THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (43 page)

Jarasandha watched with satisfaction as he saw his sisters leave for Madhuvan with an armed escort to keep them safe on the way. He had no doubt that Devki would return with Asti and Prapti as soon as she received the message that her brother was unwell. Asti had raised her eyebrows in surprise when Jarasandha had told them to convey the message of Kansa’s illness to Devki and get her to Magadha. And Prapti had wanted to meet Kansa before they left. But both the sisters were too much in awe of Jarasandha to argue with him. His instructions had been explicit and firm—they were to leave immediately without meeting Kansa and they would return with Devki.

Now that one part of his plan was set in motion, Jarasandha turned his attention to the other task at hand. He wanted to know what the spies had found out about Rabhu. The scoundrel had not been in the aaram kaksh as he had instructed him to be, and Jarasandha knew Rabhu was up to something. The spies would tell him what it was. But first he had to meet Chanur and Banasura, who were leaving for their kingdoms today.

Banasura and Chanur waited patiently while Jarasandha shared with them the transformation of Kansa. There was silence as Jarasandha finished his story. He had carefully refrained from mentioning the role the Dark Lord had played in the entire episode, and had only told the two warriors what had transpired between Kansa and Ugrasena. Jarasandha was one of those people who did not believe in his right hand knowing what his left hand was up to. He didn’t want to share any information with these two warriors that could help them break out of the Dark Lord’s power, or be used against him in the future.

Finally Chanur spoke. ‘Ugrasena cannot just disinherit Kansa and make Vasudev his successor. The prince of Madhuvan won’t take this injustice lying down.’

Jarasandha weighed his words carefully before responding. ‘Kansa is not thinking about the throne of Madhuvan just now. He is deeply troubled and he feels betrayed from all sides. Ugrasena has alienated his son and his letter has planted the seeds of distrust between Vasudev and Kansa. The only person he trusts at the moment is Devki. I have sent my sisters to get her here, and they should return with her in the next three days.’

Banasura appeared puzzled. ‘But why have you asked Devki to come here at this time? I thought the idea was to turn Kansa against Ugrasena and Vasudev so he could ally with us. Now that he is finally coming around to our side, wouldn’t a meeting with Devki be a risk?’

Chanur nodded his head. ‘I must say I agree with Banasura. I don’t understand this either. There is a possibility that Devki might be able to convince Kansa that all of this is just a big misunderstanding between her father and brother. What if Kansa agrees to return to Madhuvan with her and everything you have done so far is rendered futile?’

Jarasandha had anticipated this risk when he had suggested to Kansa that he meet Devki once. But it had been a calculated one. Jarasandha knew there was a high probability that Kansa might himself, at a later date, want to meet Devki. And it could be at a place where Ugrasena too might be present. Or worse, by then, Kansa might have had enough time to reflect on Ugrasena’s letter and wonder why his father had sent him such a harsh letter in response to his own. Right now, Kansa was too emotionally strung to even begin to think rationally. More importantly, there was another angle that neither Banasura nor Chanur had understood yet. But then, they hadn’t been students of buddhir brahmi (psychology) as Jarasandha had been from a very young age.

‘Who do you think is the most important person in a young woman’s life?’ Jarasandha asked softly. While he was looking at Chanur, the question was meant for Banasura too. The two warriors looked at each other in perplexity.

Chanur was the first to answer, ‘It depends,’ he said. ‘It could be either the mother or the father, depending on who the woman is closer to.’

‘Or it could be a sister or a brother,’ Banasura added.

‘Quite right,’ Jarasandha nodded patiently. ‘Actually, both of you are correct…but only up to a point. The family is definitely the most important thing in a woman’s life.’ He stared at both the warriors sitting in front of him and chose his next question carefully. ‘But what happens when the same woman falls desperately in love with a man? Will the family still remain the most important factor in her life?’

Chanur, as usual, was the first to get his drift. He said excitedly, ‘No, the man she loves gradually gains more significance in her life than even her family.’

Jarasandha’s eyes gleamed, ‘And when that woman has been in love with a man ever since she was a child, how much more important would that relationship be for her?’ He left his question hanging.

‘Like Devki and Vasudev,’ Banasura joined in the excitement. ‘She has been in love with Vasudev since she was a child.’

Jarasandha got up from his seat. ‘Yes, when Kansa meets his sister, he is bound to share his reservations about Vasudev with Devki. In his current state of mind, he may even go further and say things about Vasudev that he normally wouldn’t. As much as she loves Kansa, I don’t believe she will allow even him to talk ill of the man she loves more than anything else in the world.’

‘And that is bound to create friction between brother and sister!’ Banasura exclaimed softly.

