005

Karnak met the girl early next morning in Rathvan. Her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying all night. Karnak felt his heart go out to that woman. Imagine being forsaken by your family and being left to your fate. But then, his own life had not been too different from that. Karnak had no memory of his parents or lineage. His earliest memory went back to being brought up in a dingy little dhaba at the outskirts of Patal’lok. If it was within his power, Karnak would not let this girl fall into the evil hands of that ascetic, whoever it was.

The girl and Karnak sat in silence, not knowing what to say. Presently, they heard the rustle of leaves as someone walked towards them. Karnak stood up and got ready.

The man who approached them was tall, fair and broad shouldered like most aryavartis. He was handsome and wore the traditional attire of an ascetic – an antareey and an uttareey draped over his shoulders. His hair were long and tied up in a bun one his head. He carried no weapons.
Karnak suddenly felt a little taken aback. He had expected a hideous monster who wanted to abduct the young girl by force. This man looked completely harmless. But as Karnak had learnt from experience, appearances could be deceiving.

The man approached them and smiled.

“I see that the young lady has brought a companion along,” he said cheerfully, “Who might you be, young sir, and what purpose do you have in accompanying this young lady? According to my instructions, the girl must come alone, by herself and no one is to accompany her beyond the borders of the forest.”

“I am Karnak,” announced Karnak, “shishya of Acharya Shukr and defender of the defenceless. I’m a traveller in these parts and met this young lady as I was enjoying the beauty of this forest yesterday afternoon. Who might you be and why are you taking by force a girl who does not wish to go with you?”

The man chuckled.

“Are you here to challenge me?” he asked, amused. “My name is Manojav and I’ve been living in this forest for a long, long time now. I have a deal with the city of Rathpur and according to this deal I take one young girl from Rathpur as my consort every year. In return I give them great gifts. This girl here might not have come of her own will but she sure has come according to the wishes of her townsfolk. For it is a deal and not an extortion. The townspeople may chose not to send young girls anymore and I will chose not to give them all those gifts that I do and there will be no violence at all from my side. They have nothing to fear and yet they chose to comply with this arrangement. There is nothing unfair or unlawful with this deal. Pray, step aside and let us follow our glorious tradition.”

Manojav laughed out loud. Karnak glanced at the girl who was standing meekly behind him. Her expression had changed from despair to indecision.

004

This incident happened a little after Karnak was exiled from the ashram. Karnak had travelled to a small town in Aryavart called Rathipur. Rathipur was famous for its Rathis or charioteers. Rathis from Rathipur could charioteer ships that not even the mightiest Acharyas could dare to touch the helms of. It was said that Rathipur was specially blessed by Indr. However, the secret to this special favour was the most strongly guarded secrets of Rathipur.

Karnak was roaming through the forest surrounding Rathipur, enjoying the natural beauty of those regions, when he heard the sound of a woman crying in the distance. Guided by curiosity and a desire to help out, Karnak walked towards the sound only to discover a young girl sitting under a tree and crying by herself. Karnak introduced himself as a travelling ascetic and asked what was wrong and if he could help in any way.

“My name is Suneeti,” the girl said, “and I’ve been given. Today is perhaps the last day of my life and my family has forsaken me. What am I to do, if not cry?”

“Devi,” said Karnak, “while I may be an ascetic, I’ve received education in various forms of warfare. If you would describe your problem to me and if I should find it righteous to protect you, I will do so. Pray, tell me, who or what threatens your life and why has your family forsaken you?”

The girl wiped away her tears with her uttareeya and spoke.

“In these forests that we call the Rathvan, there lives an ascetic named Manojav who is said to be immortal. He has been living here since time immemorial. At least he has been living here since the beginning of recorded history. We do not know whether he is a man or a creature, or merely a machine. He is benevolent and blesses our town with many gifts. However, once a year, the town has to gift him a young girl to assuage his lust. Every year on an appointed day, a young girl is sent into the forest. KR finds her and nobody knows what becomes of her. Some say the girl is raped in a manner unimaginable to cultured folk. Some say he just kills and eats them. Whatever the truth be, my life is over because I am the one who has to go and be his victim tomorrow.”

Karnak was deeply disturbed by this story.

“It is abominable,” he said, “for a town to sacrifice people, that too young helpless girls, no matter how great the rewards be. Has this ascetic, this Manojav threatened to do anything against the town, if the town does not comply?”

“I do not know,” the girl said, “nobody has ever dared to defy him.”

“Do not worry,” Karnak said, “whoever or whatever this ascetic might be, I will protect you. Wipe your tears and go home. I will meet you tomorrow in the forest and will not allow any harm to come to you.”