Mata Lakshmi sat alone in Vaikunth, looking down at Patal lok with her divine sight. Her usually joyous expression was replaced by a brooding one as she saw her husband living with her sisters and forgetting everything else.

Heartache consumed her as she witnessed Narayan forge new bonds, forgetting their eternal vows and sacred union, rendering her nameless and distant in her beloved's thoughts. And the fact that it was done by her own sisters, pained her even more.

"Mata ?" A voice brought her out of her thoughts.

She gazed sideways and saw Srinav rushing towards her with Amarsri. They both touched her feet, she blessed with a sad smile on her face.

"Itna bada anarth ho gaya, aur aap yaha shaant baithi hai Mata ?" Amarsri asked.

"Bhakt vardaan mei jo maange, bhagwaan ko woh dena padta hai." Mata Lakshmi said lowering her gaze.

"Kintu baaki bhakto ka kya ? Iss sansaar mei keval woh panchsundariya hi toh unki bhakt nahi. Unn paacho ke karan woh apne sabhi bhakto ko bhul gaye hai. Kya yeh anyaye nahi ?" Srinav said.

"Hai. Kintu mujhe samajh nahi aa raha ki mai ab kya karu." Mata Lakshmi said.

Srinav and Amarsri also fell silent, thinking what could be done. How will Narayan remember anything when he has forgotten everything ? Who can make him remember ?

Mata Lakshmi looked at them both, tension was etched evidently on their faces. But then while looking at Amarsri, who carried the essence of Harihar in herself, a solution came to Chanchala's mind.

"Mahadev !" She said suddenly.

Srinav and Amarsri stared at her for a moment, before the understanding dawned upon them.

"Ha ! Mahadev sahayata kar sakte hai." Srinav said.

"Jab Bhagwaan samaksh ho, toh sacche hridaye wale bhakt ko aatma bodh ho jata hai. Kadachit apne aradhya ko dekh kar, Pitashree Narayan ko sab smaran ho jaaye." Amarsri said.

And thus without wasting another moment, they all rushed to the mighty Kailash parvat, which was glistening under the sun light. The atmosphere of Kailash was ever so tranquil but a hint of stress pervaded the air.

With the body adorned with ashes and sandalwood paste prepared with the water of Mandakini, Mahadev was meditating like always. The foremost of Nagas, Vasuki was swaying in a trance around his neck.

But the peaceful smile had disappeared from his face. A sense of unease was gnawing at him, due to the events that had unfolded. His Narayan, his aradhya had forgotten about him and the rest of the world.

"Mahadev ? Kripiya netra kholiye." Mata Lakshmi said joining her hands.

Mahadev opened his eyes, that looked like the sun and moon. He looked at Devi Lakshmi, and being trikaldarshi knew the cause of her distress and the reason for her arrival.

"Aapse toh kuch nahi chhupa hai. Meri sahayata kijiye, Kailashnath. Shrishti ke palanhaar ko punah le aayiye. Hey sangharak, sansaar par aayi iss aapada ka sanghaar kijiye." Devi Lakshmi said.

"Swami, Devi Lakshmi atyant chinta mei hai. Unke chinta ka annt kare." Mata Parvati said looking at the distressed goddess of fortune.

"Pitashree Narayan aapke bhakt hai, aur aap unke. Jab aradhya ki pukaar milti hai toh bhakt sab chhod ke aate hai." Amarsri said.

"Ab aap hi sansaar ki raksha kar sakte hai." Srinav said.

Mahadev looked at them all, and then gave an assuring nod to them.

"Sansaar ke palan hetu Vishnudev ka hona atyant awashyak hai. Unn panchsundariyo ne moh ke bandhan mei Narayan ko bandha hai. Kintu moh ka bandhan adhik samaye tak nahi tikta." Mahadev said.

He stood up from his seat and grabbed his trishul. Then gracefully taking hold of the damru with his divine hands, he started playing it, initiating an extraordinary symphony that dispelled the worries and fears of all those who heard it.

With each beat of the drum, the tranquil vibrations spread throughout the cosmos, and reached Patal in a matter of few moments.

Narayan who was lying on the bed, surrounded the five maidens, sat straight up listening to the beats of the damru. The panchsundari gazed at him confused as he kept looking around.

"Kya huya Swami ?" One of them asked.

"Yeh svar..." He muttered getting off the bed.

"Kaisa svar ?" Another maiden asked, for they were unable to hear the divine sounds.

"Yeh jo baj raha hai.... Aisa lag raha hai ki iss hi naad se sabhi svar ka janm huya ho..." Narayan said.

The panchsundaris looked at each other with confusion, before they became suspicious of it being a trick of Devi Lakshmi.

"Koi naad nahi baj raha hai, swami." One of them said.

But Narayan didn't seem to have heard them as he kept restlessly gazing around wondering the source of the music, which felt awfully familiar to him, because it was.

To inspect where it was coming from, he was about to step outside the room but the five maidens stopped him, as they held firmly unto his arms.

"Aap yaha se nahi jayenge, swami." The first maiden said coming in front of him.

But hearing the beats of Damru, Narayan was in such a trance that he didn't pay a heed to them. Jerking his hands off of their grasps, he quickly went outside the room.

The Panchasundaris ran behind him, as he rushed through the corridors of the bhavan, looking around for the source of the damru. The maidens couldn't keep up with his speed.

"Dwaar band karo !" They panickly yelled at the guards at the entrance of the door, when they saw Narayan about to go outside.

The guards obeyed immediately and shut the grand doors before Bhagwaan Vishnu can run outside. The palanhaar of the universe, stopped in his tracks. He seemed to have come out of his trance, for he looked around bewildered.

"Swami !" The Panchsundari rushed towards him.

"Swami, yadi aapko kuch chahiye toh humse kahiye. Kaksh chhod ke jaane ka kasht na kare." One of them said, as they took Narayan back to their room.

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A/N

Iss kshan Narayan, Mahadev ke bhakt hai. Aur bhakt ko kabhi roka nahi Jaa sakta Panchsundariyo 🌝✨

Aur waise bhi ab aur samaye na rakh paaoge Narayan ko apne saath.... Mahadev ne damru baja ke tumhe chetawni di hai, aur sansaar ko aashwasan 😌😌