The Krishna Key (23 page)

‘For one thing, if the Syamantaka was nuclear, then it would have ended up killing its worshippers,’ argued Priya.

‘It wasn’t a nuclear bomb,’ exclaimed Sir Khan. ‘It had nuclear properties, though. And it is precisely because of the radiation produced that the Somnath lingam was always kept covered in the leaves of the
bel tree.’

On the twelfth day, Drona noticed that I was making a determined effort to keep Arjuna away from Karana. There was a reason for this. On the morning before entering the battlefield, an old
beggar had sought alms from Karana. The generous Karana had said, ‘Ask for anything and it’s yours.’ The beggar had asked for Karana’s armour that used to be part and parcel of his body, like an impenetrable sheath. Karana was unaware that the old beggar was Indra
—
the father of Arjuna. Karana immediately took a knife and surgically removed his armour. Seeing this magnanimity, Indra was moved and gave him a spear in return
—
a spear that could only be used once and would never miss its mark. I was simply protecting Arjuna from Karana’s spear
—a
spear presented to Karana by Arjuna’s own father, Indra.

‘Bel leaves? But offering bel leaves to Shiv is an old Hindu tradition. It has nothing to do with science,’ said Priya.

‘Ah, you are wrong,’ said Sir Khan softly. ‘Yes, the Bel tree is considered sacred by Hindus and the usual offering to the Shiv lingam is its leaves. But the choice of this offering is lost in antiquity.’

‘I’m lost myself,’ said Sanjay Ratnani helplessly.

Sir Khan laughed. ‘The botanical name for Bel is
Aegle marmelos
. Some years ago, an article appeared in the
Oxford Journal
. Three scientists had discovered that Aegle marmelos had a radio protective effect. Their study demonstrated that it protected human peripheral blood lymphocytes against radiation, DNA damage and genomic instability. They concluded that it achieved this through “scavenging of radiation”. Isn’t it possible that the Syamantaka was indeed a radioactive substance and that the Somnath lingam needed to be kept covered with bel leaves in order to
inhibit and absorb the radiation that it emitted, so that it would be safe for others to visit?’

‘You think that the lingam was a floating one due to a magnetic field created by the nuclear isotope—the Syamantaka?’ asked Priya.

‘Sure I do,’ replied Sir Khan. ‘Isn’t it surprising that Ghazni invaded India seventeen times and survived, but died within a few years of attacking Somnath? Ghazni lay dead due to a lethal strain of tuberculosis at the age of explorationsis Saini and Radhika fifty-nine. It is a well-known fact that Ghazni took pieces of the lingam to be installed as foot scrapers on the steps of the public mosque and his palace. Isn’t it possible that Ghazni had unwittingly signed his own death warrant by carrying off irradiated material that affected his lungs?’

‘He could also have died of battle wounds or fatigue. Ghazni was attacked by Indian warriors on his way back to Afghanistan,’ said Priya.

‘True. On his way back to Ghazni, Mahmud
was
attacked,’ said Sir Khan. But who do you think attacked him? The
Jats
. I find that very interesting indeed, and I’ll tell you why in just a minute. First, let me tell you a little about the Jats.’

‘What is so interesting about the Jats?’ asked Priya.

‘Patience, Priya,’ admonished Sir Khan, taking a break and pouring himself some water. He took a sip of it and settled down in his usual armchair.

‘When Krishna departed for Dwarka after the eighteenth battle with Jarasandha, it is said that Krishna founded a federation of his Yadava clans. It was known as the
Gyati-sangh.
Each member of the
sangh was called a
Gyat
. Over hundreds of years, the word
Gyat
morphed into the word
Jat
. The Sanskrit grammarian Panini uses the sutra,
Jat jhat sanghate,
indicating that by Panini’s time, the word Gyat had indeed evolved into Jat. Doesn’t it make sense that when Ghazni was carting off treasures from Krishna’s Somnath—possibly including the Syamantaka stone—he was attacked by Jat warriors who could trace their lineage thousands of years earlier to Krishna himself?’

‘Are you saying that the Jats attacked Ghazni because they wished to recover the Syamantaka?’ asked a wide-eyed Priya.

‘Yes. What they did not realise was that Ghazni was doing precisely the same thing!’ exclaimed Sir Khan.

‘What?’ asked Priya incredulously. ‘You mean to say that Ghazni was not after riches? That he did not attack because of his hatred for idol worship? That his objective was only to take away the Syamantaka?’

‘Well, he certainly wanted those other things too. But he specifically wanted the stone. After all, Ghazni himself was a descendant of Krishna,’ said Sir Khan, smiling.

On the thirteenth day of battle Drona organised his men into the dreaded Chakravyuha for
mation. Yudhistira was caught inside along with Abhimanyu
—
Arjuna’s sixteen-year old son. Abhimanyu had heard Arjuna describe the formation while he was still in his mother’s womb. As a result, he knew how to breach the formation and get others out but did not know how to escape himself. ‘I can breach it, but you’ll have to come back and get me,’ said Abhimanyu to Yudhistira, who agreed. Abhimanyu’s efforts paid off and all the Pandava warriors were able to exit except Abhimanyu. Inside the Chakravyuha, Abhimanyu was surrounded and attacked simultaneously by Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Kripa, Drona and Aswatthama. ‘Isn’t it against the rules of conduct for so many to attack just one?’ asked someone. ‘They broke the rules by getting a woman to attack Bhishma. There are no rules now,’ said Drona. Arjuna was overcome by grief when he heard the news at sunset. It suited me perfectly. Arjuna now had the required rage,’ replied Sir Khanbyis Saini and Radhika and desire for revenge within him, something that had been sorely lacking till then.

