Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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As Kandarpaasura finally turned away and began walking toward the area where the second trial would be held, the attention of the gathered gods slowly returned to Devara.

He was still standing at the edge of the River of Sin with the enormous mass of wandering souls gathered around him, many of them clinging to his shoulders and back as though they were afraid that the moment they let go, they would once again be pulled into the river.

Lord Shiva walked toward his son and looked at the strange sight for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Devara."

Devara looked toward him.

"Yes, Father?"

Shiva glanced at the souls.

"You brought them out of the river. Now you should give them Mukti."

Devara looked at the countless spirits resting around him.

"Mukti?"

He hesitated hearing it.

"But how?"

Shiva raised an eyebrow.

Devara continued, genuinely confused.

"They are already dead. If I attack their souls, won’t I simply damage them? I don’t exactly know how to grant liberation to a soul."

A few of the gods smiled at his confusion.

Devara looked toward his father again.

"I can fight beings that have physical bodies. I can even deal with spirits when necessary, but this is different. They are already separated from their bodies. What exactly am I supposed to do to them?"

Before Shiva could answer, Goddess Parvati stepped forward.

She had been listening to the conversation with a gentle smile on her face.

"You are thinking about it as though Mukti means destroying them."

Devara looked toward her.

"Isn’t it?"

Parvati shook her head.

"No."

She came closer and looked at the souls gathered around him.

"These souls have already suffered enough. You don’t need to attack them, and you certainly don’t need to destroy them. What they need is release."

Devara remained silent, listening carefully.

Parvati continued.

"You brought them out of the river because you chose not to treat them as enemies. That was the first step."

She gently placed her hand on Devara’s shoulder.

"Now you need to help them let go of what is keeping them bound here."

Devara looked at the spirits.

"They’re holding onto me."

"Exactly."

Parvati smiled hearing him.

"They have spent so long clinging to everything they lost that they no longer remember how to move forward. You gave them something they had not experienced in ages."

Devara looked puzzled at her.

"What?"

"Hope."

The word made him pause.

Parvati continued softly.

"They followed you because you did not treat them like monsters. You allowed them to hold onto you, even when carrying them became difficult. You brought them across the river without trying to destroy them."

She gestured toward the souls.

"Now give them the final thing they need."

Devara looked at her.

"And what is that?"

Parvati smiled.

"Your blessing."

Devara’s eyes widened slightly.

"You want me to bless them?"

"Not merely bless them."

Her expression became serene.

"Use your divine energy and guide their souls away from this place. You don’t need to force them. You need to give them permission to move on."

Devara looked at the spirits again.

For the first time, he noticed that they weren’t clinging to him because they wanted to remain attached.

They were simply afraid to let go.

He slowly raised his hand.

The souls became quiet.

A soft divine radiance began forming around his palm.

Parvati smiled seeing Devara has succeded.

"Now you understand."

Devara nodded slowly.

"I think I do."

Shiva watched his son with a faint smile.

"Then don’t make them wait any longer."

Devara took a slow breath.

The divine energy around his hand grew brighter.

The countless souls gathered around him looked toward that light.

And for the first time since they had entered the River of Sin, none of them appeared afraid.

As Devara raised his hand, the divine radiance surrounding his palm slowly spread across the souls gathered around him.

The light wasn’t harsh or blinding.

Instead, it carried a calm warmth that seemed to reach something deeper than their spiritual forms.

One of the souls nearest to Devara began glowing.

Its translucent body, which had previously appeared pale and almost colourless, slowly changed into a brilliant blue.

The glow became stronger until the outline of the soul began to break apart, not violently, but almost peacefully, like fine dust being carried away by a gentle wind.

Devara’s eyes widened.

"What’s happening?"

The soul didn’t scream.

It didn’t struggle.

For the first time, its face looked peaceful.

Its body dissolved into countless tiny particles of blue light that floated upward into the air.

Devara watched carefully, expecting the light to disappear into the heavens.

Instead, it suddenly changed direction.

The particles drifted toward him.

Before Devara could react, they entered his body.

He instinctively looked down at himself.

Another soul began glowing and then another.

Soon, the same thing started happening throughout the enormous group that had followed him across the river.

One after another, the souls became brighter, their spiritual forms turning into beautiful blue radiance before dissolving into countless particles.

And every time it happened, the light travelled toward Devara.

Some entered through his hands.

Others passed through his chest.

A few simply dissolved into his body like drops of water returning to an ocean.

Devara stood completely still, watching in astonishment as soul after soul disappeared into him.

