Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod (26 page)

'I'm afraid it is my own pressing need that has brought me here.'

Mitra was surprised. What need could a sage of Bhrigu's prowess have of him?

'My problem can wait. Please tell me how I may assist you.'

'Since we last met all those years ago, a great deal has changed in my life. I have a wife now and four children. I . . . I had four children, now I have three.'

His voice cracked with emotion and Mitra waited patiently for him to continue.

'I lost a son, my first-born, ten days ago. He was still a boy, seventeen years old. He was struck on the head with a wooden club. His head was cracked open like a nut . . .'

The old sage began to weep, unable to continue. Mitra put his arm on the man's shoulder in a gesture of consolation.

'Do you know where we can find the people who did it?'

The sage composed himself and nodded.

'We are a small community of a hundred people who live at the foot of Mount Mandara, five days march to the north of here. We live off the land, farming, rearing some sheep and a few cattle. Last year our peaceful existence was shattered by the arrival of another tribe. They live on the slopes of the mountain and send raiding parties to attack us. They steal our grain, livestock and women. Our men are not warriors; they possess courage but lack the skill to defend themselves. My son tried to get the men together and build an effective force against them, but he lost his life in the last raid.'

Mitra thought quickly. This could present a solution to his immediate problem. Indra had to take charge of the throne and Soma was needed to help him with his duties. But the others he could send with Bhrigu. This would suit his purpose well. Firstly, he would not have to worry about the boys' powers being discovered by the Devas. Secondly, they could only benefit from being around a man of Bhrigu's wisdom. He made up his mind.

'I have the solution to your problem, rather three solutions. How soon do you require to leave?'

'I have travelled night and day to get here. I'm ready to leave immediately, as every moment's delay only increases the danger my people are in.'

The noise outside told him the boys were awake. He excused himself and went to fetch them.

As he entered the hut of the Falcons, a loud argument greeted him. It was the usual suspects, Agni and Soma. Agni had a handful of what looked like mushrooms in his hand. He held them out towards Mitra.

'Look, Master! Bad enough he spends all morning sifting through cow dung picking these things up. But he insists on bringing this filth into our hut. I woke up this morning with the smell of shit in the air.'

'Give that back to me, you stupid oaf. Stop meddling in things that do not concern you.'

'All right that's enough, you two,' Mitra said. 'Agni, Varuna and Vayu, get your things together. You'll are going on a little trip.'

The boys jumped up in excitement.

'What trip, Master? Where are we going?'

'You'll are going to live with the sage Bhrigu at his ashram for a little while. Now hurry, it is not wise to keep the sage waiting. Where is Indra?'

'He has not returned from his bath. Is he going away as well?' Soma asked, worried he was going to be left all alone.

'No. Ask him to come to my hut when he returns. By the way, do find some other place to keep your stuff Soma, it does stink in here.'

'Yes, Master.'

Mitra went back to his hut where Bhrigu was pacing about impatiently. Mitra took the opportunity to tell him about the adventure the boys had just had. Bhrigu listened in silence, fascinated.

'These beings they saw. Did they tell you how many of them were there?'

'Indra mentioned there were seven of them.'

Bhrigu's grief-stricken eyes now shone with excitement.

'The Saptarishis! Many sages including myself have awaited their arrival for years now. What we saw all those years ago in the stars is finally coming to pass.'

Bhrigu saw Mitra's confused expression and realised that he had been mumbling to himself.

'Forgive me, my friend, and allow me to explain. The Saptarishis or the Seven Seers are creatures of light, the physical embodiments of the Supreme force, Brahman. From which the entire universe was created. It was foretold that they would arm the One who unites the sons of Aditi.'

Realisation began to dawn on Mitra. He piped in, excited as a child, 'Then it is true. Indra is the One, from the prophecy.'

Mitra suddenly realised that, in his excitement, he had interrupted Bhrigu. A conduct that was quite unbecoming of a seer.

'Forgive me, Master. Please continue.'

'Do not be troubled, my friend, the occasion demands such excitement,' Bhrigu said with a smile and continued. 'This man will be a great king. He will establish a great empire and restore the balance of power in the world. Another Arya will then appear in this world and spread the light of knowledge through it. This boy of yours will finally help accomplish what your common ancestor Kasyapa, the first Arya, was sent here to do.'

Mitra remained quiet, the pieces of the puzzle coming together in his head. Bhrigu interrupted with a warning.

'This power that they have received must be handled with care. Indiscriminate usage can deplete their prana or life force greatly enough to kill them. I will give them exercises to strengthen their bodies as well as their minds. I suggest you do the same for Indra and Soma.'

Just then Indra's voice interrupted them.

'May I enter, Master Mitra?'

When Mitra nodded, Indra walked in, first bowing to his master and then to Bhrigu.

'My companions have just informed me about their good fortune. I regret that the affairs of my people keep me from being of service to you. I would love to have come and lived with you and imbibed some of your great wisdom. But right now, I will have to be content with your blessings, great sage.'

Bhrigu studied the warrior with interest and then, laughing heartily, said, 'You already have that. I must say, Mitra, your young warrior wields words as well as he wields a sword. He will make a great king.'

Just then, excited voices could be heard outside the hut. The three walked out to see Varuna, Vayu and Agni busy saddling their horses.

'You will have no use for those animals where we are going. We will travel on foot,' Bhrigu said.

