Nan-po-tsan-gyal

(The fierce mountain)

 

On the peak of the mountain Nan-jong, blue smoke resembling the incense of the Gods surged up to merge with the great white clouds as it slowly drifted away. The people of Tsan-than watched the sight in great awe as various comments arose within them. Some said in amazement, well then, that’s how high Nan-tsan-gyal’s peak is". Some others said,"these signs seems to be the mighty work of some sorcerer". While some others in fear said,"Look! The incensed smoke is blackening the white clouds; maybe the Deities of this land are not pleased with our offerings". Those who had no faith in any God commented,"what is all this nonsense about the smoke being carried away by the wind. If your Gods are still unhappy with your offerings of meat, butter and tsam-pa, why don’t you take some dust and shove it up it’s mouth". Thus saying they rebuked the people.

At that time, an old shepherd whose hair and beard was all white decended from across the mountains. He was blind in the left eye, which was red in colour. As he gazed up the mountain, to catch a glimpse of the incensed smoke rising up, a smile broke onto his face. He turned to an eight-year-old by his side; whoose teeth’s were all missing and said,"Look! The mountain on the other side, where the worshippers are gathered. Are they the worshippers of the good Dieties or the evil ones? The kid immediately replied,"they seem to be the worshipping God.Fortune spreads for the one who worships. When I grow up, I too will go up the peak to worship". Patting the kid’s head, the old man said,"well today I want to tell you an old story. Do you wish to hear it". Moving in closer to the old man the kid replied,"Yes, Yes.Is it as scary as yesterdays story?"

"Have you ever seen a ghost. Don’t you feel afraid".

"I haven’t seen one as yet, but I was scared last evening. Do ghosts of the ancient sayings still exist".

Again patting the kid’s head, and drawing in a long breath the old man said,"Yes, Yes.These days there are ghosts that are very powerful. There are ghosts moving unseen among people. Even today there is a ghost at the peak of Nan-jong Mountain, and right now there is a ghost right next to you".

Looking to his left and right, getting a bit frightened the kid said,"Granpa, you are frightening me. Even if ghosts do exist, whem I’m with you I am not afraid". The old man thoughtfully said,"You cannot see them, but I can. Look! My eyes are not the same. My left red eye is the eye, which sees them".

Granpa’s appearance being a bit unusual, the kid looked intently at his red eye and getting frightened moved slightly away.

"Kid, if you are not afraid of ghosts, then they are not able to harm you. If you get friendly with them, they too get friendly. Some of the ghosts are much better than men". Thus saying the old man once again took a look at the incensed mountain and continued,"Ok, now I will tell you a strange ghost story". The kid, who was now all excited looked at Granpa with rapt attention, as the old man began his story.

 

Long ago in the province of Nan-lun, there lived a very wicked, greedy and fierce chief who used to worship the demons and took great pleasure in vandalizing, harassing and killing people. One day he sent one of his best generals called Tobs-gyal to plunder a village, and when the general returned with the loot, the chief having taken all the stolen goods, without any ryhme or reason put the general in prison and was to execute him.

When Tobs-gyal was about to be executed, his father arrived and said,"Son, I am now too old to take any revenge, but if your prayer to be reborn as a spirit is attained, I will be somehow able to help you".

Enraged and angry Tobs-gyal vowed to take revenge, and after he was executed his wish came true. He was reborn in that land as a powerful demon called Nan-tsan. He then appeared in the chief’s dream and exhibiting various dreadful hallucinations drove him completely out of his mind. Not only that, the chief’s son was also attacked, and falling off his horse he broke all his limbs and ended up a cripple and deaf man.

The father of Tobs-gyal who saw this situation rejoiced as he realized that his son was reborn a demon and was displaying various magical powers. One evening, the old man put up some offerings and invoked his son and said,"I am happy on what you have accomplished, but I still want you to destroy the rest of the chief’s family and also a sorcerer whom I dislike". The demon Nan-tsan replied,"do not worry father. I will see what I can do".

