Third Person POV
At the peaks of Kailash, where the air is thin and vibrates with the silent songs of the cosmos, Lord Shiv and Mata Parvati paused in their observation of the mortal realm. The atmosphere around them was thick with a sense of impending arrival, like the static before a great lightning storm.
"Ho… finally they are coming, huh," Shiva said, His voice a resonant hum that seemed to vibrate through the very stones of the mountain. He turned His gaze toward the south and the east, seeing the saffron and silver streaks of His sons cutting through the celestial curtains.
"Yes, they are coming home," Mata Parvati said, a warm and radiant smile spreading across her face. The joy of a mother anticipating the return of her children made the nearby snow sparkle with a sudden, golden light.
"Should I call for our daughters too?" Mata Parvati pondered aloud, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous and loving light. "Well, it would be far more fun then. The halls have been quiet for too long. A complete family reunion is exactly what this mountain needs before the heavy work of training begins."
"Hmm… it is alright. You can summon them, too," Shiva said, smiling back at His consort. "This way, our family can meet again after some time. Let the foundations of Kailash feel the weight of all our children once more."
"My dear daughters, what do you say?" Mata Parvati sent the summons through the ether, her voice travelling as a ripple of pure maternal energy. "Can you come out to meet me before your brothers arrive, for a happy reunion? Your mother waits for you with open arms."
The Realm of Nagaloka
Just as Mata Parvati summoned her daughters to meet with them, a similar hum began to resonate on Earth, within the caves of Kailash, and in every hidden realm tucked away from mortal eyes. It was a frequency that was not meant for human ears; it was a call meant only for the daughters of Mahadev and Maa Gora.
Using the spiritual gravity of Kailash as an anchor, the call travelled deep beneath the crust of the world to the dimension of Nagaloka. This was a place where the sun never reached, yet it was filled with its own internal, bioluminescent glow. It was a realm where the great serpents and their related species lived in grand, subterranean cities.
Somewhere in the heart of this loka, at a palace that seemed to be grown from the earth rather than built, the architecture spoke of ancient power. The spires of the central hall rose in concentric circles, colored the deep orange of flickering fire and inscribed with intricate snake carvings that seemed to slither when the light hit them.
At the centre of this hall lay a strange and beautiful plot of land surrounded by a massive lake of silver mercury. The liquid was heavy, poisonous to any mundane creature, but incredibly beautiful. It gave off a scent so divine and intoxicating that one would think of bathing in it just to capture its essence.
As the call from the Mother entered the loka, the mercury lake began to churn violently. From the swirling silver liquid, serpentine figures emerged, their scales glistening with metallic moisture. They travelled toward the fire colored spires and began to spiral toward the top with fluid, hypnotic grace. At the summit of these spires were massive conches with ends shaped like the hoods of king cobras.
The snakes reached the top, bowed their hoods in silent prayer to their divine sovereign, and underwent a startling transformation. They took on a human form, though it was a partial one. They possessed the long, powerful tails of serpents from the waist down, while their upper bodies were those of lean, muscular females and males.
The upper bodies of these Naga people were adorned with fine scales along the sides of their necks, and their eyes were striking golden yellow with vertical slits for pupils. On their throats, they bore tattoos of the sacred syllable OM, and on their arms were the marks of a silver snake with three hoods, signifying their caste and loyalty.
They bowed to the sacred conches, picked them up with reverent hands, and raised them toward the high vaulted ceiling of the loka. They blew into the instruments, creating a sound that was less like music and more like a primal roar of welcome. They were calling for their queen, their goddess, and their mother.
As the sound of the conch hymns filled the air, the land in the centre of the mercury lake shot a pillar of greenish yellow light upward. It travelled with the speed of a thought, passing through a ripple in space that formed on the roof of the cavern.
The Naga people bowed low, their foreheads touching the cold stone, and shouted with a fervour that shook the palace walls.
"Mother of snakes, sister of the great Vasuki, mind-born daughter of Shiva, Queen of Serpents! She whose gaze could still the most potent venom and awaken the coiled fire of the spirit! She who carries not only the bite of death but the grace of its cure!
