As the morning sun gently warmed their bodies, the two men walked down a narrow winding lane running by Madappa’s home. The lane snaked through a small wooded area and by an old pond. There were ducks swimming in the pond and a crane was hunting some water creatures…the pleasant warmth and illumination of the morning light made the rural scenery a wonderful sight to behold.
Madappa and Bhadramanu walked along slowly, in deep reverie. Neither of them spoke a word. As they approached the Sriranga Temple, they spotted the village priest sitting on the stoop of the temple, legs crossed in the lotus pose, back straight and eyes shut in meditation. They passed him by but he did not see them as he was deep in meditation. They walked around the temple to it’s south side and they approached a really old Banyan tree.
It was at least a few hundred years old (maybe four hundred years or so), it’s trunk was wide and knarly, with the vines spread over a rather large perimeter. As they got near the tree, the hair on the back of Madappa’s neck started rising, and he quickly glanced at Bhadramanu. The old man seemed to be completely composed and in absolute control. He was however staring at something at the base of the tree with great intent. They reached nearer and Bhadramanu swiftly stepped up towards the object of his interest and knelt down in front of it.
It was just an old amulet made from some kind of animal bone. There was a black hand-made string that the amulet was run through with, and it looked like it was left behind on purpose. Another interesting thing that Bhadramanu observed was, that despite the beauty and dynamic environment all around the village, there was not a single bird or little animal anywhere near the tree.
Bhadramanu spoke for the first time since they had left Madappa’s house “Madappa, please go and see if the priest is done with his dhyanam yet…I was hoping to talk with him for a few minutes. Also, I wish to stay here for a little longer…alone. I will join you soon.”
Madappa said “As you say Swamiji, I will check if Srinivas Acharya can talk now”…and turned around and walked back towards the temple.
Bhadramanu turned around, found a comfortable space at the foot of the tree. He sat down cross-legged with his back to the trunk, made certain hand-gestures around himself after taking a few deep breaths. Then he suddenly settled into a deep meditative state. His eyes were slightly open, but only the whites could be seen. His breathing slowed down.
Bhadramanu had placed the amulet he had earlier found on the ground, right in front of where he settled down to meditate. It was almost as if his eyes and the region between his eyebrows were focussed intently on the amulet on the ground, as his meditation continued. He had already realized that the amulet was placed there for a special purpose, it was associated with the practice of black magic, known in Southern India as Bhanamati. It’s practitioners were a mysterious, secretive group that not too many people knew much about. All people usually saw was the after-effects — people falling sick, cattle and livestock dying mysteriously, children going missing, malignant spirits haunting individuals, families or properties.
In the meditative state he used the amulet as a pointer, to have his awareness start tracking the energies that were associated with it. As he focussed, his awareness rose to the branches of the banyan tree…as if the amulet was pointing towards something up there. He did not let that disrupt his trance. He continued applying a relaxed focus on the amulet and then suddenly he felt a presence!
It wasn’t a human presence…it was something dark and felt ancient and very powerful. He still did not stir and he could feel this dark energy invading the space around him, around the Banyan tree…digging deep into the very roots of the tree, rising up to the tiniest leaf. He continued with his relaxed focus on the amulet and the energy started becoming heavier and denser around him…on his head, his back. It felt cold and slimy. Bhadramanu decided to ease out of the meditation, sensing that things could take a very bad turn at that juncture. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Everything seemed normal, but for that eery silence, no birds, no crickets, nothing! Not even the buzz of a mosquito.
He stood up and looked up more carefully at the tree..the branches were thick with leaves and vines and branches…the tree was over seventy feet tall and the central circumference was close to four hundred feet. The crown spread was significant too…it was close to two hundred feet. Yet he wasn’t entirely relying on his vision alone. He was feeling with his own energy field, scanning the tree and it’s surroundings. The tree was very old, huge and it’s energy field spread out quite a distance. In effect, Bhadramanu was actually inside the tree’s energy field. It would have been an overwhelming feeling for most ordinary men…but then he wasn’t really very ordinary. As he scanned, he felt a tug towards one particular branch to his left. He walked closer to it and as he approached it, his energy started driving downward, towards the ground, a sinking feeling. He knew his energy was rooting itself…bracing for something powerful! The branch he was drawn towards was obscured by larger branches and leaves and vines. He had to actually step into a passage made by a close cluster of vines and branches to get to this particular branch. There was a human head hanging from the branch!