After a few months the chief’s entire family was scattered and destroyed by disease and various bad omens. Seeing all this the father was very happy, but since the sorcerer was unharmed the old man again put up offerings and invoked his son to find a way to destroy the sorcerer. The demon replied,"I am presently unable to harm the sorcerer as he has put up offerings for me and is sitting in a trance for a few days. If you can help me on one of the days as he puts up his offerings I may be able to destroy him". Hearing this the old man got annoyed and said,"Don’t you have any power. If I had a gun I would have killed him myself. All I need is a good oppurtunity".

In the meantime word started spreading throughout the village that Tobs-gyal was reborn as a fierce demon and was causing everyone harm, and if not controlled would be unfortunate for all. After three days when the sorcerer came out of his trance, the old man went to visit him and bowing with reverence said,"Previously I never had any faith on sorcerer’s, but these days my son who is reborn a demon is tormenting the village and this has made me very depressed. I have heard that you can subdue him and was very pleased, and have therefore come here to tell you about the situation and also to thank you. Forgetting what has happned between us before, I beseech you for your help".

On hearing this the sorcerer said,"Good you have come to me. This demon is growing very powerful. Controlling him is difficult even with the power of my rituals and prayers. Previously having realized that I too would be harmed I put up offerings and sat in trance due to which the demon was not able to harm me.

Last night also I had a dream that with the help of an old man, my throne would become the most powerful in the kingdom and perhaps all that was not just an illusion. Maybe it’s possible that you are that old man. Tomorrow when I am putting up my offerings, I would like you to come and help me. It would be very nice of you.

Having accomplished his mission to deceive the sorcerer, the old man became very happy. Having returned he invoked his son and told him about the situation. The demon streched out his long scaly clawed hands and gave his father some podwer that looked like bird droppings and told him to sprinkle some of it onto the fire during the ritual offering. Strechind out his hand the old man eagerly took the podwer.

Next day when the sorcerer was preparing his ritual offerings the old man secretly sprinkled some of the podwer into the fire and immediately a heavenly vision appeared in which the Gods and Goddesses were dancing, and other such visions appeared which deluded the sorcerer. At that time finding the right oppurtunity the demon Nan-tsan appeared and having urinated onto the ritual offerings made it absolutely powerless. When the illusions vanished the offerings could no longer bring forth any power.

But outside in the village word had spread that the sorcerer was able to subdue the demon and the villager’s faith in the sorcerer grew much stronger.

The demon then appeared in his most gruesome form and terrorizing the Sorcerer said,"You have no power to destroy me, but I do. If you still try to cause me any harm, I will destroy your entire family. But since we have been residing in the same village from the past, and now since my father and you have become friends I will not harm you, and neither should you ever try to harm me". The sorcerer, who was now trembling with fear said,"From now on I will never try to harm you, Oh! Please pity me and do not destroy me".

But the father who was standing there watching all this drama said,"Son, from the time you have been born a demon, you have caused enough harm in this village. Having told the sorcerer, you need to be subdued yourself so that in the future you won’t be killed by your bad actions. In this way you can be liberated from this horrible form and take birth in the heavens. For this sake we need to stop doing evil". Hearing this fact of truth from his father’s own mouth, the demon roared in laughter and vanished.

 

Casting a glance once again at the mountain peak, Granpa paused for a while. The kid who was all excited to hear the rest of the story said,"Granpa, then what happned".

 

Then one day the demon appeared to his father and said,"Now I have destroyed almost all my enemies. But there are still a few demons left who torment me. I will need the help of a sorcerer who will be able to destroy them. If we can destroy all the demons of Nan-jong, and I am worshipped in their place, I will be able to become the most powerful and undisputed amongst all the Gods.The father thoughtfully replied,"Isn’t it difficult to expell all these demons. You clearly know that there is no other person than the sorcerer in this village who can help us". The demon replied,"Yes, you have the capacity to deceive him and I have the capacity to perform my magic". Having thought for a while the father replied,"Ok, we will have to kidnap the sorcerers nephew and as a ransom make the sorcerer destroy all the demons. This is the only way I can think of deceving him". Pleased with the idea the demon again roared in laughter and vanished.

