The Oath of The Vayuputras (51 page)

A couple of weeks later Shiva and Gopal stood on a beach in a hidden lagoon, a short distance to the north of the Narmada delta. The small convoy of military ships had sneaked into the lagoon the previous night. Shiva and Gopal had disembarked into rowboats, along with a skeletal crew, and stolen onto the beach. Early next morning, the merchant ship that would take them to Pariha arrived in the lagoon.

‘Hmmm... good workmanship,’ said an admiring Shiva.

It was, without doubt, a bulky ship, obviously designed to carry large cargo. However, any sailor could judge that with its double masts, high stern and low bow, this craft was also built for speed. In addition, the ship had been rigged with two banks of oars, to allow for ‘human propulsion’ if required.

‘We won’t really need the rowers,’ said Gopal. ‘Our vessel will have the Northeasterly winds in its sails.’

‘Where is this beauty from?’ asked Shiva.

‘A small shipping village called Umbergaon.’

‘Umbergaon? Where is it?’

‘It’s to the south of the Narmada River delta.’

‘That’s not a part of any empire, Swadweep or Meluha.’

‘You guessed right, my friend. That makes it a perfect place to build ships that one doesn’t want tracked. The local ruler, Jadav Rana, is a pragmatic man. The Nagas have helped him many times. He values their friendship. And, most importantly, his people are expert ship builders. This ship will get us to Pariha as fast as is humanly possible.’

‘Interesting. We should be grateful for their invaluable help.’

‘No,’ said Gopal, smiling. ‘It is Pariha that should be grateful to Umbergaon, for the Umbergaonis have ensured that the gift of the Neelkanth shall reach Pariha.’

‘I’m no gift,’ said a discomfited Shiva.

‘Yes, you are. For you will help the Vayuputras achieve their purpose. You will help them fulfil their vow to Lord Rudra: to not let Evil win.’

Shiva remained silent, as always, embarrassed.

‘And I’m sure,’ continued a prescient Gopal, ‘that one day, Pariha too shall send a gift in return to Umbergaon.’

‘How’re you feeling now, my friend?’ asked Gopal, as soon as he entered Shiva’s cabin.

The vessel bearing the two men had been sailing in the open seas for a little more than a week. They were far beyond the coastline and unlikely to run into any Meluhan military ships. They’d run into choppy waters though, in the last few days. The sailors, used to the ways of the sea, were not really troubled by it. Neither was Gopal, who had travelled on these great expanses of water many times. But Shiva had undertaken a sea voyage just once, from the Narmada delta to Lothal, where the ship had stayed close to the coast. It was, therefore, no surprise that the rough sea had given the Neelkanth a severe bout of seasickness.

Shiva looked up from his bed and cursed, his eyes half shut. ‘I have no stomach left! It has all been churned out! A plague on these wretched waters!’

Gopal laughed softly, ‘It’s time for your medicines, Neelkanth.’

‘What’s the point, Pandit
ji
? Nothing stays inside!’

‘For whatever little time the medicine remains, it will serve a purpose. Take it.’

Gopal gently poured a herbal infusion into a wooden spoon. Balancing it delicately, the Chief Vasudev offered it to Shiva, who swallowed it quickly and fell back on the bed.

‘Holy Lake, help me,’ whispered Shiva, ‘let this medicine stay within me for a few minutes at least.’

But the prayer probably didn’t reach Mansarovar Lake in time. Shiva lurched to his side and retched into the large pot that had been placed on the ground. A sailor standing by the bed rushed forward quickly and handed a wet towel to Shiva, who wiped his face slowly.

Shiva shook his head and looked up at the ceiling of his cabin in disgust. ‘Crap!’

Bhrigu and Parvateshwar rode on horseback at the head of a massive army that had marched out of Devagiri. They were on their way to the Beas River, from which point, ships would sail them down to Karachapa.

‘I was thinking that the powerful fleet in Karachapa is not the only advantage derived from our decision to shift our war command,’ said Bhrigu.

Parvateshwar frowned. ‘What other benefit does it serve, My Lord?’

‘Well, there’s also the fact that you will not have to suffer idiotic orders from your emperor. You will be free to conduct the war the way you deem fit.’

It was obvious that Bhrigu held Daksha in contempt, and did not think much of his harebrained schemes. But Parvateshwar was too disciplined a Meluhan to speak openly against his emperor. He was stoic in his silence.

Bhrigu smiled. ‘You really are a rare man, General, a man of the old code. Lord Ram would have been proud of you.’

Aided by the Northeasterly winds pushing hard into its sails, the merchant ship was cutting through the waters with rapid speed. Having tossed and turned for a few days, Shiva had finally adapted to the sea. The Neelkanth was able, therefore, to enjoy the stiff morning breeze on the main deck at the bow, with Gopal for company.

