Daughter of the Deer

Check out the theme here: A Retelling of Valli and Karttikeya’s Love Story

This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026.

***

Time passed as it always does.

Down here on the earth, somewhere even downward, near the narrowed tip of Bharatavarsha, was a dense forest with hills, later popular as Vallimalai in the village of Merpati, in the Tontainatu country.

In this forest lived a rishi named Shivamuni, deep in tapasya most of the time. He survived on roots and fruits, gathering only as much food as needed for him to stay alive, and ensuring none of the animals lost their share. His hut was tiny, with dried leaves for its roof. There was no door, just an open arch for entering and exiting the little space.

As he became a part of the forest, the animals and birds who shared the space with him roamed freely. Sometimes he liked to look at them, admiring their beauty, their bickering, and their antics. Most times, he sat in tapasya, eyes closed, breath controlled, and senses firmly on the light within.

One day, after several weeks of intense tapasya, Shivamuni opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a deer, graceful and with huge expressive eyes fringed with thick lashes. Unable to take his eyes off the deer, he thought about how wonderful it would be to have a daughter like it, but in human form.

The next instant, Shivamuni shook his head, closed his eyes again, and went back to his tapasya. The deer, too, continued nibbling its way through the tender leaves. However, the rishi’s tabopala was such that his wish had come true in a strange form.

A while later, the same deer gave birth. Instead of a fawn, it delivered a human child, just as the rishi had wished for!

The deer froze in fear, despite the weakness of labor and birthing. It didn’t know about Shivamuni’s wish for a daughter or that it had led to the birth of a human through her.

The newborn had the same eyes as the deer, but with the green complexion of the surrounding forest. Though she was just born and bloodied, the girl didn’t cry. Instead, she stared at the deer with a kind of awareness that human babies did not possess. Her fists were tight, tiny fingers curled as if she hid the entire world inside. The mop of black hair on her round head was already beginning to curl.

The deer’s horror turned to fascination as it recovered its strength. Yet, it knew the baby had to be left there. How was it to bring up an offspring that needed another kind of care? Moreover, it realized that the child was no ordinary one. She belonged to the devas.

Looking around and satisfied that the pit was safe enough a place for the child to be until someone came that way, the deer blew a soft kiss to the child and walked away. The pit was dug by humans from the nearby village to collect roots. Yam and sweet potatoes grew in abundance in the region, their creepers creating a tangle of curtains by weaving over the branches of nearby sturdy trees. The child lay nestled inside, not bothered by being left alone and hungry.

Near his little hut, Shivamuni felt a sense of awareness prickling his mind. He saw a deer walking away and a green newborn suckling her thumb in the nearby pit. The child seemed to stare at him through the vision.

The rishi half-smiled at having his wish come true; he had renounced everything and led a sanyasi life. He wouldn’t be the right person to bring up the child. He wasn’t rishi Kanva, who adopted Shakuntala. Shivamuni led a solitary life and preferred it that way.

In his mind, the rishi bowed to the child and said, “My daughter, your earthly parents will come to you soon. You are Devi herself, blessing us with her presence on this land. Thank you for making me a part of your divine leela, though I know not what it is!”