embodiment of the ill-will his parents bear towards me. It is not merely a guess, given the fact that I was there when Recana was spewing filth from that sewer of a mouth, calling down terrible imprecations on my head and swearing that death and putrefying privates were to be my fate.
‘Trishiras may not be aware of all this and may genuinely believe that his purpose of existence is entirely for lofty and noble pursuits. But the truth is that he is a weapon created for the sole purpose of ending my reign. If I ignore my gut, then it is only a matter of time before he makes a stinking corpse out of me and a widow out of you.’
Sachi did not spook easily, but Indra’s impassioned speech and prediction of imminent death and widowhood chilled her to the bone. She rallied quickly though, keeping the paralysing fear at bay before she carefully formulated a reply. ‘The good news is that your reconnaissance missions and your own acuityhave given us a valuable heads-up. Wariness makes one canny and I believe you can avert this disaster waiting to happen, if you strike swiftly and surely. I have always wondered about the roundabout tactics you employ in taking down your enemies. It is galling that you rely so much on that glorified gigolo Kama and his ridiculous flowery arrows, when it would be more sensible to rely on real arrows.
‘Surely there has to be a more expedient way that does not rely on chance or individual error, the greatest enemy of well-laid plans? You are the king and, as you said, nobody else deserves to sit on the throne of heaven. If you have identified a threat to your august person, then you are well within your rights to eliminate it as you see fit.’
Indra replied, ‘You are right, of course, the simplest course would be for me to kill him as quickly as possible, and good riddance! But he is a Brahmin, and I would incur the dread sin of Brahmahatya. I will probably lose my powers by killing Trishiras. It is also possible that I will be playing right into the hands of my enemies with a drastic move like that, and Twastha and his wife will probably laugh themselves sick at my funeral.
‘It is one thing for me to kill Trishiras if he were to challenge me to a fight and threaten me directly. But it is quite another if I were to take his life when he is reciting prayers in a drunken stupor. My legacy will forever bear the stigma of having killed an unarmed Brahmin and an innocent one at that. The gods and men will spit upon my name. The two of us will be reduced to roaming the three worlds as aimless beggars.’
Sachi wished he would stop including her in his doomsday prophecies, but she merely said, ‘There are times when I am tempted to sew your lips together just to get you to quit thetorrential twaddle that gushes endlessly out of your mouth! Of course I know all about the so-called unforgivable sin of Brahmahatya! The way I see it, Brahma came up with that crock of crap to protect himself from his foes and I doubt his words have power, given that ascetic merit notwithstanding, they were self-serving and thoroughly unworthy. Can’t you see past the flimflammery and the clever chicanery? Brahma cannot hope to be a true warrior like Shiva, Vishnu or you, because he has gone flabby from sitting on his hands too much, and this is how he seeks to insure himself and others like him against their stronger counterparts.
‘Why are you hesitating to act when there is so much at stake, because of an unfounded fear over some nonsense Brahma uttered a long time ago? That’s so foolish! Besides, everybody knows that you are a great friend of the Brahmins. You protect them from the asuras when those godless heathens attempt to desecrate their sacrifices. They are so grateful for your efforts that they worship you, perform sacrifices for your continued well-being and make over a lion’s share of holy offerings to you. It is their wish that you always stay in power and it is doubtful that they’ll hold the
‘Trishiras may not be aware of all this and may genuinely believe that his purpose of existence is entirely for lofty and noble pursuits. But the truth is that he is a weapon created for the sole purpose of ending my reign. If I ignore my gut, then it is only a matter of time before he makes a stinking corpse out of me and a widow out of you.’
Sachi did not spook easily, but Indra’s impassioned speech and prediction of imminent death and widowhood chilled her to the bone. She rallied quickly though, keeping the paralysing fear at bay before she carefully formulated a reply. ‘The good news is that your reconnaissance missions and your own acuityhave given us a valuable heads-up. Wariness makes one canny and I believe you can avert this disaster waiting to happen, if you strike swiftly and surely. I have always wondered about the roundabout tactics you employ in taking down your enemies. It is galling that you rely so much on that glorified gigolo Kama and his ridiculous flowery arrows, when it would be more sensible to rely on real arrows.
‘Surely there has to be a more expedient way that does not rely on chance or individual error, the greatest enemy of well-laid plans? You are the king and, as you said, nobody else deserves to sit on the throne of heaven. If you have identified a threat to your august person, then you are well within your rights to eliminate it as you see fit.’
Indra replied, ‘You are right, of course, the simplest course would be for me to kill him as quickly as possible, and good riddance! But he is a Brahmin, and I would incur the dread sin of Brahmahatya. I will probably lose my powers by killing Trishiras. It is also possible that I will be playing right into the hands of my enemies with a drastic move like that, and Twastha and his wife will probably laugh themselves sick at my funeral.
‘It is one thing for me to kill Trishiras if he were to challenge me to a fight and threaten me directly. But it is quite another if I were to take his life when he is reciting prayers in a drunken stupor. My legacy will forever bear the stigma of having killed an unarmed Brahmin and an innocent one at that. The gods and men will spit upon my name. The two of us will be reduced to roaming the three worlds as aimless beggars.’
Sachi wished he would stop including her in his doomsday prophecies, but she merely said, ‘There are times when I am tempted to sew your lips together just to get you to quit thetorrential twaddle that gushes endlessly out of your mouth! Of course I know all about the so-called unforgivable sin of Brahmahatya! The way I see it, Brahma came up with that crock of crap to protect himself from his foes and I doubt his words have power, given that ascetic merit notwithstanding, they were self-serving and thoroughly unworthy. Can’t you see past the flimflammery and the clever chicanery? Brahma cannot hope to be a true warrior like Shiva, Vishnu or you, because he has gone flabby from sitting on his hands too much, and this is how he seeks to insure himself and others like him against their stronger counterparts.
‘Why are you hesitating to act when there is so much at stake, because of an unfounded fear over some nonsense Brahma uttered a long time ago? That’s so foolish! Besides, everybody knows that you are a great friend of the Brahmins. You protect them from the asuras when those godless heathens attempt to desecrate their sacrifices. They are so grateful for your efforts that they worship you, perform sacrifices for your continued well-being and make over a lion’s share of holy offerings to you. It is their wish that you always stay in power and it is doubtful that they’ll hold the
Similar Books
