The Third Day - Dwapara Yuga

The Third DayDwapara Yuga

by SHARADA VALLEM

β–version

Chapter 1

THE TALAPATRA GRANDAS

It was the third day of Lord Brahma’s life, an eminent supreme God andthe creator of the Universe. The commencement of the Earth took placeapproximately 4.5 billion years ago, and ever since then has been movingfrom one Yuga to the other.

A day of Brahma’s life is divided into four Yugas, Satya Yuga, TrethaYuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga respectively. It was believed that thefirst yuga, which was the Satya Yuga, from where everything had begun,was highly toxic in its atmosphere and yet the human being survived. Manwas acclimatized to the characteristics of the world then; he was morepowerful, more stable and lived longer and healthier. The species of firstyuga had almost become extinct. But the second yuga, the Tretha Yuga,had left different forms of life on the earth. Things transmuted when thethird yuga started. The Dwapara Yuga began around 1.5 billion years agofrom now. And hence, began the first millionth year in the Dwapara Yuga.

Things altered further when finally the third yuga began. The un-friendly atmosphere turned less hostile and paved a better path of survivalfor all forms of life that the earth sheltered. The effect was unavoidable,for they believed that the caretaker of the earth, Sarayu, was responsible

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2 The Third Day–Dwapara Yuga

for this huge continental division. They believed that the catastrophestook place for a reason, the reason for which the continents had dividedthemselves as those that we know of today.

It was the southern part of a place where the changes haven’t beeninflicted to a great extent as this region was surrounded with water onthree sides leaving the fourth side covered with great sector of land. Itwas mostly verdant and was mainly used for vegetation. Deforestationhad been forbidden as nature was considered a true deity. A wide varietyof trees, bushes, shrubs and plants covered most of the region and it oftenmade a chore for the travelers to pass by. Most of these trees were centuriesold and they were still as strong and green as ever although the sun raysseldom visited them. The difference between day and night was hardly felt.

A tiny kingdom which was ruled by a great king Drona, occupieda small portion of this region beyond the forest. Surrounded by greenhills on all sides, this kingdom echoed with peace, simplicity and beauty.People lived in houses made of wood and dry grass and served each othergenerously. There was a small pond of fresh water that served as a sourcefor their domestic chores and also for drinking purpose. But everythinghad melted away into darkness.

The peace, simplicity, and beauty vanished when the dark had invadedthe serenity of the kingdom.

Houses lay in ashes and people lay motionless, blood-stricken. Thesmile had disappeared from people’s faces and was replaced by a mixtureof fear and sorrow. Sorrow for the ones they had lost and feared to lose.Women and children were abducted everyday and men were killed brutally.No one knew who was behind this. But fear gripped everybody’s heart.A couple of rumors had spread among the villagers about their enemy,Some said they belong to the neighboring kingdom, some said they wereatrocious looking creatures who were killing their men, and few othersbelieved that they were wild animals. But who and what they were was stillunknown as there was no sign of anything relevant. The attacks went on. . .

Another day had begun. The villagers did their daily chores in silencewhen something caught their attention suddenly. It was a marching noise.

The TalaPatra Grandas 3

Kids rushed and hid behind their mothers. Men looked cautious andwomen looked scared. Something was amiss. . .

A troop of soldiers marched out of the forest and headed towards thevillagers. They seemed to carry what looked like loaded sacks. As theydrew closer, the villagers realized with a jolt, that they were dead bodies.One by one the sacks were opened revealing the assaulted bodies of manyinnocent men, women and children. The villagers stared in shock. Eachof them began recognizing their loved ones with cries of pain and trauma.Each one, though stricken by his or her own grief, was trying to clam ahysteric friend or an inconsolable wife whose husband’s lifeless body laymutilated in front of her. . .Then suddenly a man, who seemed to gathersome courage and stability, asked the commander of the army who hadbeen standing in silence.

“How many were deceased? Who were the attackers?”The commander looked at the man and stared at him for a moment

skeptical about giving the answer to him. He knew he cannot hide any-thing now. The people needed the answer. He put up a brave face andanswered with an enforced calmness in his voice. “It reached 127. Andwe didn’t find a clue about the attackers. But there is something that youall need to know. We need to vacate the kingdom.”

The expectant faces of the villagers turned disappointed as they heardthe commander speak. The wails and shouts had turned into a still silencepregnant with a dejected air. Many were angered. Many agreed. Manydisagreed. The thought of leaving the kingdom had created a stir amongthe villagers.

The commander requested the people to pack only necessary belong-ings with them and be ready for the journey. He promised to returnwith good news. He ordered his soldiers to see that the people were wellguided and protected throughout their travel and asked them to wait forhis command to leave, and then the commander left with a couple ofsoldiers with him.

∗


His wrinkled face was slightly elongated with marked apprehensive-ness, his soul seemed to be spiritless due to old age, and his built was thinand delicate. He was still in his battle suit, and had few cuts and bruises butwasn’t injured seriously. He was the king Drona of the Southern kingdomof Kanya Kumari. He stood at the window of his chambers and looked atthe palace gates for the commander’s arrival with a strange fear in his eyesas if dreading the arrival of something. . .His eyes were deep red and lookedextremely weak and tired. His hands clutched each other in nervousness.He hadn’t slept all night and seemed terribly worn out. He had beenanxiously awaiting the commander’s arrival to hear better news that couldhelp him uplift his sickening condition. His kingdom was in grave dangerand this stole his sleep every night. Constant rumors of disappearances,murders, dead bodies had induced a sense of terror in him. He knewwhat they were. . .but he couldn’t do anything to save his people. . .heknew what more they were going to face. . . there was still a chance tosave them.. .but he can’t save himself. . .he was aware of his fate . . .andhe had accepted it. . . the dark had finally invaded his precious kingdom.. .

