The Oath of The Vayuputras (10 page)

‘Don’t you think this is difficult to accept? If people believe that their fate is completely random, it would leave them without any sense of understanding, purpose or motivation. Or why they are where they are.’

‘On the contrary, this is an empowering thought. When you know that your fate is completely random, you have the freedom to commit yourself to any theory that will empower you. If you have been blessed with good fate, you can choose to believe it is God’s kindness and ingrain humility within. But if you have been cursed with bad fate, you need to know that no Great Power is seeking to punish you. Your situation is, in fact, a result of completely random circumstances, an indiscriminate turn of the universe. Therefore, if you decide to challenge your destiny, your opponent would not be some judgemental Lord Almighty who is seeking to punish you; your opponent would only be the limitations of your own mind. This will empower you to fight your fate.’

Sati shook her head. ‘Sometimes you are too revolutionary.’

Shiva’s eyes crinkled. ‘Maybe that is itself a result of my past-life sins!’

Laughing together, they cantered out of the city gates.

Seeing the Panchavati guest colony in the distance, Shiva whispered gravely, ‘But one man will have to account to his friends for his karma in this life.’

‘Brahaspati
ji
?’

Shiva nodded.

‘What do you have in mind?’

‘I had asked Brahaspati if he’d like to meet Parvateshwar and Ayurvati, to explain to them as to how he is still alive.’

‘And?’

‘He readily agreed.’

‘I would have expected nothing less from him.’

‘Are you all right?’ asked Anandmayi.

Parvateshwar and Anandmayi were in their private room in the Panchavati guesthouse colony.

‘I’m thoroughly confused,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘The ruler of Meluha should represent the best there is in our way of life – truth, duty and honour. What does it say about us if our emperor is such a habitual law-breaker? He broke the law when Sati’s child was born.’

‘I know what Emperor Daksha did was patently wrong. But one could argue that he is just a father trying to protect his child, albeit in his own stupid manner.’

‘The fact that he did what was wrong is enough, Anandmayi. He broke the law. And now, he has broken one of Lord Rudra’s laws by using the
daivi astras
. How can Meluha, the finest land in the world, have an emperor like him? Isn’t something wrong somewhere?’

Anandmayi held her husband’s hand. ‘Your emperor was never any good. I could have told you that many years ago. But you don’t need to blame all of Meluha for his misdeeds.’

‘That’s not the way it works. A leader is not just a person who gives orders. He is also the one who symbolises the society he leads. If the leader is corrupt, then the society must be corrupt too.’

‘Who feeds this nonsense to you, my love? A leader is just a human being, like anyone else. He doesn’t symbolise anything.’

Parvateshwar shook his head. ‘There are some truths that cannot be challenged. A leader’s karma impacts his entire land. He is supposed to be his people’s icon. That is a universal truth.’

Anandmayi bent towards him with a soft twinkle in her eyes. ‘Parvateshwar, there is your truth and there is my truth. As for the universal truth? It does not exist.’

Parvateshwar smiled as he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. ‘You Chandravanshis are very good with words.’

‘Words can only be as good or as bad as the thoughts they convey.’

Parvateshwar’s smile spread wider. ‘So what is your thought on what I should do? My emperor’s actions have put me in a situation where my god, the Neelkanth, may declare war on my country. What do I do then? How do I know which side to pick?’

‘You should stick to your god,’ said Anandmayi, without any hint of hesitation in her voice. ‘But this is a hypothetical question. So don’t worry too much about it.’

‘My Lord, you called,’ said Ayurvati.

She had been as surprised as Parvateshwar when the both of them had been summoned to Shiva’s chambers. Since their arrival in Panchavati, Shiva had spent most of his time with the Nagas. Ayurvati was convinced that the Nagas were somehow complicit in the attack on Shiva’s convoy. She also believed the Neelkanth was perhaps investigating the roots of Naga treachery in Panchavati.

‘Parvateshwar, Ayurvati, welcome,’ said Shiva, ‘I called you here because it is time now for you to know the secret of the Nagas.’

Parvateshwar looked up, surprised. ‘But why only the two of us, My Lord?’

‘Because the both of you are Meluhans. I have reason to suspect that the attack on us at the Godavari is linked to many things: the plague in Branga, the plight of the Nagas and the drying up of the Saraswati.’

Parvateshwar and Ayurvati were flummoxed.

‘But I am certain about one thing,’ said Shiva. ‘The attack is connected to the destruction of Mount Mandar.’

‘What?! How?’

‘Only one man can explain it. One whom you believe is dead.’

Ayurvati and Parvateshwar spun around as they heard the door open.

Brahaspati walked in quietly.