‘We are now crossing over from our Western Sea, through a very narrow strait,’ said Gopal. ‘It’s just a little over fifty kilometres across.’

‘What’s on the other side?’ asked Shiva.

‘The Jam Zrayangh.’

‘Sounds scary. What in Lord Ram’s name does that mean?’

Gopal laughed. ‘Something absolutely benign. Zrayangh simply means sea in the local language.’

‘And what does Jam mean?’

‘Jam means “to come to”.’

‘To come to?’

‘Yes.’

‘So this is the “sea that you come to”?’

‘Yes, a simple name. This is the sea you must come to if you want to go to Elam or Mesopotamia or any of the lands farther west. But most importantly, this is the sea you must approach if you need to go to Pariha.’

‘I’ve heard of Mesopotamia. It has strong trade relations with Meluha, right?’

‘Yes. It’s a very powerful and rich empire, established between two great rivers in the region, the Tigris and the Euphrates.’

‘Is the empire bigger than Meluha and Swadweep?’

‘No,’ smiled Gopal. ‘It’s not even bigger than Meluha alone. But they believe human civilisation began in their region.’

‘Really? I thought we Indians believed that human civilisation began here.’

‘True.’

‘So, who’s right?’

Gopal shrugged. ‘I don’t know. This goes back many thousands of years. But frankly, does it matter who got civilised first so long as all of us eventually became civilised?’

Shiva smiled. ‘True. And where is Elam?’

‘Elam is a much smaller kingdom to the south-east of Mesopotamia.’

‘South-east?’ asked Shiva. ‘So, Elam is closer to Pariha?’

‘Yes. And Elam acts as a buffer state between Pariha and Mesopotamia, which is why the Parihans have occasionally helped the Elamites unofficially.’

‘But I thought Pariha never got involved in local politics.’

‘They try to avoid it. And most people in the region have not even heard of the Vayuputras. But they were concerned that an expanding Mesopotamia would encroach into their land.’

‘Expanding Mesopotamia?’

‘A gifted gardener had once conquered the whole of Mesopotamia.’

‘A gardener? How did a gardener become a warrior? Did he train in secret?’

Gopal smiled. ‘From what I’ve heard of the story, he wasn’t trained.’

Shiva’s eyes widened with amazement. ‘He must have been very gifted.’

‘Oh, he was talented. But not in gardening!’

Shiva laughed. ‘What was his name?’

‘Nobody knows his original name. But he called himself Sargon.’

‘And he conquered the whole of Mesopotamia?’

‘Yes, and surprisingly quickly at that. But it did not satiate his ambition. He went on to conquer neighbouring kingdoms as well, including Elam.’

‘That would have brought him to the borders of Pariha.’

‘Not exactly, my friend. But uncomfortably close.’

‘Why didn’t he move farther east?’

‘I don’t know. Neither he nor his successors did, though. But the Vayuputras were troubled enough to offer anonymous assistance to Elam. The Elamites were able to rebel because of this support, and the conquest of the Mesopotamians did not last for too long.’

‘King Sargon seems like a very interesting man.’

‘He was. He challenged the entire world, and even fate itself. He was so feisty that he dared to name his empire after the water-carrier who was his adopted father.’

‘His father was a water-carrier?’

‘Yes, named Akki. So they called themselves the Empire of the Akkadians.’

‘And does this empire still exist?’

‘No.’

‘That’s sad. I would have loved to meet these remarkable Akkadians.’

‘The people of Elam would have thought very differently, Lord Neelkanth.’

‘The soldiers are bored and restless,’ said Ganesh. ‘They have been mobilised, but there has been no action, no battle.’

Kartik and Ganesh had just entered Sati’s chamber and were happy to find Kali with their mother.

‘I was discussing just that, with
didi
,’ said Kali. ‘The men are spending their time gambling and drinking to keep themselves occupied. Training is suffering because they don’t see the point of it when there is hardly any chance of combat in the near future.’

‘This is the time when stupid incidents occur which can blow up into serious problems,’ said Sati.

‘Let’s keep them busy,’ suggested Kartik. ‘Let’s organise some animal hunts in the forests around the city. We know that the Meluhan army has still not moved out of Karachapa, so there is no risk in letting our soldiers out in large groups. Hunting will give them some sense of action.’

‘Good idea,’ agreed Kali. ‘We can also use the excess meat to organise feasts for the citizens of Lothal. It will help assuage some of their irritation with having to host such a large army.’

‘The excitement and the blood-rush will also prevent boredom from creeping into our troops,’ said Ganesh.

‘I agree,’ said Sati. ‘I’ll issue the orders immediately.’