Indian Mythology: The Heavenly Emperor Won't Go to Work Today - Chapter 6

The massive golden hammer fell from Garuda’s hands, crashing down with a heavy thud.

Bang!

Garuda’s body trembled violently, his face contorted in pain as he staggered back, clutching his left chest.

In the searing blood of his chest, his heart suddenly twisted with intense, wrenching pain, as if he had lost something precious, causing him to involuntarily burst into tears.

Pain!

It hurts too much!

The image of Vishnu, which had always lain sideways in his heart, suddenly dissolved into golden light and vanished without a trace. His ears no longer heard the murmurs of the Lord, his nose no longer detected the Lord’s presence, and his eyes no longer saw the Lord’s radiant figure.

Even in his mind, the faintly indulgent smile of the Lord was fading away.

“Lord! Lord!”

“Lord, where are you?!”

Garuda panicked instantly, looking around and shouting in fright.

The gods were speechless, their expressions filled with fear, all holding their breath in astonishment.

What a vicious curse!

What a powerful curse!

For a devotee to lose their faith is like having their life taken away.

No!

It is more terrifying than taking their life!

Garuda, tense and uneasy, flapped his wings wildly, feathers falling as he pressed his hands together and prayed devoutly to the Supreme Lord.

“Praise the Lord Vishnu!”

“Praise the Supreme Lord!”

…

One prayer after another continuously flowed from Garuda’s mouth, but Garuda felt no response at all.

Sigh~

At this moment, Agni, the fire god, shook his head and sighed. He summoned the last bit of his remaining divine power, and a red flame suddenly ignited in his hands.

Within this flame, countless brilliant colors emerged.

In the midst of this brilliance, the world, the gods, and humanity seemed all-encompassing.

The next moment, the flame flickered, fire flowing like wind, and Garuda’s praying figure with clasped hands appeared in this flame, his urgent prayers echoing endlessly within the fire.

Sacrificial Fire!

For the power of worship to be transmitted to the gods, it must pass through the sacrificial fire.

The sacrificial fire burns, connecting heaven and earth, bridging gods and all beings, transmitting faith to the gods.

As the god of fire and also the god of sacrifice, this sacrificial fire was under Agni’s control, held in his hands.

“Garuda, your prayers are echoing within this sacrificial fire, but they are not reaching the Lord. It seems the curse has taken effect. The Supreme Lord will no longer see you!” Agni, the fire god, said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Garuda’s face grew sorrowful. His clasped hands slowly fell as anger built up in his heart, showing a complex mix of sorrow and rage. His sharp eagle eyes stared intently at Indra.

At that moment, a fierce wind blew, lifting Garuda’s loose hair, and a terrifying aura emanated from him.

“Indra, you are too vicious! To hinder a devotee’s dedication to the Lord, you are unworthy of being the King of Gods!” Garuda said through gritted teeth.

“Now you speak of viciousness. Wasn’t it vicious of you to disturb my Tapasya? In the past, Lord Shiva, in his angry form as Bhairava, cut off Brahma’s arrogant fifth head. Even Shiva, for the grave sin of killing Brahma, exiled his incarnation, Bhairava, who remains in abandonment, away from humanity.”

“Brahma’s son, Daksha, turned against Shiva because of this and vowed never to worship him, which eventually led to the tragedy of Sati.”

“All of this was the Lila of the innocent Lord Shiva, a warning from the Trimurti against arrogance, meant to serve as a lesson for future generations!”

“Now, not only have you disturbed my Tapasya, but you also want to kill your brother, forgetting the Supreme Lord’s invitation to us. Worse still, you dare to rebel and raise your weapon against me!”

“You have long since committed the unforgivable sin of arrogance!”

“Isn’t it you who are truly vicious?”

Indra widened his eyes, glaring at Garuda, his eyes blazing with lightning as he raised his arm.

Boom!

The heavens echoed his call, lightning danced like serpents and dragons, illuminating Indra’s face, and thunder roared, deafeningly, bolstering his stance.

Fighting now, without his divine power, he might not win.

But occupying the moral high ground, he was relentless.

“You, you, you…”

“I never intended to kill you!”

Garuda’s chest heaved, his face flushed, and he pointed at Indra, momentarily at a loss for words.

Back in the days of the Trimurti, Brahma had five heads, but his fifth head was exceedingly arrogant, constantly speaking blasphemies against the Vedas, which represent cosmic wisdom. Shiva, unable to bear it, had his incarnation Bhairava decapitate Brahma’s fifth head.

This act enraged Brahma’s son, Daksha. As the progenitor, most life on earth was created through him, and thus he decreed that all beings should not worship Shiva.

Sati, worshipped as an aspect of the mother goddess Shakti, was Daksha’s daughter at that time.

Due to the conflict between her husband Shiva and her father Daksha, Sati ultimately immolated herself.

Garuda, of course, knew this story very well.

‘Damn Indra, using this to accuse me. Is he comparing me to Daksha?’ Garuda thought angrily.

Daksha, ultimately for his arrogance, also had his head cut off and replaced with a goat’s head.

His end was quite miserable!

Garuda panted heavily, feeling both wronged and furious.

He wanted to retort, but didn’t know how!

“This is infuriating! Despicable Indra, you are framing me!”

Garuda said, his face flushed with anger.

At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the heavens, letting out a long sigh.

“Sigh!”

“It seems I am late!”

The sage Brihaspati stepped forward, sighing as he spoke. He had long black hair draped over his shoulders, a face the color of golden wheat, and wore a splendid yellow robe with a white undergarment, exuding an aura of elegance and distinction.

The sage Brihaspati!

He was the son of Brahma’s third son, Angiras, and an expert in various spells, hymns, and sacrificial rituals. He was also the teacher of the gods, and a friend and advisor to Indra.

“Praise to the sage Brihaspati, teacher of the gods!”

“Praise to the sage Brihaspati!”

“Praise to Brihaspati!”

All the gods greeted and praised him.

Brihaspati clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and said softly, “Praise to all the gods!”

Then he turned his gaze to Indra and Garuda, seeing the fierce hostility between them, like fire and water.

He frowned slightly, showing a troubled expression.

He had received Brahma’s command to mediate the conflict between Indra and Garuda. Now, with the gods losing their divine powers and everything in chaos, internal strife was the last thing they needed.

“Indra!”

“Can you lift the curse on Garuda?!”

Brihaspati asked his friend Indra first, thinking he might be more amenable.

Indra’s expression was calm, and he chuckled lightly.

“It’s well known that once a curse is cast, it cannot be taken back,” Indra said.

“But conditions can be added to the original curse…” Brihaspati responded honestly.

Once a curse from Tapasya is cast, it cannot be changed, but like writing code, conditions can be added before the original curse.

However, this also requires depleting the Tapasya power of the one who cast the curse!

“That would consume my ascetic energy!”

Indra’s tone paused briefly before he continued with a smile. “But it’s not impossible. Let him apologize to me immediately!”

“And one more thing, to curb his arrogance and uphold dharma, he must regard me as the Supreme Lord. From now on, whenever he sees me, he must praise me three times!”