The Legend of Kathyayeni - part 1

She seemed to look at the flowing river,Her rage reflected by the mother river.Kathyayeni 's favourite Rendezvous. She was there, everytime she was reminded of her mother, each time she visited the calm would recieve her, listen to her and sooth her, but today she seemed more agitated than the grasshoppers she loved to hunt and keep in the long glass jar meant for pickles.

Meanwhile, her father Mayanga Panditha Sharma, was busy drifting through each patch of cotton trees in his small lean patch of land. He was the first and only Son of Purohit Paramadhyaya , who continued the long lineage of great purohits of viragram.Long since his wife's death, he had stopped going to the temple of his beloved god, confining his time to the only living reminder of his wife, his only daughter Kathyayeni .
A small stretch of land transferred across generations.
Thinking aloud, he seemed to tell away with his innermost thoughts, "Kathyayeni is almost eleven, soon she shall" ... and his voice trailed off.

The long lines of farmers returning to their houses cut short the thought of Kathyayeni and her father.

The song of harvest came into being...

Oleva va banni...
Raitapi sayankala samaya, 
Ghar jao bhuyamana, 
Hathoko aramadilana, 
Ootamadona banni, 
Madi malagona...

Slowly the fields were empty, the sound of silence returned to the village, she was drawn back to the house. The impending conversation did still hold back. They seemed to eye each other and weigh their options, both of them knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

At six, she prayed , sitting facing the setting sun, 
Chanting the Gayathri Mantra.She told him in a soft voice, slowly forming the words, 
"Do you miss my mother, your wife ?"
He was startled and his thoughts were jarred, all he said was , " yes, now lets eat and sleep early. Tomorrow is a big day, a suitor for you shall come home to see you"
She still pestered on, " How did she look like ? Was she like me ?
Why did she die ? "

This question seemed to pull him out of his misery, his words vanished, his eyes welled up and tears came in torrents.
He remembered....

The season of baisakhi, For the last twelve years had seen little or no varshadhare, the land was barren the lives were being lost, the entire village was in poverty.

Dushartha Patela, the high priest of the city of Malatha, ordered for a great yaga to be performed in Satidal, the village of the Satis.
The Satidal is built in the middle of the river Godavari The Satis or the not so lucky wifes whose husbands have died are put into that citadel fortress built on the river.The only route of escape was to die in the yamuna, jump into the raging river and say their prayers...Hordes and hordes of females made their way each year to this place of pilgrimage...

The Yogi ordered the place of Satidal to be cleansed , claiming the rivers of Godavari are to be appeased with blood...

Kathyayeni's mother Sarvayava. In the sacred language the word meant the warrior of life. She was born to another priest, Pushpabasa , who had inculcated a sense of freedom in her long before she became a woman, 
She was skilled in sword fighting, chanakya neethi and preparing culinary delights.
She was skilled in aranyaksha, the art of survival in forests.

These practises except cooking was reserved only for the men of the Kshatriya clan.But she had learnt it all.
They had married her at the age of 16, to priest Mayanga Pandita Sharma.

Within a year, the news of her carrying life had been reached everyone.
And eight months and twelve days later , a young girl , the fairest of fair 
As is tradition , the baby and the mother and father had to walk to the Satidal and pay the Godavari her respects.

They had named her as Kathayeni.

A month later the trio of Kathyayeni and her parents made their way to Satidal.
Kathyayeni was wrapped in a red wrap around, she shone in the arms of her mother like a diamond twinkling in glory
Her eyes closed, her face calm , her nose slightly red and her ears listening to the world.
She slept soundly , little did she know the chaos that would ensue , a phase of her long life would be forever changed .

Sarvayava enjoyed the ride, the bull a cart lazyily making its way enroute the scenic route
.She snapped open the hale gari, the paper used to record all observations and thoughts, 
She dipped the quill bearing her name into a pot of ink and soon words had been imprinted on the leaf. 
Kathyayeni was hungry by then and soon began to make her presence felt. Mayanaga spoke to his wife, " She looks so beautiful, i hope she shall be a great personality one day ". Sarvayava suddenly became serious, " you must make sure she learns the alphabet and the ways of the Vedic world.
She must learn who she is ,and not one more wife of a rich aristocrat and waste this life god has given her.

We must make her brave, stand amongst men and maintain her honour and dignity! Promise Mayanaga Panditha Sharma, of the lineage of Dharma , 
Promise me ."

" I promise you my love, 
The warrior of life, your legacy shall but continue. Until my last breath I shall regard the promise."

After a long journey, they decided to rest a little,
Near a small tree they rested, 
A small little convoy of newest of new unfortunate souls who had been given the simplest death sentence  were placed in a wagon drawn by the kings horses.

A chirpy Sarvayava apruptly held her words, 
Mayanga could sense her unrest.
He addressed her, "Troubles shall multiply, if seldom adressesed , some one needs to be that miracle.
Your troubles are my burden , tell me what irks you "

She shot him a look , his romantic gesture lost to the trees around , she waited till the faint smile on him disappeared, " will you jump to the fire , or visit a Pati Parivar if i die tomorrow ".

