Jatayu smiled as he looked back at Sita and gestured that she keep moving. He turned quickly and resumed his walk. He had been trained to be careful on the bridge.
A massive curvilinear cave had been carved into the monolith. Almost fifteen metres in height and probably around fifty metres deep, the cave ran all along the outer edge of the monolith, in a continuous line, its floor and ceiling rising gently as it spiralled its way to the top of the stone structure. It therefore served as a road, built into the monolith itself. The ‘road’ spiralled its way down to a lower height as well, till it reached the point of the monolith where it was two hundred metres above the valley floor. But this long continuous cave, which ran within the surface of the structure, with the internal monolith rock serving as its road and roof, did not just serve as a passage. On the inner side of this cave were constructions, again carved out of the monolith rock itself. These constructions served as houses, offices, shops and other buildings required for civilised living. This innovative construction, built deeper into the inner parts of the monolith itself, housed a large proportion of the ten thousand Malayaputras who lived in Agastyakootam. The rest lived on top of the monolith. There were another ninety thousand Malayaputras, stationed in camps across the great land of India.
‘How can anyone carve something this gigantic into stone as hard as granite?’ asked Sita. ‘That too in a rock face that is almost completely vertical? This is the work of the Gods!’
‘The Malayaputras represent the God, Lord Parshu Ram, himself,’ said Jatayu. ‘Nothing is beyond us.’
As he stepped off the bridge onto the landing area carved into the monolith, Jatayu mounted his horse again. The ceiling of the cave was high enough to comfortably allow a mounted soldier to ride along. He turned to see Sita climbing onto her horse as well. But she did not move. She was admiring the intricately engraved railings carved out at the edge of the cave, along the right side of the ‘road’. The artistry imposed on it distracted one from the sheer fall into the valley that the railing prevented. The railing itself was around two metres high. Pillars had been carved into it, which also allowed open spaces in between for light. The ‘fish’ symbol was delicately carved into each pillar’s centre.
‘My sister,’ whispered Jatayu.
Sita had steered her horse towards the four-floor houses on the left inner side of the cave road. She turned her attention back to Jatayu.
‘Promise me, my sister,’ said Jatayu, ‘you will not shrink or turn back, no matter what lies ahead.’
‘What?’ frowned Sita.
‘I think I understand you now. What you’re about to walk into may overwhelm you. But you cannot imagine how important this day is for us Malayaputras. Don’t pull back from anyone. Please.’
Before Sita could ask any further questions, Jatayu had moved ahead. Jatayu steered his horse to the right, where the road rose gently, spiralling its way to the top.
Sita too kicked her horse into action.
And then, the drumbeats began.
As the road opened ahead, she saw large numbers of people lined on both sides. None of them wore any angvastrams. The people of Kerala dressed this way, when they entered temples to worship their Gods and Goddesses. The absence of the angvastram symbolised that they were the servants of their Gods and Goddesses. And, they were dressed this way today, as their living Goddess had come home.
At regular intervals stood drummers with large drums hanging from cloth ropes around their shoulders. As Sita emerged, they began a rhythmic, evocative beat. Next to each drummer was a veena player, stringing melody to the rhythm of the drummers. The rest of the crowd was on their knees, heads bowed. And, they were chanting.
The words floated in the air. Clear and precise.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasmai Saakshine namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to the Witness
Sita looked on, unblinking. Unsure of what to do. Her horse, too, had stopped.
Jatayu pulled up his horse and fell behind Sita. He made a clicking sound and Sita’s horse began to move. Forward, on a gentle gradient to the top.
And thus, led by Sita, the procession moved ahead.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasmai Matsyaaya namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to Lord Matsya
Sita’s horse moved slowly, but unhesitatingly. Most of the faces in the crowd were filled with devotion. And many had tears flowing down their eyes.
Some people came forward, bearing rose petals in baskets. They flung them in the air. Showering roses on their Goddess, Sita.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasmai Kurmaaya namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to Lord Kurma
One woman rushed in, holding her infant son in her arms. She brought the baby close to the horse’s stirrups and touched the child’s forehead to Sita’s foot.
A confused and troubled Sita tried her best to not shrink back.
The company, led by Sita, kept riding up the road, towards the summit of the monolith.
The drumbeats, the veenas, the chanting continued … ceaselessly.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasyai Vaaraahyai namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to Lady Varahi
Ahead of them, some people were down on their knees with their heads placed on the ground, their hands spread forward. Their bodies shook with the force of their emotions.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasmai Narasimhaaya namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to Lord Narsimha
The gently upward-sloping cave opened onto the top of the monolith. The railing continued to skirt the massive summit. People from the spiral cave road followed Sita in a procession.
The large area at the top of the monolith was well organised with grid-like roads and many low-rise buildings. The streets were bordered with dugouts on both sides that served as flower beds, the soil for which had been painstakingly transported from the fertile valley below. At regular intervals, the dugouts were deep, for they held the roots of larger trees. It was a carefully cultivated naturalness in this austere, rocky environment.
At the centre of the summit lay two massive temples, facing each other. Together, they formed the ParshuRamEshwar temple complex. One temple, red in colour, was dedicated to the great Mahadev, Lord Rudra. The other, in pristine white, was the temple of the sixth Vishnu, Lord Parshu Ram.
The other buildings in the area were uniformly low-rise, none built taller than the temples of ParshuRamEshwar. Some served as offices and others as houses. Maharishi Vishwamitra’s house was at the edge of the summit, overlooking the verdant valley below.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vishnudevaya
Tasmai Vaamanaaya namo namah
Salutations to the great God Vishnu
Salutations, Salutations to Lord Vaaman