Then after a few days the sorcerer’s nephew was kidnapped and even after searching for three days could not be found. After that I went…..

"Where did you go"the kid immediately questioned granpa.

Oh! I’m sorry. The demon’s father went to meet the sorcerer"; thus saying Granpa again glimpsed the incensed smoke rising from the mountain and continued with the story….

 

The father said to the sorcerer,"last night having put up my offerings to the demon, I had a conversation with him. He said that your nephew has been kidnapped by some other demons and that only a sorcerer could help to get him back". The sorcerer sadly bowing his head said,"It seems what the demon has said is true. Even I had a dream in which the demon Nor-kyon was trying to destroy me. If that seems to be the case, This demon’s appetite to destroy us will get stronger in which case it is not proper for me to just sit here. Tell me what help does your son need". The old man replied,"my son Nan-tsan still has great pride. He said that the worship of Gods was much easier". The sorcerer after a bit of thinking said,"If this matter is heard by the villagers, all hell will break loose. There would be great trouble.other than that it does not seem hard to solve the problem. But how do we know if we are not being deceived by Nan-tsan". The old man replied, "I too had my doubts. I told him that his selfish pride had caused us all a lot of trouble already and in what way could he be trusted. But the demon said that being an evil spirit he had already caused a lot of trouble and would no longer like to deceive the people among whom he lives. He said that in the past he was killed for no fault of his and that his vengeance was only about his killers and not other men. He also mentioned that the demon Nor-kyon who has many evil followers was once a good spirit who turned to family life and as a husband sometimes worshipped, but other than thathe never looked back at being good again. Due to this sinful attitude of his, his followers started causing a lot of problems without discriminating what was good or bad. Thus having become enemie’s war broke out between Nor-kyon and Nan-tsan, and since my son did not have many followers his strength started declining. He cried and said that if it wasn’t for your rituals and worship, he would have been dead by now. Hearing all this I too felt pity and compassion and began trusting him. But if this situation is told or comes to be known to any other person there will be great upheaval without any benefit". Thus shedding artificial tears the old man related this story and told the sorcerer not to tell anyone about this.

The sorcerer by now having completely trusted the old man decided to expell the demon Nor-kyon, and in his place offer worship to Nan-tsan. But since the situation was very secretive, the old man and the sorcerer behaved as if they did not have any relations and going up to the mountain peak in secret put up their ritual offerings.

Then before dawn, both of them went to worship the dieties in a place called the Lap-tse Mountain. The sorcerer sat for a long while in deep contemplation and without any interlude put up his ritual offerings.

Finally Nan-tsan appeared leading the sorcerer’s nephew and three of Nor-kyons followers. Roaring with a thunder like voice he declared,"Victory, From today onwards you oh sorcerer and I Nan-tsan the victorous shall be known all over the land and if the people from now on ever again worship Nor-kyon instead of casting him away, he and his followers will destroy all your villages". Again roaring with laughter the demon vanished.

 

Granpa again took a pause in the story and sitting still for a moment glanced at the mountain peak. The kid asked,"Is it finished. Didn’t you see the demon". Granpa’s recollection coming back he continued…

 

It’s not finished. On that day when the people of the villages had gone up the mountain to put up their daily offerings, suddenly the heard the echo of a great laughter and wondering what it was all about started muttering among themselves, not aware that this was a plan set up by the sorcerer and the old man. The echo proclaimed"Tomorrow all the young men of the villages need to gather togethet to offer worship at the Lap-tse Mountain peak and heed the prophecy which the sorcerer has received from the Gods".

