The Palace of Illusions

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

mahaprasthan, the path of the great departure. We had no idea of what it held. Even Arjun, the most widely traveled of my husbands, had not come this way before. The sages had told us that the road ended upon a sacred peak, a place where earth met the abode of the gods. There a man who was pure enough could push past the veil that separated the worlds and enter heaven. The scriptures declared it to be the most glorious of experiences. But those who were not as holy, the sages warned, would be prevented from proceeding beyond a certain point. The mountain would make sure of that. With melancholy relish, they described avalanches and hidden craters. Man-eating snow beasts.