Chapter 36 : elmantal soul
Suddenly, whips appeared in the hands of both Yamdoots. They were a mix of black and white.
The shepherd felt fear when he saw those whips.
The whips flew through the air and wrapped themselves tightly around the shepherd.
"Ahh! Ahh!"
The shepherd's soul cried out in pain. Wherever the whips had coiled around him, red marks appeared.
Smoke began to rise from those places, and he screamed loudly. Even though he was only a soul, he could still feel the pain.
Seeing this, both of them burst into terrifying laughter, as they were already used to watching such scenes.
"We told you, didn't we? Come with us quietly. But look at the condition you're in now."
Both of them mocked the shepherd. Then, a chariot suddenly appeared before them, pulled by two buffaloes.
Holding the handles of their whips, they dragged the shepherd toward the chariot.
Once they were seated in the chariot, the two buffaloes let out a loud sound and began moving toward the sky.
After traveling through the sky for some time, the chariot finally came to a halt at a certain place.
The two Yamdoots sitting in the chariot looked at each other and nodded. Then both of them raised their hands.
Two beams shot out from their hands and moved forward. After traveling some distance, the two beams collided with each other, and a strange scene appeared.
It was as if the air shattered like glass, and something like a portal appeared.
As soon as the portal opened, terrifying screams began to come out of it. From those sounds, it was clear that millions of people were screaming in pain.
Hearing all this, the shepherd lying in the chariot now no longer bound by the whip began to tremble in fear.
Then the chariot began to move into the portal. When the chariot entered it, anyone who saw it would be left astonished, because inside the portal was an entirely different world.
The ground looked entirely like magma, and countless chariots pulled by buffaloes were moving through the air.
Above the magma-covered ground, there were many huge cauldrons of oil, under which Yama's workers were lighting fires, and inside those cauldrons many sinful people were being boiled.
They were screaming in agony, and seeing this, the Yama workers were laughing loudly like demons, taking pleasure in their suffering.
In the same way, there were many other punishments as well some people were being cut into pieces, others were being burned with molten iron, and many different kinds of tortures were being inflicted.
Just seeing it would make anyone's heart tremble; this place was not called Yam Lok without reason.
In the middle, there was a path that stretched very far, so long that its end could not be seen. It was glowing with a golden light.
Countless people who had committed evil deeds were trying to enter this path, but there was something like an intangible shield around it, because of which no sinner could go inside.
Whenever someone reached the boundary of the shield and touched it, they received a powerful shock that threw them far away. Even after falling, they would get up and once again move toward the shield.
Only Yam workers and Yamdoots were allowed to enter this golden path, along with the souls they brought, who would be given punishment or reward according to their karma.
The shepherd's chariot entered the golden path, and all those who were outside the shield watched the chariot with greedy eyes.
The chariot was parked to the side inside the path, and the two Yamdoots and the shepherd got down from it.
Then all three of them began to move forward. This time, the shepherd did not do anything foolish like before and quietly walked ahead along with the two Yamdoots.
On both sides of the path, the people who had committed evil deeds were staring at the shepherd like hungry wolves.
Sensing this, the shepherd began to sweat in fear. He then decided to ask why they were looking at him that way.
"Yamdoot ji, why are all these people looking at me like this? I'm feeling scared," the shepherd asked.
"All those who are looking at you committed very evil deeds. Like you, they once walked along this road and went before Yamraj, and according to their bad karma, Yamraj punished them. But they are not ready to accept that Yamraj made the right decision. That is why they want to go back to Yamraj and beg for a reduction in their punishment."
"So they stand outside the golden path, trying to enter again. And since you are going to Yamraj now, they want to take advantage of this opportunity through you. That is why they are looking at you like this," one of the Yamdoots explained."
The other Yamdoot, who was with him, had already gone back with the chariot.
Hearing this, the shepherd began to sweat. He started wondering whether he had committed any bad deeds, but he couldn't remember doing anything like that.
This made him breathe a sigh of relief, and with a little regained confidence, he began walking toward Yamraj's palace along with the Yamdoot.
After a few hours, the shepherd reached the massive gates of Yamraj's palace. The Yamdoot who had accompanied him left him there and went away.
The gates opened. Because the place was unfamiliar, the shepherd felt a little frightened, but gathering his courage, he stepped inside.
Inside, he saw a very long line of souls like himself. He joined the queue and stood in line with them.
...
Yamraj's court,
Inside the court, Yamraj was seated on his throne. He wore a crown, black robes, and golden ornaments. Beside him sat Chitragupta, and in front of him lay a large, thick book, which could be called the Book of Life and Death.
"Chitragupta, call the next soul for today."
"Yes, Maharaj."
Chitragupta nodded in agreement, then clapped his hands together.
The gates of the court opened, and as the shepherd's turn had come, he entered inside.
"Greetings, Yamraj ji."
"Greetings, Chitragupta ji."
The shepherd bowed respectfully and offered his salutations to both of them.
Before his death, and even after dying,
he had believed that Yamraj and Chitragupta did not exist, but today that belief was shattered, because both of them were standing alive right in front of him.
Neither of them paid any attention to the shepherd's words.
Yamraj looked at Chitragupta, "Chitragupta, read out this human's life record. Tell me what virtues he has performed and what sins he has committed."
"Yes, Maharaj." Chitragupta began searching for this shepherd's page in the Book of Life and Death.
After turning many pages for a long time, he finally found the page belonging to the shepherd.
"Maharaj, this is an ordinary human. In his life, he committed neither any great sin nor any great virtue. He lived a simple, straightforward life, but…" Chitragupta stopped mid-sentence.
"What?" Yamraj asked, frowning as he narrowed his eyes.
Chitragupta hesitated for a moment, then began speaking again, "Maharaj, an Elemental Soul has filed a case against him."
"Elemental Soul? What is that? I am hearing about this for the first time, Do such things even exist? I have come to know about this only today, Chitragupta, why didn't you tell me about this earlier? Are you neglecting your duties?"
Yamraj said this with a hint of anger toward Chitragupta.
"Maharaj, I also did not know about this. I found out only today after reading the pages of his life," Chitragupta said in his defense.
Hearing this, Yamraj's anger calmed down a little.
The two of them could not think of anything else now what decision should be made about this shepherd: whether he should be sent to hell, or sent back onto the path of rebirth.
"Narayan, Narayan"
Hearing this voice, both of their eyes lit up, and slowly a man began to appear before them.
The man was wearing an orange-colored dhoti. He had garlands of rudraksha beads on his hands, around his neck, and in several other places, and he was also wearing a large garland of flowers around his neck.
He was holding a veena in his hands and kartals in both palms. These were all the signs of one man who else could it be but Narada.
To be continued...