Madhura is an ordinary village girl, but she possesses remarkable determination. Her village is quite small. Although it was peaceful in the past, the environment has changed over the years. Born into a poor family, Madhura had a desire for education from a young age. After finishing her school education, she enrolled in a college in the neighboring village this year. In her bright eyes, she dreams of a promising future. Being the first girl in her family to go to college is a big deal for her. Her dream is to become a schoolteacher. Every day, she walks several kilometers to attend college.

Recently, however, she has been facing a problem. On her way back home, four miscreants from her village regularly harass her. These troublemakers live in the same village and are involved in various crimes. When Madhura returns home, they sit at the tea shop near the bus stand and hurl lewd comments at her. Madhura knows all of them: Vikram, Rakesh, Suraj, and Dharmesh.

Madhura tried to ignore their taunts and hurriedly walked home, enduring their insults. However, their words weighed heavily on her mind, slowly eroding her confidence. Despite having courage, fear began to cloud her mind. Each day, she felt a little weaker and more helpless.

One day, during a holiday afternoon, Madhura stood in front of an old temple near her house. The temple is ancient, and women from nearby villages come here to offer prayers. Inside the temple is an idol of an unnamed goddess who is believed to be very powerful. The people in this area hold the goddess in high esteem. The temple has a history—the idol represents a goddess of justice and protector of women. It is said that the goddess never forgives wrongdoers.

Madhura entered the temple, a place she had never visited before. It was quiet and still. The air was filled with the scent of incense, and the light from the lamps cast an eerie glow on the stone walls. The idol of the goddess was at one end of the temple, a large statue adorned with garlands and offerings. At that moment, she was the only person there. As Madhura looked at the idol, fear began to grip her. This was not a gentle figure. The goddess’s eyes were intense and fierce, appearing even more mysterious in the darkness.

Madhura knelt before the goddess and poured out all her thoughts, her voice trembling.

“Goddess Maa, I am afraid. Those men… they could harm me at any moment. I don’t have the strength to fight them. Please, protect me. Help me.”

She remained there, her tears falling on the temple floor. A strange sense of peace began to wash over her. She wasn’t sure if it was the temple’s quiet surroundings or her prayer, but for the first time, she felt a glimmer of hope.

The next day, Madhura was returning from college by bus. When the bus stopped, she did not see the four men. Although relieved at first, an unknown fear gripped her. As she turned the corner of the narrow dirt path leading to her village, she saw them. All four stood in a line, blocking her path, smirking at her mockingly.

“Look who’s back,” Vikram, the leader, sneered. “Getting bolder every day, huh?”

Madhura’s heart pounded, but oddly enough, she felt an unusual surge of courage. She stopped and looked at them, her fear transforming into a firm resolve.

“Move aside,” she said firmly, her voice steady, though she was terrified inside.

The goons laughed, mocking her attempt. Rakesh stepped forward. She could see that they were all intoxicated.

“And if we don’t?” Rakesh taunted, grabbing Madhura’s hand tightly. She yanked her hand away and took a step back. Her defiance stunned them, but their surprise quickly turned into rage. Dharmesh stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with malice.

“We’ve been decent so far,” he snarled, his voice chilling. “But not anymore.”

They dragged Madhura towards the fields. She struggled, kicking and screaming, but she couldn’t match their strength. Realizing their intentions, her heart quaked with terror. They pinned her to the ground, tearing at her clothes. Madhura desperately tried to break free, but all hope seemed lost. She shivered at the thought of the horrible fate awaiting her.

Just then, a gust of cold wind swept across the field. And at that moment, Madhura saw a thin girl standing a short distance away.

Terror and astonishment flickered in Madhura’s eyes. The girl threw something. Madhura saw it hit Rakesh’s neck, and his lifeless body collapsed to the ground. On closer look, she realized a knife was lodged in his throat. The girl seemed like an incarnation of the goddess herself. Without wasting a moment, the girl rushed forward and took down the other three. They screamed in agony. Madhura stretched out her hand to stop the girl, but she just gave a crooked smile, and then snapped the necks of the remaining three, killing them. She then disposed of the bodies in the river and vanished into thin air.

It all happened so suddenly that Madhura couldn’t comprehend it. Exhausted, she somehow managed to drag herself home.

The next day, she heard about the disappearance of the four men. The villagers were delighted, though they didn’t know the whole truth.

Madhura didn’t tell anyone. Her days began to fill with joy again. She continued going to college, and there was no one left to trouble her.

However, some questions lingered in her mind. One day, she returned to the temple.

She entered slowly, her heart filled with reverence as she gazed at the goddess’s idol.

“Thank you, Goddess Maa,” she whispered, her voice quivering. “But… why? Why did you help me?”

At that moment, she heard footsteps. An old woman, who had been sitting on the temple courtyard earlier, entered and slowly approached her. Madhura found the woman strange—her face was both kind and stern.

The woman came closer.

“You are not the first,” she said gently, her voice heavy with emotion.

Madhura looked up in surprise. “What do you mean?”

The old woman pointed to the goddess’s idol. “This temple is not just a place of worship. It is a sanctuary. Many years ago, the same thing happened to my daughter. She was very young, but those demons didn’t spare her.”

Tears welled up in the old woman’s eyes as she continued, “I brought her here, to this temple, seeking justice, but I found none. The law’s loopholes let the culprits roam free. Day by day, I grew hopeless and prayed to Goddess Maa for revenge. And one day… my prayers were answered.”

Madhura listened, her heart heavy. The old woman’s words sounded like a dark riddle. She asked, “Where is your daughter now?”

The woman replied that a few days after the incident, her daughter, unable to bear the shame, left the village, never to be found again.

Madhura felt a deep sorrow. She left the temple for the time being.

But her mind remained restless. It was around 11 at night. Slowly, she stepped out of her house. There was a slight chill in the air. She walked quite a distance and stood behind a tree near the temple. The last worshipper had left. Madhura stood there, waiting.

After some time, she saw the old woman. It had started to drizzle lightly. The air was filled with the sound of crickets, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. Inside the temple, a faint lamp glowed.

Suddenly, what Madhura saw made her blood run cold. She saw a figure emerge from behind the goddess’s idol. It was a girl, about her own age.

In astonishment, Madhura stepped out from behind the tree and stood before them.

The old woman and the girl looked at her in surprise. Before Madhura could ask anything, the old woman began to speak.

“After that incident, it became difficult to stay in the village. Those demons had spread rumors to tarnish my daughter’s name. I had no choice. One day, they came towards this temple. I told my daughter to hide behind the idol. But they saw her and tried to harm her again. However, suddenly, something happened. I saw my daughter wield the goddess’s sword. In the blink of an eye, she severed the heads of those two demons. I was terrified. I asked, ‘What have you done?’ She replied, ‘I don’t know, mother. It was as if the goddess made me do it.’ I realized it was Goddess Maa’s will. We dragged those bodies to the river and let them drift away. No one ever found out.”

The old woman continued, “From that moment, my daughter stayed behind the idol of Goddess Maa. She gained divine power, becoming an embodiment of the goddess herself. I knew that her life now had only one purpose: to punish the wrongdoers.”

The woman said, “Whenever a girl faces such atrocity, Goddess Maa, through my daughter, gives only one punishment: death.”

The next day, Madhura was nowhere to be found in the village. She had told her parents the truth. She would no longer just be a visitor to the temple; she would become a part of it. That day, the temple was filled with many devotees. None of them knew that from now on, two girls would sit behind the idol of Goddess Maa. And for those who commit crimes against women, there is only one punishment…DEATH.