Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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Kandarpaasura did not know that Devara had spent precious time avoiding danger, had refused to kill a mother leopard protecting her cubs, had carefully studied the forest instead of destroying everything in his path,

And had earned the trust of the golden stallion rather than simply overpowering it.

To Kandarpaasura, none of that mattered.

All he could see was the result.

Devara was mounted.

He was not.

And the gods had supposedly designed the challenge fairly.

Kandarpaasura let out a bitter laugh.

"Fair?"

He looked toward the heavens.

"Is this what you call fair, Lord Vishnu?"

His frustration slowly transformed into determination.

Fine.

If the gods had truly made his path several times harder, then he would simply have to overcome that as well.

His gaze returned to the remaining golden predators.

They were still watching him.

Their jaws opened, revealing those terrifying teeth.

Kandarpaasura smiled.

"All right."

He rolled his shoulders despite the pain.

"You wanted to make me work for it?"

His eyes burned with renewed determination.

"Then I will take one of you myself."

He lowered his stance.

The golden predators lowered theirs.

For a brief moment, the entire battlefield became silent.

Then Kandarpaasura charged.

He was not going to let Devara reach the Yali and claim victory while he remained on the ground.

If he had to fight every golden predator in the forest to mount one, then he would.

Kandarpaasura launched himself toward the nearest golden stallion once again, determined to finish the second stage before Devara could gain too much of an advantage.

His battered body still carried the marks of everything the forest had thrown at him, but none of that mattered to him anymore.

His entire attention had narrowed down to one objective.

Capture a golden horse.

The stallion in front of him suddenly moved.

Kandarpaasura prepared himself for another violent exchange, expecting the creature to turn and attack him as it had done earlier.

But it did not.

Instead, the golden stallion quickly moved away from him.

Kandarpaasura blinked.

"What?"

He immediately pursued it.

Another stallion moved away as well.

Then another.

Soon several of the golden creatures were retreating from his immediate vicinity, creating distance between themselves and the asura.

Kandarpaasura’s confidence returned.

"So now you’re afraid of me?"

He grinned and increased his speed.

The golden horses continued moving away.

But there was something Kandarpaasura failed to notice.

They were not afraid of him.

They were afraid of something else.

The Yali had begun moving across the battlefield.

The enormous predator slowly advanced toward the area where Devara and his golden stallion were heading.

Its massive paws crushed the vegetation beneath them, while its eyes remained fixed upon the two contestants. The golden stallions could sense its presence clearly.

They knew what the Yali was capable of.

They had watched it tear apart the four-tusked elephants.

They had watched it feed upon creatures far larger than themselves.

And none of them wanted to attract its attention.

So when Kandarpaasura charged toward them, the stallions instinctively avoided him, not because they feared his strength, but because they were desperately trying not to become the Yali’s next meal.

Unfortunately for them, Kandarpaasura was in no condition to care.

His mind was completely consumed by one thought.

’Catch one.’

He sprinted after another golden stallion.

The creature swerved.

Kandarpaasura changed direction.

It swerved again.

He followed.

"Stop running!"

The stallion suddenly accelerated.

Kandarpaasura pushed himself harder.

"I only need one of you!"

Another horse crossed his path.

He immediately changed direction and reached for its mane.

His fingers brushed against the golden strands.

"Got you!"

The stallion jerked away at the last moment.

Kandarpaasura stumbled forward.

He regained his balance and snarled.

"You will not escape me!"

He charged again.

The stallion fled toward the edge of the clearing.

Kandarpaasura followed without hesitation.

He did not notice that the golden creatures were deliberately keeping away from a particular area.

He did not notice their eyes repeatedly shifting toward the Yali.

He did not notice that their movements had become increasingly desperate.

All he could see was the golden horse in front of him.

His exhaustion, the pain in his body and even the danger represented by the enormous predator were pushed aside.

He had already convinced himself that the gods had given Devara an easier path.

Now he refused to allow that belief to become reality.

Kandarpaasura leapt forward again.

His hand finally closed around the golden stallion’s mane.

The creature gave a violent neigh.

Kandarpaasura’s grin returned.

"Finally!"

He pulled himself upward.

The stallion immediately reared.

Kandarpaasura clung tightly to its neck as its front legs rose into the air.

But this time, the stallion was not merely trying to throw him off.

It was terrified.

Its golden eyes suddenly shifted past Kandarpaasura.

The asura noticed the change.

He slowly turned his head.

The Yali had stopped.

Its enormous eyes were now fixed directly upon them.

Kandarpaasura’s smile vanished.

The golden stallion beneath him trembled.

The Yali opened its jaws.

A deep growl rolled across the clearing.

Kandarpaasura finally understood why the horses had been running.

They had not been running from him.

They had been running from the Yali.

And by forcing himself onto one of them, Kandarpaasura had just placed himself directly between the predator and its potential prey.

For one glorious moment, Kandarpaasura believed he had finally done it.

He had managed to pull himself onto the golden stallion’s back, his hands gripping its flowing mane while his legs pressed firmly against its powerful sides.

The creature bucked violently beneath him, but Kandarpaasura held on with all his strength.

After everything he had endured in this forest, after being chased, bitten, kicked and nearly burned alive, this single moment felt like victory.

A wide grin spread across his face.

"Finally!"