‘This is madness,’ said Priya angrily. ‘If you weren’t my father’s saviour I would have killed you on the spot for uttering such obscenities. To call that warmonger and looter, Ghazni, a descendant of Krishna is to insult the Lord!’

‘Relax, Priya,’ urged Sir Khan. ‘I shall explain everything. Don’t worry, just be patient for a little longer.’

Once Priya had calmed down, Sir Khan resumed. ‘Have you read a book on the Rajputs by a historian called A. H. Bingley? It was published in 1899.’

‘No. I’ve heard of it though. We had it listed as reference material at Kings College. I think it was called the
Handbook on Rajputs.’

‘Very good,’ said Sir Khan. ‘This is what Bingley says in his book about the Yadavas:
It would appear that Yadava settlements were at Indraprastha and Dwarka. After the death of Krishna, many of the Yadavas were driven out of India, founded Ghazni in Afghanistan and ruled over the whole of that country and portions of Central Asia as far north as Samarkand.’

‘Ghazni? As in the capital of Mahmud Ghazni’s empire?’

‘Yes. Mahmud Ghazni’s capital is the very same place that the Yadavas migrated to five thousand years ago. Thus the later Muslim rulers of this region were themselves of Yadava lineage!’

‘Incredible,’ whispered Priya, almost dumbfounded.

‘The point that I’m making is this: it was Krishna’s own genetic descendants who were battling for the Syamantaka stone after the Somnath attack. One group consisted of Muslims under Ghazni—descendants of Yadavas having migrated to Ghazni many thousands of years previously. The other group consisted of rulers of north-west India who called themselves Jats and were also Yadava descendants!’

‘Do you think that fighting over the Syamantaka may have caused the ancient nuclear blast in Rajasthan that was being investigated by Professor Kurkude?’ asked Priya suddenly.

‘Unlikely. There exists an alternative explanation for the Rajasthan radioactivity, though. In the Fifties,
Dr Paul Kuroda—a scientist from the University of Arkansas—brought to the world’s attention the possibility of naturally-occurring nuclear reactors within the earth.’

‘Naturally-occurring nuclear reactors?’ repeated Priya in disbelief.

‘Yes. The key ingredient for such a reactor is a specific isotope of uranium known as U-235. This particular isotope is found naturally in small quantities. Dr Kuroda hypothesised that if sufficient quantities of U-235 were aggregated under suitable conditions, the pooled U-235 would result in self-sustaining fission. Such a reactor would not be possible in nature today because most of the earth’s natural U-235 has decayed. But thousands of years ago, this would indeed have been possible. It is very possible that the Rajasthan radiation levels noted by Kurkude may have been the result of this.’

‘Where is the Syamantaka today,’ asked Priya wearily, now exhausted by the spate of revelations.

‘We know that Ghazni died a few years after the Somnath attack,’ replied Sir Khan. ‘Thereafter, his own empire was attacked and taken over by the Ghorids—the enclosed within a circle.ur sai ancestors of Muhammad Ghori. It is possible that the Syamantaka thus passed from Ghazni to Ghori. Ghori was defeated by Prithviraj Chauhan in 1191 but the next year Ghori returned to India and not only defeated Prithviraj Chauhan but also captured him and took him back to Ghazni, where he was later blinded.’

‘What happened to Prithviraj Chauhan?’ asked Ratnani.

‘It’s common knowledge that Prithviraj Chauhan’s childhood friend, Chand Bardai, followed Ghori in disguise and befriended Ghori, gaining his trust. What is not commonly known is that fact that a whole team of Rajputs had gone along with Chand Bardai. Their ostensible purpose was to recover the Syamantaka, to save Prithviraj Chauhan and to kill Ghori,’ said Sir Khan.

‘Did they succeed?’ asked the senior Ratnani.

‘Chand Bardai and Prithviraj Chauhan cooked up a plan,’ replied Sir Khan. ‘Bardai told Ghori that Chauhan was capable of shooting an arrow at a target with sound as the only clue. Ghori was very curious and wanted to see this feat. Bardai told him that since Prithviraj was a king, he would only take orders from another king. Ghori called for Prithviraj and ordered him to aim for a ringing bell but Prithviraj Chauhan aimed for the source of Ghori’s command instead. Ghori was instantly killed by Prithviraj Chauhan’s arrow.’

‘Was Prithviraj Chauhan able to escape?’ asked Ratnani.

‘No,’ replied Sir Khan. ‘Both Prithviraj Chauhan and Chand Bardai had come prepared with daggers and they killed one another after Ghori died. This was to prevent giving Ghori’s men the satisfaction of killing them. That too is common knowledge.’

‘What is the not-so-common knowledge?’ asked Priya suspiciously. Sir Khan laughed vigorously at the question.

‘The not-so-common knowledge is that the group of Rajputs that had accompanied Chand Bardai
managed to secure possession of the Syamantaka and return to India. It was the key objective of the trip,’ said Sir Khan.

‘What evidence do we have of this?’ asked Priya.

‘On the outskirts of modern-day Ghazni is the domed tomb of Muhammad Ghori,’ replied Sir Khan. ‘Just a couple of metres away is another tomb which is a lot smaller, but this second tomb has a muddy earth pit in the centre—coinciding with the grave. Hanging above this spot is a thick rope. Visitors who come to pay their respects to the departed Muhammad Ghori first visit the smaller tomb, which is said to contain the remains of Prithviraj Chauhan. They catch hold of the rope for support and vigorously stamp upon the grave of Chauhan whom they view as the killer of Ghori.’

‘And the retriever of the Syamantaka,’ said Priya wryly.