Chapter 19 : the first question
"Boy, do you have no fear of the Gods? You are openly listing their vices."
He looked at me with his large eyes, filled with great interest.
"Hmm, so you agree with me too," I said with a smile.
"When did I say that?" He flatly denied it.
"When you acknowledged that I was listing their 'vices,' it implies that you, too, know that the Gods are not entirely virtuous."
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the funeral rites of Prince Pandu had been concluded, and his ashes were immersed in the river Ganga.
(Author's Note: I have not included the traditional eleven or twelve-day rituals observed in Hinduism, but rather concluded all the rites within a single day. Please do not hold this against me.)
The five brothers and their mother, Kunti, were now making their way back to Hastinapur, walking along the kingdom's main road.
Kunti's tears had completely dried up; now, her only concern was the future of her children. Minister Vidura accompanied them on this journey.
Crowds of subjects had gathered on both sides of the road. They, too, were deeply saddened by Prince Pandu's death, with tears welling in their eyes.
I can say with certainty that all these people belonged to the lower castes, those who practice blind devotion toward the monarchy.
Aside from them, people of other castes were nowhere to be seen. The Brahmins would be busy with their duties, having no interest in witnessing this spectacle.
As for the wealthy merchants and nobles, they understood the politics of the royal palace all too well, which is why none of them had come.
Some time later, they arrived at the gates of the royal palace. Waiting at the gate were Ganga-putra Bhishma, both Queen Mothers
Pandu's grandmother and his mother and Queen Gandhari.
...
Back at the well, my response had left the servant of Makara, Lord Varuna's vehicle, sweating profusely.
"This is no ordinary child," he thought. "He has entangled me in his web of words. I must conduct his trial quickly. If he wins, he can leave with a boon; if he loses, he will become my breakfast. Hahaha."
Seeing the smile on his face, I sensed a hidden hostility, so I immediately went on high alert.
The Divine beast began to speak, "Leave that aside. I do not care why you have come here. According to the rules of this place,
you must undergo a trial of my choosing. If you win, you may leave this place and even receive a boon from me."
Hearing the word "boon," my eyes lit up. I interrupted him, asking, "What kind of boon? Are there any limits to it?"
"No, there are no limits. You may ask for whatever you desire," the divine beast replied, raising his head with pride.
He thought, "How would a child understand the true value of a boon? Although my powers do have limitations, why should I reveal that to him? He will likely ask for something trivial."
"Can you make me immortal?" I asked.
His proud expression froze instantly. Seeing this, I realized he had merely been boasting.
"Hey child! No one can grant that to anyone. Even the Great Gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh cannot grant true immortality. How did you think I could grant such a boon?"
Seeing the scorn in my smile, he quickly offered this counter-argument. I had to admit, there was some weight to his words.
"Then do this," I proposed again. "Once I turn twenty, for every day that passes in the future, subtract one day from my age."
He was about to agree when he suddenly realized the trap hidden in my words. If he granted this, I would essentially become immortal, stuck in an eternal age loop.
He stared at me as if I were a monster. "Such cunning in such a small child... Thank heavens this boy comes from the human race and not from the Asuras."
Finally, he hung his head in defeat.
"Forgive me, child. I lied to you. My boons do have limitations. I can grant you a normal boon, but I cannot grant any extraordinary or divine boons."
"Very well, I forgive you. Now, tell me what this trial entails."
He looked at me in shock. He had asked for forgiveness merely as a formality; he hadn't expected me to actually grant it so casually.
He didn't dwell on it further and proceeded to explain the rules. "Here, you may ask me three questions. If I fail to answer even two of them, you win."
"However," a terrifying grin appeared on his face, "if I answer all of them correctly, you shall become my meal for the day."
"Shall we begin the trial?" he asked, licking his lips with his long tongue and eyeing me as if I were already a delicious morsel.
Is that the condition? Excellent. There are questions I have wanted to ask God himself questions that even He would find difficult to answer. I will ask you those very questions. You seriously won't be able to answer them. I smiled inwardly at the thought.
"Let the trial begin," the beast announced.
I composed myself and posed my first question. "I have heard it said that humans reap the consequences of their good and bad deeds in this very life."
I hadn't finished speaking when the beast opened his mouth to interrupt. I stopped him immediately. "Wait. Hear my full question first, then you may speak."
"Is that so?" the divine beast muttered.
I resumed my explanation. "It is said that the reckoning of a human's good and bad deeds happens in this birth. However, contrary to this, there is another saying: the happiness and sorrow a human experiences in this life are the results of their good and bad deeds from their past life."
"These two concepts are contradictory to each other."
"So tell me, Sir, which of these is correct?" I looked at the divine beast and awaited his answer.
The divine beast was facing such a question for the first time. Both concepts were correct; neither was wrong. The question of calling one false did not arise because both held true. They were contradictory to one another, yet they both existed.
To be continued...