Exactly as it was written. . .He glanced at a bundle of old parchments laying on his bed, the parch-

ments that he had found by accident, and the ones that told him everything.They were the TalaPatra Grandas, the holy scripts or writings of ancientsages who had penned down the happenings of the universe in the past,present and the future. They were considered to be holy and prestigiousscriptures. Men tricked, lead, betrayed and fought battles. They shiftedfrom hand to hand till they finally found place in the hand of mighty kingof Kanyakumari, he guarded them with his heart and soul without letting itfall into anybody’s hands, not even the most trustworthy person he knew.But now it was time he let the facts reveal. It was time his people knew thetruth. And it was time to hand them over to the person he trusted the mostin his life. He suddenly heard a knock on his door. He knew it was theperson he was waiting for. It’s time. . .With a weak voice he answered theknock. “Come in Parama.” Parama, the supreme commander of South’sKanya Kumari Kingdom, was in his mid thirties, at the age of 16 he had


joined the army to serve his people, since then he had fought dreadful fightsand won many battles; his strategic thinking was well praised, indeed it de-served to be praised. His broad shoulders with masculine body seemed toposses that vigor which every warrior should have from within, his duskyattractive skin, long straight face with deep brown eyes reflected his pridein serving his kingdom. He considered the king as his own father, for afterhis father’s death he was raised by the king himself, king Drona too consid-ered Parama as his only dearest child, this was the reason why he learned allthe skills with utmost interest and passion from his king. Parama enteredDrona’s chamber and bowed, he was clad in his dark brown colored warsuit with small daggers and knifes on both sides, and he was armed. Dronalooked at him knowingly, and he understood what the king needed to hear.

“Your Highness, the death toll has increased. I have informed the peo-ple to vacate the vicinity by night fall. I have also assigned a troop of mento protect and guide them to the destination, and given the responsibilityto the General Sugreev. . . the preparations for war have begun My Lord.I request you to get ready for the journey tonight. Me and a few of mymen will be following soon after a little more investigation.” Parama said.

Drona suddenly looked like he had aged a few more years. He stag-gered a little and clutched the ‘Grandas’ to his chest. Parama rushedforward and helped him sit on his bed. “Your Highness, you need to rest.Please sit down,” he said.

Drona looked into Parama’s eyes with deep sorrow. He looked likehe had lost a battle. And he also seemed to frequently look at his doorfearing the arrival of someone.

“No Parama,” he said, shaking his head profusely.Parama looked perplexed. He waited for the king to continue. “I

cannot leave the palace. I cannot leave the kingdom. But you must leave.Everyone must leave. I insist!” said Drona. Parama looked bewildered.Thoroughly puzzled by Drona’s reaction, he said, “Your highness, wemust leave. Our kingdom is in danger and we have no idea who or howdangerous our enemy is. It’s not safe here anymore.”

Drona shook his head again. He had to tell Parama the truth.


“Parama.. .Listen to me. I need you to take the responsibility of what Iwill be telling you now,” said Drona. Parama looked at him for a momentand nodded his head. Drona held the Grandas before Parama.

“These rolls of parchment which I am giving you now are the mostimportant source of our survival. They are called the TalaPatra Grandas.I was fortunate enough to have possessed them for a long time ever sinceI found them. They are what every powerful man seeks. They will helpsave us. I am handing them over to you, Parama,” said Drona. Paramatook them in his hands and looked at the king. “How will they save us,your highness?” he asked. “They hold the most important informationrelated to the existence of the universe. All the occurrences of the past,the present and the future, our fate, and the enemy are described in them.They will show us the path to victory, to defeat our enemy and to starta new beginning. Some texts in it are so cryptic that even I couldn’tdecipher the hidden message out of them,” said Drona. He looked at hisdoor as he said this. Small beads of sweat appeared on his forehead andthis showed that he was tensed about something. But he continued. “Ineed you to take them and give it to the Narmada’s King, the King ofNorth. And also . . ." saying so, he slid his hand under his pillow andtook a small book which looked like a diary. . .“ take this diary,” he said.Parama was surprised. It was Drona’s diary.

“Take this, and read the diary, after which you must hand them overto the king of North. I have sent him a message that he would be receivingthem soon from the hands of the person I trust the most, the man whoI consider the son I never had,” said Drona, his eyes dampened at once.Parama’s heart went out for his king, his father —. He stood speechless,but he still couldn’t let his king stay back awaiting his death in the armsof danger.

“I have another order, Son. I want you to warn the people of thethreat coming upon us in the future. Read the diary and save my kingdom.I know I am doing the right thing by leaving it in your hands. You willbe the perfect ruler. You must help unfold our destiny and end the evil.”

Parama’s eyes became wet. “Promise me that you will fulfill my


wishes. Promise me you will leave this kingdom today and right thismoment, without me. And you mustn’t return at all.” said Drona again.Parama was outraged. He couldn’t leave his beloved father. But the kingwouldn’t listen to him. “I give you my word, father —” he said. “But Ican’t leave you here. Please tell me what are you hiding from me?” heasked. Drona looked terribly tensed after listening to Parama’s words.He looked outside his window again.

“They are coming,” was all he managed to say. “Who is coming? Theenemy?” asked Parama.

Drona looked uncomfortable and constantly shifted from side to side.He then grabbed Parama’s hands and clutched them in his owns.

“You must leave now.. . they are coming . . . the. . . the Dead Walkers. . .”said Drona feverishly. “Dead walkers who are they, father? You need totell Me —” insisted Parama.

“Please. . . leave the palace. . .now!” shouted Drona, unable to with-stand the fear and the worry that was overpowering him with everypassing second. Parama held Drona securely and made him sit downagain. He filled a glass with water and gave it to his king.

When Drona regained his composure, Parama then asked him again,and Drona finally told him the truth.

“Our kingdom, and our world, is in danger —He, his army, the deadwalkers, are horrifying creatures that no living man has ever seen. Theyare the ones behind these assaults. They have chosen our kingdom toincrease their army and destroy the world. The ‘Grandas’ helped mediscover these terrible vile facts and gave me the only way to choose,which is, leave the kingdom to a safer place and prepare ourselves to fight.This is why I gave you the responsibility. Take my people to the northand give them aid —,” said Drona.

Parama looked utterly wordless. Many questions hovered in his mind,many questions needed to be answered. But he didn’t know what to say.His father, the king of the South was going to sacrifice himself to the deadwalkers. Parama couldn’t let that happen.


“Father you cannot sacrifice yourself for your kingdom and people.They need you,” this was all he managed to say.