Goddess of fertility and protection, we, your children, ask for your presence and welcome you to this land once again! We call for you, Mother Manasa! (or MANSA)"
The Siddha Loka
The call of the followers and the summons of her Father were carried by that beam of light into the Siddha Loka. This was a realm of pure silver and vibrant auroras that danced across the sky in shades of violet and emerald.
It was a world full of wondrous trees with crystal leaves, lakes of still blue water, and clouds that felt like soft wool. Dragons and wyrm like entities glided through the air, some resembling the long, elegant dragons of the east and others the heavy, winged wyrms of the west. The entire realm was filled with the low, constant sound of mantras and sacred chants.
In the heart of this celestial abode stood a grand and majestic banyan tree. It possessed hundreds of prop roots that created a forest within a single tree, its crown forming a natural roof of deep green leaves that pulsed with a spiritual presence.
Deep within the heart of this living temple lay a statue of a lady with four hands. It had been carved in quiet majesty from dark, time-worn granite.
She was seated upon a blooming lotus, her posture composed and unmoving, yet alive with a sense of restrained power. Behind her, a semicircle of sculpted cobras rose in perfect symmetry, their hoods flared to form a protective crown of stone above her head.
The face of the statue was calm, almost meditative. Her lips were curved neither in a smile nor in sternness, but in a look of knowing stillness. In one hand, she held a serpent that was gently coiled around her wrist; in another, she held a small vessel symbolic of healing grace. Fine carvings traced the folds of her garments, flowing like ripples frozen in stone. Even in its stillness, the statue seemed aware, as though the goddess merely chose silence while her gaze remained capable of stilling venom within anyone who stood before her. Her eyes were closed, hidden behind long eyelashes.
On her brow, a third eye that seemed to be bleeding still looked serene and hopeful.
The greenish light from Nagaloka entered the Siddha Loka and shot toward the ancient banyan tree. With a ripple of energy, it crossed through the curtain of prop roots and entered the abode, illuminating the temple of Devi Mansa.
With that illumination and the soft, haunting hum of the call that had reached the loka, Devi Mansa opened her eyes. At that moment, the granite statue began to crack. Layers of stone peeled away like the old skin of a serpent, falling to the floor as dust.
Finally, the true presence awakened and took a living human form of dark, regal beauty.
"So, I am needed at home… home, huh," Devi Mansa whispered to the empty temple, her voice sounding like the rustle of dry leaves. "Yes, I suppose I can call it my home now. It is okay. If I am being called again by my Mother and Father, it means I am finally welcomed back into the circle. I will be able to meet with my brothers and sisters. I might finally have the love of a mother that is sweet and full of hope."
She paused, her expression becoming thoughtful and sharp. "But still, who is it? Who is this person to whom even my Mother invited me to the Kailash again after all this time? Who is the catalyst for this reunion?"
Devi Mansa looked in the direction of Kailash. In her golden eyes was a deep longing and a fierce desire to finally be with her family. She had spent a long time in the shadows of the lower realms and the solitude of the Siddha Loka.
She reached up and touched her third eye, her fingers moving with a gentle grace. She cleaned the divine blood from it, and as she did, the eye disappeared into her mind, leaving her brow smooth. She hummed a low, vibrating sound which created a ripple in the very fabric of space.
This ripple formed a gateway that led directly toward the Shivalik Hills, the doorstep of the Great Mountain.
She stepped through the portal, her form flickering between that of a woman and a shadow of light. Behind her, the Naga people in Nagaloka continued to chant, their voices carrying her spirit forward. The Queen of Serpents was returning to the heights of the world, and she was bringing the wisdom of the depths with her.
As she travelled, she felt the presence of Ganesha and Karthikeya moving like twin suns toward the same destination. She felt the ancient, grounding energy of the Forest of the Forgotten waiting for her. The family of Mahadev was gathering, and the mortal boy named Rudra was the centre of a storm he could not yet see. Devi Mansa smiled, a sliver of white teeth showing.