Chenchita was sitting exactly where he left her when Narasimha returned.
Personally choosen wild flowers were brought for her. Some flowers they had brought from Indra's nandana vana. Some from Vaikuntha itself. Some from the vast Himalayan foothills.
Taking her by the small pond on the hill, he rubbed a paste over her arms and legs. Then over her face. Bathing her from the waters brought from Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sindhu, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri and Godavari. She splashed a little water over him while he bathed. He chuckled and it touched his heart. The familiarity of her childishness.
She changed into another clothes. The alta and anklets were still on her feet. He put the earrings. Braiding her hair along with a think garland made out of jasmine flowers and blue water lilies. A thin waist belt was set over her waist. Then setting armlets around her arms. A garland of flowers was made and put around her neck. Flowers were decorated as anklets and put over the gold anklets.
He put the tilak over her forehead. Stopped to look at her. He felt his own heart beat go faster. The image of Chenchita was so close to Mahalakshmi that his heart naturally ran around her in circles. Perhaps it was exactly Lakshmi so deeply loved to decorate him.
She stared into his eyes as he stopped. His eyes seemed to hold such depth. The universe hiding within his eyes. All the 16 forms of arts out pouring through his eyes. In an odd way, they seemed like a mirror. As if she was looking at herself inside his eyes. The deep love within them for her. Like she was love itself instead of being the object of love. Then seeing the deep reflection of his own self deep with her.
"I worry that some day you'll manage to get so deep within me that you'll see yourself from my own and realize how far more beautiful you are. Then you'll stop wishing to see me the way you usually do and fall in love with yourself." He pointed out.
She laughed. "The thing about love is that no matter how perfect one can be, they will always find some or the other scarcity in themselves but you... You are someone who is everything and nothing at the same time. The idea of beauty is pretty but what's the point of living just with that happiness when all of it is temporary but you...you are the exact form of moksha. If only everyone was made aware that you look exact like moksha came as a form before you. The beauty of moksha itself is you. Then how is it possible to compare my beauty with your. Unlike mine, your beautiful is eternal. Just as moksha is." She answered.
And she wondered why he loved her? No one would describe him that way. She was his greatest devotee and his greatest lover at the same time. As a devotee she sang praises of him but as a lover easily gave out demands.
"How do I explain how much I wish to marry you and how much staying away from you is difficult?"
"People say that marriage is supposed to be between equal." She turned around properly, leaning against the tree and twirling the long braid, "you maintain that I am equal to you but how am I supposed to know that you are equal to me?"
"Amma, isn't it the same thing? If one quantity is equal to the other then the opposite also means the same." Vishwaksena commented.
"No. All scaled animals are not snakes but all snakes are scaled animals." She argued back, "so, he maintains that i am equal to him but how do you know that he is equal to me? It is proven through shastras that every jeeva is a part of Narayana but is Narayana also a part of every jeeva?"
"Yes. That's the point of being the inner dweller. The indwelling part of every jeeva is Narayana." Narasimha answered. "Can't be a doubt in that."
She gave him a smile. "Good then. Let's see how this Narayana fairs against," she points to herself, "this Narayana indwelling, let's see how equal they both are."
"Amma, this is really crazy. A while ago it was bringing flowers and himself decorating you. Days ago it was bringing honey and hunt. Now, you want to test him with something silly?" Garuda complained. "You and Narayana are same. Both ways. You belong to him and he belongs to you. All these games are needless."
"Garuda, why does it exactly worry you? Are you worried that he will break out into temper and attack again? Or is it your hyper superiority beliefs? I am a regular person. How do you propose that he marries me when the gap is so large? He believes there to be no different but how do I believe it unless I see it?" She questioned.
"What are we doing?" Narasimha asked her.
She picked up her bow and quiver. "I hope you brought your own bow. I have been given the job to hunt today. If I make you hunt, Amma, will kick me out of the house. But she said nothing about putting up a competition. Aja and I always compete with the hunts. Deers are fast so I hope you don't get distracted by all this decoration you doused me in."
Vishwaksena had his mind boggled. Sharanga being used to hunt deers? She has planned very skillfully to push all of Narasimha's buttons.
Narasimha summoned Sharanga into his hands. Chenchita and Narasimha proceeded for the hunt. Chenchita was swift and quick with her hunting skills. Narasimha let her take a few moments for herself before he started to play with her.
