Bhagirath looked at Kartik with a familiar sensation of fascination and fear.
‘Why this ground, Lord Ganesh?’ asked Chandraketu.
‘Your Highness,’ answered Ganesh, ‘as you can see, this stretch is long and narrow. That will lure Surapadman into anchoring his ships along the banks, thus stretching his army thin. The forest is not too far from the shore. Which means our main army can remain hidden behind the trees. We will leave only a small contingent on the beach.’
Bhagirath smiled. ‘That will be a very juicy bait. Surapadman will probably imagine that this is a small brigade that has deserted the siege of Ayodhya. He’ll want to kill them to give his soldiers a taste of victory.’
‘Right,’ said Ganesh. ‘But the main battle will not be on land. We just have to pin him down here, which will, in all honesty, take a lot of courage, since he will have a large force. That is why I want Kartik here. But Surapadman will be defeated in the river itself.’
‘How?’ asked Chandraketu.
‘I’ll move back from Ayodhya and ram his ships from the front,’ said Ganesh. ‘I’ve also asked King Maatali to wait in the Sharda River along with thirty ships. The Sharda meets the Sarayu downriver. The Vaishali fleet will sail up the Sarayu once Surapadman’s ships have passed, placing them behind the Magadhans. My contingent will attack from in front while the Vaishali forces will hit them from behind. Kartik has to hold Surapadman in position for long enough to make his fleet of ships immobile.’
‘He will be sandwiched between King Maatali’s ships and yours,’ said Chandraketu. ‘He won’t stand a chance.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Sounds like a good plan,’ said Bhagirath.
‘The success of the battle hinges on two points,’ said Ganesh. ‘Firstly, Kartik has to entice Surapadman to anchor his ships and attack our soldiers on shore. In the absence of that he will keep moving, and his larger boats will ram through my smaller ships and possibly turn the tide in his favour. Our ships are light, manoeuvrable and built for speed. The Magadhan ships are bigger and have been built for strength. If Kartik fails to lure Surapadman ashore, my side of our fleet may face heavy casualties. I must be in command to take care of that possibility.’
‘And the second point?’ asked Bhagirath.
‘King Maatali must be positioned to block Surapadman’s escape back to Magadh. That will close the pincer trap.’
Chandraketu doubted neither Kartik’s courage nor his strategic mind. His words to the young warrior bespoke respect. ‘You’re on your own, Kartik. It’s all up to you now.’
Kartik narrowed his eyes, his hand on his sword hilt. ‘I’ll draw him in, King Chandraketu. And once I do, I assure you I’ll obliterate his entire army myself. Our ships won’t even be required to join the battle.’
Ganesh smiled at his brother.
Ganesh reached for another document from the stack on the desk and began to read, then paused to rub his tired eyes. He was seated in his private cabin, surrounded by messages from his informants about the progress of the assault. There were dozens of missives telling him every aspect from the mood of the Ayodhyan populace to the progress of the armourers in meeting the archers’ demand for arrows. He had hardly slept in the weeks since the battle had begun and his body ached for rest, but these reports could not wait. It appeared that Ayodhya stood poised on the brink of surrender, and any misstep now could spell disaster. Kartik and Chandraketu sat patiently by his side, assisting Ganesh with the endless stream of messages. The three sat together in silence as they awaited Bhagirath’s return, to hear news of his mission.
The siege of Ayodhya had begun over a month ago. Ganesh’s navy had assaulted the city in the classical manner of the ancient war manuals. A large part of the fleet had been anchored along the west banks of the Sarayu in a double line, out of the range of the catapults on the fort walls of the eastern banks. The lined ships had extended up to the north of Ayodhya, just shy of the sheer cliff upriver where the Sarayu descended in a waterfall. Small lifeboats had been tied to the right of the ships in Ganesh’s convoy, with guards present round the clock. This was to prevent devil boats from attempting to set fire to the vessels from the Ayodhya end. A section of the army had camped to the left of the ships, on the shore itself, to thwart guerrilla attacks from the Ayodhyans.
