The Oath of The Vayuputras (62 page)
‘But how will I manage all this?’
‘You don’t have to do anything. Everything is under control. My soldiers will find a way to bring Princess Sati into the palace. Nobody else from her party will be allowed to accompany her. The moment she is with you, signal my man who will wait at your window. He will shoot a fire arrow high in the air, which will signal to Swuth’s assassins that the coast is clear. They will then quickly move in and kill the fraud Neelkanth. They will also leave a few of Shiva’s people alive so that they can testify that they were attacked by Nagas.’
Daksha still looked nervous.
Vidyunmali stepped up and spoke gently. ‘You don’t have to worry. I have planned everything in detail. There will be no mistakes made. All you have to do is signal my man when Princess Sati enters your room. That’s it.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes, that’s it. Now I really need to go, Your Highness. If Kanakhala’s man manages to reach the fraud Neelkanth, it will be the end of our plans.’
‘Of course. Go.’
‘Those sons of bitches!’ scowled Kali.
Jadav Rana, the ruler of Umbergaon had just rowed up to the Naga fleet in a fast cutter. His small kingdom lay to the south of the Narmada. The Nagas had helped him on many occasions. And, Jadav Rana was not an ungrateful man.
When the fishermen in his kingdom informed him of a large Meluhan fleet stationed in a hidden lagoon nearby, he had gone personally to investigate. Keeping himself concealed, Jadav had seen the massive fleet and immediately surmised that this had something to do with the war raging in the north between the Neelkanth’s forces and the Meluhans. He had also received news that the Nagas themselves were racing down the western coast, towards the mouth of the Narmada. He’d immediately got into a fast cutter to intercept the Nagas before they entered the river that marked the southern boundary of the Sapt Sindhu. He was convinced the Meluhans intended to take the Nagas by surprise and attack them from the rear.
‘Your Highness,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘I assumed the Meluhans would enter the Narmada after you and assault your rear guard. They could devastate your entire fleet before you even realised what had happened.’
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a forward ambush planned for us as well,’ said Kartik.
‘We’ll attack them in their hidden lagoon,’ said Kali. ‘We’ll burn their ships down and hang their rotten carcasses on the coastal trees.’
Ganesh had remained silent till now. Something was amiss. ‘Your Highness, how many Meluhans are there?’
‘Fifty ships, Lord Ganesh,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘It’s a reasonably large force. But you have more than enough ships to take them on.’
‘I didn’t ask you about the ships, Your Highness,’ said Ganesh. ‘I asked how many men...’
Jadav Rana frowned. ‘I don’t know, Lord Ganesh.’ He then turned to his men. ‘Do you people have any idea?’
‘It’s difficult to be sure, My Lord, since they have largely remained on ship,’ said one of Jadav Rana’s lieutenants. ‘But judging by the amount of food they have been foraging, I don’t think there would be more than five thousand. You have many more men, Lord Ganesh. You can win very easily.’
Ganesh held his head. ‘Bhoomidevi, be merciful.’
A stunned Kali stared at Jadav Rana’s lieutenant. ‘Are you sure? Just five thousand?’
Jadav Rana was surprised. He didn’t understand why the Nagas looked so upset. Logically, they should have been happy. They outnumbered the Meluhans dramatically.
‘My men are well acquainted with these coasts, Your Highness,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘If they’re saying that the Meluhans number only five thousand, I would go with that number.’
‘We’ve been taken for a ride,’ said Ganesh. ‘There’s no attack planned on Panchavati. They were trying to divide our forces. And they succeeded.’
A worried Kartik looked at his elder brother. ‘They’re probably attacking Lothal even as we speak.’
‘And we took a hundred thousand men away from
maa
,’ said a distraught Ganesh.
Kali turned and yelled the order at her prime minister, Karkotak. ‘Turn around, now! We’re going back to Lothal! Double rowing till we get there! MOVE!’
Bhagirath and Brahaspati had come to the Lothal port, having been informed by an advance boat that Shiva’s ship would be arriving soon. They could now see Shiva’s merchant ship sailing in from the east, from the vantage position of the port walls. To the south, they could also see the naval contingent that had left under Kali’s command, steaming forward. All the ships would probably dock at Lothal at the same time.
Brahaspati took a sharp intake of breath as he saw a woman on the foredeck of Shiva’s ship.
