Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod (42 page)

The Malava chief, clearly distinguished by the bright red plumes on his headdress, watched open-mouthed as the cloud of fire swept towards them, growing bigger as it approached. The chief screamed to his men to take evasive action and barely had time to throw himself to the ground when the fire swept over him and singed the plumes of his fine headdress.

Like a wave the fire swept over the dry jungle and scorched everything in its wake. The six thousand Malava warriors did not stand a chance. As the fire raged, the screams of dying men and animals rent the air. The heat from the flaming forest forced the Malava vanguard that had survived the flames to cross the river. The unfortunate men ran straight into the merciless bronze shields and spears of the Yavana infantry.

Ugra watched in horror as the Yavanas made short work of the Malava survivors. A few ran out of the blaze towards them, their bodies and hair on fire. Ugra ordered his archers to shoot them down before their screams demoralised his own ranks.

As the fire died, only a few gnarled stumps remained of what once had been a thriving forest. Aryaman and his men arrived with a prisoner. Indra was pleased to see that it was Aghar. The traitor and his men had hidden near the river and hoped to get away in the heat of the battle. Just as Aghar thought he had slipped past Indra's lines, Aryaman and his men had intercepted them. Aghar had watched his men fall like flies to the Aditya arrows. He now threw himself at Indra's feet and begged for mercy.

But there was no compassion in the Deva king's eyes for the desert nomad. Just as the army prepared to march, he was stripped of all his clothing and tied spread-eagled on the riverbank next to the destroyed forest. Soma then poured a jar of honey over his naked body. Aghar begged and pleaded, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

The nomad watched the ash and dust raised by the departing army slowly settle back on the forest floor. Just then he noticed the burnt ground in front of him change colour from ash to black. Slowly the dark floor started to move towards him. Aghar paled when as he realised what it was. Millions of ants, the only creatures to survive the flames, were emerging from colonies under the ground. The swarm climbed over him and soon all that could be seen was a mound of excited black ants.

***

Ugra watched Indra and his army march out of the smoky remains of the forest. In spite of the distance, Aghar's screams carried to his ears. The man called to his gods to give him a quick death, but the end was long and excruciatingly painful. Ugra tried to put the man's cries out of his mind. He could see the effect it was having on the men around him. But he had more important things to worry about. Eight thousand of his men had been lost with barely a scratch on the enemy. It had happened in front of his eyes yet he could scarcely believe it. The gods not only showed this barbarian favour, they seemed to ride beside him in battle.

The Harappan commander had one trump card, one he had planned to use later in the battle, but he was now forced to rethink all his carefully laid-out plans. He turned to one of his men and spoke grimly.

'Summon the Mahavats.'

The man raised a black and gold banner and waved it high in the air.

As Indra marched on to the wide plain, he saw to his left the hillock on which Ugra stood. He realised that it was the Harappan command post. Up ahead he saw what looked like a moving grey wall, and it was headed straight at them. As it got closer, Indra and his men watched wide-eyed in astonishment as five hundred war elephants charged towards them. Indra had never seen an elephant before; now the horizon seemed to be filled with the terrifying beasts.

In spite of their great bulk, the beasts moved with alarming speed. As they neared, Indra saw that the animals wore leather armour inlaid with bronze over their broad foreheads, and their tusks were tipped with bronze cones that had been honed till they were needle sharp. The dominant males each carried a Mahavat rider on his back. They were the only tribe in the world to have mastered these beasts. At the behest of their riders, the elephants raised their trunks and trumpeted in unison, startling the horses.

Indra called to Atreya and led two chariot divisions to intercept them. He hoped they would be able to buy the rest of his men enough time to spread out across the relative safety of the broad plain. He began to pour arrows into the animals as Soma drove the chariot straight towards them. The arrows posed no threat to the beasts and only served to infuriate them further. One of them raised his trunk, trumpeted a challenge and charged towards the Deva king. Indra shot five arrows in quick succession into the open mouth of the elephant, and one of them found the creature's brain. It fell like a small hill right in the path of Indra's chariot.

Soma let out a roar of triumph that was rapidly cut short as another bull charged right into them. Its massive tusk took one of the horses right in the chest and lifted it bodily off the ground. With a shake of the giant head, it threw the hapless animal into the path of the others. Indra swung the black sword and lopped off its trunk. The creature roared in pain and slammed its head into the chariot, showering the two men with blood from its mutilated trunk. The two occupants of the vehicle were thrown clear right into the middle of the charge.

Indra and Soma weaved, rolled and twisted out of the path of the charging beasts. Around them the Deva chariots were being taken apart. They heard the screams of men being gored or crushed under those giant legs.

The Mahavat chief--realising that the enemy had scattered-- now called off the charge. He did not want to exhaust his mounts in a futile chase. Indra and Soma found themselves surrounded by elephants. Mace and sword in hand, they prepared for the inevitable.

Suddenly a piercing whistle rent the air. Indra turned in the direction of the sound. It was the Ashvanis on horseback. They had somehow found a way through the forbidding grey wall. They reached the two warriors who hoisted themselves onto the backs of their steeds, and with some sublime horsemanship rode literally between the enormous feet of the infuriated beasts back to their own lines.

Indra was soon back at the helm of his army in a new chariot. He issued orders to Aryaman and his cavalry archers to take down the riders of the elephants. Aryaman and his men rode up and concentrated their arrows on the Mahavats. Under their accurate assault, many of the elephants were soon left without riders. The Mahavat leader crouched low on his mount and continued to direct the charge. The Ashvanis pointed him out to Indra and informed him that the only way to stop the assault would be to kill that man and beast.

Indra directed Soma to drive the chariot towards the lead bull. As he neared the gargantuan beast, Indra leapt off the chariot. In his hand he carried Kadaag, the black sword. The Mahavat leader saw Indra come and turned the great beast towards him. Indra roared out a challenge and sprinted towards the charging animal. The elephant hesitated, unused to such behaviour. One brief second was all Indra needed: he leapt towards the beast and, stepping on its tusk, launched himself upwards. The rider let out a startled yell as Indra suddenly appeared in front of him. He raised the elephant goad to strike Indra, but he was too late, Kadaag took his head clean off his shoulders.

Indra stood on the elephant's head and kicked the lifeless torso off its back. The elephant roared and tried to turn its head to dislodge the intruder. Indra drove his sword into the thick neck of the beast right where it met the skull. The elephant screamed in agony, turned tail and ran. Indra twisted the sword viciously and severed its spinal cord. The great beast stopped, swayed for a moment, and then dropped down dead on the battlefield. Indra leapt off its back and ran back to his lines. The other elephants had followed the lead bull and turned their backs on the enemy.

Aryaman and his archers now attacked their unprotected rear with a volley of arrows and sent them on their way. The leaderless elephants needed no further encouragement as they charged back towards their own lines.

***

Bheda, chief of the Vrisni clan, looked out at the dust cloud in the distance. He could hear the bellowing of the giant beasts. He hoped they had left him some of the enemy to deal with. He had six thousand spears thirsting for blood. His men were packed together in a tight line as they waited for the signal from Ugra.

The Vrisni were the greatest warriors in the land. For generations they had been hired as mercenaries to protect the borders of Harappa from invasion. They were supremely confident and scoffed at the thought of wearing any armour. With their speed and skill they did not feel the need for any extra protection.

Clad only in loincloths of tiger skin, their beautifully sculpted dark bodies were marked with white clay. It gave them a fearful appearance. They now sang and shuffled their feet in a rhythmic dance as they waited to rain death and destruction on the enemy.

Suddenly, through the cloud of dust, he saw that the elephants were out of control and running straight for the Vrisni line. Bheda realised what had happened and screamed for his men to break ranks and scatter. His timely action saved a lot of his men from being trampled underfoot by the giant beasts. But even before he could close ranks again, Indra's chariots and cavalry had hit the broken line. Bheda watched in horror as the Devas scythed through his army and emerged behind them. Before he could order his men to turn and face the threat of another cavalry charge, Yadu and his Yavanas attacked.

The Vrisni, in all their years of fighting, had never encountered such a disciplined and cohesive unit as Indra's army. Now they were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Indra, Soma, Varuna, Vayu and Agni consumed huge quantities of soma and waded into the throng of Vrisni.

Sandwiched between Yadu and Indra's army, what followed was a massacre unlike any the Harappans had ever seen before. Although outnumbered, Indra and his army unleashed a furious attack against which the hapless Bheda and his men had no answer. Before sunset, all of the mighty Vrisni had fallen on the blood-soaked earth.

Ugra and his handful of Harappan soldiers bowed their head in subjugation to the Deva king and escaped with their lives.

14

As the victorious army marched into the city of Harappa, Indra remembered Valli and her eloquent descriptions of her city. He realised now as he marvelled at Harappa's order and beauty that her words had not been exaggerations prompted by the love of her native land. Even Susa, with all its beauty, paled in comparison to this magnificent city.

As they marched through its broad central avenue, the citizens gathered by the sides to catch a glimpse of their new rulers. They were all dressed in white flowing robes, and both men and women adorned themselves with heavy gold jewellery. Their faces betrayed no emotion sans a mild curiosity as they watched the parade. They did not behave or appear like a conquered people.

Indra was surprised to discover the complete lack of fear in their eyes. They seemed almost haughty as they met his gaze. He looked around at his own men who appeared strangely subdued, as if awestruck by the beauty of the city.

Brihaspati realised that there was more to this scene than met the eye. There was something about this city. He felt a strange power here. A dark, sinister, all-encompassing power. He turned to Ugra who marched next to him and spoke to him in a whisper.

'Tell me the truth for I will know if you do not. There is something wrong. My men are strangely subdued while your people show no fear for their future. What is this strange power I sense here?'

Ugra did not turn to him but spoke in a soft whisper so the others would not hear.

'What you sense is true, Master. Raksha, the patron goddess of Harappa, protects this city. It is she who controls the minds of your people. We will speak more about this later.'

Indra tried to shake off the ominous feeling that had crept into his mind as he stared at the local populace. He curled his nose in disgust and whispered to Soma.

'Look at them! With all that jewellery, it's impossible to tell the men from the women. Pompous little peacocks. I wonder if they'd maintain those stoic faces with my sword up their arse.'

Soma looked distinctly uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

'I do not trust these dark ones. They are like snakes waiting for a chance to turn on us.'

The road took them past a huge reservoir. Ugra informed them that this was the only water source left in the city. The river Sindhu that had once been the lifeline of this great city was now a muddy swamp. This tank fed by underground springs was the only thing that kept the city alive. Indra laughed unsympathetically.

'Do not worry. When your water runs out you can melt down all that gold you'll wear on your bodies and drink it.'

They were led to one of the oligarchs' palaces that had been hurriedly vacated to accommodate Indra and his commanders. Indra called for soma and after downing a few cups felt distinctly better. After the long trek through the desert, he settled down to enjoy the luxuries the palace had to offer.