Farther to the south, Ganesh had anchored his ships and tied them together, across the river in rows of ten. Another line-up was just behind the first level of the blockade ships. Behind these, five fast-moving cutters would patrol the river farther downstream to attack any Ayodhyans who attempted to escape. Thus, any Ayodhyan ship attempting to run the river blockade had to battle through a thick line of twenty enemy ships and five quick cutters.
The forest around Ayodhya had been cleared by the defending army to give it a clear line of sight in case of an attack. Prasanjit, the Meluhan brigadier who had been left behind by Bhrigu, had tried hard to convince the Ayodhyans to extend the clearing area farther, but he had been unsuccessful. Ganesh had got his troops to cut a second line of trees beyond the clearing, as a precautionary fire line. Once the outer fire line had been established, Ganesh had ordered that the trees within the two clearings be set aflame. The intense heat generated would have resulted in the collapse of any tunnels around Ayodhya that could have served as passages for food to be smuggled into the city. The fire had burned for four continuous days and had had a demoralising effect on the citizens of ‘the impenetrable city’, establishing the steely resolve of their blockaders.
A cataract on a sheer cliff to the north of Ayodhya served as a natural barrier, which prevented ships from navigating farther north on the Sarayu. The Ayodhyans had built a channel into their walled shipyard just short of the cataract. The singular narrow channel of entry had been designed to be easily defendable. While this channel, passing through a gated wall, protected the Ayodhyan shipyard, it also allowed the enemy to block the exit route of their ships. Ganesh had used the leftover logs from the forest clearing to block this channel, effectively extending the siege of the city to the shipyard as well. All he had wanted was to box them in, and blocking the channel had ensured that he did not have to divert too many ships to blockade the shipyard.
Ganesh had known that the Meluhans had set up a bird courier system for the Ayodhyans. He had hit upon a very simple strategy to destroy this. He had placed six hundred archers on various treetops outside Ayodhya and along the Sarayu. These archers worked in eight-hour shifts, changing three times a day, maintaining a continuous twenty-four hour vigil. The orders had been very simple: shoot any and every bird that they saw in the sky. Most of these dead birds were retrieved by trackers. In doing so, not only did they retrieve messages exchanged between Meluha and Ayodhya, but the dead pigeons and other game birds were also a source of fresh meat for the soldiers.
Ayodhya drew fresh drinking water from the Sarayu through channels that extended from the river to within the city walls. The channels were fed by ingeniously designed giant water wheels constructed along the Sarayu. These wheels used the flow of the river to rotate. A series of buckets tied around the diameter would fill up with water and disgorge into the channels as they reached the top. Tall walls had been built around the wheels to protect them from any attack. However, there was a breach in the wall just below the water surface, from where the buckets filled up with water. This opening was fortified with bronze bars that were wide enough to allow water to run through, but not so wide as to allow a man to swim in between. But that hadn’t stopped Ganesh.
Ganesh had deployed soldiers to swim across the Sarayu at night pulling small, floating wooden barrels. Within these barrels were smaller iron cans filled with oil. Water in the space between the wooden barrel and the iron can, and a slow fuse made of hemp, completed the device. Once lit, the fuse would ignite the oil, bringing the water to a boil. The consequent pressure of escaping steam would cause an explosion with the iron and wood themselves serving as shrapnel. The task of the skilled swimm
ers had been to strategically place the devices within the buckets of the water wheels, thus destroying them. The existing wells of Ayodhya could never quench the thirst of its innumerable residents.
Ganesh had allowed a small number of non-combatant women and priests to come out of the city every day, to draw small amounts of water for personal use. He had also ordered that this number be progressively reduced every day until the Ayodhyans surrendered. It was a slow squeeze designed to ultimately make the people rise against their leaders. Ganesh’s soldiers had added to the psychological warfare by berating the emerging Ayodhyans for going against the wishes of their Neelkanth and siding with Meluha. They had been informed that the only reason why Ganesh had refrained from shooting missiles into Ayodhya was so as not to harm innocent citizens who had had nothing to do with the decision of their emperor, Dilipa.
The daily two-way traffic of some Ayodhyans had also served another important purpose. It had enabled the hidden Vasudev pandit of the Ramjanmabhoomi temple to send an emissary to Ganesh with information collected from all the Vasudev pandits from across the temples of India.
