Indian Mythology: the Heavenly Emperor is not working today

Indian mythology follows a basic process.

Asceticism → Bestow Blessing → Beat up the Heavenly Emperor → The Three Aspects Deity fixes the bug and eliminates the Asura.

The Asura, with their extraordinarily long lifespans and patience, perform penance and then obtain blessings from the Three Aspects Deity. Then, they start ascending to the Heavenly Realm to beat up the Heavenly Emperor.

Since blessings are forces of the world's laws, the power of blessings typically far exceeds that of the Devas, and sometimes even the Three Aspects Deity struggles with the abilities given by the blessings, unable to break them unless Shiva destroys the world.

Yes!

Unless the Three Aspects Deity flips the table, they can't break the blessings.

Destroying the world is not what the Three Aspects Deity wishes for!

The only option is to exploit a bug to find the weakness of the blessing!

Before the weakness of the blessing is discovered, Heavenly Emperor Indra is the stepping stone for testing the power of the blessing.

The one who gets beaten up!

An Asura who has not beaten the Heavenly Emperor is not a qualified King of Asura!

"This crappy position, whoever wants it can have it!"

"Which Heavenly Emperor gets beaten up every day!"

Indra's eyes flickered as he thought this.

Of course, he couldn't tell the truth!

Cough cough!

He pursed his lips and coughed twice, then hurriedly said.

"Now we are cursed, and I realize that the position of Heavenly Emperor is really too difficult to hold. My will is not firm enough, my penance is not yet perfect."

Indra looked solemn, clenched his fist to his chest, and answered with a serious face.

"You weren't like this before. I remember you often said, 'As gods, it is only natural for us to enjoy all the beauties of this world!' Now why have you changed your ways?"

Surya couldn't believe it, his dark face showing an expression of disbelief.

The proud and arrogant Heavenly Emperor Indra actually feeling that his penance was insufficient.

Unbelievable!

"It's just that I have shed the naivety of olden days. I have now comprehended asceticism, I have understood the Righteous Law!"

Indra brought his hands together, feigning devoutness as he bluffed.

He looked directly at the stunned Surya and said, "Look at my beggarly appearance now; my ascetic practice has already begun. I'm accumulating some Power of Asceticism, and later I plan to ask for a Gold Sun God Armor as a blessing!"

[Bestow Blessing], as a cosmic law, can grant power far beyond the bestower's own according to the Power of Asceticism.

In the future, there will be an Asura named Karna who was the most devout follower of Sun God Surya. He performed penance to Sun God Surya and was blessed with the Gold Sun God Armor.

This Gold Sun God Armor consisted of a thousand layers.

To break the Divine Armor, one would need the Power of a millennium's penance to penetrate a single layer; and every time an enemy shattered a layer, the armor would curse the enemy to death.

To break this Sun God Armor, Protector God Vishnu sent two incarnations—Narayana and Narayana.

Each incarnation performed a thousand years of penance, and with that ascetic power shattered a layer of the armor; when the armor shattered, the incarnation died, and then the other incarnation took over, followed by Vishnu resurrecting the deceased incarnation to continue a thousand years of penance.

After repeating this for a million years, Karna the Asura was left with only the last layer of Gold Sun God Armor, and he decided to flee, entering the cycle of reincarnation and being reborn as the son of Sun God, Karna.

This was a top-notch piece of equipment!

A hundred Sun God Suryas combined couldn't match a single Sun God Armor in combat.

Ridiculous!

Yet this is the universe's law, the truth of this world!

That's also the reason why Indra came directly to Surya.

The Gold Sun God Armor, not to mention its other properties, just for its protective ability, is one of the most difficult blessings to deal with among many. Even Protector God Vishnu could only send incarnations to slowly erode this Divine Armor.

With this Sun God Armor, he would have the confidence to face those Asuras.

"You really are different now!"

Surya looked solemnly at Indra, raising his hand and saying, "Once your penance is complete, I will fulfill all your blessings."

Boom!

In that moment, Indra immediately felt a response to the hardships he had endured within him, rising up like a flame, growing ever more intense.

The Power of Asceticism increased even more!

There was a brightness in Indra's eyes.

It seemed his current appearance indeed met the criteria for asceticism.

After all, as the Heavenly Emperor, King of Devas, ruler of the Three Realms, he now had the appearance of a beggar. The stark contrast gave him a Power of Asceticism that was much stronger than what ordinary people could achieve in hundreds of years.

"Thank you, praise Surya!"

"Then I'll take my leave!"

Indra, with a smile on his face, nodded.

"Praise Indra!"

Surya responded.

In the midst of the Heavenly Realm, mists of clouds were pervasive.

Before long, Indra soared towards his own Heavenly Emperor's Temple.

It's said to be the Heavenly Emperor's Temple.

