Epilogue
Epilogue
It took two years to complete the Temple work for Arnav. He did even the most minor things carefully. He built the Temple using a large number of rocks. All the idols installed in the temple were brought from Mamallapuram, a historic town of Tamil Nadu, famous for its UNESCO World Heritage Group of Monuments. It's a popular tourist destination known for its rock-cut caves, temples and intricate sculpture, particularly those carved during the Pallava Dynasty. Still, there are many skilful sculptors living there. So, he chose Mamallapuram to make the needed statues for the Temple.
They were getting ready for the consecration Ceremony. Khushi and Ratna stood near the temple tower, whereas Arnav and Arvind were on the top of the tower. The Pandit sprinkled the holy water on them and the people.
Arnav sensed something and looked at the crowd. His eyes got stuck on Ghorakar. He also saw the man who saved him from the snake when he went to the mountain temple. He was with Ghorakar, chanting something with a group of people. Their lip movement told him that. He thought those could also be Siddhas who were there to attend a consecration ceremony. After all, they are all direct disciples of Lord Shiva.
Arnav joined his hands and greeted Ghorakar. He nodded her head from left to right, hinting to him that he should not join his hands to respect anyone in the temple because, inside the temple, no one is superior to God. Of course, Ghorakar was GURU but, when it comes to Lord Shiva, he was his disciple. Arnav nodded, pressing his lips.
After the consecration ceremony, Arnav became busy donating things to people. He came home only after completing all the work. He fell on the bed after taking a bath, all exhausted.
Khushi sat next to him and pressed his leg. He sat jerking and removed her hand.
"Why?" She asked.
"No... don't press my leg"
"You are tired and have been standing for the whole day. I know your leg is aching."
"Let it be. You don't have to press it."
"But why?"
"I don't want to get used to it."
"Means?"
"If I get used to it, I will expect it from you whenever I'm tired."
"So, what? I will press your legs if you are tired."
"It's not good..."
"Why?"
"Some days, you may also be tired. How could I expect you to do it for me at that time?"
"What happened to you today? You think a lot..."
"Come and sit..."
Khushi sat next to him. Arnav pulled her leg and pressed it.
"What are you doing?" she pulled her leg.
"Don't your legs hurt?"
"So?"
"Let me press your legs..."
"No"
"Why?"
"I don't want all this."
"Then, why did you press mine?"
"You are my husband..."
"Aren't you my wife?"
"Would husband press his wife's legs?"
"Shouldn't I?"
"No need..." She covered her legs with her saree.
"I can't understand your logic." Arnav rolled his eyes.
She pouted.
"Khushi..."
"Mmm?"
"I'm thinking about going to Nagapattinam."
"For what?"
"I would like to visit Ghorakar's Jeeva Samadhi."
Khushi looked at him excitedly.
"Really?"
"Mmm... I have been thinking of going there for a long time."
"We will surely go. What about uncle and aunty?"
"Of course, they will also come with us."
"Haven't you spoken with them about it yet?"
"No, I just thought to do that when I saw Ghorakar in the consecration ceremony."
"Did he come?" she asked eagerly.
"Not only him, but all the eighteen Siddhas, I suppose."
"How do you know?"
"I saw the snake siddha with him. A group of people around them chanted mantras in unison. So, I guessed."
"Eanga, why don't we visit all eighteen Siddhas' Jeeva Samadhis?"
Arnav's eyes sparkled.
"Good idea, Khushi. We will speak to Appa tomorrow."
"But, it's not a simple thing to cover up all the Jeeva Samathis at once. So, we will go to Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi first."
"Mmm... ok..."
Arnav told Arvind about visiting Jeeva Samadhis. Arvind liked the idea.
"I will talk to Siddha temple Pandit about it."
"Why appa?"
"I think he would have visited all of them already. So, he will guide us."
"Oh, Ok..."
As they expected, the pandit said,
"There were three Jeeve Samadhis in Nagapattinam district itself."
"Is it?" Arnav wondered.
"Yes, you can visit them all at once."
"That's nice."
"The other two Jeeva Samadhis are in temples. One is in the Shiva Temple and another one is in the Murugan Temple."
"What about Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi?" Arnav asked.
"His Samadhi itself is a temple. It was an ashram. We can eat food there anytime. People donate needed provisions to the temple for food sacrifice."