The king let out a low chuckle which surprised Parama.“I am an old man, Parama, who needs an old pile of bones to rule a

kingdom which is under threat? The kingdom needs a better and strongerman like you. The dead walkers will spare none if they find out thatthe king has run away with his people. Let me do something for mykingdom before I die.”

“You have done enough, father. Sacrificing yourself is not the solu-tion. The men are preparing for the upcoming war, there is absolutelyno fear. Have faith in us. . . in me.” said Parama. Drona looked at Paramaaffectionately.

“My son. . .” he uttered weakly. “I have tremendous faith in you, andthe kingdom I leave it in your hands. I want you to live up to my last wish.”

Parama hesitated to speak. Something burned inside as he heard theword last. For a moment he looked as if he was about to confront again.But to Drona’s relief he slowly nodded his head and said, “If you wishso, your highness.” He stood on his feet and bowed low.

“My father handed me over to you with a belief that I would becomea great man one day, a man of honor who can serve this land with dignityand vigor. You were an example, a guide, a father and a friend in mylife. You taught me not to give up even.. . then why are you giving upfor us. . . for me?” asked Parama.

“Certain sacrifices are meant for the good. I am not giving up my son;I am paving the way for a better future and security of my kingdom whichI have built with my own hands. The dead walkers will have royal bloodwithin themselves, if they take me. This might serve as an advantage forthe mankind to fight them back, the existence of such a royal line is rareand sought after among them, it. My people might be saved. They willkill me anyhow even if I run away with you. I prefer dying this way ratherthan among the people I love. I can’t bear the thought of it —” said Drona.

“And Parama, promise me that you won’t read the ‘Grandas’, pleasepromise me,” requested Drona, “don’t even dare to open them,” he added.


“It unfolded mine which is more dreadful than I had ever imagined, Paramamy son, I warn you once again dare not to open them.”

“I promise you my father, that I won’t read the ‘Grandas’,” Paramaassured him.

Parama gave a final look at his father, took a deep breath, turned andthen walked away. He met a young man outside the palace and spoke tohim for about a minute and asked him to leave the palace, adding furtherto this, he assured his people that he would join them after some time.He made Drona believe that he had left the vicinity, for Drona had beeneavesdropping on his movements to be assured of his safety.

But Parama did not leave. . .He entered the palace again. As he scarpered outside the Drona’s

chambers, he heard a thudding noise. That’s when he knew he must becautious. He waited outside hidden from the atrocious creatures that hadjust entered the king’s chamber. His heart pounded slightly as his eyesfell upon them, his enemies.

∗

Drona jumped in fright as the doors of his chamber burst open. Hiseyes were a mixture of shock and fear. But he knew he was alone. Hegathered his courage and looked at them intently. The time had come.He was about to leave this mortal world. How would life be after hisdeath? Where would he go? Will death be painful? Many questions ranin his mind. But he was going to meet his answers soon.

The Grandas were right. They are the dead walkers. And this is myfate, my end. But what will happen to me after my death is uncertain.I had to let Parama go. The sayings of the ‘Grandas’ cannot be wrong.I must die according to them. Parama will know this truth soon.

∗

Meanwhile, the people had begun their journey to the North through


the forest with the help of General Sugreev, he was short, with a nervoussmall oval shaped face marked with worry due to recent atrocities commit-ted on his people. He was given the responsibility of guiding the peoplesafely to their destination, on Parama’s orders. Sugreev was a young andan intelligent man whom Parama trusted immensely. By dawn, the entirekingdom had been deserted of its people. Sugreev was alert every minuteand ensured his people that the journey was danger free. He also madesure that all his commands were followed and that the responsibility thatParama had entrusted upon him was fulfilled. The kingdom’s safety wasin his hands now. Parama had informed Sugreev that he would soon jointhem but he needed to attend to an important responsibility of his own.Sugreev was initially worried but he knew Parama well enough to under-stand that he wouldn’t leave them like this. He neither questioned him norretorted. But he sensed a worry in his eyes which bothered him. Parama,the bravest warrior that Sugreev knew there was, was looking tensed ashe sent him off. He thought of him as he rode his horse cautiously.

They had traveled through the deepest of woods, darkest of forestsand most hidden paths. Everything was under control so far. . .

Chapter 2

THE DEAD–WALKERS

Parama waited in silence and placed himself in such a way that he couldview the happenings inside the chamber. He couldn’t see clearly though.There were about ten of them. Tall and hooded, they surrounded Dronaon all sides. One of them, who seemed to be the head, rounded Dronaas he turned towards the side where Parama was hiding. That was whenhe caught a full view of what his enemy looked like. And he was shockedto see what he just saw.. .

He was human yet he was not. He was alive yet he was dead. Helooked like a walking corpse that was blood ridden, scarred and brutallymurdered. He had an ear which was dangling from his head and his eyeswere ghostly and deep red, portraying a sense of evilness. All the deadwalkers had now stood behind their leader. Parama was bemused to findthat each one of them represented a horrible way of death. One seemedto have been drowned as his body was abnormally swollen, another wasburnt and another was stabbed with knives at numerous places.

A cold sneering voice suddenly startled him. “Your people seemed tohave escaped, Drona.” It was the leader. He came forward and looked atDrona as though he was his muse. Parama noticed that he had taken out

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a small sharp weapon which seemed to be made out of a human bone.Drona kept quiet.“So you wish to keep them hidden. Didn’t you know that it is a mere

waste of time?” said the dead walker. “We would find them in no timeand finish them off, obviously.” he added mockingly.

Parama looked at the dead walker and Drona. He admired his fatherfor his courage to stand up in front of such creatures. He had alwaysadmired him for his bravery. But now he knew that Drona was helplessinside. Desperate to save his kingdom he has challenged such vile beings!

Drona hadn’t spoken a word. This highly irritated the dead walker.He grabbed Drona’s robes and cut his arm deeply with his bone–madedagger. Drona stood his ground except that he winced a little.

“My people are safe. You cannot harm them,” said Drona. The deadwalker stopped his pace and halted with a shock. He turned towardsDrona and looked at him menacingly.

“What do you mean by cannot harm them?” he said in a voice filledwith poison. But Drona kept quiet.