Her words had the desired effect, his answer quelled her indignant question, " i shall burn not in your pyre, but as a reflection of your spirit,I would also not want you to jump to the pit, if i but die , 
I believe only the paramatma has the right to create us, nurture us, trouble us and help us , in no scripture does one demand the death penalty on a already grieving wife. It is wrong "

You have but attended scores of Sati Dahan rituals and seen scores sent to the Satidal
Do you but think it is justice to define a women's life on her husband's fate .

Why have you but not raised your voice , stopped this madness ?

The moral question caught him off balance .if this,question was but put to anyone other than her understanding and gentle husband, she would be begging for,mercy at the hands of the male ego .

I do not know why , but when i see the women of the family not opposing the same,but only mourning in silence, willing the widow to the pyre or sending the women to rot their lives in Satidal .They do not visit them in the Satidal. They are left there to fend for life.

A lot of questions were left unanswered , as the ashtadigpalakas of the land rode in the swiftest of horses and alighted near them , warning them of the bandits of the valley.

Kathyayeni still slept soundly, much of the later journey was done in silence, each left to contemplate their own thoughts...

Sarvayava kept thinking, 
I am lucky to have a husband that listens to me .Treats me an equal , not just as an appendage that can produce one male child per year.Mayanga, kept his thoughts to himself, lulled by the sound of bouncing feet.

The temple of Satidal stands in the middle of the fortress. The temple is built around the agni kunda , a pit of fire . It is but legend that the lord mother Sita had to jump into the fire to prove to her husband, After he rescued her from the king of lanka , who had kidnapped her. 
Although the story behind it is murky, this story of eternal sacrifice of jumping into the fire brought about a revolution in every household that had a death of one of its patriarch. The wife would also have to join the husband in the after life and keep him company.With time the ritual had taken an been given a new sub branch, the wife would either join the pyre, or send the woman to the satidal.

In there , the Sati was supposed to hold solemn silence, never talk to any other Sati.She must dedicate her life to the laws of the dead, mourn for them and if possible die early. They would be given an annual allowance by the king, 8 bags of rice.Most of them jumped to the river, the ones who tried to run away were hanged, the ones who managed to live, wished they had died with their husband!

The royal guards were there already, the sun was about to say good afternoon , the Rajguru or the high priest of paithan arrived.
The yagna was to begin, all the satis were rounded up in a barn. Twelve of them were chosen at random, 

Slash came the sword , one last cry...

Bouts of fresh blood was collected, and put into the homa kunda.
There was a stunned silence and then the Mantras began, the royal cleansing had begun ...

It was at this very instant , 
Sarvayava and Mayanga entered the Satidal on the bullock cart.Twelve bodies strewn dead, In white sarees no longer white.

Kathyayeni was quickly transferred to her husbands shoulder, 
She ran to the Sati , the twelveth one still breathing blood.
Tore a piece of cloth and stemmed the flow of blood, 
In seconds the scene had changed, the warriors instructed to slay only the satis, were perplexed at this, the raj guru was struck by lightning, a woman with a thilak of kumkum on her forehead , trying to rescue this sorry soul.

Soon the moment had struck every one, the guru stopped the chant, 

"You have brought the wrath of the gods upon this land, 
You have touched a Sati , 
Her soul is tainted forever,
You shall never visit heaven , you shall be a Pichachi ".

The soldiers surrounded her.The knife she hid in her shoulders , soon came to the party.
The swords against her small knife.The swords whizzed, the knife swerved , the swords missed, the knife held and then the sword struck,
But the knife was at the neck of the Rajguru. The Satidal standoff as would later be named , lasted for some time.

It was Mayanga , who broke the duel, he tried to reason, on both sides. He still held Kathyayeni on his shoulder.

"Rajguru, tell your men to hold the swords,

The Rajguru had to submit and ordered a retreat but his ego hurt and he was bent on vengeance.

He shouted " kill him and the kid ", then burn her and all the Satis

They have tainted the law, he barked,
Just as she had let him go 
. But she slipped her dagger in the leg of the soldier that was nearest,his sword now in her hands she lashed at them. Mayanga ran , his kid in his hands, he selected a horse, rode as fast as he could.

That was the last he heard of her. A soldier protected the Rajguru while the rest fought her. 
The Rajguru set fire on the field of hay within which the Satis were housed.

Sarvayava fought valiantly, but she jumped to the river , her bruises leaking blood...
That was the last they had heard of her.

Kathyayeni heard this story from him,she had shed tears.

From that day on , she was a changed woman, the young innocent face was now replaced with a fire.Mayanga told her, of the suitor who wanted to marry her, she blushed a small smile.She ran away that night , with a apology engraved on her father's wall.Little did she know of the destiny that awaited her.

Little did anyone know , that eleven years ago, among the 200 that jumped to the river , 12 had survived. among them; one woman was Sarvayava.