Ben woke up at around 9:00 AM. He did his morning chores and came back to his room. He took out the 'Saptharishi Samhita' from the shelf and started to look at the pages he could understand. The name of this chapter was 'Agastya Parvam' Ben read all the five pages of this chapter. He began to ponder 'So this is a physical exercise that aims to condition the body. This contains only three exercises, the Vyali Mardanam, Sharabha Chalanam and Airavata Staanam. One is to strengthen attacking power, the second one is to enhance reflexes and speed and the third one is to stand firm. All these are inspired from legendary creatures who are there in the deepest part of forest. To think that these sages could study these creatures: That itself shows their capability. I need to start practicing it.' Ben soon exited his house and went to a random corner of his nieghbourhood for practice.
He started with 'Airavata Staanam'. Ben read the detailed explanation of the art.
'Airavata is a sub species of Loxodonta, a species which had large bodies and long nose. Airavata is white in color with 6 tusks coming out of its mouth. The speciality of this creature is its immovable nature and its absurd defense. It is said that its animus version had stood its ground against a space storm in a planet. This move was about its immovable nature of the Airavata. The explanation given for this move was that a person first needs to stand firmly to win in the combat and life. This move consisted of series of movements where the person maintained a standing position in 1 leg and 2 legs. The hands were used to balance the movements. The legs were always firmly planted in the field always. Different poses were used to mitigate the kinetic energy that the body experiences when in combat in several angles. There was a breathing pattern to it as well, which contained long inhalations and exhalations. This art is not just about defense. No living organism can defend every form of attack in the same way. Some impacts should pass through you. Some attacks should not touch you. Some things you need to mitigate and some impacts you need to face head on.'
Ben digested the information. 'So in essence it is about conditioning the body and mind to defend against attacks in different ways. Sometimes I need to move forward so as to reduce the gathered energy of an attack. Sometimes I need to dodge and at times I need to meet the attack head on with my body. The breathing rhythm also helps in this. This is not simply about physical training, but also about mental discipline.'
Ben went on to read the next chapter.
'Sharabha Chalanam is inspired from the movement of a Sharabha, a creature which has four paws and two free hands. Its face has a mane and its teeth were terrifying amongst all the predators. It looked like a person was riding on top of a Leo, a carnivorous creature, and with that person's head replaced by the head of a Leo. It was so fast that it often plays with its prey by throwing its prey around and playing fetch with itself with that prey. This art consist of a series of running and jumping, with sudden stops and sudden starts. The breathing method for this consist of several short inhalations and exhalations, along with complete stoppage of breathing when sitting still during the movements. This art aims to bring about mobility for a warrior. A warrior should be able to move through the adverse conditions of a battle field. It should be done by hook or crook. If something stands in front of you, you should kick it away or stemple over it, penetrate through it. Whatever means necessary, you should use it to move in a battle field.'
'So this chapter is about manoeuvring and mobility. The exercises in this include conditioning of legs and relevant muscles for manoeuvring and mobility. The aim is to make the person move about in any situation. Man that is tough. This is an area where I am considerably weak. These sudden stops and turns; I think it is aimed at creating feints. It will be one hell of a technique if done correctly.' Ben mused about the art.
The next exercise was 'Vyali Mardanam'. It had to done with the help of a training pole for striking. He had brought its compact version and had it set up in the place. It was a portable version that could be expanded for use.
Its introduction went as:
'This art involves the use of hands and legs to strike the target at various angles. The Vyali is a creature which has a long trunk for a nose, four claws even in its hind legs and large body. It used its trunk and paws to attack and tear open its prey. It exists very deep within forests. The breathing technique for this was very simple. Inhale before an attack and exhale when attacking. The attack are about timing and placement. This is an art that has to be used in conjunction with other two arts. Many of the techniques in this art can be used with a weapon as well.'
Ben decided to try these 3 arts just to get the gist of it. He started the exercises. He was in a remote park area near to what could be called a semi-forest. These exercises were difficult. He took some breaks in between finished all the energy drinks and water he brought with him. By the end of all the exercises he was wheezing and just fell to the ground. In that tired state he found peace and tranquility. For some reason the entire park became silent. The breeze was gentle. Even though he was tired physically, he did not have any mental exhaustion. He could be think with clarity. ' So all these exercises cannot be done to together. It should be done in the sequence in which it is written. First, I need to stand firmly, then move with determination and then strike with power. Well at least that was what was written last. I need the conditioning from the first exercise for the second exercise. Then the skills from the first and second exercises so that the strikes in the 3rd exercise is effective.
Well I can understand that this book is not written by normal means. So much information has been put into just 5 pages. I could also understand things easily, as if it was transmitted directly to my brain.'
After about 3 hours he came back home like a zombie. John and Malina, who were at the porch looked at him. John said, " I guess you did some pretty hard exercises." Malina said, "Don't push yourself too hard". Ben said with a smile " Don't worry Pa, Ma, I just got a bit excited and did exercise a bit intense. Nothing much." After this he went to his room. There were some messages from his friends and he replied to them. Then he had a bath and lied down on the bed after placing an alarm to ring after 2 hours. He slept like a baby for 2 hours. Then it was dinner time. He did not want to miss it. His parents were strict about this. He went down to eat. It was family time, where everyone shared their day and feelings. It was always lovely moment for Ben. He really did not want change from this. But he knew he had to. A bird should always move out of its nest. Only then will it fly and only with flight will it grow.