A hint of vermillion stained Nala’s cheeks. ‘The Sacral Chakra. Orange. Located above the sisnas, erm...genitals. I feel.’

‘And which is the last one?’

‘The Dormant One. The Root Chakra, where the Spinal Snake resides. I am.’

‘Apparently all is not yet lost. But rote learning isn’t enough. Remember Nala, women are inherently far, far stronger than men can ever hope to be. So, you are lucky. Men must learn to strengthen their feminine energy, Shakti. But you can use your inherent Shakti to draw the spinal snake through your body, ignite the Chakras, and unite with the masculine energy, Shaiva, in your Crown Chakra. Find the true balance between male and female energies and you will find your answer to who you are. The answer is key to the Seventh Chakra and true, limitless power. No one has unlocked all the Chakras in centuries, but you will unlock it. Do you understand?’

‘I understand, Master. I had a question.’

Parshuram nodded.

‘Was Chakra unification the way you…you attained immortality?’

Parshuram’s face lost its harsh lines. ‘Unify your chakras and you will find out.’

VIII

That was that. From then on, if Nala wasn’t practicing the asanas, she was spending hours unscrambling the mandalas, the mazes Parshuram prepared for her. Turns out the Mandala, Vyas had conjured in Meru, had been a simple one. The ones used by their ancestors to drive out the Daevas were truly complex, and the way to understanding a mandala was to unlock its maze. And for that, she had to practice them on parchment. No matter how complex, they always contained a seed at the centre – the seed which Parshuram said symbolized the sacred snake in Nala’s spine.

When she was not working on these, she was meditating to summon Dhyāna but it felt like stumbling after smoke. More often than not, she ended up napping while seated in one of these ‘meditative’ trances. Mostly, she used her meditation time to conjure alternate universes. During one of these ventures, she was imagining Varcin and herself ruling over a world where Acharyas were slaves, when she heard the sound of urgent footsteps. She immediately straightened and began chanting a meditative mantra.

‘You aren’t fooling anyone, Nala.’

She opened her eyes guiltily.

‘I was hoping to have more time here, but I have been called back to work. Your training will now have to be on the road.’

‘You work for someone!’ Nala was shocked. Who would be pinecone enough to employ him?

Parshuram smirked. ‘Everyone works for someone. And we are going to meet those I work for.’

Nala swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. ‘We?’

‘Yes. It is time for you to meet the founders of Meru. It is time to meet the Saptarishis.’

Masha’s Auguries

I

Masha made her way up the ice-sheathed stairs with morbid enthusiasm. She was on oracle duty today. She suspected it was her Supervisor’s way of telling her to come up with results or be sent to the banshee quarters. She had not managed to unravel a single link. Even Maimed Matron had ceased to aid her.