‘The Somras is Evil?’ asked Anandmayi incredulously. ‘Is that what the Lord Neelkanth thinks?’

Parvateshwar and Anandmayi were in their chambers at the Panchavati guest colony. Bhagirath had just joined them.

‘I’m not sure about what he thinks,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘But Brahaspati seems to think so.’

‘But Evil is supposed to be Evil for everybody,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Why should a Suryavanshi turncoat decide what Evil is? Why should we listen to him? Why should the Neelkanth listen to him?’

‘Bhagirath, do you expect me to defend Brahaspati, the man who destroyed the soul of our empire?’ asked Parvateshwar.

‘Just a minute,’ said Anandmayi, raising her hand. ‘Think this through... If the plague in Branga is linked to the Somras, if the slow depletion of the river Saraswati is linked to the Somras, if the birth of the Nagas is linked to the Somras, then isn’t it fair to think that maybe it is Evil?’

‘So what is the Neelkanth planning to do? Does he want to ban the Somras?’ asked Bhagirath.

‘I don’t know, Bhagirath!’ snapped an irritated Parvateshwar, his world having turned upside down because of Daksha and now Brahaspati. ‘You keep asking me questions, the answers to which I do not know!’

Anandmayi placed her hand on Parvateshwar’s shoulders. ‘Perhaps the Neelkanth is just as shocked as we are. He needs to think things over. He cannot afford to make hasty decisions.’

‘Well, he has made one already,’ said Parvateshwar.

Bhagirath and Anandmayi looked at Parvateshwar curiously.

‘We are to leave for Swadweep once all have recovered from their injuries. The Lord has asked us to wait for him at Kashi till he decides his next move. He believes King Athithigva has not sold out to Ayodhya in the conspiracy to assassinate us on the Godavari.’

‘But if we go to Kashi, my father will get to know that we are alive,’ said Bhagirath. ‘He will know his attack has failed.’

‘We have to keep quiet about it. We have to pretend that nothing happened, that we were not attacked at all. That we made an uneventful journey to Panchavati and back.’

‘Won’t they wonder about their ships?’

‘The Lord says that’s all right. Many things can happen during long sea and river voyages. They may believe their ships met with an accident before they could attack us.’

Bhagirath raised his eyebrows. ‘My father may be stupid enough to believe that story. But he is not the leader. Whoever put together a conspiracy of this scale will certainly investigate what went wrong.’

‘But investigations take time, allowing the Neelkanth to check whatever else it is that he needs to.’

‘The Lord is not coming with us?’ asked a surprised Anandmayi.

Parvateshwar shook his head. ‘No. And the Lord has said we should let it be known that neither his family nor he is with us at Kashi. It should be publicised that he remains in Panchavati. The Lord believes that it will keep us safe as the attack was aimed at him.’

‘That can mean only one thing,’ said Bhagirath. ‘He chooses to take Brahaspati at face value but wants to ascertain a few more things before he makes up his mind.’

Anandmayi looked at her husband with concern in her eyes. She knew that a war was approaching. Perhaps the biggest war that India had ever seen. And in all probability, Meluha and Shiva would be on opposite sides. Which side would her husband choose?

‘Whatever happens,’ said Anandmayi, holding Parvateshwar’s face, ‘we must have faith in the Neelkanth.’

Parvateshwar nodded silently.

Shiva, Parshuram and Nandi were sitting on the banks of the Godavari. Shiva took a deep drag from the chillum as he looked towards the river, lost in thought. He let out a sigh as he turned to his friends. ‘Are you sure, Parshuram?’

‘Yes, My Lord,’ replied Parshuram. ‘I can even take you to the uppermost point of the mighty Brahmaputra, where she is the Tsangpo. But I wouldn’t recommend it, for fatalities can be high on that treacherous route.’

Shiva’s silence provoked Parshuram to probe further, ‘What is it about that river, My Lord?’ He had been intrigued by the abnormal interest shown by the Nagas in the Brahmaputra’s course as well. ‘First the Nagas, now you; why is everyone so interested in it?’

‘It may be the carrier of Evil, Parshuram.’

Nandi looked up in surprise. ‘Doesn’t the Tsangpo begin close to your own home in Tibet, My Lord?’

‘Yes, Nandi,’ said Shiva. ‘It seems Evil has been closer than it initially appeared.’

Nandi remained quiet. He was one of the few who knew the ships that attacked Shiva’s convoy were from Meluha. He knew what he had to do. If it came to a choice between Shiva and his country, he would choose Shiva. But it still hurt him immensely. He knew he might have to be a part of an army that would attack his beloved motherland, Meluha. He hated his fate for having put him in such a situation.