Chapter 3: The Ancient Book
The 5 days tour ends in no time. It feels as if the time flew. Everyone is sad about the thought of going back to school and the load of homework that is awaiting them back home. However, Divya is eager to reach home where she can peacefully read what she has discovered.
At home, Divya opens the book. She is glad about being able to read it, though she has to refer the online Sanskrit resources quite frequently. The text in the book is undated. The pages have become very fragile. It is written by some astrologer named Bhimsen who could foretell the future and make quite accurate predictions. Divya reads on.
I am Bhimsen, an astrologer who failed in his duty to protect the people from astronomical disaster, in spite of foreseeing it.
Reading this book is like going back, thousands of years, simply millenniums. It has been written so marvellously and in such a lucid manner that it is difficult for Divya to keep it aside even for a minute.
Divya reads further. It describes the court of a King Dyanendra. She is able to visualise it and everything so perfectly just as if she has been passed through a trance and is in the flash back. She reads on.
One day in the court of king Dyanendra, Bhimsen, made some strange predictions to which the King disagreed.
“What you say is completely unbelievable!” The King replied.
“My Lord, my astrological calculations are never wrong. The stars indicate danger to earth and life on it.” Bhimsen replied politely but firmly trying to prove his stance.
Everyone in the courtroom was taken aback because Bhimsen was best known for his accurate predictions. After a brief pause, he continued “It can take place within days. The signs have become very clear. Up in the sky, in the extreme north, an arrow mark is developing. When it is complete with all the fourteen stars, that day will be the Doomsday.”
Everyone, including the king, stared in the direction Bhimsen pointed in the sky. And true were his words, there was surely an arrow mark still short of three stars.
“What do you suggest we should do?” The King was tensed.
“Your majesty, we will have to leave this land and move towards North. We have to move far- far away from here.” Bhimsen replied in a confident tone.
No other astrologer supported Bhimsen. Looking at the growing unrest among those present in the court the King decided to wait for some more days. The news spread like wild fire. Everybody was scared. Many people committed suicide with the fear of being burnt alive by the balls of fire that would fall to the ground from sky, as predicted by Bhimsen.
Each passing day added to the mounting pressure. Everybody was watching the sky for that arrow mark. But it remained unchanged. Slowly days turned in to months and months grew old into years. Neither was there any change in the number of stars in the arrow, nor did any untoward incident occur. Now everybody started making fun of Bhimsen’s predictions. The king too felt foolish enough to have believed his foresight in spite of all others assuring him that it was all untrue.
Life returned to normal. However, Bhimsen knew the end was near and had shut himself in his Ashram, looking for a way to avert the apocalypse.
A few weeks later, he was asked to summon before the king and explain the reason for creating widespread panic caused due to his untrue predictions. To the surprise of all, Bhimsen was still firm on his stance.
“What I foretold is true; it’s just a matter of time. I hereby announce that whenever the arrow mark is complete, that day will be the Doomsday. Believe me and let us start moving towards the Northern empires before getting turned to ashes.” He begged everyone present in the court.
The King was greatly annoyed by hearing Bhimsen’s words and ordered for a severe punishment.
“You are guilty of spreading fear among masses, quite sadist. You are a danger to mankind. So, you will spend rest of your life in exile. Make yourself disappear. You will be hanged if you do not obey the order.”
He was sent to a remote and forbidden island, Kalingeshwar.
But soon one day, his predictions came true, the arrow mark was complete with all fourteen stars and meteors rained fire on earth. There were balls of fire falling from the sky. There was death all around. None could survive. But somehow, Bhimsen survived to witness and write it down, as if a sort of miracle. He spent a lone and long life there. He made the temple with his own hands and researched about future disasters.
Divya’s eyes were filled tears. She is horrified by reading such a scene. It feels as if she has witnessed everything first hand.
In the next few paragraphs, Bhimsen explained that to avert every natural disaster there is a solution present within the planet. It’s only the question of finding it in time.
He seemed to have found the solution!
He predicted that life will again bloom on this planet and man will reach the highest levels of advancement. It will be possible to travel across the world within hours, talk and see a person sitting miles away and nights will be as bright as day. At such a time the earth will face a much more dangerous disaster. A fiery monster will come to gulp our planet, our home, the Earth. There will be danger to entire solar system. This will be indicated by the similar signs in the sky. An arrow mark, made up of fourteen stars in the Northern sky. That will be the ultimate end. There was one note at the end.
“But as I said earlier, there is a solution to every problem, even the predicted disaster has an answer which has been brought down from the stars in this meteor rain. I hope someone finds this book before it’s too late!”
‘Knock! Knock!’ the knock on the door distracts Divya.
“Divya….” It is her mom’s final call for her to come down for dinner.
She has been knocking on the door for a while. Divya quickly hides the book in the desk drawer and opens the door with a smile.
“I was studying with earphones plugged into my ears.”
At dinner, she opens the discussion about the old book.
“Oh, that sounds quite an interesting story. Don’t take it too seriously dear, there have been threats to our planet in the past too by the passing comets. Always remember that god has gifted man with brains and with so much advancement in science and technology, such challenges can be handled very well. So, you need not worry about saving the world, there are very professionals on this very mission of saving the planet.” He chuckles and winks at his wife who gives a broad smile.
“You focus on your studies, dear.” Her mom comforted her.
Divya was not convinced.
“Dad, whatever he predicted has come true. Today, nights are as bright as day. Wi-Fi and phones help us to hear and see people sitting miles away. Even the fiery monster described by him, don’t you think indicates the comet that recently came towards earth. If all this is true, then, maybe we are still in danger as predicted by him.” Her eyes were shining with excitement.
“Comets coming towards planets are a common phenomenon. It’s not difficult to predict such things.” replies dad
Divya’s silence tells that she isn’t quite yet convinced.
At night, Divya comes out in the balcony to watch the sky. She wonders how foolish she was to take that book to heart.
“It is nothing but a story, a false one indeed!”
She looks through the telescope. Suddenly, she backs away from the telescope. Her eyes are wide open with fear. Sweat drops down her forehead. She takes slow steps towards the telescope and looks through it once again.
There at the Northern sky she sees a faint image of an arrow made of a cluster of stars. She feels suffocated. She feels dizzy. With her fingers crossed she counts the number of stars.
She slowly moves away from the telescope and sits on her bed. Staring blankly with gripping fear she whispers,
“So, he is right. Is it really the End?”