Jun 6, 2007

Chapter 7: Swayamvara

Samudra manthan resumes. After repeated churning, out comes Lakshmi, as beautiful as ever. But she is just recognised as a ‘Woman’. Kaalkethu describes her lips, her eyes, her face, her temple, her hair, her walk in positive adjectives and encourages desire in himself. He asks Indra that she has to be his. Indra says he is Devathi, apt for a Devatha. So he rejects.

Kaalakethu and Co again walk-out, saying, they will have a war to determine who must have the woman. Both the parties thus stop the manthan and go to battlefield to win the woman.

Lakshmi is anxious on not finding Vishnu. Her soul shouts for him, her eyes search for him, every fibre of her body needs him. So Vishnu arrives. An enthralling and passionate combining of Vishnu and Lakshmi, but Vishnu, mystery in his eyes, tells Lakshmi, that now that she has come out sea, she is the daughter of the God of Oceans (sagar-putri) and hence she has to meet the creator of oceans, Brahma, to determine her future and leaves her all alone.

So Lakshmi approaches Brahma and informs her of her need of Vishnu and the wasteful battle of Daanavs and Devathas. Brahma says ‘What rubbish’ and approaches the battlefield. He stops the just-about-to-start war and tells Devathas and Daanavs about the principles and protocols w.r.t. a woman. He informs them of the right that a woman has and she should not be considered as an object, a non-living, over which one could have possession.

So, he starts a new process called ‘Swayamvara’ in which a woman gets the absolute right, a veto, over the man of her choice and selects him and him alone, and not vice versa.

Harshal praises Kaalakethu that he is strong and hence she will choose him only and Kaalakethu’s eyes lit up, but predictably, its having visions of impossibility.

Lakshmi is worried. Narada appears. He tells that her smile is the thing that brings back life into many creatures and now that smile itself is missing. What seems to be the problem? She replies:” In the forthcoming swayamvara, all devathas and daanavs are invited, but not her Narayan. And how can she choose anyone else except him?”

So she requests Narada to ask Narayan to attend the Swayamvara. Narada says he might just say so, but since Narayan is not invited…

Swayamvara. No sign of Vishnu. Only Daanavs and Devathas. Sagarputi is still tense. She awaits. Brahma, the coordinator, announces the start of the first Swayamvara ever – a policy, a function in which the woman has the right to choose her man. A new was thus made.

Still as tense as ever, Sagarputri makes her way across the courtyard, rejecting all and simultaneously having an eye over the door for a miracle entry of Vishnu. But no. She rejects all but one, Kaalakethu, because he is the last one around. And since he is the only one left, she has no choice. She is petrified. She delays while her mind is terrified.

Sure enough, enters Vishnu. Lakshmi is overjoyed and over the moon. She is totally attracted to him. Her happiness knows no bounds. Tears flood, and she runs to him and chooses him as her man. Devathas are impressed. The milan of Lakshmi and Vishnu, thus, is historic, as Vishnu had promised. As exciting as frightening and as thrilly as it could be.

Daanavs are totally depressed. And approach Shukracharya for aborting the manthan again. But Shukracharya advises otherwise since he wants the elixir himself. 

No comments: