Vimukta (Short Story)
“Vimukta” (Set in Pataliputra, Two decades after Ashoka) In the heart of Pataliputra — the once-majestic capital of an empire carved by kings and softened by dharma — there lived a man who did nothing. His name was Vimukta . People said he had once been named something else, but he had stopped answering to it long ago. One day, when asked who he was, he had said, “Vimukta — the one who is let go.” Whether it meant freed or lost , no one could say. He lived behind a dye-maker’s shop, in a broken lean-to of bamboo and canvas. When it rained, water pooled near his bedding. He didn’t bother moving. He placed a clay bowl to catch the drops and watched them fill — as if the bowl, not he, were the one waiting for something. Once, the dye-maker’s son offered him a blanket in winter. Vimukta nodded. “Thank you,” he said. But didn’t take it. When asked why, he replied, “If I warm myself today, I’ll shiver more tomorrow.” He took no apprenticeships. Refused offers of work. Acce...