“Do you know who we are? Do you know what we can do?” yelledthe dead walker. “Yes, I do –” answered Drona.

The dead walker looked as though Drona had just slapped him. Fora moment, he seemed to be thinking about something, but then, slowlyhis eyes turned narrow and angry and he looked as if something was atthe verge of his thoughts. He looked at Drona in his eyes. “Where arethe ’Grandas’?” he asked through gritted teeth. Drona was shocked.

“They are gone. Diffused in the name of good, entombed in the nameof god, and perished in the sands of goodness,” answered Drona.

“Then I am sure you must be aware of what is going to happen to younow.” he added. He looked irked and impatient. Drona hadn’t answeredhis question.

“We came here for Grandas, your army and people. We know theyare strong and capable. And they will serve us well. Tell us where theyhave hidden themselves. We will spare you,” continued the dead walker.Drona only stared at him.

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“If you don’t tell us, dear king, we will have to kill you,” said the deadwalker looking cunningly and was rather delighted at the idea of killingthe king.

The dead walker now turned towards others and announced. “He willserve no purpose to us. He is old and shriveled. And he is not revealingthe whereabouts of his people. We must find them ourselves as this foolishman doesn’t realize what we are capable of. He deserves to die.”

Then, suddenly, one of the dead walkers came forward and spoke.“But master, he belongs to the royal family. He has royal blood in him.He might be an advantage. Royal blood has a certain importance in ourrace. They –” “Shut up!” bellowed the leader.

The dead walker immediately kept quiet and looked a little scared,half wondering what his fault was.

“The Royal have been traitors! They are not trust worthy. Theyhave misused our Lord’s principles and went ahead to join hands with theenemy. The Lord doesn’t approve of them now. Didn’t you know that?!”shouted the leader. The dead walker who spoke was numb and stoodwordless. The authority that their leader had was too over powering.

“There still are souls that aren’t a part of our fight despite having beentortured after their deaths. They craved for their bodies to be burnt. Weneither used their bodies nor their souls,” said another dead walker.

“You fool! This isn’t about the king. This is about using his menfor our purpose and knowing the hidden message in Grandas. There aremany capable men. They would serve us till we win, if we train themproperly.” shouted his master, who looked clearly annoyed. There wassilence for a moment after which the leader spoke again.

“Drona shall be perished. And his body must be burnt –” he saidwith a finality in his voice. Parama’s face went white. He had to take anaction. But how, he can’t be seen by the dead walkers. The dead walkerswere alert now. The master turned around and signaled two of the deadwalkers who had immediately took out a long sword and a metal dagger.

Parama’s heart was gripped in fear. He took out his sword and cau-tiously stepped towards the two dead walkers who were encircling Drona


now. The other dead walkers, meanwhile, led by their master, were pacingtowards the exit of the palace. Parama’s heart skipped a beat when hethought he was seen by one of them. But he immediately hid behindthe statue of a warrior placed just outside the Drona’s chamber. He onlyarrived at the doors to find the two dead walkers sniggering and laughingmenacingly at the dead body of Dronawho lay with his arm slit openand stabbed at the neck, the body seemed to be still burning.

He was late. His father was dead and he couldn’t save him. The deadwalkers rushed to their clan, and left the palace. They did not see Paramawho was still behind the doors.

Parama was all alone now, staring in shock, at the half burnt bodyof his beloved father. . .his father. . .he had failed him.. .

He slowly walked towards the body and fell on his knees. Tearsrolled down his face but he seemed unaware of them.. .drowned in hisgrief. . .He was numb with shock. Something suddenly distracted him,a silvery, bright, transparent wisp of air that seemed to be emerging outof the burning body.. . It was the Drona’s soul.

As the body turned into ashes, the soul got brighter and brighter. Itrose above swiftly and looked at its shelter being eaten away by the fury ofthe flames. It was saddened, devastated and broken to see the only sourceof home it had, burning away. It seemed to be half delighted and halfobsolete, delighted because it could now sway its way to glory withoutsuffering and craving for its body to be burnt. Obsolete because the bodywhich had been its carrier for a long span of time had been destroyedmercilessly rather than dying naturally.

Parama looked at the soul in astonishment. He was mesmerized by it.It gave a knowing look to him. It rose higher and higher as flesh convertedinto ash. Finally there were just bones and ashes left on the floor. The souldrifted above them slowly and pausing for a second, it vanished out of sight.

He slowly stood on his feet and moved towards the remains of Drona.Momentarily stoned, he took the ashes with his hands and left. Heprocured a tiny pot from somewhere and stored the ashes in it. He heardthere was a holy river by the name the Ganges, somewhere in the north,

The Dead–Walkers 15

where people purified the souls of the deceased by chanting holy wordsand dipping the ashes in the river. Parama thus gathered himself, still indeep melancholy, and began his journey with his horse, Tej.

∗

He mounted his small bundle of necessary belongings and the Grandasalong with Drona’s diary, a night lamp, and his weapons on his horseand then started heading towards the North.

He was cautious and careful as he rode his way in the darkness. Hewas aware that he might face grave danger ahead but he had to informthe people as soon as possible, about the threat they were about to face.The path was uneven, muddy and difficult. He thought about the kingand he was dead, the Grandas, the dead walkers and his people. Whocreated such a ruthless army of monsters? Who was behind such vile acts?And what does he intend to do? Several such questions ran in his mind.At one point he even felt dizzy thinking of them. His every move wascountable and would reveal the answers at the terminus. Several hourspassed and soon it was midnight. He found it extremely arduous to havea decent view of the path. Wondering if it was safe to ride at this hour,he took a halt near a huge tree. He jumped down his horse and lifted hislamp to have a glimpse of his lair. It was a huge banyan tree and to hisrelief, there was a tiny pond which lay adjacent to it. Thoroughly satisfiedwith his find, he went to his horse and whispered,

“Tej, you have been brave. Go quench your thirst now, we must startfrom here by dawn, get some sleep.”

Tej nodded his head as if consenting with the idea and rode softly tothe pond. He dipped his head and drank away almost the entire pond. Hethen tied him to a branch and sat down resting his back against the trunk.

