Indian Mythology: The Heavenly Emperor Won't Go to Work Today - Chapter 4

Garuda suppressed his anger, then opened his eyes, clasped his hands together, and began chanting the names of the gods.

“Praise to the Sun God Surya!”

“Praise to the Fire God Agni!”

“Praise to the Water God Varuna!”

…

“Praise to the Thunder God Indra!”

As Garuda’s voice echoed through the heavenly realm, pillars of light rose from various places, shooting into the sky and then descending before Garuda, revealing the true forms of the gods.

Sun God Surya, Fire God Agni, Water God Varuna, Wind God Vayu, Wine God Soma…

One by one, the gods arrived to greet Garuda.

However, Indra was not among them.

Garuda lowered his hands, his expression stern, his eagle eyes sharply scanning the assembled gods. He said, “I come at the command of my lord to invite the gods to meet him. Why is the king of the gods not here?”

The gods looked at each other, exchanging glances.

Finally, Sun God Surya stepped forward and said, “Indra is undergoing Tapasya!”

He himself had been about to begin Tapasya, but had duties to attend to and couldn’t spare the time, so he had given up on that.

Hearing this, Garuda frowned deeply.

He glanced towards the Heavenly Emperor’s palace, snorted softly, and stepped forward. “The call of our divine sovereign goes unheeded? Such disregard for our lord bespeaks a lack of reverence. The heavenly realm languishes thus due to Indra’s negligence.”

The gods remained silent, not speaking up.

As brothers divine, they knew each other’s virtues and vices very well. Initially, Indra had been in a hurry because he wanted to attend the heavenly banquet, thus neglecting the sage Durvasa.

Given the circumstances, any of them might have done the same.

Arrogance is a privilege of the gods, they shouldn’t be overly criticized!

Besides, if any of them caused trouble next time, it would be easier to resolve it with mutual understanding.

“Don’t rush, we can wait a little longer.”

Sun God Surya said.

“Indeed! Tapasya is a cosmic virtue that we must respect,” Wine God Soma also nodded.

Once these two spoke, the other gods quickly agreed.

“That’s right. Let’s wait a bit longer!” Water God Varuna said.

“I agree!” Fire God Agni said, clenching his fist.

Garuda looked at the gods, frowning.

Since all the gods said so, he couldn’t argue.

So, he sat down cross-legged and said, “Then let’s wait a bit longer, just for a short while.”

…

Time flew by.

In the heavenly realm, there is no day or night, and time flows like a river.

Boom!

A resounding clap of thunder echoed through the heavens.

Garuda instantly opened his eyes, his previously content expression turning somber and angry.

He had been meditating and dreaming of his lord Vishnu, on the cusp of receiving divine counsel, when the thunder rent the tranquility, jolting him awake.

“Praise to Lord Vishnu!”

Garuda suppressed his anger, praised his lord, then stood up and looked around.

At that moment, he saw the surrounding gods, either lying or reclining, their clothes even more tattered, their divine radiance gone, and the fragrant aura they once exuded wholly dissipated.

The curse had worsened!

“Ah!”

“What time is it now?”

Garuda exclaimed in shock.

He immediately realized he had meditated for too long and began to calculate the time.

“Two hundred and fifty years!”

Garuda’s eyes widened, and he spoke loudly.

The surrounding gods also woke from their meditation, quickly becoming aware of their own conditions.

In the next moment, they looked up at the Heavenly Emperor’s palace, seeing the ascetic energy emanating from it, transforming into lightning and bursting in all directions, causing thunderous roars in the heavenly realm.

The thunder had just come from here!

“Indra, you have incited my ire indeed!”

“If it weren’t for your Tapasya, how could I have delayed our lord’s command!” Garuda shouted angrily.

At that moment, he couldn’t care about anything else. With a flap of his wings, he flew furiously towards the Heavenly Emperor’s palace.

The other gods exchanged glances, realizing the gravity of the situation, and quickly followed him.

In front of the Heavenly Emperor’s palace at this moment.

Garuda’s wings flapped, his massive wings blocking out the sky and plunging it into darkness. Countless storms surged towards the palace, which had turned into a thatched hut.

The surrounding Gandharvas were terrified, scrambling and crawling away to hide behind the other gods.

Boom!

The pitch-black storm covered the sky but stopped in front of the thatched hut.

Indescribable, invisible lightning bolts shot up to the sky, roaring and transforming into countless dragons and snakes, shattering the black wind in an instant.

“I have come under the orders of Lord Vishnu, Indra! Come out now, I know you’re in there!”

“Should you dare provoke the sage, have the courage to confront the consequences!”

Garuda’s wings flapped wildly.

As a devout follower of Vishnu, his divine power was immense. The storm he created caused the entire heavenly realm to tremble.

“Cease this, please!”

Wind God Vayu shouted bitterly.

The gods, huddled together and supporting each other, summoned their remaining divine power to form a protective shield, struggling to withstand Garuda’s storm.

“We can talk this out!”

Sun God Surya staggered, waving repeatedly.

At that moment, the divine power shield was on the verge of collapse.

The changes in the heavenly realm immediately attracted attention from many.

In Brahmalok, Brahma and Saraswati sat on a lotus flower, looking down at the heavenly realm.

On the Milky Ocean, Vishnu held his spinning disc, looking up.

On Mount Kailash, Shiva slowly opened his eyes.

Boom!

The storm raged, pervasive, lifting the entire thatched hut, revealing Indra lying inside, meditating.

“Indra!”

Garuda roared again, the storm howling.

Swish!

However, filtered through the ascetic energy, the storm transformed into a gentle breeze, carrying a hint of coolness, softly brushing Indra’s chest.

Ahh~

Indra yawned, scratching his chest and stretching his arms as he sat up, his eyes half-open and drowsy.

At that moment, the swirling black hurricane in the sky came into his view.

“Hmm?”

Indra tilted his head and rubbed his eyes, the world around him gradually coming into focus.

Strong winds, fierce winds, and hurricanes!

Wind everywhere, and a bird-man glaring at him intensely!

“Garuda!”

Indra muttered the name as he came to his senses.

“Indra, Lord Vishnu summoned you, but you completely ignored the call. You have shown great disrespect to our Lord.”

Garuda landed instantly, walking over with a fierce demeanor.

The other gods immediately stepped forward to intervene.

Roar!

Indra’s white elephant, Airavata, came charging in, spraying a jet of water into the sky with its trunk before rushing towards Garuda.

Garuda didn’t retreat a single step, continuing to advance with his hand raised, ready to push.

But before his hand could touch Airavata,

Swish!

Airavata’s massive form suddenly vanished.

Indra was momentarily stunned, looking around in confusion.

My elephant, where’s my elephant?

While the gods were in a daze, the wine god Soma, who had been standing next to Garuda, suddenly let out a scream. His skin turned transparent and then he disappeared entirely from the heavenly realm.

Swish!

“Huh?”

Garuda stared in astonishment at his hand, then looked around to see the other gods staring at him in horror.

“Garuda, didn’t Lord Vishnu grant you a blessing that anyone you touch would vanish?”

Sun God Surya took two steps back, eyeing Garuda warily.

The gods were all filled with suspicion.

“I didn’t touch them!”

“It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it!”

Garuda hastily retracted his hand and protested.

Indra blinked, finally understanding.

“Airavata is gone.”

“Soma, being the god of wine and the moon, represents wealth. With the disappearance of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, they have also vanished, all falling into the Milky Ocean.”