The Secret
Part Four — The Limits of the Guru
After Chaturaka vanished, light returned to the inner palace.
But it was not the same light as before.
The lamps were burning. Their glow fell upon the pillars. The fragrance of perfumes still lingered in the chamber. Yet the air was filled with a fear drawn so tight that it seemed almost solid.
Sulochana lay unconscious in the centre of the room.
Her face was peaceful. But it was not the peace of sleep. It was the terrible stillness that comes when an enchantment takes a person’s very breath into its grasp.
Kumudvati knelt beside her, holding Sulochana’s hand in both of hers.
That hand had once drawn a bow.
It had flashed a sword.
It had saved her from a tiger.
It had brought Prachanda to the floor in the royal court.
Now the same hand lay soft as a flower stalk—weak, motionless, and without strength.
“Revered master,” Kumudvati said, looking towards Sharabhanga, “awaken her.”
Sage Sharabhanga placed his hand upon Sulochana’s forehead and closed his eyes.
For some time, even the sound of his breathing could not be heard.
Then he spoke slowly.
“The enchantment has sunk deep.”
Kumudvati’s heart sank.
“Then break it, revered master. Who else but you can do so?”
Sharabhanga looked at her.
There was compassion in his gaze.
But beyond that compassion stood a limitation greater than kindness.
“Every teacher possesses power, Kumudvati. But every power has a boundary.”
Kumudvati looked at him in confusion.
“Even yours?”
“Yes. Especially in this matter.”
At that moment, King Vikramasena, Queen Dharinidevi, and the minister entered through a secret passage.
The sounds of the magical battle with Chaturaka had shaken the entire palace. Fear filled the queen’s eyes. Concern mingled with anger upon Vikramasena’s face.
“Revered master,” Vikramasena said, “what is happening? Who is Chaturaka? Where is Prachanda? Who is Sulochana? One secret after another is bursting into flame within my own palace.”
Sharabhanga slowly rose.
“Your Majesty, the time has come. The truth concealed until now must remain hidden no longer.”
At those words, Kumudvati raised her head.
Her lips moved. Her voice was faint at first, then grew steady.
“Revered master… I know that truth.”
Everyone turned towards her.
Vikramasena asked in surprise,
“You know?”
Kumudvati bowed her head.
“Yes, Father. Gurudevi Sulochana is the prince of Trigangeya.
Sulochana is Sulochanudu.”
For a moment, the entire chamber held its breath.
Dharinidevi was so astonished that the edge of her sari slipped from her hand.
The minister stood motionless.
Across Vikramasena’s face passed a shadow that could not clearly be named—anger, humiliation, or disbelief.
Sharabhanga alone looked steadily at Kumudvati.
“When did you learn this, Kumudvati?”
Kumudvati tightened her hold upon Sulochana’s hand.
“I discovered it by chance, revered master. But from the day I learned it, I guarded it as though it were my own life.”
Vikramasena spoke sternly.
“Tell us everything.”
Kumudvati’s gaze rested once upon Sulochana’s face.
Then she began slowly.
---
That day, too, we had gone into the forest.
In truth, it was less a hunting expedition than a journey to see the wilderness.
There were Sulochana, myself, a few companions, and two female guards.
I would enter the forest only when Sulochana permitted me. Even after the tiger attack, my fear of the wilderness had never completely vanished. But when Sulochana was beside me, that fear gradually turned into courage.
The sky had been clear at first.
Then clouds gathered suddenly.
We decided to return, but lost our way.
Rain began to fall.
The wind rushed through the trees.
My companions grew exhausted. Even the female guards could no longer see the path clearly.
Then Sulochana noticed a ruined tower.
“That is an old temple of Shiva,” she said. “Let us take shelter there for the night. At dawn, we will find the path.”
We entered the ruined temple.
A broken linga stood within the sanctum. Ancient stone pillars surrounded it. In several places, the roof had collapsed, allowing moonlight to fall inside.
That light rested upon a stone platform before the sanctum.
The platform gleamed with white radiance.
It did not appear to be ordinary stone. It looked like a slab of moonstone.
My companions rested on one side.
The female guards sat near the entrance and kept watch.
Sulochana led me towards the stone platform.
“It is dry here. We can sleep upon it,” she said.
By then, I had noticed an inscription carved into the nearby wall.
Rainwater flowed over it, yet some of the letters remained clear.
I lit a small lamp and read:
«“This is a seat of moonstone. Those who bear assumed forms and sleep upon it shall regain their true form.”»
I did not fully understand the inscription then. But I understood its meaning—that those who slept upon the moonstone while wearing an assumed form would shed it and return to their natural body.
The words seemed strange to me.
At the time, I believed they had nothing to do with us.
Exhausted, the two of us slept upon the same stone platform.
In the middle of the night, I awoke.
The rain outside had stopped.
Moonlight entered through the cracks in the ruined temple.
It fell upon the person whom I believed to be Sulochana lying beside me.
But Sulochana was not there.
A prince was sleeping beside me.
His face was extraordinarily beautiful. Yet that beauty was not unrelated to Sulochana’s.
The same eyes.
The same forehead.
The same rhythm of breath.
The same hidden gravity.
The lines that had appeared as softness in Sulochana now shone as courage in him.
At first, I thought I was dreaming.
But it felt as though my breath had stopped.
When I moved, he too awoke.
He looked at me and rose suddenly.
For a moment, fear appeared upon his face.
I had seen Sulochana before a tiger.
I had seen her before Prachanda.
But that was the first time I had ever seen fear in her eyes.
He spoke softly.
“Kumudvati…”
Even that voice seemed familiar.
It was Sulochana’s voice, but its depth had changed.
“Who… are you?” I asked.
He remained silent for some time.
“I cannot lie to you,” he said. “But if this truth is revealed before the proper time, both kingdoms will be endangered.”
“Are you Sulochana?”
“Sulochana is also me. But my birth name is Sulochanudu, prince of Trigangeya.” (To Be Continued)
Discussion (0)