Devraj, No One Wants To Be!

"Devraj Indra!"

"You have offended the Trimurti, and I curse you and all the gods!"

"Wealth, honor, luxury, divine power—everything you pride yourself on will be taken from you, and you will lose your dominion over the three realms!"

A sky-shattering roar shook the heavens.

Boom!

Dark clouds churned, thunder rumbled like a great serpent thrashing in floodwaters, heralding the terror of this curse.

Swish!

Indra's eyes snapped open, startled from his slumber, a look of exhaustion on his face.

"I'm having that nightmare again!"

He scanned the dim, desolate divine hall. The hall was in ruins, its golden pillars no longer shining but transformed into rotten wooden posts, its brilliant lamps into tarnished bronze ones. Even his own once-radiant divine armor had become tattered rags.

All of this stemmed from the Sage Durvasa's curse!

"Why am I so unlucky!"

"To transmigrate into Indian mythology, and to become Indra, the Devraj, of all people."

"Indra… even a dog could piss on his head!!"

Indra rested his chin on his hand, sitting on a throne that had become a pile of straw, his heart heavy with melancholy.

In Indian mythology, Brahma created the world, Vishnu sustained it, and Shiva destroyed it. These three formed a cycle of endless rebirth, known as the Trimurti.

Indra and the other gods were descendants of Brahma.

This Sage Durvasa was an avatar of Shiva, the God of Destruction, possessing immense power of curse.

The incident began when Shiva gifted the Sage Durvasa a garland of flowers.

This garland symbolized auspiciousness.

Shiva told the Sage Durvasa to give the garland to the most heroic deity. The Sage Durvasa felt Indra was worthy of that title, so he came to the heavens, intending to present the garland to Indra.

Who would have thought the heavens would be in such a state of ruin, with all the gods indulging in pleasure? This immediately enraged the Sage Durvasa.

The Sage Durvasa, furious, found Indra.

Indra then had his mount, the white elephant, catch the garland.

However, the white elephant missed the garland, and it fell to the ground. The white elephant then slipped and accidentally stepped on the garland twice.

The Sage Durvasa flew into a rage and immediately cast his curse.

He cursed all the gods to lose their wealth and power!

Indra's divine power began to wane, and it was at this moment that he transmigrated, merging with the original Indra.

"The Sage Durvasa's curse is too powerful; all the gods have greatly weakened divine power now."

"The Asuras will likely attack the heavens!"

"I need to find a solution!"

Indra furrowed his brow in thought.

Finally, he pushed himself up from the throne, now made of straw, and slowly walked out of the palace.

Woooo~

A low elephant trumpeting echoed.

Airavata, the white elephant with three heads and six tusks, strode forward. It lowered itself, bowing its head and extending its trunk to Indra's feet, signaling him to mount its back.

"My poor little elephant!"

"You've forgotten that you were also cursed by the Sage Durvasa and can no longer fly. I'll take you to the mortal realm, and then you can carry me!"

Indra patted Airavata's trunk, sighing.

A mount that couldn't fly was out of the question.

He was afraid of falling from the heavens!

Airavata, the six-tusked white elephant, swayed its trunk, its eyes watering, and nodded tearfully.

Indra nodded, then gazed into the distance, his eyes piercing the endless expanse towards the far reaches of the heavens. He leaped towards the Sun God's palace.

He had decided to seek out Surya, the Sun God!

His good brother!

When Brahma created the world, he first produced six great sages from his heart, then produced Prajapati Daksha and Virini. Daksha and Virini then gave birth to fifty daughters.

Daksha's eldest daughter, Diti, his second daughter, Danu, and his third daughter, Aditi, all married the same man.

That man was Kashyapa, one of the six great sages.

The eldest and second daughters gave birth to many Asuras; the third daughter gave birth to numerous celestial gods.

Indra and Surya were the sons of Kashyapa and Aditi.

Whoosh!

Indra's divine power had greatly diminished. Fortunately, all the gods were in Heaven, and he finally reached the Sun Temple before his divine power was completely depleted.

The Sun Temple was the most dazzling in Heaven, its brilliance piercing and blinding, but now it was dark, like a house made of coal.

The many Gandharvas who served as attendant gods also sat like beggars under the eaves of the palace.

Indra glanced around and stepped into the Sun Temple.

"Indra, you've arrived!"

Indra looked up and saw a figure as black as coal sitting on a stone throne. He was tall, with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot, his features indistinguishable, completely devoid of his former handsome appearance.

It was Surya, the Sun God!

Hmm!

This was the sign of an eclipse.

When anomalies occurred in the universe, Surya's radiant body would turn black, becoming a small dark spot.

Indra was not surprised by this.

However...

Indra looked at Surya, who sat steadily, and frowned slightly.

"Even if I'm not the Devraj, I'm still your brother. You don't even stand up to talk."

Indra asked.

Surya remained silent for a moment before replying.

"I've forgotten how to walk."

Hearing this, Indra was speechless for a moment. It didn't seem wrong. This guy worked every day, traveling in the Sun Chariot to bestow light upon the mortal realm, and he flew through Heaven.

Walking was impossible, it was impossible for him to walk in this lifetime.

"I still have to drive the chariot in this state. It's so tiring. What do you want with me?!"

Surya complained.

"Now the gods are cursed, their divine power greatly reduced, leaving them weak and powerless. The Asuras will likely attack Heaven!"

Indra said in a deep voice.

The Asuras and the gods were both sons of Kashyapa.

But the Asuras lived in the barren netherworld and had always been dissatisfied that the gods could live in the prosperous Heaven. Now that the gods were weakened, the Asuras would surely act, leading their armies to invade Heaven.

Surya's expression changed. His dark face instantly showed panic.

"Then what should we do?"

"We don't even have the strength to lift our weapons now. If the Asuras attack, won't we all be annihilated!"

Surya said in a panic.

Indra raised his eyebrows slightly.

He didn't have any ambitions for the position of Devraj.

The main reason was that he didn't want to become a prisoner. It would be bad if he were killed by an Asura!

The famous churning of the Ocean of Milk in Indian mythology had not yet begun, and the immortal nectar had not yet fallen into the hands of the gods. Without drinking the nectar, the gods would not have immortal bodies.

Dying now meant truly dying!

"I have a way!"

Indra's expression became serious. He pointed at Surya and pondered, "Let's undergo Tapasya. We'll undergo Tapasya together!"

"Arduous cultivation, that's a viable method!"

Surya nodded.

In this world, suffering was finite.

If a god or an Asura endured suffering far exceeding their allotted portion, they would gain great merit, giving birth to powerful Tapasya strength. This power was enough to shake the world and cause flaws in its fabric.

Deities had to bestow blessings upon those who underwent Tapasya, granting them immense power to quell this Tapasya strength and maintain the world's order.

This blessing came from the laws of the world and could even surpass the power of the blessing deity itself.

At this moment, Indra raised his hand and pointed towards the Brahma realm.

"From now on, I, Indra, will undergo Tapasya under Surya, the Sun God. I, Indra, will not drink wine, will not sit on a throne, will not wear magnificent divine robes, will not live in a resplendent divine palace, will not squander wealth, will not indulge in extravagance, and will not ride a mount!"

"I will not covet status. Whoever seeks the position of Devraj, I will yield it to them."

Indra said in a deep voice.

Surya shot up from his seat, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at Indra.

This is going too far!

"You're crazy! This is the position of the Devraj, and you're actually doing this Tapasya!"

Surya swayed as he propped himself up, his mouth agape in surprise.

Indra couldn't help but chuckle.

The Devraj!

Even a dog wouldn't want that!