Arnav marvelled.
"There is an interesting fact about the place."
"What's that?"
"Nagapattinam district faced a worse drought once. Still, the place where Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi is located didn't face such a problem and looked GREEN."
"Really?" Arnav and Arvind were surprised.
"Yes, and at the time of the Tsunami, Nagapattinam was the most affected area, but the waves didn't even touch the Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi area, even though it was at the seashore."
Arnav and Arvind had Goosebumps. They were more eager to visit Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi.
Without wasting time, they planned to go to Nagapattinam the next day itself.
Khushi packed their things for the trip. All of them were so excited to visit the place.
They reached Nagapattinam and proceeded to Ghorakar Jeeva Samadhi via a bridge. They had a pleasant view of the Bay of Bengal from the bridge. They saw countless boats being anchored at the seashore.
As the Pandit said, the area looked Greenish, and the seashore was close to the temple. Arnav got down from the car and looked at the ashram. It had all eighteen Siddhas' statues on the entrance wall, and Ghorakar was the centre of attraction.
The temple had been maintained neatly and tidily. As it was THURSDAY, the temple had a heavy crowd. It was a HARTI time in addition. So, the crowd was unavoidable. That crowd told them the Power of Ghorakar and the faith of the people.
When they entered the Temple, someone approached them.
"Please, come in..."
They spared a glance as they didn't know who he was.
"Come with me..." he headed inside.
They followed the man even though they didn't know who he was. He took them to the shrine, opening the centre gate and made them stand so close to the Samadhi. They worshipped Ghorakar, and Arnav felt something in him. They felt blessed to have such a chance to worship him, standing close to him.
The pandit of the temple brought a garland and put it on Arnav and Arvind's necks, and flowers to Khushi and Ratna. The pandit handed them a small orb of abisheka sandal.
"Arnav was about to keep it on his forehead, but the pandit stopped.
"It's not for application, but to eat."
"Oh... they put them in their mouths."
They came out with the man who took them to the shrine.
"May we know who you are?" Arvind asked.
"I'm the trustee of this temple. Didn't you talk to me yesterday?"
"I'm sorry, you misunderstood, I suppose. We are not who you are expecting."
The trustee was stuck.
"We are sorry..."
He composed himself.
"Don't be sorry. Nothing is in our hands. He (Ghorakar) wants you to get recognised in his temple. That's what happened here. I'm glad to meet you. Please have lunch in our temple." The trustee said.
"How do you manage the expenses of the food donation?"
"Devotees like you donate what they can..."
"Shall we?"
"Sure... why not? Please come..."
He took them to the office.
"They want to donate..."
The girl in the office asked, taking the bill book,
"How much, Sir?" Her hands stopped hearing,
"Ten lakhs..."
The trustee was stunned. The girl looked at him. he gestured for her to write. She wrote the bill and gave it to Arnav with a pocket-sized Ghorakar photo and a pocket of holy ash. Arnav looked at the picture and smiled. Ghorakar's face looked so divine in the photo. He kept it in his shirt pocket.
"We are so glad to have you here, sir. The amount you gave us is very huge. We will donate food using the money without tension. You and your family will get all the prosperity when the people bless you while eating." The trustee said.
"If you want any help to develop the temple, call me." Arnav gave his number to the trustee. He saved it in his mobile.
They started back to Shivan Kudil.
"Seeing the crowd, I thought we couldn't get the Dharshan," Ratna said.
"How wouldn't we get when Arnav is with us? He was close to Ghorakar after all..." Arvind smiled.
"By the way, what magic did you do in our village?" Ratna asked Arnav.
"What did I do?"
"Our Palace doctor said, there is no patient in our village. He is so free with no work, you know?"
"Is it?" Arnav asked as if he didn't know that.
Khushi controlled her smile and looked outside. Only she knew what Arnav did.
As the undertaker had once advised him to donate food to get rid of Karma, he started providing food to the villagers every Monday. Whenever he did that, he dipped the Shivlinga Ghorakar gave him in the mountain temple for the whole night and made people drink it. That was why the Shivan Kudil villagers didn't fall ill. After all, it was Ghorakar's wish.
We will also visit Jeeva Samadhis and donate food to the helpless to gain God's grace.
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