, we were already maligned by the deva’s since the beginning and I reluctantly heeded to his advice. But, no harm should come to her, I warned. You were to only to imprison her or convince her to surrender and then rush her to my chambers, I ordered. And I went back to my chambers. She seemed brave, but I commanded the best army in the entire universe. They surely could defeat a delicate beauty and bring her back.
I waited and I waited for what seemed like a long time. Was it a long time or was it my separation from her that made even a single second seem like a few yugas? I didn’t know. It would have been better if I went to the battlefield instead. Even a yuga would have seemed like a second. What good was it in sitting here and pacing around anxiously? I decided to step onto the battle field when I noticed a servant running towards me. My heartbeat raised.
As she came nearer, I noticed a worried look on her face. If my commanders had hurt her, their heads would roll off in a second. I do not need any of those idiots if they couldn’t carry my simple instructions. The servant lady stood there trembling without speaking a word. I ordered her to speak up and she told me that my commanders were killed by her. I screamed out loud in ecstacy. She was not only beautiful but also a brave warrior. And she was alive! I thanked the servant who was perplexed at my happiness and walked away feeling relived.
I was finally looking at a day that was worth remembering.