For a moment, he thought of taking out the Grandas and readingthem. But he remembered the promise that he made to his father sodropped that thought at once, he then thought of the diary, but he neededto resume his journey in a couple of hours as the longer he stayed at that


place, the more dangerous it would get. He turned off his lamp and closedhis eyes. In what seemed like a few seconds, he fell asleep.

He had a series of dreams in which he was being chased by a bright sil-very figure which shone radiantly in the darkness. The scene disappearedand diffused into a lone desert in which he stood alone. He jumped infright as he heard a horrible cry behind him. He turned around to see aman who was bleeding severely, the man crawled towards Parama shriek-ing and crying in pain. He looked helpless. Parama walked a few stepstowards him only to find that he was his dead father. He shouted. But novoice came. He stared at his father who was desperately seeking help. Buthe was motionless. The dream disappeared again. Now he was in space.The earth hovered in distance, looking beautiful and radiant. He stood ona land which looked unknown but familiar. A huge tree stood in the cen-ter and a man sat under it, with his eyes closed and lips which twisted intoa tiny smile. His face was a picture of peace and serenity. A certain aurareflected from him and drew Parama towards him. As he neared, he couldsee the man more clearly now.. .and then the dream was disappeared.

Parama woke as the first ray of sunlight hit his face. Tej was alreadyawake and attempted to wake his master by nibbling at his toes fondly.Parama got up and untied his horse. He washed his face with the waterfrom the pond and drank some himself. He mounted on Tej and beganriding his way to the north; he then traveled more than half a day withoutany halt, after traveling for many hours when the dawn appeared finallyhe thought of taking a halt to start the diary. So he had chosen a placewhich is similar to a den where he and his horse can reside for a while,a place which was quite apt for reading. He then pulled his horse insidethe den, and lit his tiny lamp.

The Dairy had been opened. . .

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Chapter 3

DRONA’S DAIRY

Day 1 of the first millionth year, it was Midnight.The commemoration was at its peak. The celebrations ran with

great energy and excitement. My kingdom was decorated so well that itlooked fascinating and enchanting. People preoccupied themselves withthe preparations and there was a great buzz of enthusiasm amongst them.Men were busy setting the stages and stalls, women were busy makingmouth watering delicacies, and children ran around playing with eachother. I was indeed most delighted! It made me proud that I have livedenough to witness this moment, this day, a new year and a new era. Itwas the First Millionth Year of the Dwapara Yuga; it was arrived with atremendous number of changes, mysteries and inventions. It was the thirdyuga. As kids, we often heard stories of the greatness of the millionth yearand the new life we would see. The stories of the evil, and how the heroemerges out of nowhere and saves the world, and how good always winsover bad were the most common tales that children loved to hear beforethey fell asleep. Now, it is a privilege to see that the millionth era hadfinally begun. This era would bring upon us certain undeniable changes

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Drona’s Dairy 19

as well. Men in Tretha Yuga had experienced a life span of ten thousandyears, but we, in the Dwapara Yuga, would be having a life span of athousand years. The inevitable change in life span that has been occurringsince the beginning of the first Yuga, Satya Yuga, where man lived forone lakh years, will continue in the future when the next Yuga starts.The variation in years was calculated based on the cosmic moments. Butgetting acclimatized to this was a major concern which not everyoneapproved of. I sat on my balcony as I watched the market place abuzzwith people. There were puppet shows, sales of clothes and handicrafts,dramas, dancing and singing, then struck the auspicious time. The secondthat the first millionth year had begun. Finally. . . ’12:00. . . ’ There weresudden out bursts of fire crackers that sparkled in a million breathtakingcolors in the sky as they burst. It was a sight worth watching. And it wasa moment worth living. My people welcomed me with great warmthand respect. I found myself immersed in the celebrations and forgot thefact, for a while, that I was a king! I was overwhelmed. Praying that thisyear would be as great as promised, hoping that we would still be unitedand fight anything that came our way, striving towards a better future,we wished each other the best of days in the millionth year.

∗

Day 3: Midnight.Two days went by smoothly when on the third day, the first sign of

the calamity coming upon us, was sighted. Someone in the village hadbeen abducted. Several suspects had been listed down. But none hadmaterialized into action. We were a well equipped kingdom and handlingour enemy was not a difficult task for us. This was the first time thatsomething has happened which left us clueless and perplexed. It was thepregnant lady who was abducted. I sent my guards to go in search of her.A couple of days had passed by and we hadn’t received any trace or hintof her whereabouts. This was highly unlikely event to happen in a safeand secure kingdom like mine. The woman’s husband, Dheera was short,


lean and thin, and had straight elongated face, and was clad with dothi.He was deeply traumatized with the disappearance of his beloved wifewent along with my guards, looking for her. Many days had passed byand Dheera became cranky and impatient. We understood his concernabout his wife and his unborn child. But my soldiers were doing theirbest. They spread themselves throughout the region and hunted for herday and night. There were several signs of human, like footprints of smallfeet or carvings on the bark of trees, but they were nowhere related to thewoman or the kidnappers. Dheera had almost given up when one dayhe noticed a glitter of gold amidst few bushes. Curious, he went towardsit. Shoving the bushes aside, he noticed that the glitter was actually agold ornament. He then remembered that it was his wife’s anklet. Hisheart leapt with joy and he shouted for my soldiers that he had finallyfound a hint. With a ray of hope finally dawning upon his heart, hebegan searching for his wife in full zeal. They went deeper and deeperinto the woods for several minutes. Dheera was enthusiastically leadingthe group now. He suddenly halted and froze on his spot as he heard aloud cry, the cry of his wife. He ran hysterically now. The men behindhim followed, more alert and more cautious suspecting that they mightface danger ahead, half wondering how was the woman actually taken tosuch a dingy location somewhere deep in the woods. They followed thedirection of the cry when suddenly they spotted massive footprints whichdidn’t look human. Dheera was sick with worry and there was no way hecould be controlled. The footprints led to a narrow muddy path whichstretched into a trail of thick heavy mud which made it extremely difficultto walk on. The path had finally come to an end, revealing a cavern whichthreatened its visitors. Dheera was sure that his wife was inside. He wasdesperate to go in and see her. Without notice, he ran inside calling outher name. He entered into the cavern followed closely by several soldiersnow. The cavern was empty. He looked around and found no one. Hewas sure he heard her cry. The soldiers searched the place and found notrace of their enemy. But a muffled cry startled them all. A tiny pondwith smooth water lay at the center of the cavern. The waters on the

