This is one gem of a story!
Once there was a holy man named Narada, whose great learning impressed even the gods, even Vishnu who sleeps on a bed of cobras above the dark lake of infinity & whose dream is the universe as we know it.
One day Vishnu came to Narada & offered him a single wish; Narada answered that he would like to understand the Maya, the illusion of the world as dreamed by Vishnu. "Very well", said the god. "Lets go for a walk".
So Vishu & Narada began a trek that would take them across the whole of Hindustan: through e teeming streets of calcutta, along e banks of e holy Ganges, into e stifling forests that belonged to e Bengal tiger, and out across e plains of Uttar Pradesh, which grew hotter & hotter until e grass disappeared & their feet trod e burning dessert of Rajasthan.
In e dessert, Vishu beckoned Narada to him. "My son, I'm thirsty. There is an oasis around e dune. Please go & fetch me some water." So Narada went. He found e oasis, where springwater greened e fields of a small village. Seeking permission to draw from e well, he knocked on e door of e first hut. A young woman answered, & e moment Narada's eyes met hers he forgot his mission, forgot everything from before.
Narada stayed & married e beautiful young woman. They had two children. He was very happy, coaxing grain from e soil, working beside his loving wife, watching his children grow.
Twelve years went by, & one day an usually dark storm rolled in from e north. Thunder boomed, & rain came down in sheets. Narada tried to gather his family in his arms, but e flood hit too quickly & plunged them into an inky swirl that separated them all. In a frenzy, he dove & thrashed & cried e names of his wife & children, but in e dark swirling water he could grasp nothing. Exhausted, heartsick, he gave in to e raging current, & e water took him, too.
Narada awoke face down in e sand under a blinding hot sun. He heard a voice:"My son, where is e drink you promised me? Its been half an hour."
Narada looked into Vishnu's face. After a moment, e god said, "Now do you understand e power of my Maya?"
