Kailasa's Regret

“Listen, human-
 
Eternal life as a mountain has not come without a curse. I was once bright and full of life. I spent my days laughing with Meru at the North, helping the villagers by protecting them and providing for them so that I could sit back and enjoy watching them climb me to their temples and pray. Their pleasant prayers lifted my spirit and I rejoiced in their company.
 
In those days, Viswamitra used to be king. He once visited my temples and Indra thought the time was right to prove Viswamitra a mere man, tempting him to succumb to mortal desires. He sent Rambha, this Apsara of infinite beauty and nurture, to tempt him. This divine maiden of heaven was perfect and Viswamitra wouldn't refuse her advances, or so Indra thought.

 
I saw Indra’s intentions, so I protected Rambha. I sent Jatayu, the Vulture King, to let her know I would look after her. In her evening meditation, I spoke to her in spirit, telling her that she did not have to follow Indra’s orders. She was infinitely grateful, but she was still afraid to defy a god. I sent the villagers to look after her and provide for her. In the village, she met Viswamitra, who knew of Indra’s plan as soon as he saw her. 
 
He was about to turn her into stone when I blocked his curse and he became livid. Without saying a word, we both knew his stay here was over and soon enough he left. Embarrassed and scared, Ramha ran into the forest, where she encountered a hunter. Mistaking her light feet treading on leaves and soil, the hunter blindly shot his arrow in her direction. He would have hurt her had she not bent down to drink water and wash her face. Nalakubara, Vaishravana’s son, came running through the trees with a smile of victory on his lips. Upon looking at the scene, his face turned from victory to confusion to admiration. Rambha’s skin glowed with the moonlight, smooth. Her hair flowed like the water in the river before her.
 
Nalakubara bowed and showered Rambha with apologies, offering his carriage to her to take her back to her home. She accepted and he took her back to my feet, for she did not want the villagers to know. As an Apsara, she cannot marry, so her love had to be kept a secret.
 
They kept their visits secret, with me as their confidant and helper. I would keep an eye out for them and change the path of anyone who headed in their direction. Once Nalakubara walked Ramha back to the cave where she lived, he would head back to his father’s castle.
 
And so this arrangement worked wonderfully, but this bliss would be short-lived. One day, I heard a racket and the raspy laughs of ten demon heads and surely, Ravana was making his nightly rounds in search of women. The Rakshasa King decided he wanted any woman he would lay his eyes on, scaring the villagers whenever he flew by on his Pushpaka, but his flights were rare- for this was not one of the Rakshasa paths, so far away from Lanka. That night, Rambha had decided to sit outside her cave, in a good mood, to enjoy the moon’s rays.