Jarasandha nodded. ‘Yes, enough friction perhaps for Kansa to feel that he has not just lost a father and a close friend, but the one woman he cares for the most…his sister Devki.’ He waited for his words to sink in before he continued. ‘Kansa is already close to losing his grip on his past. The break with Devki will finish off whatever ties hold him back from uncovering his intrinsic nature.’

Banasura and Chanur were quiet. Jarasandha’s last words had struck something deep inside them; as if they were already going through what lay in store for Kansa. Like the prince of Madhuvan, they, too, had lost all connection with who they were in the past. Right now, they were only puppets dancing on a string manoeuvred by a powerful force in Pataal Lok.

They were brought out of their reverie by something Jarasandha was saying. They looked blankly at the king of Magadha and he repeated his instructions to both of them. Jarasandha had just commanded them to unleash the asura assassins within their kingdoms. Both warriors nodded and left the room to go to their respective countries.

Jarasandha stood alone, lost in his thoughts. The chaos on Mrityulok was about to begin. It would start from the Yavanas’ kingdom and from the land of Banpur. Over the next few days, Jarasandha’s generals, in charge of other vassal kingdoms would instruct the asura assassins hiding in those lands too to start the carnage. Madhuvan would be next as soon as Kansa came over to their side in totality. Jarasandha sighed as a wave of ecstasy swept over him. The day wasn’t far when the Dark Lord would take over the mortal world and make him—Jarasandha—the supreme lord of all lands in Mrityulok, including the great nation of Bharat.

The two spies shook in fear as they waited for Jarasandha to explode in anger. They had lost Rabhu somehow. And they still had no idea where the messenger was. Jarasandha glared at both of them; but he was in a magnanimous mood today. This meant the spies could expect to be pardoned instead of being thrown into a dungeon for the rest of their miserable existence.

‘You say you saw him riding after Prince Kansa?’ Jarasandha asked one of the spies.

‘Yes, My Lord,’ The spy nodded vigorously as if by doing so he could somehow make up for the blunder of losing the messenger. ‘I saw Rabhu riding in hot pursuit of the prince. He even shouted above the din of the horses to try and attract the prince’s attention, but the Lord Kansa seemed caught up in his own prince’s thoughts as he rode and he did not hear Rabhu calling after him.’

‘Hmm,’ Jarasandha digested this new information.
So that is what that scoundrel is planning…he wants to tell Kansa about the letters
. His brow furrowed as he tried to control his rage at Rabhu’s intended betrayal.
You will die a dog’s death, you rascal
, he resolved to himself.

The spy who had spoken earlier now looked at his king. ‘What are our orders, Lord? Should we try finding the messenger, in places we have not searched yet?’

Jarasandha shook his head, ‘No, he will return here. We will wait for him to show his vile face, and then I will deal with him.’

He motioned to the spy who had been quiet all this while, ‘You keep watch at the palace gate. He is bound to come from there. He probably knows what you look like so make sure he doesn’t see you.’

To the other spy he said, ‘Send Upadha and Vikrant to me. Ask them to come here without delay.’

Both spies left and Jarasandha laughed unrestrainedly, alone in the room. Rabhu had unwittingly given him the opportunity to make Kansa’s meeting with Devki even more volatile. The fact that Rabhu would die before that happened was incidental…but necessary.

Jarasandha sighed contentedly as he sat down on the diwan.
Now if only Upadha and Vikrant do what needs to be done
, he thought.

Upadha used part of his angavastram to wipe the copious sweat flowing down his face. He had spent the last hora (one hour) in the royal archives section, trying to look for any communication from Bateshwar to Magadha. He had systematically looked through the previous two years of correspondence between the two kingdoms. There were hundreds of letters from Surasena and from the prime minister of Bateshwar. However, there was no letter from Vasudev. It was imperative that he get his hands on any form of correspondence from the prince of Bateshwar or he would not be able to do what Jarasandha had asked of him. Upadha’s desperation grew with every passing minute. His hands moved faster and his eyes fervently scanned the mounds of correspondence for any sign of a letter from Vasudev.

Just when he was ready to give up, he noticed a letter from the prime minister of Bateshwar. It was written and signed by him, but was copied to the king and the prince too. At the end of the communication, both Surasena and Vasudev had signed their names.

Upadha peered closely at the letter.
By Shiva! What a stroke of luck
, he chuckled to himself. While Surasena had merely signed his name as an acknowledgement of having read the letter, Vasudev had not just put his signature to the letter; he had also added a brief comment for Jarasandha. Upadha looked at it closely. It was a scribble and there were scant words written there to be able to analyse Vasudev’s writing pattern with perfection. But it would be enough for someone with Upadha’s enormous capabilities.