Chenchita aimed at the wild boar. But before her arrow could reach it, his arrow killed the boar. She looked at him. The look in her eyes were familiar. Lakshmi was a proud goddess. Someone questioning her own authority in her own place wasn't well with her.
The hunting match had begun. Chenchita was a highly skilled hunter. But Narasimha's skills were battle sharpened. He knew how to hit the marks and sometimes make the opponent's aim miss.
"That is cheating!!!" She exclaimed.
"You didn't specify any rules, priya."
She was more determined then but Narasimha was calm. After sixth hunt, they stopped before it could cross the needful number of hunts. He had hit four of them and she managed to only scrape two.
Childishly, she huffed. "Living in the forests isn't just hunting." She commented, the audible sound of leaves moving came up, "it is also running back to the tribe with the hunt before wolves or jaguars come to steal the hunts."
Chenchita was quick to take the hunt and started running towards the hills with the jaguar on her heels. Narasimha just chuckled and roared loudly, scaring away the wolves. They decided not to mess with Narasimha and find another hunts.
"I can run but I don't see a reason for it." He pointed out, reappearing where she stopped suddenly. She looked back as if to point 'you far away just a moment ago. Narasimha shrugged her shoulders. "Forests are about outwitting the other to survive. But gyaana is about abandoning the game of wits and simply experience brahm to live instead of just survive. This samsara can be troublesome but if you make a boat out of the samsara itself to get you past the cycle, it is the greatest of use of life."
She just stood in amazement at the comment.
"Love can lead you far ahead into moksha when you understand that love can lead you to the eternal. Love for your mother, love for your father, love for your Guru, love for your companion. To see brahm inside all fo them and love that Brahm inside them all. That is the basis of moksha."
Garuda took the hunt back to the Penta while Chenchita just listened to Narasimha speaking about Vedanta to her.
After a while, he looked at her and sighed, "what else do you have in your mind to decide that I am worthy of you?"
Chenchita stood up and started walking away. Narasimha just watched her. Had he chosen the wrong timing to say it? He just enjoying the little moment with her.
She stopped after a few moments. She held the long braid and started to twirl it. She put her other hand over a tree. His heart burst out of his chest when she looked over her shoulder at him.
"Even if I was to say yes, at the end of the day, the decision would also be left to my parents." She answered and shot off running.
Narasimha was still a bit stunned by her reply. Was that another challenge or did she say yes? If her father asked if Chenchita said anything then was he supposed to say that her answer was a yes or a no?
"She seemed too happy. What happened?" Shesha asked.
"She said that her father decides her final decision. So, I should speak to him."
"Garuda!!! Vishwaksena!!! Tumburu!!! Narada Muni!!! Everyone!!! Amma has finally said yes." Shesha went around shouting.
Narasimha put his hand over his head and sighed at his closest people being really extra.
He then thought for a moment. Would a tribal chieftain be willing to marry his daughter to him? It was so difficult to convince her then what all he would have to do to convince him?
"You, my dear brother, simply be your charming yourself. It is far easier to impress another human for you than to charm your own priya." Ambika pointed out, appearing before him with a large bunch of basket. She turned to Garuda, "I want you to get the best perfumes from Swarga. Around 10 or 11 baskets of fruits and sweets." She instructed away all the people.
"Ambika, was it a yes or was it still a no?"
Uma chuckled. "That, my dearest brother, means that if you can speak to her father and convince him to perform kanyadaana then she is all yours. She would be ready to let you tie the mangalsutra around her neck." She answered, "a simple yes wouldn't have sufficed. Also, she cannot herself decide that she will marry you surely and then have to turn back because her parents didn't agree. So, her answer was in regard with both the conditions. She didn't have to simply say a single syllabled answer and she had managed to make sure that it is a yes from all the sides."
She held his head and made him look at her, "you, Anna, just get yourself ready. This is first among your kalyana to have so many humans being a part of it. Your marriage to Bhargavi happened on earth but only rishis and devas had attended it. Your marriage to Sindhuja didn't even happen on earth. You married Vasundhara in Swarga at the insistence of Indra. So, for the first time, several humans will be involved. All the Chenchus are humans. Your Priya will insist on having humans as guests."
Narasimha chuckled. "I hope it wouldn't be a difficult job to convince Sagara."
"Anna, that is Mavayya to you." Uma teased him. He laughed.