The Oath of the Vayuputras

  ‘I have no doubt, Your Highness,’ said Chenardhwaj. ‘The worst that can happen is that no deal will be struck. Then Lady Sati will return to us.’

  ‘Lord Ram, be merciful,’ exclaimed Gopal loudly.

  Everyone turned sharply to look at the Chief Vasudev. Gopal was still standing close to the door, along with the Lothal Vasudev pandit.

  ‘What happened, Panditji?’ asked Shiva.

  An ashen-faced Gopal turned to Shiva. ‘Great Neelkanth, the news is disturbing.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Parvateshwar’s army finally mobilised and marched out of Karachapa three days back.’

  A loud murmur erupted in the chamber. They would have to prepare for battle...

  ‘Silence,’ snapped Shiva, before turning to Gopal. ‘And?’

  ‘Surprisingly, they turned back within a few hours,’ said Gopal.

  ‘Turned back? Why?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Gopal. ‘My Vasudev pandit tells me the army has been sent back to the barracks. But Lord Parvateshwar and Lord Bhrigu have pressed on. They set sail up the Indus in a lone fast-ship, with just their personal bodyguards.’

  ‘Where are they going?’ asked an alarmed Shiva.

  ‘I have been told that they’re rushing towards Devagiri.’

  Shiva felt a chill run up his spine.

  ‘And a flurry of birds have been flying out of Karachapa,’ said Gopal. ‘All of them towards Devagiri. My pandit at Karachapa doesn’t know the contents of those messages. But he says he has never seen so much communication between Karachapa and Devagiri.’

  There was deathly silence in the chamber. All those present were aware of Parvateshwar’s spotless reputation for honourable conduct. If he was rushing to Devagiri without a large army that would slow him down, it only meant that something terrible was going on in the Meluhan capital. And he was rushing to stop it.

  Shiva was the first to recover. ‘Get the army mobilised immediately. We’re marching out.’

  ‘Yes, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath, rising quickly.

  ‘And, Bhagirath, I want to leave within hours, not days,’ said Shiva.

  ‘Yes, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath, hurrying out.

  Chandraketu, Chenardhwaj, Maatali, Ganesh and Kartik hastily followed the Ayodhyan prince.

  ‘Maa will be all right, baba,’ said Kartik, allowing hope to triumph over confidence.

  Shiva and his entourage had stopped for a quick meal, just a few hours outside of Lothal. The Neelkanth had marched out immediately with Kartik, Ganesh, Kali, Gopal, Veerbhadra, Parshuram, Ayurvati and an entire brigade. Their main army, led by Bhagirath, would move out the next morning. Shiva’s entire being was wracked with worry. He couldn’t wait till the entire army was mobilised. He had taken the Pashupatiastra with him, as insurance.

  ‘Kartik is right, great Neelkanth,’ said Gopal. ‘It’s possible that Emperor Daksha may break the rules of a peace conference, but he will not hurt Princess Sati. He may try to imprison her to improve his negotiating position. But we have the Pashupatiastra. That changes everything.’

  Shiva nodded silently.

  Kali listened intently to Gopal. But the words did not give her any solace. She did not trust her father. She was deeply troubled about the safety of her sister. She was consumed with guilt about the petulant way in which she had parted with Sati. The two extra arms on her shoulders were in a constant quiver.

  Shiva held Kali’s hand and smiled faintly. ‘Relax, Kali. Nothing will happen to her. The Parmatma will not allow such an injustice.’

  Kali was too pained to respond.

  ‘Finish your food,’ said Shiva. ‘We have to leave in the next few minutes.’

  As Kali began gulping down her food, Shiva turned towards Ganesh. The Neelkanth’s elder son was staring into the forest, his eyes moist. Ganesh had not touched the food in front of him. Shiva could see he was praying under his breath, his hands clasped tightly, repeating a chant in rapid succession.

  ‘Ganesh,’ said Shiva. ‘Eat.’

  Ganesh was pulled back from his trance. ‘I’m not hungry, baba.’

  ‘Ganesh!’ said Shiva firmly. ‘We may have to engage in battle the moment we reach Devagiri. I will require all of you to be strong. And for that you need to eat. So if you love your mother and want to protect her, keep yourself strong. Eat.’

  Ganesh nodded and looked at his banana-leaf plate. He had to eat.

  Shiva turned towards Veerbhadra, who had already finished and was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth that Krittika had handed to him.

  ‘Bhadra, order the heralds to make an announcement,’ said Shiva. ‘We’ll leave in ten minutes.’

  ‘Yes, Shiva,’ said Veerbhadra and rose up immediately.

  Shiva pushed his empty banana-leaf plate aside and walked away. He reached the wooden drum where the water was stored, scooped some water out with his hands and gargled.

  A chill ran up his spine again. He looked up at the sky, towards the north, about to make a prayer to the Holy Lake. Then he shook his head. It wasn’t required.

  ‘He’ll not hurt her. He cannot hurt her. If there’s one person in this world that that fool loves, it is my Sati. He’ll not hurt her.’

  ‘You are behaving like traitors!’ shouted Vraka.

  Brigadier Vraka had been ordered by Parvateshwar to mobilise the army quickly and leave for Devagiri. Parvateshwar hadn’t told them anything about why they were required in the Meluhan capital and the general himself had rushed out earlier with Maharishi Bhrigu. It had taken Vraka two days to get his soldiers boarded onto ships and begin their journey up the Indus. However, they had been waylaid at Mohan Jo Daro by a non-violent protest.

  The governor of the city remained loyal to the emperor, but his people worshipped the Neelkanth. When they heard that their army was sailing up the Indus to battle with the Neelkanth, they decided to rebel. Almost the entire population of Mohan Jo Daro had marched out of the city, boarded their boats and anchored all across the river. The line of boats extended across the massive breadth of the Indus and covered nearly a kilometre in length. It was impossible for Vraka to ram his ships through such an effective blockade.

  ‘We will be traitors to Emperor Daksha,’ said the leader of the protestors, ‘but we will not be traitors to the Neelkanth!’

  Vraka drew his sword. ‘I will kill you all if you don’t move,’ he warned.

  ‘Go ahead. Kill us all. We will not raise our hands. We will not fight against our own army. But I swear by the great Lord Ram, we will not move!’

  Vraka snorted in anger. By not fighting with him, the citizens were not giving him a legal reason to attack them. He had been stymied.

  Slowly regaining consciousness, Vidyunmali saw that he was lying on a cart that was ambling along on the riverside road. He raised his head. The fresh stitches on his stomach hurt.

  ‘Lie back down, My Lord,’ said the soldier. ‘You need to rest.’

  ‘Is that traitor dead?’ asked Vidyunmali.

  ‘Yes,’ said the soldier.

  Vidyunmali and his platoon had raced down the riverside road leading from Devagiri to Lothal. They had managed to waylay Kanakhala’s servant, who was rushing to Lothal to warn Shiva of the planned perfidy at Devagiri. The servant had been killed, but not before he had managed to stab Vidyunmali viciously in his stomach.

  ‘How far are we from Devagiri?’ asked Vidyunmali.

  ‘At the pace we’re going, another five days, My Lord.’

  ‘That’s too long...’

  ‘You cannot ride a horse, My Lord. The stitches may burst open. You have to travel by bullock cart.’

  Vidyunmali cursed under his breath.

  Chapter 44

  A Princess Returns

  Sati and her entourage surveyed the scene from the docked ship in Devagiri. They had commandeered a fast merchant ship and sailed up the Saraswati speedily to reach in time for the peace conference.

  Nandi stood beside Sati and gestured at
the sky.

  ‘Look,’ he said, pointing to a small bird winging its way overhead. ‘Another homing pigeon.’

  It was not the first that they had spotted. Sati’s warriors had seen more than a few pigeons flying in the direction of Devagiri.

  ‘Lord Ganesh believes that eavesdropping can give us good intelligence on the enemy’s plan,’ said Nandi. ‘Shall we shoot one of them and see what is being discussed?’

  Sati shook her head. ‘We will obey the laws Lord Ram set for us, Nandi, and negotiate in good faith. Lord Ram said that there is no such thing as a small wrong. Understanding your opponent’s strategy prior to peace negotiations, through the use of subterfuge, will give us only a small advantage. But to behave without honour is against Lord Ram’s way.’

  Nandi bowed his head in Sati’s direction. ‘I’m Lord Ram’s servant, Princess.’

  Sati turned away, and Nandi glanced one last time at the tiny speck of a bird disappearing into Devagiri.

  The docks of the port had been completely cleared out, with no sign of commerce or any other activity. From the vantage point of her ship deck, Sati could see the walls of Devagiri in the distance. She remembered that there were those who lovingly called the city Tripura, in honour of its three platforms named after Gold, Silver and Bronze. But the name had never really caught on. The citizens of Devagiri couldn’t imagine tampering with the name that Lord Ram himself had given it.

  With a loud thud, the gangway plank was lowered onto the dock.

  Sati signalled to Nandi and whispered, ‘Let’s go.’

  As she began leading her men out, a Meluhan protocol officer walked up to her, a broad smile plastered on his face. The Meluhan noticed Sati’s disfigured left cheek, but wisely refrained from commenting on it. ‘My Lady, it’s an honour to meet you once again.’

  ‘It’s a pleasure to be back in my city, Major. And in better circumstances this time.’

  The Meluhan acknowledged the reference with a solemn nod.

  ‘I hope you will succeed in negotiating a lasting peace, My Lady,’ said the Meluhan. ‘You can’t imagine how distressed we Meluhans are that our country is at war with our living God.’

  ‘With Lord Ram’s blessing, the war will end. And we shall have lasting peace.’

  The Meluhan joined his hands together and looked up at the sky. ‘With Lord Ram’s blessing.’

  Sati stepped out of the port area to find a large circular building that had been quickly constructed for the proceedings of the peace conference. One of the rules laid down for a peace conference was that it couldn’t take place within the host city itself. The current venue was at a healthy distance from the city walls, almost adjacent to the port. The peace conference building had been constructed on a large rectangular base of standard Meluhan bricks, almost a metre high. Tall wooden columns had been hammered into holes on top of this base. The columns served as the skeleton for the structure. Smaller bamboo sticks had been tied together and stretched across these poles, creating an enclosed circular wooden building that was surprisingly strong despite no mortar having been used in its construction.

  Sati looked up at the high ceiling as soon as she entered the structure and spoke loudly to check the acoustics. ‘Good construction.’

  The sound did not reverberate. Sati smiled. Meluhan engineers had not lost their talent.

  A large idol of Lord Ram and Lady Sita had been placed near the entrance of this cavernous chamber. From the flowers and other oblations scattered around the idols, Sati knew that the chief priest of Devagiri had conducted the Pran Prathishtha ceremony; the life force of the two deities had been infused into the idols. A true Hindu would, therefore, believe that Lord Ram and Lady Sita themselves were residing in the idols and were supervising the proceedings. Nobody would dare to break the law in their presence. A separate enclosure had been walled off at one end; there was a large wooden door in the middle. The room within had been completely sound-proofed so that even the most raucous sounds would not be able to travel beyond its walls. It had been set aside for private internal discussions for either party during the course of the conference.

  Sati nodded. ‘The arrangements are precisely in keeping with the ancient laws.’

  ‘Thank you, My Lady,’ said the Meluhan.

  ‘Now the armoury,’ said Sati.

  ‘Of course, My Lady,’ said the Meluhan. ‘We can leave right away.’

  As she stepped out of the conference hall, she saw her horse tethered outside. It had been unloaded from her ship and was saddled up and ready. The horses of her companions had been similarly saddled, girthed and groomed.

  ‘My Lady,’ said the Meluhan. ‘You do know that according to the laws, the animals will also need to be locked up next to the armoury. All your horses will be taken away.’

  ‘All except mine,’ said Sati. Very few were more well-versed with the laws of Lord Ram than her. The leader of the visitors was allowed to keep his or her horse. ‘My horse remains with me.’

  ‘Of course, My Lady.’

  ‘And the horses of my men will be returned as soon as the conference is over.’

  ‘That is the law, My Lady.’

  ‘And the animals within Devagiri would also be locked up.’

  ‘Of course, My Lady,’ said the Meluhan. ‘That has already been done.’

  ‘All right,’ said Sati. ‘Let’s go.’

