The Oath of The Vayuputras (24 page)

‘Didn’t you face any trouble?’ asked Shiva.

‘None,’ said Veerbhadra. ‘The tribe lived just like everyone else, in comfortable egalitarianism. We quickly bundled them into a caravan and quietly escaped. We arrived in Kashi a few months later.’

‘That means they’re not aware as yet of my escape at the Godavari,’ said Shiva. ‘Or else they would have arrested the Gunas.’

‘That is the logical conclusion.’

‘But it also means that if any Meluhan happens to check the Guna village and finds them missing, they will assume that I’m alive and am planning a confrontation.’

‘That is also a logical conclusion. But there’s nothing we can do about that, can we?’

‘No, there isn’t,’ agreed Shiva.

‘
Didi
!’ smiled Kali as she embraced her sister.

‘How are you doing, Kali?’ asked Sati.

‘I’m tired. My ship had to race down the Chambal and Ganga to catch up with you!’

‘Nice to meet you after so many months, Kali,’ said Shiva.

‘Likewise,’ said Kali. ‘How was Ujjain?’

‘A city that is worthy of Lord Ram,’ said Shiva.

‘Is it true that some of the Vasudevs have accompanied you here?’

‘Yes, including the chief Vasudev himself, Lord Gopal.’

Kali whistled softly. ‘I was not even aware of the chief Vasudev’s name till just the other day and now it looks like I will be meeting him soon. The scenario must be really grim for him to emerge from his seclusion like this.’

‘Change doesn’t happen easily,’ said Shiva. ‘I don’t expect the supporters of the Somras to fade into the sunset. The Vasudevs in fact believe the war has already begun, regardless of whether it has been declared or not. That it’s just a matter of time before actual hostilities break out. I agree.’

‘Is that why my ship was dragged into the Assi River?’ asked Kali. ‘I was worried that it might not make it into the harbour. This river is so small that it should actually be called a culvert!’

‘That is for the ship’s protection, Kali,’ said Shiva. ‘It was Lord Athithigva’s idea. The Kashi harbour, just like the city, is not protected by any walls. Our enemies may hesitate to attack the city itself due to their faith in Lord Rudra’s protective spirit over Kashi. But any ships anchored on the Ganga would be fair game.’

‘Hence the decision to move the ships into the Assi, which as you know, flows into the Ganga,’ said Sati. ‘The channel at the mouth of the river is narrow, thus not more than one enemy ship can come through at a time. Our ships therefore can be easily defended. Also, the Assi flows through the city of Kashi. Most Chandravanshis would not want to venture within, believing that the spirit of Lord Rudra would curse them for harming Kashi, even by mistake.’

Kali raised her eyebrows. ‘Using an enemy’s own superstition against him? I like it!’

‘Sometimes good tactics can work better than a sword edge,’ said Shiva, grinning.

‘Aah,’ said Kali, smiling. ‘You’re only saying that because you haven’t encountered my sword!’

Shiva and Sati laughed convivially.

Shiva and his core group were in the main hall of the grand Kashi Vishwanath temple. Athithigva had stepped into the inner sanctum, along with the main pandit of the temple, to offer
prasad
to the idols of Lord Rudra and Lady Mohini. He returned thereafter with the
ritual
offerings made to the gods
.

‘May Lord Rudra and Lady Mohini bless our enterprise,’ said Athithigva, offering the
prasad
to Shiva.

Shiva took the
prasad
with both hands, swallowed it whole and ran his right hand over his head, thus offering his thanks to the Lord and Lady for their blessings. Meanwhile, the temple pandit distributed the
prasad
to everybody else. The ceremonies over, Athithigva sat down with the group to discuss the strategy for the war ahead. The pandit was led out of the temple by Kashi policemen and the entrance sealed. No one was to be allowed into the premises for the duration of the meeting.

‘My Lord, my people are forbidden any acts of violence except if it is in self-defence,’ said Athithigva. ‘So we cannot join the campaign actively with you. But all the resources of my kingdom are at your command.’

Shiva smiled. The peace-loving Kashi people would, in any case, not really make good soldiers. He had no intention of leading them into battles. ‘I know, King Athithigva. I would not ask anything of your people that they would be honour-bound to refuse. But you must be able to defend Kashi if attacked, for we intend to house many of our war resources here.’

‘We will defend it to our last breath, My Lord,’ said Athithigva.

Shiva nodded. He did not really expect the Chandravanshis to attack Kashi. He turned towards Gopal. ‘Pandit
ji
, there are many things that we need to discuss. To begin with, how do we keep the Chandravanshis out of the war theatre in Meluha? Secondly, what strategy should we adopt with Meluha?’

‘I think what Lord Ganesh and Kartik suggested is an excellent idea,’ said Gopal. ‘Let us hope we can rope in Magadh to our side.’

‘Easier said than done,’ said Kali. ‘Surapadman would be compelled by his father to seek vengeance for his stupid brother Ugrasen. And I don’t propose handing over Ganesh for what was, in fact, a just execution.’

‘So what are you suggesting, Kali?’ asked Sati.

‘Well, I’m suggesting that we either fight Magadh right away or we tell them that we will investigate and hand over the Naga culprit as soon as we lay our hands on him.’

Sati instinctively held Ganesh’s hand protectively.

Kali laughed softly. ‘
Didi
, all I’m suggesting is that we make Surapadman
think
that we are going to hand him over. That way, we can buy some time and attack Ayodhya.’

‘Are you saying that we lie to the Magadhans, Your Highness?’ asked Gopal.

Kali frowned at Gopal. ‘All I’m saying is we be economical with the truth, great Vasudev. The future of India is at stake. There are many who are counting on us. If we have to taint our souls with a sin for the sake of greater good, then so be it.’

‘I will not lie,’ said Shiva. ‘This is a war against Evil. We are on the side of Good. Our fight must reflect that.’

‘Baba
,’ said Ganesh. ‘You know I would agree with you under normal circumstances. But do you think the other side has maintained the standards you are espousing? Wasn’t the attack on us at Panchavati an act of pure deception and subterfuge?’

‘I don’t believe it is wrong to attack an unprepared enemy. Yes, their using
daivi astras
can be considered questionable. Even so, two wrongs don’t make a right. I will not lie to win this war. We will win it the right way.’

Kartik remained silent. Whereas he agreed with the pragmatism of Ganesh’s words, he was inspired by the moral clarity in Shiva’s.

Gopal smiled at Shiva. ‘
Satyam vada. Asatyam mavada.
’

‘What?’ asked Shiva.

Kali spoke up. ‘It’s old Sanskrit. “Speak the truth, never speak the untruth”.’

Sati smiled. ‘I agree.’

‘Well, I know some old Sanskrit too,’ said Kali. ‘
Satyam bruyat priyam bruyat, na bruyat satyam apriyam
.’

Shiva raised his hands in dismay, ‘Can we cut out the old Sanskrit one-upmanship? I don’t follow what you people are saying.’

Gopal translated for Shiva. ‘What Queen Kali said means “Speak the truth in a pleasing manner, but never speak that truth which is unpleasant to others”.’

‘It’s not my line,’ said Kali, turning to Shiva. ‘It can be attributed to a sage of yore, I’m sure. But I think it makes sense. We don’t have to reveal to Surapadman that we know who his brother’s killer is. All we need to motivate him to do, is to wait till after we have attacked Ayodhya before choosing his friends and his enemies. His ambition will guide him in the direction that we desire.’

‘The walls of Ayodhya are impregnable,’ warned Gopal, drawing attention to another factor. ‘We might be able to bog them down, but we won’t be able to destroy the city.’

‘I know,’ said Ganesh. ‘But our aim is not to destroy Ayodhya. It is to ensure that their navy is unable to sail their forces over to Meluha. Our main battle will be in Meluha.’

‘But what if Surapadman attacks from the rear after we have laid siege on Ayodhya?’ asked Gopal. ‘Caught between Ayodhya in front of us and Surapadman behind us, we could get destroyed.’

‘Actually, no,’ said Ganesh. ‘Surapadman attacking us from behind would make things easier for us. It’s when he moves out of Magadh that we’ll make our move.’

Shiva, Kartik and Sati smiled; they understood the plan.

‘Brilliant,’ exclaimed Parshuram.

The rest turned to Parshuram for a whispered explanation on the side.

‘You don’t have to lie,’ continued Kali to Shiva. ‘Refrain from telling Surapadman the entire truth, except for those portions which will make him pause. Let his ambition play out the rest. We require him to allow our ships to pass through the confluence of the Sarayu and Ganga, towards Ayodhya. Once that is done we will achieve our objective one way or the other; either by holding Ayodhya back or by destroying the Magadhan army.’

Shiva’s brief nod acknowledged his assent. ‘But what about Meluha? Should we launch a frontal attack with all our might? Or, should we adopt diversionary tactics to distract their armies while a small group searches for the secret Somras facility and destroys it?’

‘Our Branga and Vaishali forces will battle in Magadh and Ayodhya, leaving the Vasudevs and the Naga armies for the Meluhan campaign,’ said Sati. ‘So we will have much smaller forces in Meluha. Of course, they will be exceptionally well-trained and will have superb technological skills, like the fire-spewing elephant corps that the Vasudevs have developed recently. But we have to respect the Meluhan forces; they’re equally well-trained and technologically adept.’

‘So are you suggesting that we avoid a direct attack?’ asked Shiva.

‘Yes,’ said Sati. ‘Our main aim has to be to destroy the Somras manufacturing facility. It will take them years to rebuild it. That much time is more than enough for your word to prevail amongst the people. The average Meluhan is devoted to the legend of the Neelkanth. The Somras will die a natural death. But if we attack directly, the war with Meluha will drag on for a long time. The more it drags on, the more innocent people will die. Also, the Meluhans will begin to look upon the war as an attack on their beloved country, and not the Somras. I’m sure there will be large numbers of Meluhans who would be willing to turn against the Somras, but if we challenge their patriotism, then we have no chance of winning.’

Kali was smiling.

‘What?’ asked Sati.

‘I noticed that you said “they” instead of “we” when you referred to the Meluhans,’ said Kali.

Sati seemed perplexed. She still believed Meluha was her own land. ‘Umm, that’s unimportant... It’s still my country...’

‘Sure it is,’ smiled Kali.

Gopal cut in. ‘Just for the sake of argument, let us imagine what would happen if there is a direct all-out war.’

‘That is something we will have to avoid,’ said Shiva. ‘I see sense in what Sati is saying.’

‘Nevertheless, let us consider what Lord Bhrigu and Daksha might think,’ said Gopal. ‘I agree, it is in our interest to not have a direct war. But it is in their interest to have one, and a destructive one at that. They will want tensions to escalate so that they can confuse the people. They will then say that the Neelkanth has betrayed Meluha. Like Lady Sati just pointed out, the patriotism of the Meluhans could drown out their faith in the Neelkanth.’

‘I agree that Lord Bhrigu may want to escalate the situation,’ said Shiva. ‘What I do not understand is how he will manage it once it has. I have seen the Meluhan army from up close. It’s a centralised, well-drilled unit. But the problem with such armies is their utter dependence on a good commander. Their general, Parvateshwar, is with us. Trust me, they do not have another man like him. If Lord Bhrigu is as intelligent as you say he is, he would know that too.’

Ganesh and Kartik sighed at the same time.

Shiva glared at his sons.

‘
Baba
...’ said Kartik.

‘Dammit!’ screamed Shiva. ‘You will not doubt his loyalty! Am I clear?’