"Father..."

He looked toward Shiva.

"What is happening?"

Before Shiva could answer, Lord Brahma stepped forward.

"They are not being destroyed."

Devara turned toward him.

Brahma’s expression was calm.

"You gave them Mukti, Devara. You accepted them without judging them for what they had done in their previous lives, and you carried them out of the river when you could have simply left them behind."

Devara looked at the remaining souls.

Brahma continued.

"They have now accepted you in return."

Devara frowned slightly.

"Accepted me?"

Brahma nodded his head with a smile.

"They are becoming a part of your spiritual existence."

The words left Devara speechless.

Brahma explained further.

"When you granted them Mukti, their connection to the River of Sin was severed. But instead of moving onward as separate wandering spirits, they chose to place what remained of their spiritual essence in you."

Devara watched another group of souls dissolve into blue light.

"So they are inside me?"

"Not as prisoners,"

Brahma clarified looking at his look.

"They have not been bound to you. They have willingly entrusted their remaining essence to you."

Devara slowly looked at his hands.

A faint blue glow could still be seen beneath his skin.

Brahma smiled looking at his son.

"You gave them freedom when they had nothing left to hope for. In return, they have chosen to become a part of you."

Goddess Parvati watched her son with a warm expression.

"That is why they followed you across the river."

Devara looked back toward the souls.

He finally understood why they had refused to let go of him.

They hadn’t been trying to drag him down.

They had been searching for someone who would accept them.

One after another, the remaining souls began dissolving into blue light.

The barren land slowly filled with countless points of radiance as the spirits rose into the air and then descended toward Devara.

There were no screams anymore.

No desperate cries.

No hands trying to drag anyone beneath the water.

Only silence.

Peaceful silence.

And as the final soul entered Devara, the blue radiance around him slowly faded.

Devara stood there quietly.

For a few moments, he didn’t know what to say.

Then he looked toward Brahma.

"Did I really just give Mukti to all of them?"

Brahma nodded.

"You did."

Devara looked toward the river one last time.

For the first time, its surface seemed strangely empty.

The endless wandering souls were gone.

And somewhere deep within Devara, he could feel a faint warmth where their spiritual essence had settled.

They were no longer trapped.

They were no longer wandering.

They had simply become part of him.

Devara remained silent for a few moments, still trying to process what had just happened.

The last traces of blue radiance had disappeared from the air, and the souls that had followed him across the River of Sin were no longer anywhere to be seen.

Then he felt something change within him.

A familiar sensation passed through his mind.

Devara’s eyebrows immediately drew together.

’What was that?’

He closed his eyes for a moment and entered his inner consciousness. The familiar system interface appeared before him, its translucent screen floating within the darkness of his mind.

His eyes widened.

[Template Progress Update]

[Lord Narasimha Template: 10% → 15%]

[Sangali Karuppu Template: 85% → 95%]

Devara stared at the numbers.

"What?"

He checked the interface again, almost convinced that he had somehow misread it.

The increase in the Sangali Karuppu template was understandable to some extent.

He had used the divine chain associated with that avatar throughout the trial, and the chain had played a major role in helping him cross the river.

But the Narasimha template?

That one left him genuinely confused.

"Why did Narasimha increase?"

He had not transformed.

He hadn’t consciously used any of the template’s abilities.

All he had done was cross the river, carry the souls with him and grant them Mukti.

Devara looked at the system again.

The numbers remained unchanged.

95%.

He couldn’t help staring at the Sangali Karuppu progress.

Just five percent more.

He had been stuck at eighty-five percent for quite some time, and suddenly it had jumped forward.

So helping those souls somehow contributed to the template progression.

The thought made him even more curious.

Before he could examine the system further, Lord Vishnu’s voice brought him back to reality.

"Devara."

He opened his eyes.

Vishnu was standing nearby with a faint smile.

Devara looked at him.

"Yes, Narayana?"

Vishnu glanced toward the path leading away from the river.

"Whatever you have discovered within yourself can be examined later."

Devara raised an eyebrow.

Vishnu continued.

"You still have two stages remaining."

Devara looked toward the others.

"Right."

He had almost forgotten.

The first trial had been so unusual that the unexpected system changes had completely distracted him.

Vishnu smiled.

"You have won the first stage, but the contest has not ended."

Devara nodded.

"Understood father."

He looked back once more at the river.

The place was strangely quiet now.

Then he turned toward the path leading to the next trial.

"Let’s see what the second stage has waiting for us."

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(Author note:)

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