It was of a woman, maybe around 28 years of age, beautiful…but the eyes were popping out and had a most frightened expression. Bhadramanu stepped away from the branch and backed out of the foliage. He then turned around and strode purposefully towards the temple. He was very worried…the signs he had seen, even without the head of the poor woman was enough to suggest to him that there was something very malefic at work.
He stepped into a conversation between Madappa and the priest. Madappa was animatedly telling something to the priest and the priest had an annoyed expression on his face. As he suddenly arrived, Madappa turned around with a flustered look on his face. Bhadramanu could tell that the priest did not want him there…and realized that Madappa was trying to explain what he was doing with a stranger, snooping around the Ashwath Vriksha, considered a sacred space by the Temple authorities and villagers alike.
Bhadramanu spoke in his soft yet powerful voice, deep, melodious and sonorous “Namaskara Acharya, my name is Bhadramanu and I am a traveller who was lucky to experience the hospitality of your wonderful village. Madappa has been an excellent and magnanimous host. I am a devotee of Mother Chamundeshwari and am on the way to Kanakapura, to prostate in my mother’s presence. Madappa had mentioned about certain mysterious goings-on in the village near the Banyan tree, so I volunteered to take a look at it.”
The priest responded “Namaskara to you Shri Bhadramanu,, welcome to our village. It was indeed very kind of Madappa to have offered his hospitality. I must admit though that he was unnecessarily worried about the tree…I am sure the animal carcasses found there was the trick of some mischievous boys from the village. I am sure that isn’t something that we cannot handle ourselves. Besides, what kind of experience do you have in dealing with this kind of business anyway? If things get worse, we will call the police ourselves and have them investigate.”
Madappa was standing with a dejected look on his face, slightly apologetic, slightly embarrassed. Bhadramanu gave him a kind, reassuring look and said “Indeed, if it were a prank I would not have broached the subject…but there IS something very very bad going on in that space. I would like to show you both something…if you don’t mind putting up with this old man for a few more minutes”
The two men followed Bhadramanu back to the Banyan Tree and as he took them to the branch he had discovered, Madappa leapt back in fright and disgust. The Priest started chanting a mantra under his breath. It was clear that both men were greatly affected seeing the head. Bhadramanu asked them “Do you know who this unfortunate woman was?”
Madappa and responded “That was Gowri…the school headmaster’s daughter. She was such a good young lady…so helpful and kind!”
The Acharya said “This is indeed very serious…Madappa, let us inform the police”. He then turned to Bhadramanu and said “Sir…I think we should refrain from doing anything here till the police come”. Bhadramanu nodded his consent and the three men set out to the police station, about a half hour’s distance by foot, to west of the Temple, by the State Highway.
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written by P. Desikan, 2009-07-26 03:04:20
there is a Narayana t(h)ailam, for some vaata applications. That is the nearest one can approach for a vaata narayana combination, I think. I could be mistaken.
Partha
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written by narensomu, 2009-07-26 02:18:32
I am reading and re reading the lines on energy fields.
These too jumped out of the page and grabbed my attention along with the tree comments.
The phrase "sinking feeling" seems like a literal description of a condition .
It would be nice if you could discuss more on energy fields in an article some time when you have the time.
It would help those who feel certain things sometimes [ not neccessarily negative] but cant fully understand what's going on.
Regards
ns
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written by narensomu, 2009-07-26 02:08:28
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation.
I was reading some material on the role of landscape elements in temple Arch and the name Vata Narayana kept popping in my head some weeks ago.
Since I dont ignore mental pop ups these days I was trying to get info from the net but didnt get this much info.
[So, It isnt vAta but vata as one internet article on Siddha medicine I read called it-but the tree is said to cure vAta related sickness as per that article.
Apart from cradling the child Narayana during pra-laya the Vata-[v]ala-vriksha also figures in DakshinaMurthy [ Shiva as Mouna Guru] lore.
Am i right in understanding that the lone Aswatha [ without a neem beside it ] is a Vata Narayana?
I am glad to have finally found info on vata. Wonder why I didnt make the Vatapatra saayi connection earlier.[ May be as I thought it was vAta] . The word vata here on this page practically jumped out and caught my attention.
