peculiar animal sounds of protest and outrage. The maw closed again and he felt the presence of other living creatures nearby. He willed his crook to glow, issuing blue light, and saw a pair of blind sluglike things squirming restlessly as they came to terms with their fate. He saw as well as heard and smelled a fresh barrage of stomach juices spatter the new arrivals, and heard their low grunting sounds of discomfort as the acids began to eat through their hides and flesh.
He willed his crook to dim again, eliminating the nightmarish glimpse. Evidently, Aghasura had not been content with swallowing him alive. It had decided to pause and consume some more food, some manner of subterranean fauna the existence of which was neither known or imagined above ground.
Soon the grunts of the new prey subsided as they began to succumb to the combined lack of air as well as the stomach acids.
Krishna decided it was time to turn the tables on his new tormentor.
He willed his own body to exude light, brilliant glowing blue light, produced by the cells of his body using the energy of brahman. He increased the glow steadily, lighting himself up until he glowed as brightly as a small sun. The two unfortunates wallowing in their predator’s tract saw the glow of brahman shakti exuding their fellow prey and emitted sounds of alarm at this blinding effulgence.
Other subterranean creatures clinging to the sides and top of underground caverns through which Aghasura burrowed his way relentlessly also observed the glow bursting out from the fore part of the giant worm as it rolled past. Blue light exploded outwards, like a firefly trapped inside a closed palm, its light visible through gaps in the fingers of the holder.
Krishna increased the brahman shakti until he felt the darkness around him dispelled by his own brightness. He continued to increase the intensity of his effulgence, bathing the worm demon’s insides with the heat of his divine energies. The effect was immediate: Aghasura’s progress slowed as the worm demon began to feel the scorching heat of a god incarnate’s wrath.
9
Balarama and the other children paused and looked back.
The cloud of dust produced by the plunging worm demon still hung in the still air above the woods. They were some miles away from that place now and Balarama judged them to be safe from immediate threat.
He had done as Krishna had instructed, without question or complaint. But he still resented having to leave his brother to battle this new menace alone. His younger brother. It went against every cell of his being; why else had he been put upon this mortal plane if not to protect and serve his younger sibling?
True, he was doing so by obeying Krishna’s wishes and herding the children to safety. But it was not the same thing. Besides, Balarama was a fighter, a warrior, a yoddha. Until he matched strength and arms and wits with an opponent, he was not complete. His frustration was not directed Krishna, who had had no choice but to ask Balarama to lead the children to safety. It was at circumstances: he longed to be the one doing the fighting as he had when calf demon had attacked.
As if sensing his conflicting emotions, Radha spoke up beside him.
‘He will triumph, will he not?’
Balarama answered without doubt: ‘Krishna always triumphs.’
But he clenched his fists in frustration, wishing he were there in the thick of the fight, alongside Krishna.
Radha glanced at him. ‘You would be with him, fighting by his side.’
He nodded.
‘He is your younger brother, you wish to protect him.’
Balarama sighed. ‘Krishna does not need protecting. He protects us all. All worlds are in his shadow. He is the Protector of all Creation.’
‘And yet you are his older brother and would fight for him.’
‘To the death,’ he agreed.
She was silent for a moment. ‘It
He willed his crook to dim again, eliminating the nightmarish glimpse. Evidently, Aghasura had not been content with swallowing him alive. It had decided to pause and consume some more food, some manner of subterranean fauna the existence of which was neither known or imagined above ground.
Soon the grunts of the new prey subsided as they began to succumb to the combined lack of air as well as the stomach acids.
Krishna decided it was time to turn the tables on his new tormentor.
He willed his own body to exude light, brilliant glowing blue light, produced by the cells of his body using the energy of brahman. He increased the glow steadily, lighting himself up until he glowed as brightly as a small sun. The two unfortunates wallowing in their predator’s tract saw the glow of brahman shakti exuding their fellow prey and emitted sounds of alarm at this blinding effulgence.
Other subterranean creatures clinging to the sides and top of underground caverns through which Aghasura burrowed his way relentlessly also observed the glow bursting out from the fore part of the giant worm as it rolled past. Blue light exploded outwards, like a firefly trapped inside a closed palm, its light visible through gaps in the fingers of the holder.
Krishna increased the brahman shakti until he felt the darkness around him dispelled by his own brightness. He continued to increase the intensity of his effulgence, bathing the worm demon’s insides with the heat of his divine energies. The effect was immediate: Aghasura’s progress slowed as the worm demon began to feel the scorching heat of a god incarnate’s wrath.
9
Balarama and the other children paused and looked back.
The cloud of dust produced by the plunging worm demon still hung in the still air above the woods. They were some miles away from that place now and Balarama judged them to be safe from immediate threat.
He had done as Krishna had instructed, without question or complaint. But he still resented having to leave his brother to battle this new menace alone. His younger brother. It went against every cell of his being; why else had he been put upon this mortal plane if not to protect and serve his younger sibling?
True, he was doing so by obeying Krishna’s wishes and herding the children to safety. But it was not the same thing. Besides, Balarama was a fighter, a warrior, a yoddha. Until he matched strength and arms and wits with an opponent, he was not complete. His frustration was not directed Krishna, who had had no choice but to ask Balarama to lead the children to safety. It was at circumstances: he longed to be the one doing the fighting as he had when calf demon had attacked.
As if sensing his conflicting emotions, Radha spoke up beside him.
‘He will triumph, will he not?’
Balarama answered without doubt: ‘Krishna always triumphs.’
But he clenched his fists in frustration, wishing he were there in the thick of the fight, alongside Krishna.
Radha glanced at him. ‘You would be with him, fighting by his side.’
He nodded.
‘He is your younger brother, you wish to protect him.’
Balarama sighed. ‘Krishna does not need protecting. He protects us all. All worlds are in his shadow. He is the Protector of all Creation.’
‘And yet you are his older brother and would fight for him.’
‘To the death,’ he agreed.
She was silent for a moment. ‘It
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