  The temporary armoury had been built outside the city walls under the connecting bridge between the Svarna and Tamra platforms, once again, to exact specifications. A massive door with a double lock had been built at the entryway, making it almost impossible to break into. One of the keys was handed over to Sati, who personally checked that the door was locked. The Meluhan protocol officer used his key to double-lock the door, allowed Sati to check it again, and then fixed a seal on top of the lock. All the weapons in Devagiri had been effectively put out of reach.

  Sati handed over her key to Nandi. ‘Keep this carefully.’

  Bowing and turning to leave, the officer hesitated, as if remembering something. ‘My Lady, your weapons? Aren’t they supposed to be locked in here as well?’

  ‘No,’ said Sati.

  ‘Umm, My Lady, but the rules state that...’

  ‘What the rules say, Major,’ interrupted Sati, ‘is that the armies have to be disarmed. But the personal bodyguards and the leaders at the peace conference are allowed to retain their weapons. I’m sure my father’s bodyguards have not been disarmed, have they?’

  ‘No, My Lady,’ replied the Meluhan protocol officer, ‘they still hold their weapons.’

  ‘As will my bodyguards,’ said Sati, pointing to Nandi and her other soldiers.

  ‘But, My Lady...’

  ‘Why don’t you check with Prime Minister Kanakhala? I’m sure she will know the law...’

  The Meluhan protocol officer didn’t say anything further. He knew that Sati was legally correct. He also knew that Prime Minister Kanakhala could not be called upon for any clarifications. Meanwhile, Sati was looking at the giant animal enclosure a few hundred metres away. The horses of her men were being led in there for a temporary sequester.

  ‘Also, My Lady,’ said the protocol officer, ‘Emperor Daksha has made a request for your presence at his palace for lunch.’

  Sati turned towards Nandi. ‘I’ll ride ahead. You check the lock on the animal enclosures and then join me in...’

  ‘My Lady,’ said the officer, interrupting Sati. ‘The instructions were very clear. He wanted you to come alone.’

  Sati frowned. This was unorthodox. She was about to reject the suggestion when the officer spoke up again. ‘My Lady, I don’t think this has anything to do with the conference. You are His Highness’ daughter. A father has the right to expect that he can have a meal with his daughter.’

  Sati took a deep breath. She was in no mood to break bread with her father. But she would dearly like to meet her mother. In any case, the conference was scheduled for the following day. There was no
thing much to do today. ‘Nandi, once you have checked the enclosure, go back to the conference building and wait for me. I’ll be back soon.’

  ‘As you command, My Lady,’ said Nandi. ‘But may I have a word with you before you leave?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Sati.

  ‘In private, My Lady,’ said Nandi.

  Sati frowned, but left the reins of her horse in the hands of a soldier standing discreetly at the back, and then walked aside.

  When they were out of earshot, Nandi whispered, ‘If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion, My Lady, please don’t think you are going to meet your father. Think instead that you are going to meet the emperor with whom you will be negotiating. Please use this lunch as an opportunity to set the right atmosphere for the peace conference tomorrow.’

  Sati smiled. ‘You are right, Nandi.’

  Sati tied her horse at the stables near the palace steps, refusing the proffered assistance of the attendant. Owing to the peace conference, there were no animals in Devagiri so Sati’s was the only horse present. As she approached the main steps of her father’s palace, the guards in attendance executed a smart military salute. Sati saluted back politely and continued walking.

  She had grown up in this palace, sauntered around its attached gardens, run up and down the steps a million times, practised the fine art of swordsmanship on its grounds. Yet, the building felt alien to her now. Maybe it was because she had been away for so many years. Or more likely, it was because she didn’t feel any kinship with her father anymore.

  She knew her way around the palace and did not need the aid of the various soldiers who kept emerging to guide her onward. She was surprised though that she couldn’t recognise any of them. Perhaps Vidyunmali had changed the troops after taking over her father’s security. She waved the soldiers away repeatedly, walking unerringly towards her father’s chamber.

  ‘Her Highness, Princess Sati!’ announced the chief doorman loudly as one of his lieutenants opened the door to the royal chamber.

  Sati walked in to find Daksha, Veerini and a man she didn’t recognise, who stood at the far end of the chamber. Judging by his arm band, he was a colonel in the Meluhan army.