She looked up at Shiva. ‘This fool is lucky the axe was sharp and clean. The blood loss and infection from a wound like this can be fatal.’
‘I don’t think the cleanliness or sharpness was an accident,’ whispered Bhagirath. ‘He made it so. He knew what he was doing.’
Parvateshwar continued to stare at Parshuram, stunned.
Who is this strange man?
Shiva had not uttered a word so far. He just kept looking at Parshuram, his face devoid of any expression. His eyes narrowed hard.
‘What do we do with him, My Lord?’ asked Parvateshwar.
‘We use him,’ suggested Bhagirath. ‘Our ship will take up to six months to repair. We can’t stay here for that long. I say we carry Parshuram in one of our cutters to the closest Branga outpost and hand him over. We’ll use the leverage of handing over the most wanted criminal in Branga to wrangle a ship from them. They’ll force the medicine out of him and we get our path to the Nagas.’
Shiva didn’t say anything. He continued to stare at Parshuram.
Parvateshwar didn’t like Bhagirath’s solution. But he also knew it was the most practical thing to do. He looked at Shiva. ‘My Lord?’
‘We’re not handing him over to the Brangas,’ said Shiva.
‘My Lord?’ cried Bhagirath, shocked.
Shiva looked at Bhagirath. ‘We’re not.’
‘But My Lord, how do we get to the Nagas? We have sworn to get the medicines to the Brangas.’
‘Parshuram will give us the medicines. I’ll ask him when he is conscious.’
‘But, My Lord,’ continued Bhagirath. ‘He’s a criminal. He will not help unless he is coerced. I admit he has made a sacrifice. But we need a ship to get out of here.’
‘I know.’
Bhagirath continued to stare at Shiva. Then he turned towards Parvateshwar. The Meluhan General gestured to the Ayodhya Prince to be quiet.
But Bhagirath would have none of it. What the Neelkanth was suggesting was not practical. ‘Please forgive me for saying it again, My Lord. But the only practical way to get a ship is by letting the Brangas get their hands on him. And that’s not the only reason to do so. Parshuram is a criminal, a mass murderer. Why shouldn’t we surrender him to suffer the righteous Branga justice?’
‘Because I said so.’
Saying this, Shiva walked out. Bhagirath kept staring at Parvateshwar, not saying a word.
Parshuram’s eyes opened slightly. He smiled faintly. And then went back to sleep.
As the second prahar came to a close, the sun shone brightly, right over head.
The Branga and Kashi soldiers had been hard at work, with Vishwadyumna having taken charge. Kaavas didn’t seem to mind following orders from the capable Branga. The Branga travelling doctor had tended to all the wounded. They were all on the road to recovery. The dead had been cremated in the Icchawar village ground. While nobody expected the few remaining lionesses and the liger to return back to the village, for abundant precaution, the soldiers had dug ditches around the village. Temporary quarters had been erected for both Branga as well as Kashi soldiers in the school building. The villagers had been commandeered to arrange the food supplies.
The villagers, though rejoicing at the decimation of the pride, stayed warily at a distance, carrying out the tasks assigned to them by Vishwadyumna. Their mortal fear of the Nagas, despite the fact that their lives had just been saved by them, kept them suppressed.
The cleaner’s children, however, seemed to delight in playing with Kali. They pulled her hair, jumped on her and laughed uproariously every time she pretended to get angry.
‘Children!’ spoke their mother sternly. They turned and ran towards her, holding on to her dhoti. The cleaner’s wife spoke to Kali. ‘My apologies for this, Your Highness. They will not disturb you.’
In the presence of an adult Kali’s demeanour became serious once again. She merely nodded wordlessly.
She turned to her right to find Ganesh sleeping with his head on Sati’s lap, his face a picture of bliss. His wounds had been dressed. The doctor was especially worried about the mutilation caused by the lioness on Ganesh’s leg. It had been cleaned and bandaged tight.
Sati looked up at Kali and smiled. She held her sister’s hand.
Kali smiled softly. ‘I’ve never seen him sleep so peacefully.’