He straightened himself and looked toward the distant Yali.

"There you are."

The enormous beast stood across the clearing, its attention still fixed upon the battlefield.

Kandarpaasura’s grin became even wider.

"Now I can face you."

He tightened his grip on the golden mane.

"Take me toward the Yali!"

The horse’s ears suddenly flicked backward.

Kandarpaasura waited.

Nothing happened.

He frowned.

"Go."

The stallion remained still for another heartbeat.

Then, without warning, it spun around.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes widened.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

The golden stallion suddenly bolted in the opposite direction.

Its hooves thundered against the ground as it raced away from the Yali, dragging Kandarpaasura along with it.

"What?!"

Kandarpaasura nearly lost his balance.

He grabbed the mane with both hands and pressed himself against the creature’s back as the stallion accelerated.

"No! The other way!"

The horse ignored him.

It ran faster.

Kandarpaasura’s face slowly darkened.

"You are going in the wrong direction!"

The stallion gave a frightened neigh and continued sprinting away from the Yali.

Kandarpaasura pulled hard on its mane, trying to turn its head.

"Turn around!"

The horse resisted.

Kandarpaasura pulled harder.

"TURN AROUND!"

The stallion suddenly swerved, nearly throwing him from its back.

Kandarpaasura clung desperately to its neck.

"You stubborn beast!"

The horse continued racing through the forest, weaving between the trees with astonishing speed.

Kandarpaasura tried everything he could think of.

He pulled the mane toward one side, then the other, attempting to force the stallion back toward the battlefield.

But the creature simply refused.

Every time Kandarpaasura managed to angle its body toward the Yali, the stallion immediately turned away again.

His expression became increasingly furious.

"I caught you!"

The horse accelerated.

"I mounted you!"

It swerved around a massive tree.

"I am supposed to fight that beast!"

Another frightened neigh.

"And you are running away?!"

Kandarpaasura looked behind him.

The Yali was becoming smaller in the distance.

His eye twitched.

"You cannot be serious."

The golden stallion continued running as though its life depended upon getting as far away from the Yali as possible.

And now Kandarpaasura finally understood the problem.

He had successfully mounted the golden horse.

But he had not subdued it.

The creature had accepted his weight only because it was desperate to escape the Yali.

Kandarpaasura’s face became grim.

"So that’s your game."

He tightened his grip and lowered his body against the stallion.

"Fine."

His eyes narrowed.

"If you refuse to go toward the Yali..."

He pulled himself closer to the horse’s neck.

"...then I will make you listen to me."

The golden stallion responded by running even faster.

Kandarpaasura’s expression became murderous.

"This horse is going to be the death of my patience."

Meanwhile, Devara had already succeeded where Kandarpaasura was still struggling.

The golden stallion beneath him thundered across the battlefield, its powerful legs carrying them toward the enormous Yali.

Devara leaned forward slightly, one hand firmly gripping its golden mane while his other hand remained ready.

Unlike Kandarpaasura, he had not merely climbed onto the creature and hoped it would obey.

He had earned its cooperation, and now the magnificent beast moved with him rather than against him.

The Yali noticed their approach.

Its enormous head slowly turned.

A deep growl emerged from its throat.

Devara’s green eyes narrowed as he studied the beast.

Up close, the creature was even more imposing than it had appeared from a distance.

Its massive frame towered over the golden horse, its claws dug deeply into the earth, and its powerful jaws revealed rows of frightening teeth.

The golden stallion slowed.

Devara gently tightened his grip on its mane.

"Easy."

The stallion snorted but remained beneath him.

Devara looked toward the Yali.

"Now we begin."

He raised his free hand.

A brilliant golden light suddenly gathered around his palm.

The air trembled.

Then, from within that radiant light, the familiar divine weapon answered his call.

Pinakodanda.

The magnificent bow materialized in Devara’s hand, its divine form glowing with immense power as though it had been waiting for the moment he was finally permitted to wield it.

Devara’s fingers closed around the bow.

A faint smile appeared upon his face.

"Finally."

Until now, he had been forced to fight without weapons because of the rules of the second stage. Even when surrounded by the transformed golden predators, he had relied entirely upon his physical strength and the Parvati Kavach.

But that restriction was over.

He had mounted the golden horse.

The second condition had been fulfilled.

Now he could use his weapons.

Devara lifted Pinakodanda and slowly drew the bowstring back.

The golden stallion beneath him immediately responded, lowering its body into a ready stance.

The Yali’s eyes narrowed.

It had already witnessed Devara’s strength.

Now it was about to discover that the warrior sitting upon the golden beast was far more dangerous when armed.

Devara looked down briefly at his companion.

"You and I agreed to share the glory, remember?"

The stallion gave a powerful neigh.

Devara smiled.

"Then let us earn it together."

He turned his attention back toward the Yali.

The bowstring tightened.

Golden energy began gathering around the arrow.

The battlefield fell strangely quiet.

On one side stood the enormous Yali, the predator that had treated four-tusked elephants as nothing more than a meal.

On the other stood Devara, mounted upon a golden celestial stallion, Pinakodanda glowing in his hand.

And somewhere far behind them, Kandarpaasura was still desperately trying to convince his own golden horse to stop running in the wrong direction.

The third stage had finally become a true battle.

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(Author note:)

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