12. Rockkiavaan
When it was dawn, the fairies vanished. The birds chirped and indicated the arrival of day. The land was also getting warm. Panimukha transformed himself into Karimukha the elephant.
There was a mountain chain meandering towards the south east. They decided to go along the mountains. Karimukha followed the mountain on its western slopes. Many rivers emanated from that mountain and flowed west towards the Pacific ocean.
From place to place they met the people of that country. They were tall, fair, broad chested and well built. Wherever they went the people welcomed them with smiles and friendly gestures. They offered them food and bestowed gifts upon them when they learnt that the visitors were from a far off continent. Unlike the tribes of Andaman Islands they were civilized. They wore colourful clothes, cotton as well as woolen. They were good hunters and knew the art of agriculture. There also they made boats to row in the water.
In a certain place the soil was sulphurous. Hot water fountains spurted out from the earth. Some were continuous. Some others were ejecting water regularly in a fixed interval. Some water jets reached the height of a couple of hundred feet.
“In one country fire was ejected from the earth. But here only hot water”, said Balarama. One young girl was watching them inquisitively. She came near them and introduced herself as SHOVIA. She was very friendly and asked about their country and purpose of their travel. She could not believe that there could be lands and people beyond the oceans! She told them that they were SHOSHONE people and living in this mountainous region called rocky mountains. She also said that various tribes of people lived in this vast country called America. Most of the time she was speaking proudly about her country.
“This hot water jet which you have seen now will erupt again exactly after one hour faithfully! That is why we call her “Old Faithful”! In some places in this Yellowstone region, hot water bubbles out from the earth. In some places it bubbles like mud, which we call mud pot. In certain other places there is only steam coming out from the earth. All these are the magic of a witch!”, said Shovia with wonder in her eyes like a child. Her beautiful eyes were enchanting.
Krishna and Balarama liked the girl and Shovia also liked these divine strangers. They were listening to her with a smile.
“In our country, people salute this mother earth as Bhooma Devi. Her benevolent bounties are praised as divine deeds. Her destructive deeds are considered as her anger. They are your witches!”, said Krishna.
“We consider this earth as our mother and the sun as our father”, said Shovia.
She invited them to her house and they gladly accepted. On their way, the rocky mountain peaks were standing in silence majestically. The mountain goats were grazing on the slopes.
“Are these mountains very long?” asked Krishna. “They start in the northwest, run across the middle, and turn southwest. They are long. This is our God”, said Shovia proudly. Her parents and the village people surrounded them. Shovia gave a short introduction. They were enthusiastic to learn more about the strangers, their country and tour. They gave a feast in their honour. They requested them to stay with them for the night and continue their yatra.They chatted for sometime around fire and then the bison dance started. Men and women wore masks like the bison head and danced briskly around the fire. Krishna observed for a few minutes their music and started to play the music in his flute. Balarama accompanied him on the mridangam. Their merriment knew no bounds.
Suddenly a harsh thunderous voice emenated from the hills.
“Who are these foreigners? Why did you invite them? Because of your misdeed I am going to destroy your village”
Everybody chanted “Rockiavaan! Rockiavaan! Fear was written large in their faces.
Krishna understood that “Rockiavaan” must be the God of these mountains, like our Himavaan of the Himalayas.
The next moment, large rocks came rolling down the slopes of the mountain. Krishna with a smile on his lips, showed his “ABHAYA HASTHA” (right palm pointing towards the rolling rocks. What a wonder! The rocks stopped and froze in that position. The terror in the face of the people transformed into ecstasy. The mountain god Rockiavaan quickly understood that the strangers were divine people. While Krishna was standing with his Abaya hastha Sudharsana Chakra was rotating behind his head with its dazzling light. Rockiavaan came down from the mountain and fell on the feet of Krishna.
Shovia came forward and told Rockiavaan about them and their country called Bharatha. She also said that they wanted to see the grandeurs of our country.
“Himavaan my elder brother is the guardian mountain of Bharatha. You are coming from my brother’s country, I am sorry I have misunderstood.
You are most welcome to our land. I will send my daughter MISSOURI to accompany and guide you to the beautiful sights” so saying Rockiavaan vanished. Naradha appeared on the scene. The merriment and bison dance continued with redoubled enthusiasm.
