Adoption ( Part 3 )

The head priest asked but one single question to his subordinate. 'Did anyone lead him to this secret lake with the main statues of the god and goddess?'

'No, Your Eminence,' the man beside him replied. 'He seemed to have lost his way last night. The dasis teased him a bit much. Owing to his young age, he seemed to have escaped here because it's a restricted area.'

'To think that the chosen one we've been waiting for is actually the leader of heathens, barbarians and worst of all Asuras…! Sigh…I suppose this is also god's will.'

Taking a deep breath, the head priest said in a loud voice so that all the brahmanas can hear, 'Announce my edict, spread the word to all the land that the chosen one had been found. Shakti and her consort had chosen to adopt General Chandra Kush of…" he whispered, "Which clan is the boy from?'

'He doesn't seem to have one, Your Eminence,' his subordinate whispered.

'Heathen!' the head priest cursed under his breath and continued the announcement. 'General Chandra Kush of the Maruts…We will hold an adoption ceremony on the night of the Kartikeya Amavasya (new moon) that comes every thirteen hundred years.'

Just then the head priest heard a rude and petulant voice from behind him. 'Who the fuck wants to be adopted by your god and goddess!'

The head priest sucked his breath and grimaced as he covered his ears. 'Shiva shiva…!' he exclaimed as though physically hurt by the abuse.

Quickly walking away from the scene, he directed his people, 'Get some dasis to feed him, clothe him and most importantly educate him on how civilized people talk.'

'Hey old man, I'm talking to you! Civilized people reply when spoken to, you're the one that is fucking uncivilized!'

'Renovate the prince's chamber. Remove the altar used to pray there and fit it with furnishings that suit a royal prince. Remember, Manas will not fall behind any other royal family be it in grandeur or in etiquette. Most importantly…etiquette!'

'Fuck you! I'm already educated in royal etiquette for six months! You think I can't hear you just because you whisper? I'll have you know this granddaddy here is a champion of martial arts that can beat your senile butt to ground with his little finger!'

'Let's chart a teaching plan for one year and only let our prince meet with others after,' the head priest still didn't turn his head as he walked away busily, surrounded by his subordinates. 'Thankfully, we now know that six months was not enough time. We should learn through failures.'

'Yes, Your Eminence.'

'You…!'

Kush could only helplessly watch as the retinue cleared out. He was still standing on the god statue's lap. He didn't move from there because he couldn't momentarily locate his clothes. They became wet after last night's adventures, so he threw them away. It was funny however, because the statues clearly didn't cover his modesty, yet in their laps, Kush did not feel naked. He was able to stay there and converse with others without any shame. Mysteriously enough, he felt safe there, in the laps of those stone blocks. If not for that, he really would've leaped over in order to pummel the annoying monk to ground.

And just like that Kush became a prince.

It was all because that bastard tricked him into coming to Manas and then abandoned him. Just like a rival to do such an abominable thing.

Just like a friend though, to find a home for a lord with subjects and no land.

The ancients followed a star calendar that had roughly 366 to 370 days per year. It was based on the movements of about twelve hundred known constellations in a cycle of thirteen hundred years! The Kartikeya Amavasya or the Kartikeya new moon occurred around the end of the thirteen hundred year cycle. Its significance was that, the same day next year, according to the calendar, was a full moon called the Kartikeya Pournami. In cosmic calculations, one year means nothing, which in turn signifies that the Kartikeya Amavasya and Kartikeya Pournami which were two inherently different things were actually the same. In essence, the significance of the Kartikeya Amavasya lies in the fact that it can create something out of nothing, and that something is actually radiant enough to light the pitch black night.

It was said that in the previous era, Indra began his great conquest to rule the world on a Kartikeya Amavasya. In the era before that Daksha laid the foundations of his empire in the mortal world also on the same day. Not only that, it was said that around the end of the previous era which happened when Vishnu left the world, a child was born on the Kartika Amavasya. In his later years, he founded the Jaina tradition which was an entirely new path to enlightenment. This tradition would later inspire many other sects which diverged from the Vedic tradition, most important of which was called Buddhism, which threatened the orthodox ways even now.

The belief was that whatever venture was started upon on this day that occurs only once in thirteen hundred years had the potential to change the world. Starting the royal bloodline of Manas deserved nothing less. The head priest did not believe it was a coincidence that no chosen one was found for several hundred years, yet just three months before the auspicious date, he appeared out of nowhere. He was a child too at that, of no more than fourteen cycles. Man's conspiracy cannot create a child like that, only god's will can. This is why he chose for the adoption ceremony to be held on the Kartika Amavasya. More precisely, it would be called a conception ceremony. In the temple, the god and goddess were to be married first and on their first night, this child would be 'conceived'. A year later, on the Kartika Pournami, he would officially be 'born'. Thankfully, a man would come of age at sixteen in Aryavarta, so the child would still be a child a year later. It was not unusual for gods to give birth to children in their adult forms. Garuda, the mount of Vishnu, when he was born was fully grown. Devas were born in their elemental form first, but when they assumed human form, they too were fully grown adults. The phenomenon wasn't just limited to purely divine beings either. Draupadi, the common wife of Pandavas who ruled in the previous era, also came out of sacrificial fire in her fully developed form. So for Shakti and her consort to conceive and give birth to a fully grown child is simply a matter of course. Even if it is happening in the mortal realm, not one person in the temple doubted that Kush was not a product of the divine couple.