Hope Dwai doesnt mind this much tree talk here.
Regards
ns
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written by P. Desikan, 2009-07-25 22:42:55
Regards. Partha.
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written by P. Desikan, 2009-07-25 22:40:57
Aswatha of Dakshina, the arasa maram of Tamilnadu, that can sometimes start life from bird leavings dropped on any soil and grow up to reach the heavens,is Ficus Religiosa. Vata as in Vatapatrasaayi the Aalilaikkannan, the Aala maram of Tamilnadu theosophical society fame, can also make its very tiny seed initiate proceedings for its birth with a bird's help.It is Ficus Bengalensis. Which perhaps means the British first met this giant in Calcutta, where they started their empire seeding in Fort William.
Both are huge, both are venerated as Narayana. Both get married to nimbavriksha, the neem tree in a number of locations south of the Vindhyas.
Often if Aswatha bridegroom alone is available, he is called Vata-Narayana as well as Aswatha Narayana for the nuptial purposes.
The mahabodhi tree which helped the Buddha along is an Aswatha, called a banyan as well as a Peepal in books.There is a very old Vata in Gaya, sacred for obsequies. It is considered ageless, immortal, akshayavata. It is invoked in households all across Bharata, when shraddha ceremonies are performed.
Trees are nis-swaartha paropakaaris. They can shelter God in their trunk, birds and climbing animals and good and evil spirits among their branches and men of all descriptions in their shades.
Thanks for helping to stir up these thoughts.
Regards. Partha.
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written by narensomu, 2009-07-25 20:55:43
The images painted with words are vivid and they heighten the drama.
Aswatha trees with the strange rustling sounds of their leaves seem to always hold some mysteries about them.
They are considered to be masculine and in villages in the South, they are sometimes married off to neem trees [ sometimes they are found together] which is considered to be having feminine qualities.
Such places are considered sacred-are marked with snake figurines .
This one seems to be associated with the supernatural though of the malevolent kind.
Dear Partha
Is the Aswatha same as Vata Narayana?
Regards
ns
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written by Jim Clark, 2009-07-25 01:41:32
this new work has an advanced flow to it....*!
there is an EGYPTIAN amulet known to protect the wearer against words spoken in anger or malice..evil and also against the bites of serpents..
the UZAT is the....THE SYMBOLIC EYE
the intro. of the morning sun along with the narrow winding lane sets a great backdrop....
JIM
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written by karigar, 2009-07-23 14:07:55
Bhoota Preta Pishacha....
(Need some eerie background music!!)
Then what happened??
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written by Dr. Pradip Gangopadh, 2009-07-23 12:17:42
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written by P. Desikan, 2009-07-23 07:08:15
And by the word banyan, we refer in India both to the vata tree, which sends a thousand rooters down to continuously increase its expanse and the equally gigantic aswatha tree whose trunk grows in diameter in the hundreds of years of its life to enormous extents. The Bodhi tree under which Gautama attained Bodha was an aswatha. The alternate term for it in English is pipal, somtimes spelt peepal, borrowed from a North Indian dialect.
In this story Dwai of course refers to an aswatha, with heart shaped leaves.
Regards. Partha.
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Thanks for the comments and also the engaging discussion about the Venerable Old friend of mankind...
Vata Vriksha is also considered to be the abode of Lord Shiva (Bhutanatha)...on the southern side of temples, facing southward.
I hope I live up to the expectations this story has generated...
Partha, this is my first novel as an author, thousands of novels as an avid reader under my belt.
Dear Jim,
The amulet is a very vital part of traditional (especially rural Indian society)...worn by Hindus, Muslims (all creeds), given by holy men of all creeds.
One story about such an amulet happened to my own father. He used to suffer from extreme asthma when my grandparents took him (forcibly, since he was then a young man of science and didn't believe such things) to a Yogi called Mahanananda Brahmachari (this was in the 1960s I believe).
The Yogi gave an amulet (a ordinary thing made of silver on a simple red thread) to my father and asked him to not take any medication next time he had an attack..."whatever be the case...don't take medication".
That night he had a terrible bout of asthma and managed to survive without medication through the night...spending time on a windy terrace.
The next morning, his Asthma was 100% gone. Never came back...