Sati smiled and lovingly ran her hand along Ganesh’s face. ‘I must thank you for taking care of him for so long.’
‘It was my duty.’
‘Yes, but not everyone honours their duty. Thank you.’
‘Actually, it was my pleasure as well!’
Sati smiled. ‘I can’t imagine how tough life must have been for you. I will make it up to you. I promise.’
Kali frowned slightly, but kept quiet.
Sati looked up once again as a thought struck her. ‘You had said something about father. Are you sure? He is weak. But he loves his family dearly. I can’t imagine him consciously hurting any of us.’
Kali’s face hardened. Suddenly, they were disturbed by a noise from Ganesh. Sati looked down at her son.
Ganesh was pouting. ‘I’m hungry!’
Sati raised her eyebrows and burst out laughing. She kissed Ganesh gently on his forehead. ‘Let me see what I can rustle up.’
As Sati walked away, Kali turned to Ganesh, about to scold him for his behaviour. But Ganesh himself was up in a flash. ‘You will not tell her, Mausi.’
‘What?’ asked Kali.
‘You will not tell her.’
‘She’s not stupid, you know. She will figure it out.’
‘That she may. But she will not find out from you.’
‘She deserves the truth. Why shouldn’t she know?’
‘Because some truths can only cause pain, Mausi. They’re best left buried.’
‘My Lord,’ whispered Parshuram.
Shiva, Parvateshwar and Bhagirath were huddled together around him in the tiny tent. It was the last hour of the third prahar. The sun was sinking into the horizon, turning the sludgy Madhumati waters orange-brown. Divodas and his team had already started working on repairing the ship. It was a daunting task.
‘What is it, Parshuram?’ asked Shiva. ‘Why did you want to meet me?’
Parshuram closed his eyes, gathering strength. ‘I will have one of my people give the secrets of the Naga medicine to the Brangas, My Lord. We will help them. We will take them to Mount Mahendra in Kaling from where we get the stabilising agent for the medicine.’
Shiva smiled. ‘Thank you.’
‘You don’t need to thank me, My Lord. This is what you want. Doing your bidding is my honour.’
Shiva nodded.
‘You also need a ship,’ said Parshuram.
Bhagirath perked up.
‘I have a large ship of my own,’ said Parshuram, before turning to Parvateshwar. ‘Give me some of your men, brave General. I will tell them where it is. They can sail it here and we can leave.’
A surprised Parvateshwar smiled, looking at Shiva.
Shiva nodded. The bandit looked tired. Shiva bent down, touching Parshuram on his shoulder. ‘You need to rest. We can talk later.’
‘One more thing, My Lord,’ said Parshuram, insistent. ‘The Brangas are only a conduit.’
Shiva frowned.
‘Your ultimate goal is to find the Nagas.’
Shiva narrowed his eyes.
‘I know where they live,’ said Parshuram.
Shiva’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘I know my way through the Dandak forests, My Lord,’ continued Parshuram. ‘I know where the Naga city is. I will tell you how to get there.’
Shiva patted Parshuram’s shoulder. ‘Thank you.’
‘But I have one condition, My Lord.’
Shiva frowned.
‘Take me with you,’ whispered Parshuram.
Shiva raised his eyebrows, surprised. ‘But why...’
‘Following you is my life’s duty. Please let me give my wr
etched life at least a little bit of meaning.’
Shiva nodded. ‘It will be my honour to travel with you, Parshuram.’
It had been three days since the battle of Madhumati. Parvateshwar’s men had located Parshuram’s ship. It was even bigger than the one they had travelled in. Clearly a Branga ship, it even had hull extensions to allow passage through the gates of Branga. The ship must have been captured by Parshuram’s men from one of the unfortunate Branga Kshatriya bands sent to arrest or kill him.
All the soldiers had boarded the ship. Parshuram’s men were not prisoners anymore. They had been allotted comfortable quarters of the same order as the Suryavanshi soldiers who had beaten them.
Shiva had personally seen to the comfort of both Purvaka and Parshuram. Ayurvati had stationed her assistant Mastrak alongside Parshuram, who was still extremely weak from tremendous blood loss.