Under the curse of the Raggedy Immortal, it has now also become a dilapidated thatched hut, the once splendid and radiant Gandharva have lost their handsome or beautiful countenances, resembling a group of male and female beggars, they sit at the entrance of the Heavenly Emperor's Temple, basking in the sun.

"This Raggedy Immortal is truly formidable, truly worthy of being an incarnation of Shiva!"

"Once I gather enough power of asceticism, I will also curse him, and let him taste the flavor of being cursed by another!"

Indra thought to himself.

The power of asceticism can not only earn blessings but also consume the power of asceticism to cast curses.

The curse of the Raggedy Immortal was so severe that it affected all the deities of the Heavenly Realm, not only because he was an incarnation of Shiva, but more importantly, because his power of asceticism was also strong.

"Praise Indra!"

"Praise Indra!"

"Praise Indra!"

...

Multitudes of exaltations echoed from the mouths of these Gandharvas.

They, in tattered clothing, stood up together, their slogan was very uniform.

For a moment, it even gave Indra the impression that he was the leader of beggars.

These Gandharvas were also descendants of the Jiayebo Immortal but did not possess divine power like the Devas and Asuras; however, they were very adept at music.

Fragrant! Soft!

Indra and the other gods then led the Gandharvas to the Heavenly Realm to serve as attendant deities.

"From today onward, the Heavenly Emperor's Temple is sealed. I will enter asceticism, and I shall see no one, no matter who it is!"

Indra walked straight into the Heavenly Emperor's Temple and with a grand wave of his hand, declared loftily.

The surrounding Gandharvas immediately obeyed, starting to close the large doors.

Boom!

The Gandharvas pulled the heavy doors from the outside, resoundingly shutting them.

For a moment, within this decrepit temple that resembled a grassroots shrine, there was only the God Indra.

He scraped together a pile of dry grass from the ground, hoisted it in his arms to the front of his straw nest, loosened his grip in a gesture reminiscent of an Apsara scattering flowers, then, with a slight bend in his knees, he leaped and pounced onto the heap.

"Heh!"

"I'll start by sleeping!"

Indra lay on the grass, propped up one leg, hugged a bundle of straw, held it in his arms, and rolled around on the pile of straw.

Some of it was discomforting to his body, but it was still tolerable.

He set himself eight rules for asceticism: abstain from alcohol, forsake the throne, avoid wearing resplendent Divine Garments, renounce living in glittering temples, cease squandering wealth, shun ostentatious luxury, do not ride mounts, and do not covet status.

Under the curse of the Raggedy Immortal, he had no wine to drink, no throne, no Divine Garments, no wealth, no luxury, and his mounts could not fly.

Now he could even relinquish the position of Heavenly Emperor; naturally, he met the criterion of not coveting status.

All complied with the conditions for asceticism!

"Regardless, my power of asceticism is increasing, so who cares about anything else? I'll think about it after I wake up!"

"Sleep first for a thousand years!"

Indra closed his eyes and thought to himself.

...

Brahmaloka.

In the world exists the Milk Sea, and above the Milk Sea there are Three Realms: the Heavenly Realm, Earth, and the Mortal Realm.

The Mortal Realm is inhabited by humans, animals, Yakshas, Rakshasas, and others, the Asuras dwell in Earth, while the Heavenly Realm is home to numerous Devas, Gandharvas, Apsaras, and Immortals.

Yet above the Heavenly Realm exists another space called Brahmaloka.

This is the realm of the Creator God Brahma!

Here the air is ethereal and the fog, light, with an aura of sanctity and purity enveloping all, one feels as if their soul is cleansed just by being here.

Two lotuses are exalted in this place, with figures upon them.

Brahma wears a crown, his hair and beard are pure white, resembling an old man. His skin is rosy and glowing, he is draped in a white robe, has four faces and eight arms, and holds the Vedas Scripture, a lotus, a water jar, and a rosary in his hands.

The other goddess, graceful and beautiful, is dressed in white, with a crescent moon on her forehead, carrying a phoenix-headed lyre. She appears as a youthful maiden of about twelve, adorned with gold ornaments, radiating clear intelligence.

She is Brahma's wife—Saraswati!

Also known as the goddess of eloquence, goddess of wonderful sound, the Goddess of Wisdom.

From Brahmaloka, one can look down and see everything in the Three Realms, every event and all creation clearly discernible.

"What is Indra doing?"

"Sleeping?"

Saraswati furrowed her brows slightly, peering down.

At once, she saw the unkempt Indra and could not help but ask.

"No!"

Brahma's mustache trembled slightly, his pupils reflecting a surge of Power of Asceticism: Indra lay on his side amidst this fire-like Power of Asceticism, with the Power of Asceticism emanating from him.

"He is in ascetic meditation!"