This chapter is taken from the book “Mahashoti” by Ashok Mohanty. It describes how a situation led to the birth of a devil cult called “Kabarna”.

The arrogant Prince Jugdal was defeated and overpowered while he was trying to outrage the modesty of a woman. The angry villagers punished him for this offense. They branded his forearm with a hot iron rod. Then they shaved off one half of his beard and mustache while the other half was kept intact. They tore off his costly clothes and smeared black color on different parts of his body and face. Then they drove him most ungraciously out of the village.

On being shamed in public, Jugdal wanted to kill himself but his rage and desire for revenge made him change his decision. He felt that it would be too humiliating to return to his kingdom. To save himself from further humiliation, he decided to go incognito to some secluded place where no one would recognize him. Just then, his guards returned and stood before him. They had their eyes cast down, embarrassed that they had failed to save their prince. But it added to the embarrassment for the prince and flared up his temper.

Bilhajar, the closest aide of Prince stepped in and said, "Forgive us, your highness, we will prefer to die than leave you. We have always been faithful to you. None of us is a coward. We tried to fight but were suddenly engulfed in a dust storm and could not see anything. It must have been some black magic done by the enemy."

Jugdal's anger was subsided a little bit. He told Bilhajar that having been defeated, he cannot go back to his kingdom; rather he would remain and do what he could to avenge his honor. But the faithful guards refused to leave their prince. They branded their forearms with a hot iron rod and shaved off one side of their beard to show support for their leader. They vowed to live in exile and wait for the right opportunity to avenge their defeat.

Prince Jugdal was moved on seeing the devotion of his guards. He declared, "We are one family. From now on, we are all brothers. We, who have shaved one side of our beard, will be known as 'Kabarna, The Half Cut'. One day we will conquer the entire planet."

The book described how this minor event led to the creation of a new cult called 'Kabarna, The Half Cut'.

A similar episode has been described in the famous novel “Gulliver's Travels”, written by Johnathan Swift, published in 1726. Gulliver discovers that there's a bitter factional dispute raging between those who break open their eggs at the little end (Little-Endians) and those who choose the big end (Big-Endians). It's pointless, but it's just the way how people group together to fight.

The king's son was injured trying to break his egg on the smaller end (the traditional way of egg breaking). Then the king decreed that no one may break an egg by using the smaller end. This caused a great uproar among many and soon there were two factions; one who supported the move and the other that opposed it.

Every cult originates when some leader either by his persuasion or by coercion makes some people do some silly things. Then he makes these people his partners and together they drive more people to follow them. The sense of partnership or connectedness triggers upward spirals leading to the growth of the evil cult.

The story of Mahashoti is about an evil cult that originated from hate and anger. The devils used that cult as an opportunity to wreak vengeance on the good people.

His evil deeds brought him shame; He lost his kingdom, wealth, and fame

Thus, a fallen prince in great disgrace; Lived incognito to hide his face

And when they formed into ‘a cult’ of mindless people, they became a nuisance for the world.

They ruined the weak and took delight; They cherished the evil with force of might

These mindless people met their doom; In a doleful state, in horror and gloom