The boys groaned as they digested that piece of information. Like all good cavalrymen, they hated the prospect of travelling on foot. Bhrigu and the boys then said their goodbyes to Indra and Mitra. Just as they turned to leave, the sage remembered something.

'By the way, I saw a big black bull on the other side of the river. I think he is one of yours.'

Mitra looked at the boys in surprise. Indra, Varuna and Agni burst out laughing; Vayu could not hide his guilt.

'It is a fine breeding bull, Master. Let us take it with us. He will sire many fine calves for Master Bhrigu.'

9

Indra's coronation was a subdued affair. Much as the Sabha and his companions tried to convince him to have it otherwise, Indra would not agree. The death of Vasu still hung heavy on his conscience, and he did not want any celebrations. The Sabha was convened, and after the ceremonial dip in the river, Mitra draped around him the scarlet robe of kingship. The members of the Sabha raised their voices in unison and saluted their new raja.

After the ceremony, General Kanak addressed the gathering. The general was a legend in the tribe. He had distinguished himself during the siege of Ur. Mitra remembered him as a peerless archer who had lost his arm in that battle. The unfortunate incident had cut short his brilliant military career.

Since then he had made his name as a great weapons instructor. It was Kanak who had mentored both Vasu and Pusan to the championship in the Spardha. Although a permanent member of the Sabha, he now led a rather reclusive, retired life, not concerning himself with the administrative affairs of the land. He had been an ardent supporter of the late regent, and there were quite a few apprehensive faces amongst Indra's supporters as he now stood up to address the gathering.

'Devas, the dark clouds of sorrow have finally lifted from Aryavarta. The time has come for us to rally as one behind our new king. A lot of talk has been going around about the circumstances that led to the death of the regent. I was there and bore witness to the tragedy, as did many of you. Vasu was like a son to me, no one was more saddened by his death than I. But he broke the rules of the Dvanda and paid for it with his life. This is the way I see it. If anybody here sees it differently, let them speak now.'

The general paused; there was pin-drop silence in the hall as everyone looked around to see if any of the rumourmongers would rise up now to bell the cat. But nobody said a word.

'Good, we are all in agreement then. If I hear any more loose talk about murder or treachery, I would like to remind everyone of you'll that I still have an arm left, and it has not forgotten how to wield a sword.'

He let the threat hang in the air for a moment. When he spoke again his tone was much softer.

'I would now like to take the liberty of being the first to pledge my loyalty to Raja Indra. I was privileged to fight alongside his father when he was about his son's age. I see Daeyus' fire and strength in him. May he live long and spread the glory of our tribe across the far corners of the world.'

He went down on one knee and bowed his head. Every man in the hall followed his example. Indra acknowledged their gesture and asked them to rise.

Mitra, though not of the tribe, was an honoured guest at the ceremony. He was delighted to see the support Indra had received from this rather unexpected quarter. The general was highly respected by even the staunchest of Pusan's allies. He had just saved Indra a lot of trouble, perhaps even a lot of unnecessary bloodshed.

One of the first things Indra did as raja was streamline the administration of the settlement. He was greatly aided by the fact that Vasu had been an extremely capable administrator; his appointees were efficient, hardworking and honest in the way they discharged their duties. Indra spoke to every one of them personally and congratulated them on their good work. These men who had been fearful of losing their posts since the arrival of the new king, now worked with renewed motivation.

With the administration under control, Indra turned to an area that his predecessor had not been very efficient in, the Sena. With the death of Daeyus and Krupa, Vasu and the other officers had essentially given up their desire to be soldiers again. The once feared warriors had turned into bureaucratic fat cats, content to bask in the lazy luxury that life in a paradise like Gandhar brought.

The indulgent father, against his better sense of judgment, had put Pusan in charge of the Sena. Pusan was a great warrior, but he had not been a good leader. Indra was surprised to learn that the once powerful Sena was now a mere police force of two hundred men. Pusan's cronies, who were more sycophants than soldiers, occupied key positions within it. Warriors of merit who did not toe the line or protested against the leadership were sent to distant border outposts or were made glorified herdsmen.

Indra commissioned the construction of a huge army barrack close to Mitra's ashram. From there he planned to build a Sena that would surpass even his father's in strength and ferocity. Only two of the old guard were retained: Atreya and Puru. With the two of them to assist him, he personally interviewed every single recruit. Only the most eligible were picked. Most of them had already distinguished themselves in the Spardha. Soon the clash of bronze began to echo around Aryavarta. It finally began to look and sound like a Deva settlement once again.

***

After two days and nights of travel, Bhrigu and the three young men could finally see the sage's ashram, nestled at the foot of Mount Mandara. Suddenly they noticed plumes of smoke rising up in the air, quite unusual for that time of the day. Fearing the worst, they hurried in that direction. As they approached the ashram, the boys realised that it was much bigger than they had expected. It was more like a little village, with a number of huts and crop fields. But now, some of the huts and a couple of fields had been burnt down to the ground.

The entire village had gathered outside the largest hut and the sound of wailing could be heard from within it. A worried Bhrigu rushed in. Inside, his wife and the other women were inconsolable with grief. On enquiry, they learnt that there had been a raid just that morning. While the villagers had managed to drive the raiders away, two women had been taken. One of them was Maha, Bhrigu's eldest daughter.