The ship was sailing comfortably up the Madhumati. When they would reach the Branga river, a fast cutter with one of Parshuram’s men would be sent to guide King Chandraketu in finding the alternative source of the Naga medicine. The man would also inform the rest of Shiva’s men at Brangaridai to leave immediately and rejoin the brigade at the point where the Madhumati broke away from the Branga.
The brigade would then sail back to Kashi. Shiva was desperate to meet Sati and Kartik. He had been missing his family. After that he planned to raise an army and quickly turn South to find the Nagas.
Shiva was standing at the head of the ship, smoking some marijuana with Veerbhadra. Nandi stood next to them. They stared into the swirling waters of the Madhumati.
‘This expedition went better than expected, My Lord,’ said Nandi.
‘That it did,’ smiled Shiva, pointing at the chillum. ‘Unfortunately, the celebration isn’t quite up to the mark.’
Veerbhadra smiled. ‘Let me get to Kashi. They really know how to roll good grass there.’
Shiva laughed aloud. So did Nandi. Shiva offered the chillum to Nandi but the Meluhan Major declined. Shiva shrugged and took another drag, before passing the chillum back to Veerbhadra.
Shiva was distracted as he saw Parvateshwar come up to them, hesitate and turn back.
‘I wonder what he wants to talk about now,’ asked Shiva, frowning.
‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’ smiled Veerbhadra.
Nandi looked down and smiled, not saying a word.
‘Why don’t you two idiots excuse me for a minute?’ smiled Shiva, as he walked away from his friends.
Parvateshwar was standing at a distance, deep in thought.
‘General? A word, General.’
Parvateshwar immediately turned around and saluted. ‘Your command, My Lord.’
‘Not a command, Parvateshwar. Just a request.’
Parvateshwar frowned.
‘In the name of the Holy Lake,’ said Shiva. ‘For once, listen to your heart.’
‘My Lord?’
‘You know what I am saying. She loves you. You love her. What else is there to think about?’
Parvateshwar turned beet red. ‘Has it been that obvious?’
‘Obvious to everyone, General!’
‘But My Lord, this is wrong.’
‘How? Why? You think Lord Ram purposely designed laws for you to be unhappy?’
‘But my grandfather’s vow...’
‘You have honoured it for long enough. Trust me, even he would want you to stop now.’
Parvateshwar looked down, not saying anything.
‘I remember hearing that one of Lord Ram’s commandments was that laws are not important. What is important is justice. If the purpose of justice is served by breaking a law, then break it.’
‘Lord Ram said that?’ asked Parvateshwar, surprised.
‘I’m sure he must have,’ smiled Shiva. ‘He never wanted his followers to be unhappy. You are not hurting anyone else by being with Anandmayi. You are not hurting the protest begun by your grandfather. You have served that purpose quite enough. Now let your heart serve another purpose.’
‘Are you sure, My Lord?’
‘I’ve never been surer of anything else in my life. In the name of Lord Ram, go to her!’
Shiva slapped Parvateshwar hard on his back.
Parvateshwar had been thinking about this for long. Shiva’s words only helped him gather his dwindling courage. He saluted Shiva and turned. A man on a mission. Ready to take the plunge.
Anandmayi was leaning against the railing astern of the ship, enjoying the strong evening breeze.
‘Your Highness?’
Anandmayi spun around, surprised to find Parvateshwar there, looking sheepish. The Princess of Ayodhya was about to open her mouth, when he corrected himself.
‘I meant Anandmayi,’ whispered Parvateshwar.
Anandmayi stood up in surprise.
‘Yes, General? You wanted something?’ asked Anandmayi, her heart racing.
‘Ummm... Anandmayi... I was thinking...’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, it’s like this... It’s about what we were talking about...’
Anandmayi was aglow, smiling from deep within her heart. ‘Yes, General?’
‘Ummm... I never thought I would face this day. So... Ummm...’
Anandmayi nodded, keeping quiet, letting him take his time. She could figure out exactly what Parvateshwar wanted to say. But she also knew that it would be very difficult for the Meluhan General.
