‘Close your eyes and stick out your tongues to see the lore,’ the rishi told them.

Aman obeyed. As soon as a drop landed on his tongue, a bright scene lit up the insides of his closed eyes. He saw a large, glowing human foot. He was flying in what seemed like outer space—there was a tennis ball in the colours of Earth floating in an ocean of darkness below him. He hovered up the glowing foot, crossed bulging calf muscles, up a thigh covered in white, and was soon confronted with the supple torso of this immense man.

‘Don’t open your eyes, only listen . . . That’s Indra you see.’

Aman floated up until he reached the stars. There, Indra was not alone. Six men stood behind him in single file, each crowned in gold.

‘The Devas . . . And on the other side are the seven Asuras,’ the scribe announced.

The Asuras and the Devas stood opposite each other, a snake within their large palms, like a long rope. The Asuras looked equally godly, with the exception of their missing crowns.

‘They hold the divine serpent to churn the Ocean of Milk. This is the only time, it is believed, that the Asuras and Devas put away their differences.’

But the deities seemed to be in the middle of a tug of war. And tug they did, just not against each other but in unison. They churned the Ocean of Milk using the serpent. Their movements were slow, but their muscles pulsated with the heartbeat of their celestial bodies. From within the ocean, with each pull, rose many offerings. When the final gift began to rise from the darkness, it lifted with itself the Milky Way like a slimy layer of glitter, which was why when the tree fully emerged, the entire galaxy shone in its branches.

‘The divine Kalpavriksha.’

Indra dropped the serpent, reached out and grabbed the tree. The Asuras were too startled to react. And by the time they did, Indra was far away. He darted seamlessly through space with his arm around the trunk of the Kalpavriksha, down towards Mount Meru on Earth. The Devas followed him closely, but the Asuras lagged behind.

By the time Aman too reached Earth, well behind the Devas and Asuras, the tapestry of events in front of him had transfigured into a war involving millions, maybe more. It wasn’t just men with swords, but all types of animals as well. The Asuras had led the charge towards Mount Meru, where the Kalpavriksha lay.

‘This is the great unending battle between the two kinds of beings. It lasted three Yugas (ages). Eventually, when enough dresses were divorced from their souls, Indra found a solution—he hid the tree somewhere in the Himalayas to put an end to the war.’

The scene had transformed: everything was now calm and green. Aman saw a man plant the Kalpavriksha beside a great blue lake. The man looked around furtively to make sure he hadn’t been seen.