ordered to go to Yamaraj (God of Death),” continues Buddhi Kumar. “I had to cross a swollen river. The Ban Devi asked me to sip some water from it and as soon as I did so, the river dried up! But, on the river bed, I saw thousands of dangerous looking snakes.” Buddhi Kumar was horrified and exclaimed, “Oh Ban Devi! How much more do I have to suffer?” She replied, “I was just testing you.” Then Buddhi Kumar stepped on the snakes’ heads and in seven steps, had crossed the river safely. Next, he came across a river of milk. “The goddess had disappeared,” he remembers. “I was totally perplexed. Then I heard her voice which said, ‘Why are you worried? Am I not your mother?'” The milk disappeared and in its place he saw thousands of precious stones like sapphires, emeralds and rubies. Having crossed over, Buddhi Kumar once again came across another river on his way. “It was a river overflowing with blood,” he says. The he saw himself almost touching the sun and the Sun God said, “You think only you humans have enemies? We gods also have many and the blood you see is due to our battle with the demons.” One can observe Buddhi Kumar’s pupils dilating as he continues, “I saw terrifying demons with long matted hair and wearing tattered red colored clothes. Some had no eyes; some had no heads, some had no limbs. They were bleeding profusely and the blood was all flowing into the river.”
Then he saw the Ban Devi appear and unravel her patuka (cloth wrapped around her waist) and made a bridge over the river with it. “Then she ordered me, ‘Go now to the Yamaraj’. There were many guards ? all women demons ? who looked frightening. They took me by my hand and led me through a welcoming arch with polished mirrors on both sides. There were kalashes