‘My vows and Suryavanshi laws have been the bedrock of my life,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘Unquestionable and unchanging. My destiny, the destination of my life and my role in it, has so far been clearly defined. This predictability is comforting. Rather, had been comforting, for many decades.’
Anandmayi nodded, silent.
‘But,’ said Parvateshwar, ‘the last few years have turned my world upside down. First came the Lord, a living man that I could look up to. A person beyond the laws. I thought this would be the biggest change my simple heart had been forced to handle.’
Anandmayi continued to nod. Trying her best not to frown or laugh, touched to see this proud man baring his heart in what she thought was one of the most wooden attempts at courtship in history. But she was wise enough to know that her Parva had to say his piece or he would never be comfortable with himself or in the life she hoped he was choosing to make with her.
‘But then... most unexpectedly, I also found a woman that I could look up to, could admire and adore. I have reached a crossroads in my life, where my destination is a blur. I do not know where my life is going. The road ahead is unclear. But to my surprise, I find that I am happy with that. Happy, as long as you walk this road with me...’
Anandmayi remained silent. Smiling. Tears in her eyes. He had really pulled it together at the end.
‘It’ll be one hell of a great journey.’
Anandmayi lunged forward and kissed Parvateshwar hard. A deep, passionate kiss. Parvateshwar stood stunned, his hands to his side, taking in a pleasure he hadn’t ever imagined. After what seemed like a lifetime, Anandmayi stepped back, her eyes a seductive half-stare. Parvateshwar staggered, his mouth half open. Not even sure how to react.
‘Lord Ram be merciful,’ the General whispered.
Anandmayi stepped closer to Parvateshwar, running her hand across his face. ‘You have no idea what you have been missing.’
Parvateshwar just continued to stare at her, dumbfounded.
Anandmayi held Parvateshwar’s hand and pulled him away. ‘Come with me.’
It had been a week since the battle with the liger. The few surviving lionesses and the liger had not come back. They were still licking their wounds. The villagers of Icchawar were using the moments of peace to start tilling their lands, preparing for the seasonal crops. It was a time of unexpected joy and relief.
The Chandravanshi soldiers were recovering. Ganesh’s wounds were too deep. He still limped from the severe mauling his leg had taken. But he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be alright. He
had to start preparing for the inevitable.
‘Maa,’ whispered Ganesh.
Sati looked at Ganesh, covering the dish she was cooking with a plate. She had spent the previous week listening to Kali share stories of Ganesh’s childhood, sharing in his joys and sorrows, understanding her child’s personality and character, right down to his favourite dishes. And she was satiating his stomach and soul with what she had learnt. ‘What is it, my son?’
Kali had just stepped up close as requested by Ganesh.
‘I think we have to start preparing to leave. I should be strong enough to travel in another week.’
‘I know. The food I’ve been giving you has some rejuvenating herbs. They’re giving you strength.’
Ganesh knelt and held his mother’s hand. ‘I know.’
Sati patted her son’s face lightly.
Ganesh took a deep breath. ‘I know you cannot come to Panchavati. It will pollute you. I will come to visit you regularly in Kashi. I will come in secret.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I have also sworn the Kashi soldiers to an oath of silence, on pain of a gruesome death,’ grinned Ganesh. ‘They’re terrified of us Nagas. They will not dare break this oath! The secret of my relationship with you will not be revealed.’
‘Ganesh, what in Lord Ram’s name are you talking about?’
‘I will not embarrass you. Your acceptance of me is enough for my soul.’
‘How can you embarrass me? You are my pride and joy.’
‘Maa...’ smiled Ganesh.
Sati held her son’s face. ‘You’re not going anywhere.’
Ganesh frowned.
‘You are staying with me.’
‘Maa!’ said Ganesh, horrified.
‘What?’
‘How can I? What will your society say?’
‘I don’t care.’
‘But your husband...’
‘He is your father,’ said Sati firmly. ‘Speak of him with respect.’
‘I meant no disrespect, Maa. But he will not accept me. You know that. I am a Naga.’
‘You are my son. You are his son. He will accept you. You don’t know the size of your father’s heart. The entire world can live in it.’