Prodyut Kumar Deka
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Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Ambari i Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Publishing-in-support-of, EDUCREATION PUBLISHING RZ 94, Sector - 6, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075 Shubham Vihar, Mangla, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh - 495001 Website: www.educreation.in __________________________________________________ © Copyright, Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer. ISBN: 978-1-5457-0276-5 Price: ` 255.00 The opinions/ contents expressed in this book are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions/ standings/ thoughts of Educreation. Printed in India ii Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Ambari Prodyut Kumar Deka EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011) www.educreation.in iii Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. iv Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Dedicated To This book is dedicated to my late grandparents Mahendra Nath Deka & Swarnalata Deka X v Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Preface The story is told from my point of view as a filmmaker in the way it would have been portrayed in screen if it had been made into a film. I believe a writer and filmmaker have something in common. Both try to communicate a story. I still believe that the story could be made into a film someday. My acknowledgements are due to my friends Pranjal Baruah and Debashish Goswami for taking the pain of reading my first draft; delightful literary couples Utpal & Namrata Datta; Prantik Deka; Madhusmita Borkotoki & my family for their generous support. Educreation Publishing provided me the opportunity to bring out my manuscript to you. I convey my sincere thanks to Vikram Singh Thakur, Shobha Khande and Mithlesh Kaushik, the Management team of Educreation Publishing for guiding me in every step of publishing this book. I am also grateful to Dilip Sharma, Guide Lecturer of the Directorate of Archeology, Assam for his proficient advice. In an age when the world has been applauding the exploits of fictional wizard Harry Potter, it remains virtually unknown to the world that there is vi Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. actually a whole village practicing magic in a remote place of India. My book is a modest attempt to introduce the place to you. All places depicted in the story are real while characters and events are ficticious, any resemblance to real persons living or dead is purely coincidence. Prodyut Kumar Deka. X vii Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Prologue Located in the Nilachal hill, in a mountain cave adjacent to the temple, around six head priests clad with dhotis sat in a sort of round table symposium. The priests were around hundred years old, lean and skinny with long grey beards. The time was almost midnight. Such an assembly at this hour didn’t happen in a thousand years. One of the Sadhus pronounced, “We all know what has happened. Let us not talk about the trivialities. Let us now examine the consequence first.” The Sadhu looked like the leader among them. There was silence. The Sadhu reflected on the recent event which has occurred in this part. And which is going to threaten their very existence. There is a myth from this North Eastern part of India which has not been forgotten by all. Like many myths, this story has also some share of history, truth and fiction combined into one, not necessarily in that order. Pragjyotishpura was the capital of Kamrupa at that time, the ancient name of Assam. Bhanu, grandson of Suparna, the ruler of Pragjyotishpura was born in the family of Vajradatta. The genealogy viii Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. of this dynasty traces its lineage from King Naraka and his son King Bhagadatta. Both of them are frequently mentioned in ancient Indian epics like the Purans and Tantras. King Bhagadatta is mentioned in the Mahabharata as a powerful monarch ruling in the east. He died fighting for Kouravas in the great battle which doesn’t need any summation here. Located within Pragjyotishpura are two important seats of tantric worship. One is the shakti temple of Goddess Kamakhya in Nilachal hill and the unique astrological temple Navagraha in Chitrachal Hill. Both are situated atop hills that overlook the Brahmaputra River. It is believed that the Kamakhya Devi shrine hosts the yoni of Sati that fell here following the destruction of Daksha's sacrifice. This Shakti Peetha symbolizes the union of Shiva with Shakti, as described in the Kalika Purana. They are depicted in constant union where Kamakhya is the Goddess of desire, who grants salvation. She is the young bride of Lord Shiva and together they symbolize the sublime reality of the miracle of life, the everlasting bliss of male and female union. The inner sanctum is a deep dark underground rocky chamber into which one descends by a flight of steep steps. The Matra Yoni which is inscribed on a rock is covered with silk sarees and is constantly moist by underground spring water. Not far from Pragjyotispura, is situated a tiny but sovereign monarchy called Mayong which is revered and dreaded by all in the whole of India. It lies on the bank of the river Brahmaputra, ix Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. approximately 40 km from the capital of Kamrupa. Mayong comes from the word Maya since it is considered as the land of illusion. The place is considered the cradle of black magic and witchcraft in Asia. It is said that Chief Ghatotkacha took part in the battle of Mahabharata with his magical powers derived from Mayong. It was ironic that two powerful rulers of this region took part in the great battle of Mahabharata on opposite sides. The reasons were purely personal and not based on any treaty. King Bhagadatta’s sister Bhanumati was married to Duryudhana, the eldest brother of the Kauravas. Interestingly, she was his only wife unlike the Pandavas. And Ghatotkacha was a son of Bheema. Due to their respective relationships, Bhagadatta and Ghatotkacha had no other choice in fact. However, Barbarika, son of Ghatotkacha and Maurvi, didn’t participate in the war. It is said that Barbika was bound by the principal of fighting on the losing side. Lord Krishna advised him to stand as witness of the battle without taking any part. Nevertheless, it did create a bit of resentment between the two neighbors. The lineage of Ghatotkacha is not known. After his death, it is assumed his dynasty lived somewhere in the kingdom of Mayong. However, we know for certain that the present rulers of Kamrupa were descendants of Bhagadatta. Nevertheless, both these neighbors grew apart after that Great War. Another reason of their conflict was due to the diverse style of culture adopted by their respective monarchs. Kamrupa being more multicultural and x Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. cordial towards immigrants continued its relations with the rest of India. The rulers of Kamrupa had come under the influence of Hinduism very early and were fond of learning. They often welcomed learned sages and thinkers from the mainland for their discourses here. Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang who visited ancient Assam in a later period had written an account of his travels and gave a fairly comprehensive description of the place praising the rulers of Kamrupa. Nonetheless, the predominant form of Hinduism in this part of India was Tantric Hinduism. It is said that when the Kamakhya temple was opened newly, the occasion was celebrated by the immolation of no less than a hundred and forty men, whose head were offered to the Goddess on dishes made of copper. Meanwhile magic became the fundamental cult of the kingdom of Mayong. They principally remained outside the mainland and the tribal priests practiced their own form of worship including black magic and witchcraft. The place slowly became isolated and people developed cold feet towards Mayong due to its increasing legends and horror tales. Human sacrifice remained largely prevalent in both places. It was regarded favorably by the Tantric sect of Hinduism. It is said that the person selected for sacrifice was fed sumptuously, until he was in sufficiently plump condition to suit the supposed taste of the Goddess, and he was then executed. Nonetheless, after many years of hostility between them, it was going to change. xi Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. Avanti, the young princess of Mayong, had made a short trip to Kamrupa to offer prayers in the temple of Goddess Kamakhya. As per protocol, King Bhanu organized a private gathering in honor of the princess. Both of them met for the first time in the palace and the hot-blooded Suparna couldn’t take his eyes away from her. Princess Avanti was not what we call gorgeous but there were some fascinating features about her especially her being tall, broad shoulders and having a scrumptious body. She was also serious, quiet and calm in her actions which made her even more attractive. The Princess was also aware of the cold vibes their kingdoms shared with each other. Though she would have loved to change that, nevertheless she tried to avoid the King without being discourteous to him. However, destiny had its call. Eventually Avanti also took a liking for the young King of Kamrupa. Meanwhile, King Bhanu arranged numerous occasions to meet her as much as he can. During this short but firm courtship, both the royal blood fell in unfathomable love with each other. Bhanu requested her to prolong her stay in Kamrupa for some more days and the princess enchanted by this offer had agreed.