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boundary of the pond were, but there were tiny ripples at the center.“What is that?!” asked Dheera. To his surprise the ripples at the centerincreased and were more violent now. He and the soldiers rushed towardsthe pond. To their shock, they found a woman with her legs and handstied together and mouth stuffed with a cloth of some kind, fighting forher life and shaking violently looking at them in desperation. Two of thesoldiers jumped in immediately and got her out. Her round shaped faceseemed to be bulged somewhat as water entered through her ears, muchgreater damage didn’t happen as it was understood through observationthat the enemy had just then dropped her into the water. Dheera wasin a state of shock looking at his wife in such a state. The woman wasunconscious now. They untied her arms and legs and removed the clothstuffed into her mouth. She could barely breathe. Dheera fell on his kneesbeside her, wordless. He shook her wildly, calling out her name, fearingsomething had happened to her. His wife lay on the cold floor of the eeriecavern, barely conscious and weakened. The commotion inside the cavernhad increased with the appearance of several soldiers most of whom werescorching the place for signs of the kidnappers and discussing amongthemselves. All the commotion came to a halt when a loud noise washeard suddenly, just outside the entrance of the cavern. A large silhouetteof a hooded figure stood at the entrance of the cavern. The figure walkedinside the cavern slowly, coming into presence, and glared at the womanwith seething anger on his hooded face which only showed his red eyes.He was followed by five similar creatures that remained in silence. Dheera,crouching behind his barely conscious wife, looked at him with fright.He attempted to protect his wife by spreading his arms in order to notlet her fall into his sight. This amused the hooded figure to an extent andhe let out a shrill laugh that echoed through the entire cavern spreadingwaves of terror. “Trying to save your wife, eh?” he barked at the manthreateningly. The hooded man’s eyes moved back to the woman again.But they were fixed, curiously, on her protruded belly. This further tensedher husband. Why is he staring at her belly?! A feeling of protectivenessand courage hit him instantly and he stood on his feet staring with deep


anger at his opponent. “You cannot harm my wife or my child as long asI am alive.” he said. To make matters worse, the entire group of hoodedcreatures began laughing and sneering at the puny little man who lookedfrightened. He felt his hopes leaving him. The soldiers surrounded theman and his wife, held their weapons forward, preparing to fight. Thecavern turned into a battle field in an instant. Unfortunately, the soldierswere a no match to their powerfully built enemy who seemed to possessunusual strength and tactics. They had never battled such creatures. Asthe number of soldiers lessened, the enemy found it easier to defeat them.The soldiers were easily out-beaten. Dheera stuck to his wife loyally butit began dawning on him that he was fighting a war which he had alreadylost. A small stir beside him caused him to get distracted. His wife beganregaining her consciousness. This lifted his spirits to a great extent. Thewoman realized the happenings around her and began shouting withparalyzing fear. “Don’t cry! Nothing will happen to us and our child.I am there!” he assured her. But he knew he would be nothing more thana rag doll to these dreadful creatures. A soft thud and a clink of metal washeard beside them and they turned their heads to see what it was. Thesoldier, who had been trying to protect them, fell to the ground with hishead severed and sword clashing with the enemy’s. It was a horrifyingscene. The woman let out a shrill cry and momentarily went into a stateof shock. “No! No! Get up!” shouted Dheera, shaking her wildly, feargripping his weakened heart. “You cannot protect her as long as we arehere.” said the cold hooded figure again. He was standing over a pile ofdead soldiers who bravely fought them to their death. Dheera’s heart sankin fear and sorrow. They fought for me and my family. They died forus. The figure removed his hood and revealed his face to the man and hiswife. He looked like the face of death. Disfigured. . .Evil. . .Merciless. . .

“Who are you? What do you seek for?” cried the helpless Dheera.“I seek your child. Your unborn child.” answered the figure, in the samecalm, cold voice. Dheera’s face turned pale and corpse–like as he staredat the enemy in disbelief. “My unborn child?!” he asked, wonderingwhether he heard him right or not. “Yes. . .and we want him dead.” added

Drona’s Dairy 23

the disfigured creature. Dheera looked wordless. His face was a mixtureof misery and shock. The disfigured man now turned to his clan andsaid, “We have been waiting for this moment. Now the time has comethat we infuse fear into the unborn child along with the other equallyimportant quality.” He then looked at Dheera who stared at him with ablank expression on his face. “We were waiting for you?” he said calmly.

“We need your blood.” said the dead-walker at last.

∗

This incident came to my concern when Bhargava came running to me,looking deeply concerned and scared. He narrated the entire happeningthat occurred in the cavern. My heart skipped a beat out of fear when hedescribed the enemy and what they did to the poor lady and her husband.None of my soldiers, who had gone in search of her, were alive. ButBhargava escaped somehow. What really bothered me was their intentionwith the unborn child. This deeply worried me. What would they achieveby injecting fear into the unborn child? What exactly was their motive?Bhargava went on narrating and myriad questions started popping in mymind. But my worst fears came true when he told me what they intendedto do with the unborn child inside the lady’s womb. And then therealization dawned on to me. HE has arrived, opened the arms of Dark.

