Know that the Self is the lord of a chariot,
And the body is that chariot.
Reason is the driver and mind the reins. 
The horses, it is said, are the senses.
—Katha Upanishad

Bands of sun illuminated the flaking whitewashed walls of the cottage as Ishvari came grudgingly awake. Sapped by feverish dreams, she raised a hand to feel the strange smoothness of her skull, realizing once again that the god of the valley had spoken true. On the other side of the room, Sumangali sat before her altar, tears coursing down her cheeks as she gazed beseechingly at her precious Mahadevi. Ishvari inhaled the essence of her mother’s misery, but instead of softening her hea...

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