Bhagirath couldn’t help notice the dramatic transformation in Brahaspati. He turned towards Shiva’s ship. They were still quite far, but he could make out the countenance of Shiva and Gopal. Standing next to them was a woman, an Indian-looking woman. But the Ayodhyan prince didn’t have the foggiest clue about her identity.
‘Who is she, Brahaspati
ji
?’ asked Bhagirath.
Brahaspati was crying. ‘Oh Lord Brahma! Oh Lord Brahma!’
‘Who is she?’
Brahaspati seemed to be delirious now. Delirious but happy! He turned around, rushing down the steps towards the docks. He was rambling in pure delight. ‘They let her go! Shiva freed her! Lord Ram be praised, he freed her!’
‘Isn’t that Shiva’s ship?’ said Kali, pointing ahead.
Kali, Ganesh and Kartik had rushed back to Lothal and were surprised to discover that there was no siege on the city at all. They saw the merchant ship just ahead, pulling into the circular port. Fifteen minutes later Kali’s ship docked at a berth as well. Shiva’s ship was anchored just ahead of theirs. As soon as they got off the gangway plank, they rushed towards Shiva. They could see that Bhagirath and Brahaspati had come to receive the Neelkanth and Gopal. A stunned Brahaspati had just embraced a woman. Both of them were crying profusely.
‘Shiva!’ shouted Kali from a distance, sprinting towards him.
Shiva turned and smiled at Kali. ‘I saw the Naga ships behind us. Where had you gone?’
‘We were led on a wild goose chase,’ said Kali. ‘We were led to believe that Panchavati was under attack.’
‘The Meluhan ships were a decoy?’ asked Bhagirath.
‘Yes, Prince Bhagirath,’ said Kartik. ‘The ships had only five thousand men. They had no intention of attacking Panchavati.’
‘That is good news,’ said Bhagirath.
‘Where’s Sati?’ asked Shiva, looking around.
‘There’s some good news regarding her as well,’ said Bhagirath.
‘Good news?’ asked Ganesh.
‘Yes, we may have found a solution to end the war,’ said Bhagirath.
‘We’ve come back with a solution as well,’ said Gopal, pointing to the large trunk that was being lowered carefully onto the docks from their ship.
Shiva looked again at an obviously delighted Brahaspati who was refusing to let go of Tara. She was crying inconsolably, her head gently nestled against Brahaspati’s chest. They appeared like teenagers in the first heady flush of love.
‘Looks like there is good news all around,’ said Shiva, smiling.
‘How in the Holy Lake’s name can this be good news?’
Bhagirath maintained a nervous silence, fearful of Shiva’s wrath.
‘But, My Lord,’ said Chandraketu, ‘Lady Sati believed this was our best chance at peace. And it looks like Emperor Daksha himself wants it. If he signs a peace treaty, then the war is over. And we do not want to destroy Meluha, do we? All we want is the end of the Somras.’
‘I don’t trust that goat of a man,’ said Kali. ‘If he hurts my sister, I will burn his entire city to a cinder, with him in it.’
‘He won’t hurt her, Kali,’ said Shiva, shaking his head. ‘But I’m afraid that he may make her a prisoner and use that to negotiate with us.’
‘But, My Lord,’ said Chenardhwaj, ‘that is impossible. The rules governing a peace conference are very clear. Both parties are free to return, unharmed, if a solution or compromise is not found.’
‘What’s to stop my grandfather from not following the laws?’ asked Ganesh. ‘It will not be the first time he’s broken a law.’
‘My Lord,’ said a Vasudev pandit entering the chamber and addressing Gopal. ‘I have urgent news.’
‘I think we can talk later, Pandit
ji
,’ said Gopal.
‘No, My Lord,’ insisted the pandit in charge of the Lothal temple. ‘We must speak now.’
Gopal was surprised but he knew his Vasudev pandits did not panic unnecessarily. It had to be something important. He rose and walked up to the pandit.
‘Lord Ganesh,’ said Chenardhwaj, resuming his conversation with Ganesh. ‘The peace conference rules were laid down by Lord Ram himself. They are amongst the fundamental rules that can never be amended. They have to be rigorously followed, on pain of a punishment worse than death. Even a man like Emperor Daksha will never break these rules.’
‘I pray to the
Parmatma
that you are right, Chenardhwaj,’ snarled Kali.
‘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, Pandit
ji
?’ 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.’