∗

Parama kept the diary aside and looked deep in thought. He knew that thevile creatures were none other than the dead walkers. But he knew not thattheir deeds were extremely repulsive. He rested against a small boulder thatfit itself amidst a group of wild bushes, in a forest near the northern bound-ary. It was sunset and he had taken a break since Tej had hurt himself whilepassing by the deep forest which bore wild trees and shrubs full of thorns.A tiny thorn had thrust itself into his paw; Tej felt a twinge in pain due towhich it became difficult for Tej to carry forward the journey so Parama


grabbed this opportunity to read the diary. He lit his lamp as it began get-ting darker and darker. A sudden swing of loneliness crept through him ashe stared into the darkness. He wished none of it had changed. He wishedhis king, his father, to come back. He wished his kingdom was safe andsecure as it always was. But he knew it was gone. And he couldn’t retrievewhat he had lost. Engrossed in his thoughts, he went into a deep sleepwithout his notice. It was midnight when he was woken by the sounds ofhushed voices somewhere nearer to him. The voices were now slowly be-ing dominated by sounds of horses galloping. Tej too, by now, had wokenup looking alert. His heart was caught in a clasp of fear as the noise becameclearer and louder. A chill ran down his spine. He thought of his peopleawaiting him. He thought of his promise to his dead king. He thought ofhis responsibilities and wished desperately that he shouldn’t be attackednow. The noises were getting nearer and nearer and he thought he woulddefinitely be caught. Tej seemed to be getting restless and began squirmingall of a sudden. Fearing that they would be heard, he tried to hush the horseto keep it quiet, but Tej seemed uncomfortable. And then, to his surprise,the sound of the galloping horses and the voices started fading away. Theybegan getting faint by the minute and he was strangely relieved. So wasTej. He silently settled down in his position resting his head on his hooves.He had removed his horseshoes because of the pain caused by the thorn.Feeling his heart beat finally slowing down, he felt relaxed momentarily.He looked at Tej who seemed to be resting, not wanting to disturb him;

Parama resumed his reading.

∗

“Waiting for me? What. . .what do you mean? What is happening here?!”cried Dheera, who looked desperately helpless now. A sneering laughterfollowed his panicked query. He looked petrified as one of them cameforward, unveiling himself to reveal a dark burnt face, forcefully kickedhim aside and grabbed the woman, lifting her in his hands as if she werea mere toy. “No! She is carrying a baby! Don’t hurt her. Hurt me if

Drona’s Dairy 25

you must. Not her. Please!” he shouted. But his cries were ignored. Heseemed to lose his will. He found himself being dragged by a hoodedfigure. He didn’t know where. But he felt himself losing his senses andstrength. His wife had been made to lie on a small platform made ofstone. Four hooded figures gathered around her and chanted something.Her husband attempted to shout but he could only manage to let out agroan. “No.. .Don’t. . .hurt me.. .please. . .” he cried in his broken andweak voice. He now felt strong rope being bound around his body, handsand legs. He had no strength to fight back. He realized he was being heldas a hostage. There was a sudden chaos as few more soldiers entered andcharged a fight. The kidnappers were rudely surprised by their uninvitedguests for the second time. Within minutes, the soldiers were brutallymashed to their death. But unknown to the enemy, a soldier had beenwitnessing all of this, hidden inside the cavern, at a corner, beneath fewrocks. The disfigured robed man now went and stood above the womanwho looked barely alive. The others stepped away as he lifted his handsin a form of prayer and began chanting in an unfamiliar language. Fewseconds passed by and there was a loud ear-piercing cry that throbbedthe entire cavern. The woman began twisting and turning, crying inunbearable pain, clutching her belly. Dheera stared at her in fear, unableto move and shout. He felt his conscience leaving him. His wife wasbeing tortured and he couldn’t do anything. What was happening here,he knew nothing, but he knew everything was going to change. Verysoon. . .“Shut up!” yelled the disfigured man at the lady who was writhingin pain. He turned back to his clan and said, “The woman is disruptingthe process. If we don’t complete it successfully today, the unborn childcannot be pursued. It will be too late. This is the right time. It’s herseventh month.” Dheera simply stared at her and couldn’t do anything.He was bound to the helplessness that he faced. His vision turned hazy.His world was spinning. His eyes were closing randomly as he felt a deeppain in his wrist. He winced. He could feel his warm blood flowing out.The pain was unbearable. The two hooded figures standing before himwere barely visible to his eyes. He thought he saw a tiny flask near his


wrist. A flask which bore the blood that sourced from his cut wrist. Andthen his world went black. “The fetus is moving with anger, look at her!”said the disfigured man, looking menacingly excited. His clan roundedon the lady looking intently at her belly. The fetus, or the unborn childinside her womb, was twisting and making strong attempts to free itselfand wanted to come out of the mother’s womb. The woman shoutedin paralyzing pain but her feeble attempts at freeing herself were all invain. The horrible, vile creatures were after her dear child. And she wasin no position to help her baby. She knew she was dying. She knewshe wouldn’t see her child. She knew her child was in the hands of evil.Yet she had accepted everything. “It’s time to separate the child from hismother.” declared the master. The woman, who was barely alive, groanedin pain. But she stopped moving. She was losing her breath, her soul, andher life. She then let out a last cry of pain as she felt a cold sharp pain onher stomach and may be. . .a vision of a small child. . .clad in nothing butblood. . . in the disfigured man’s hands. . .The disfigured man looked highlyexhilarated and satisfied on seeing the child’s movements in his hands. Amixture of anger and fear. . .The child did not cry. It was as quiet as thesilence before a storm. But it furiously grunted in anger and twitchedin fear. The child was raised in air for the entire clan to see. They cheeredand celebrated their victory. The master glanced at one of the hooded menwho bowed slightly and went out of sight. He then emerged again afterfew minutes, bringing with him, a container that bobbled with bluishswirling liquid. It looked big enough to hold an infant. The master placedthe child in it as the liquid hissed angrily spreading a pungent odor in thevicinity. The kidnappers then prepared to leave the region. They left thebodies of Dheera and his wife in the cavern, mounted their horses and left.

∗

Why would they need an unborn premature child? What was their motive?Is this a terrible curse that has been put on us? Is this what the millionthyear that we were so looking forward to, has promised us? The strange

Drona’s Dairy 27

happenings inside the kingdom have given us an unpleasant turn of eventswhich we hadn’t imagined. I immediately summoned my general and in-structed him to the only thing that I felt was right at that time. I asked himto do an analysis and take a note of the pregnant women in the kingdom.

Day 17, Midnight.A day had passed when my general came to me with an expression

that didn’t promise something good. My worst fears had come true.As I dreaded, many such pregnant women had been found missing. Abrief outburst of the memory of the hooded disfigured man with thepremature child in his hands passed in my mind as a flare. I wonderedhow many more women have been made to undergo the turmoil. Iimmediately summoned my army and ordered my best men to face thisobsolete enigma. We prepared ourselves for several days. We knew whatwe were about to face. Many of my soldiers perished in the hands of theseruthless creatures and I wouldn’t risk sacrificing more of them anymore.A massive amount of flesh and blood had been shed already. Several suchdisappearances and murders were taking place constantly leaving everycitizen in fear. It was a living nightmare that spread throughout the regionlike wildfire. People fled with their families to safer regions. But the terrorseemed to have spread throughout almost the entire Southern region.