After a couple of weeks, Ganesh had offered to send Bhagirath to meet with the nobles of his father’s kingdom to reach a mutually acceptable compromise. The opportunity had been instantly grabbed by the Ayodhyans.
Ganesh stretched his tired muscles and glanced at Kartik and Chandraketu seated beside him in the cabin. They also had hardly slept but masked their exhaustion and continued to peruse the documents. Ganesh smiled to himself. When this is done, he thought, we’re all going to lock ourselves in our cabins and sleep for a week!
There was the sound of footsteps and a brief knock at the cabin door before it was pushed open. Bhagirath bowed slightly to Ganesh, his hair slightly ruffled from the wind, before entering to take a seat with the three men.
‘What news, Bhagirath?’ asked Ganesh, pushing the pile of messages to one side.
‘I’m afraid it’s not good.’
‘Really?’ asked Chandraketu. ‘I thought the Ayodhyan army must be deeply divided. I cannot think of another reason why we were able to lay siege on the city so easily. No skirmishes, no guerrilla attacks, nothing. It could only mean that the army doesn’t intend to fight.’
Bhagirath shook his head. ‘You don’t know Ayodhya, King Chandraketu. It was not the cowardice of their army but the indecisiveness of their nobility which worked in our favour. They have not been able to agree on the best way to attack us. Furthermore, Maharishi Bhrigu had brought in a Meluhan brigadier, Prasanjit, to oversee the Ayodhyan war preparations. All it achieved was further divisions within the city. By the time they agreed upon a strategy, we were already in control of the river. There was not much that they could do after that.’
‘So?’ asked Ganesh. ‘Haven’t their troubles opened the eyes of some at least?’
‘No,’ said Bhagirath. ‘There is tremendous confusion within the city. Many Ayodhyans are fanatical devotees of Lord Shiva and are certain that the Neelkanth will not harm them. They refuse to believe that he has ordered this attack. This blind devotion seems to be working against us.’
‘So who do they think has ordered this attack?’ asked Chandraketu.
‘Seeing the number of Brangas in the army, they think that it is you,’ said Bhagirath.
Chandraketu raised his hands. ‘Why would I attack Ayodhya?’
‘They believe that Branga wants to be the overlord of Swadweep,’ said Bhagirath. ‘In the absence of Lord Shiva, there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise. There are a few who do believe in the proclamation that was put up, but they are in a minority. They are outshouted by a very simple logic: “We have never used the Somras, so why would the Neelkanth attack us? He should attack Meluha.” Of course, a few members of the nobility do use the Somras, but the people do not know that.’
‘It is the opinion of the nobility that is more important right now,’ said Kartik. ‘The people do not control the army. So what do the nobles think?’
‘The nobility is sharply divided. Some of them actually want us to succeed, which would give them a plausible reason to refuse to help Meluha. Others believe surrendering will mean terrible loss of face. These people want the army to gallantly strike out and sail to Meluha if only to prove to the rest of Swadweep that Ayodhya has the strength to do what it chooses to do.’
‘How do we assist those who do not want to come to the aid of Meluha?’ asked Ganesh.
‘It’s difficult,’ said Bhagirath. ‘My father made a brilliant move last week. He promised all of them a lifetime supply of the Somras.’
‘What?’
‘Yes. He told them that Lord Bhrigu has promised to supply the Somras powder to Ayodhya in massive quantities.’
‘But how can Maharishi Bhrigu promise that?’ asked Kartik. ‘Where will it come from? Is the manufacturing facility capable of producing so much more?’
‘It clearly must be,’ said Bhagirath. ‘In any case, this offer is open only to the nobility. So the numbers will be small.’
‘Damn!’ said Ganesh.
‘My thoughts precisely,’ said Bhagirath. ‘This will allow them to remain alive for a hundred more years. No amount of gold can compete with that.’
‘What do we do now?’ asked Chandraketu.
‘Prepare for war,’ said Ganesh. ‘They will make earnest attempts to break the siege.’