The next day when all the young men had gathered together at the summit the sorcerer said,"There is a very strong demon who is tormenting our village, and all this seems to be related to the demon Nor-kyon whom you all have been worshipping. Still there are many such dangerous demons and not only that, many villages have repented for not having a stronger Deity to protect them, and are in desperate need for one. Just yesterday in the morning as I was putting up my daily ritual offerings, the demon Nor-kyon appeared and having grown strong with the offerings he showed his most dreadful appearance and roared with laughter which was heard by all the villages around. Not only that the demon kidnapped my nephew, and was rescued by the great Nan-tsan the victorious and brought back safely to me. So from now on all men should worship Nan-tsan as it is no longer suitable to worship Nor-kyon.I am confident and am able to accept the fact that as we continue with our offerings to Nan-tsan, he will quickly accomplish all that is needed to help us. So today let us all have a great celebration to pay homage to our great Lord and have some horse races and archery competitions".

Hearing this, all the men rejoiced and started to make preparations for the great celebration.

All the village people started shouting slogans praising Nan-tsan, which was heard throughout the region. Having put up great offerings during the celebrations, the people saw Nan-tsan perform many miraculous acts such as covering the whole mountain with dense fog and having clouds thickly form in the open sky. There were many other signs such as sudden rainfall and so forth, which especially gave the people courage and self-confidence. Great stories started spreading about Nan-tsan, as to how he once saved villagers from dacoits and in another incident how he saved a bunch of traders from dacoits when they had uttered his name. Especially once when a fight broke out between two vilages, the village that worshipped Nan-tsan suffered minor injuries while the other village lost two men, who were killed in the fight. As the villagers began to acknowledge the growing powers of Nan-tsan, faith in him grew stronger and stronger.

 

At that time the kid interrupted the story and asked,"Did Nan-tsan really become God?"

Granpa stroked his white beard and smilingly said,"Yes, he did become God". The kid again asked,"what happened to his father?"

Drawing in a long breath Granpa continued…

 

The old man and the sorcerer again having a disagreement within themselves parted ways. The sorcerer in dependence on Nan-tsan became famous and well known all throughout the land, and Nan-tsan too on dependence on his father and the sorcerer grew stronger and stronger. The father, who was waiting for a chance to secretly take revenge on the sorcerer, one day put up offerings to Nan-tsan and invoking him said,"You have grown stronger but have not been able to destroy the sorcerer. Have you forgotten all that I have done for you". Nan-tsan replied,"why do you want to destroy the sorcerer if he is not trying to harm us, especially now when I have offered him my life as I need to depend on him". The old man now full of anger blurted out,"you demon, have you forgotten the dispute between me and the sorcerer. You ungrateful. Even if you do not help me I will kill the sorcerer my self". Thus saying the old man hatched a plan to poison the sorcerer on New Year’s eve as soon as he got an oppurtunity.

On New Year’s eve, the old man approached the sorcerer, and with deceptive talks offered him some wine that was mixed with poison. But as soon as the sorcerer was about to drink the wine his hands started shaking for no apparent reason and the glass slipped off his hands, a few drops of the glass landing on the old mans left eye. As the poison lacerated the old mans eye he shrunk back and screamed in agony. From then on the old man lost his left eye.

 

The kid again interrupting the story said,"well he deserved the fruit of his bad actions. Could he see ghosts with his damaged eye". Granpa rubbed his blind red eye and replied,"He could not. From that day on he could neither see Nan-tsan nor the sorcerer and all the ancient sayings came to an end".

After a little pause the kid asked,"Isn’t this the story of Nan-tsan the victorious". Granpa with a nod replied,"The story I have told you is basically different from what I usually tell. Except fot older children I never tell such stories to children your age, for the demon might carry them off.

"Granpa, how did you loose your eye?"

Granpa who was now rubbing his eye and stoking his beard with a tinge of emotion replied,"well I lost my eye when I was hit by a bullet while fighting the Chinese. Now run off and go get the sheeps. They are wandering off in the other direction".

The kid glanced up at granpa’s red eye and wondered if he could really see ghosts. Getting a little scared he ran off to collect his sheeps.

 

Granpa looked on as the kid ran off, and with a nod of his head again looked up the mountain peak, a laugh escaping his lips. He kept staring at the incensed smoke reaching up for the sky, his blind red eye intently watching something..