∗

We reached the cavern only to find a horrifying scene before us. Severaldead bodies of men and women lay there, covered in blood. Standingthere with my throng of army men, inside the creepy cavern, I felt deepremorse. I was late, late to save these unfortunate people who had losttheir lives to the dreadful beings. Fearing that the enemy would enteranytime, we hid ourselves, placed in positions that provided both as asafety and to keep a watch. It was almost nightfall and most of my menwere getting restless. There was no sign of the enemy. We had almostdecided to march back when we heard the sounds of horses galloping.They had arrived. The hooded men appeared at the cavern on their horses,


one of them, who seemed to be their master, dismounted his horse andhalted at the mouth of the cavern. His six followers had un-mounted theirrespective horses and stood in silence as though waiting for their leader tospeak first. “We have successfully begun our journey. This kingdom hasproved to be quite useful. Our lord is happy.” he said. He then removedhis hood to unveil a face which was highly disfigured. His cold face borea sneering smile which made him look more threatening. “We, the DeadWalkers, are fortunate to be serving our lord, who dreams of possessinga greatness that we never imagined and dreamt of. It’s an honor to be hisservant.” he continued. His words were followed by cheers and nods ofapproval. “We are not alive, but we are not dead. We can’t smell, but wecan see. Our appearance may not be decent, but our motives are strong.So is our unity.” saying so, he paused and looked at his followers intently.“We have been chosen to fulfill this mission of forming the army of deadwalkers. We must not let him down. We have managed to collect severalunborn infants. Now it’s time to move from here. We must perform therituals on them as soon as possible. They are ready to join us and fight thewar.” His clan howled and cheered again, more aggressively. It was clearlyevident that they were planning to move from here. What rituals werethey talking about? And what army was this? Many questions hovered inmy mind as I was suddenly struck with our actual motive of coming here.My men waited in anxiety for my command, to begin the attack. Thekidnappers gathered in a circle and chanted something in an unfamiliarlanguage. Just as I was about to order to charge, my eyes fell on something.Something that lay about five yards from me. It was peculiar. It lookedlike leaves. My heart beat rose higher as I suddenly remembered thatwas long forgotten. Could it be. . . ? I glanced swiftly towards my generalto wait and carefully took a few skeptical steps towards the leaves. Myheart was running faster. I was curious to know if they were really whatI assumed them to be. My hands almost reached them when somethingstrong caught hold of my arm. I looked up to stare at a hooded disfiguredman. His lips curved into a cunning smile. His clan, standing a few yardsaway, howled in laughter as they saw what I had been attempting to do.

Drona’s Dairy 29

“Well, Well, Well. . .we have a guest, my dear friends.” announced thedisfigured man who had caught my robes now. He dragged me closer tohis circle and threw me aside. I knew my men must attack any moment.But the leaves still lay there. I was very close to them.. .and now I wascaught. “It’s the king himself!” he further added in mocking delight. Iwas deeply humiliated. I was in fear. It was probably evident on my face.He looked into my eyes and sneered. “Came to spy on us, eh?” he asked,looking highly amused. His mouth bore a disgusting odor. “Well. . .whatdo we do with you?” he laughed, trying to humiliate me. “You may killme today. But beware, whoever you are, your end is coming. The evilmust die!” I said in a brave attempt. But it seemed to fail. “Do you knowwho we are? You dare say that our end is coming?” he spat. A suddencry rose from one of his clan members as he advanced towards me witha club in his hand, threatening to kill me for having raised my voice at hismaster. A gesture from his master silenced him. “No. We cannot kill him.We must follow the Grandas.” said the master. My mouth fell open on hislast word. They were indeed what I thought they were. They were theTalaPatra Grandas, the most prestigious and valuable text, symbols andholy scripts written on sheets of holy leaves. They were the most soughtafter in the entire country. They defined our past, present and the future.No wonder the dead walkers were behind them. They were not theonly ones. I myself craved for them. And now I have the chance. . .Theagitated dead walker obeyed his master’s command at once and steppedback. “We won’t be killing anyone tonight. We must first perform therituals on our treasure that this kingdom has given us. We need to bepatient. We need more information from this man. We cannot kill him.”he repeated to his clan again in a high voice. His clan nodded, few withrespect, few with fear and others unwillingly. “Grab him and keep himas a hostage.” he said looking at me. And then, everything happenedin just a few seconds. There was utter turmoil as my men and his clanclashed into each other, shouting furiously. They were fewer this timeand our preparation and skills proved to be better too. We fought withvigilance, unlike them, who fought with unrighteousness and immorality.


We couldn’t kill any of them but we could harm them, to a great extent.I grabbed the opportunity to slip away and get hold of the Grandas. Iwas almost there and this time no one could stop me. My hands finallyheld the legendary TalaPatra Grandas, they must be handled with utmostcare as they were too old and were torn from all sides. It was an honor.I summoned my general and ordered him to stop the fight and headedback to the kingdom as our motive had been met. He looked uncertainfor a moment but obeyed. He turned away shouting his command to themen. We had unfortunately lost about ten men. But we manage to causeenough damage to the enemy. The six members of the clan were injuredbut still fought, trying to harm us. My general ordered something to oneof the men who vanished and appeared within a minute. My entire armyhad covered their faces with masks now. The dead walkers were furious atus but their faces suddenly turned fearful. The entire vicinity had turnedbizarre as a type of Smokey substance was mixed with the air causing thedead walkers to lose their balance and fall down. It made their minds hazyand powerless. But they seemed indestructible. It was as though theywere possessed with black magic. We took this as the best moment toescape. Our enemy was defenseless now. I isolated myself in my chamberafter the return, for a couple of hours prodding over the treasure that Idiscovered. I was fascinated, yet shocked. The information in my handwas more than valuable. . . It gave me a vision of our future. My future. . .

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The Third Day - Dwapara Yuga