Chapter 22
Magadh Mobilises
Shiva, along with Sati, Gopal and Kali, watched the massive army board the Vasudev and Naga ships on the banks of the Narmada. The Vasudevs had tied some logs together to create floating platforms for the army to reach the anchored ships. A viewing platform had been built on a banyan tree near the banks. The leaves had been shorn off, to afford a panoramic view of the boarding operations. The line of ships stretched as far as the eye could see. Over one hundred thousand soldiers, comprising the Brangas, Vasudevs and Nagas, were boarding the vessels in an orderly manner. The voyage would be uncomfortable with two thousand men on every ship, but fortunately, the journey to Lothal would be short.
‘We should be ready to sail out by tomorrow, Shiva,’ said Kali.
‘Has Suparna boarded?’ asked Shiva.
Suparna, a fearsome warrior, was the leader of the Garuda Nagas.
‘Not yet,’ said Kali.
‘May I meet her? I’d like to exchange some thoughts on the Nagas under her command.’
Kali raised her eyebrows. She had expected to lead the Nagas into the war.
‘I’d like you to be with me, Kali,’ said Shiva, mollifying her. ‘I trust you. I’m going to be leading the search party into Meluhan cities to try and locate the Somras manufacturing facility. We’ll have to work quietly and anonymously, while our army outside the city keeps the Meluhans busy.’
‘You are very tactful, Shiva.’
Shiva frowned.
‘You know how to get your way without making one feel that one has been cut down to size,’ said Kali.
Shiva smiled, once again silent.
‘But I understand that the search for the Somras facility is crucial,’ said Kali. ‘So it will be my honour to accompany you.’
‘Excellent,’ said Shiva, turning to Gopal. ‘Any news from the Vasudevs, Panditji?’
‘The siege of Ayodhya has been surprisingly easy,’ said Gopal. ‘The Ayodhyans have not fought back. Ganesh has a stranglehold over the city.’
‘But has King Dilipa changed his stance?’
‘Not yet. And Ganesh is, very wisely, not resorting to violence since that may rally the citizens around their king. We will have to be patient.’
‘As long as the Ayodhyan army doesn’t come to Meluha’s aid, I’m happy. What about Magadh?’
‘His ships are ready,’ said Gopal. ‘But Surapadman’s army has not been mobilised as yet.’
Shiva raised his brows, clearly surprised. ‘I didn’t think Surapadman would let go of an opportunity like this. I would also imagine that his fa
ther, King Mahendra, would pressure him to attack us.’
‘Let us see,’ said Sati. ‘Maybe Surapadman wants Ayodhya and our army to battle first. He would then be attacking a weakened enemy.’
Shiva nodded. ‘Perhaps.’
‘Look, Bhagirath,’ said Ganesh.
The prince had just entered Ganesh’s cabin. One of the soldiers had left a note from Meluha that was recovered from an injured bird. It was coded. But Bhagirath knew the encryption codes of Meluha-Ayodhya communication and had already trained Ganesh’s soldiers on how to decrypt the messages.
Bhagirath read aloud. ‘Prime Minister Siamantak, has Lord Bhrigu returned to Ayodhya? It has been months since he left Prayag but has still not reached Meluha. Should you have the knowledge, we would like to be informed about the location of Lord Shiva and General Parvateshwar.’
Ganesh didn’t say anything, waiting for Bhagirath’s reaction.
‘It’s been signed by Prime Minister Kanakhala,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Interesting.’
‘Interesting indeed,’ said Ganesh. ‘Where is Lord Bhrigu? And why is the Meluhan Prime Minister enquiring about General Parvateshwar? Has he not reached as yet? Do they not know he has defected to their side?’
‘Where do you think they are?’ asked Bhagirath.
‘They’re certainly not in Meluha,’ said Ganesh. ‘That makes things easier for my father.’
‘Do you think Lord Shiva has reached Meluha by now?’
‘I think he’s still a few weeks away.’
‘And the Ayodhya army has not been able to leave,’ said Bhagirath. ‘The news just keeps getting better.’
Kartik suddenly rushed in. ‘Dada!’
‘What’s the matter, Kartik?’
‘Magadh is mobilising.’
‘Who told you? The Vasudev pandit?’ asked Bhagirath.
‘Yes,’ said Kartik, turning back to Ganesh. ‘I believe armaments are being loaded on to the ships. Soldiers have been asked to be on stand-by.’