In the age when ailments grew complex and the rivers of blood faltered in men, there arose in the southern land a stronghold of healing at Arekkere. Its walls were fresh as the dawn, its towers yet to rise to their destined height, but its spirit was ancient—born of sages, guided by science, guarded by compassion.
The Arrival of the Traveller
A traveller, stricken by a rare malady where the marrow—the fountain of life—grew silent, wandered across kingdoms, seeking relief. He passed through many citadels of healing, where physicians of steel and syringe offered their strength, yet none could promise the union of wisdoms.
Then word reached him of a healer in the Domlur grove, one known as Lady Zyana, whose gaze was sharp, whose hand was steady, and whose scrolls recorded every breath of her patients.
There, the traveller first met her. She listened as Dharmarāja listens, without haste or prejudice. She summoned a Sabha of Healers—Ayur-sages versed in oils and roots, knights of blood transfusion, and caretakers who guarded the homes. She declared:
“This affliction is grave, yet we shall not shrink. We shall weave paths together—ancient and modern—until healing itself bows.”
The Return to Arekkere
Yet destiny is slow to unfold. Months passed as the traveller weighed his path. When he returned, it was not to the old grove but to the new Castle of Arekkere.
There Lady Zyana stood, holding a Mahāpatra, a chart of integrated healing where Ayurveda and Allopathy stood not as rivals but as allies, like Arjuna and Karna the same side.
The traveller saw not just her resolve, but the resolve of the entire assembly—doctors, young disciples, therapists, and attendants—all carrying the same śraddhā, the same spirit of care.
The Sabha of Healing
In this castle, each patient was not tended by one alone. Many healers would gather, speak, exchange knowledge, and ensure that wisdom flowed like the Ganga—branching, yet united.
The traveller found that whenever he called, be it by word, message, or signal, an answer came—swift, kind, unhesitating.
The Guardian of Blood
There was also one knight-physician, Sir Darion, guardian of blood. Like Krishna guarding Draupadi, he ensured that transfusions of life reached those in need. His band, disciplined and untiring, became the sentinels who kept the traveller’s journey possible.
The Castle Expands
The Castle of Arekkere was itself an unfinished epic. Two towers had risen, three more were to follow, and beneath them lay a cavern for chariots of the weary.
The traveller even beheld the Keeper of the Castle, a man not of herbs but of vision, who had guided healers for two decades. Like Vidura in Dhritarāshtra’s court, his wisdom was practical, his presence reassuring.
The Dharma of Healing
Thus the traveller learned the dharma of this Healing Castle:
- That care lies not in choosing one śāstra over another, but in joining them as allies in the same Kurukshetra.
- That a castle is not its stones, nor its towers, but the sattva of those who dwell within.
- That though progress may be slow, the positive aura of compassion steadies the chariot-wheels of hope.
And so, like the endless Mahābhārata where each parva unveils new battles and new victories, the tale of the traveller in the Healing Castle of Arekkere continues—an epic of patience, perseverance, and faith.


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