The Krishna Key (8 page)

‘These men are busy searching for a secret that was left behind by Krishna,’ said Mataji angrily. ‘They cursorily read the
Mahabharata
and think to themselves,
what could be this earth-shattering secret? Their little minds dwell on the Brahmastra—the divine weapon that could cause the destruction of a nuclear bomb. In so doing, they overlook the key secrets within the
Bhagwad Gita
—the sermon delivered by Krishna to Arjuna on the battlefield!’

‘Specifically, which part of the
Bhagwad Gita
are you referring to, Mataji?’ asked Taarak.

‘Remember the part when Krishna tells Arjuna,
I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible. And because I am the greatest, unborn and infallible, I am celebrated both in the world and in the
Vedas
as that Supreme Person. My transcendental body never deteriorates. I am without origin, middle or end. I am the generating seed of all existence,’
recited Mataji from her perfect memory.

‘How does this provide a clue to finding the Krishna Key?’ asked Taarak.

‘The fools who read these passages think that Krishna is talking about his divine self. Alternatively, they think that he is alluding to the permanence of the soul. Indeed, Krishna does talk about this when he says,
that which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.
But the fools do not understand that this passage about the indestructibility of the soul is not the same as the passage about Krishna’s own infallibility, his permanence, or the fact that he is
the generating seed of all existence!’

‘So what does the earlier passage recited by you actually mean?’ asked Taarak.

‘It means that Krishna is alive! If Krishna is transcendental, infallible, unborn, and his body never
deteriorates; if Krishna is without origin, middle or end and if he—Krishna—is the generating seed of all existence, then the only obvious conclusion is that he is alive!’ thundered Mataji, as she continued counting her beads feverishly.

Emerging victorious from my battle to protect Dwarka, I rushed back to Hastinapur, but it was too late. I eventually found the Pandavas a enclosed within a circle.. erme Rnd Draupadi on the outskirts of the city. Bhima wanted to fight and take back their kingdom but I told him, ‘You allowed your brother to wager everything. All of you are equally responsible. You must live thirteen years in exile as per the wager. It’s your dharma.’ Draupadi asked me, ‘Was it my fault that I was wagered?’ I cautiously replied, ‘No, but it was you who insulted Karana as well as Duryodhana on previous occasions
—
this is the consequence. Don’t worry, Draupadi, everyone who sat there watching you being humiliated will pay a heavy price. But first, all of you must get through these thirteen years! In the meantime, Subhadra, her son Abhimanyu, and Draupadi’s children, shall move to Dwarka where I shall ensure that they are looked after.’

Saini and Priya mopped their way towards the executive office belonging to Chhedi. It was easy enough to find
because it was located at the very end of the walnut-veneered wall that ran along the length of the passage. Unlike Kurkude’s office, which had the secretary seated in an outer office room, Chhedi’s office was independently accessed with the secretary seated in a separate cabin adjacent to that of her boss. An unmanned reception area outside Chhedi’s office provided a few plush sofas and magazines for Chhedi’s visitors.

Priya walked into the private reception area and began cleaning the sofas while Saini strolled towards Chhedi’s office door and began polishing the handle. Within a minute, he had twisted the handle downwards, opened the door and walked in. Chhedi was alone, seated behind an enormous desk. He looked up as he saw his office door open. ‘My office has already been cleaned in the morning,’ he snapped absentmindedly at the janitorial duo.

‘Dumpy, it’s me,’ whispered Saini as he closed the door behind Priya and him.

‘Roger?’ asked Chhedi curiously. ‘Why are you in a cleaner’s uniform?’

‘Oh, so you spoke down to me from your high and mighty perch only because I was a lowly janitor?’ joked Saini. ‘On a serious note, though, it was the only way to reach you without being observed by the cops who are swarming all over.’

‘And who is this fine lady with you?’ asked Chhedi, his naughty eyes twinkling as he shook hands with Saini.

‘This is Priya, my doctoral student. She has been on the run with me ever since Varshney’s life was taken,’ explained Saini as he realised that Chhedi had
transferred a small piece of paper to his palm while shaking hands. Saini tried reading it but was unable to, because the writing was smudged from the sweat of his palms.

On a television screen in the secretary’s room, Radhika Singh was sitting and watching Saini enter Chhedi’s office. The camera microphone was also activated and every word of the conversation was being recorded. She watched Saini and Priya settle down in the visitors’ chairs opposite Chhedi’s at the desk. Chhedi was saying, ‘I have tried my best to keep the police out of my personal office. Please talk freely and tell me everything. I’ll do whatever I can to help.’ Radhika smiled. It had been a great idea to occupy the secretary’s office because it was equipped with a camera and recording device. Chhedi often liked his meetings to be recorded so that his secretary could minute them later.

‘Do you have the fourth seal?’ asked Saini. Chhedi nodded and took out something from his desk drawer. He passed it to Saini who opened the envelope and carefully extract,’ replied Sir Khan a on the ed the seal. He felt a tingle of excitement when he saw that the fourth seal was almost identical to the other three and definitely part of a set.

‘Our school buddy—Varshney—had four such seals,’ explained Saini. ‘As of date, one is with the police, and two are missing. I have brought along with me photographs of the three others. Would you mind if we place them on your desk and try to make some sense of them?’

‘Isn’t this seal the equivalent of Krishna’s passport system?’ asked Chhedi.

‘Yes,’ said Saini. ‘The
Harivamsa
says
Mudrayaasah gacchantu rajno ye gantumipsavah; Na chamudra praveshtavyo dwaarpaalasya pashyatah…
it’s a directive that every citizen of Dwarka should carry a mudra—or seal—as a mark of identification and that it is the duty of the guards to see that every citizen carries the seal and that none without a seal are allowed to enter.’

‘And what is the relevance of the three animals that are depicted on the seal?’ asked Chhedi.

‘These are motifs of a bull, unicorn and goat. They’re considered to be representations of Vishnu. There are references to a very prominent unicorn in the
Mahabharata
called the “Ekashringa”—literally, the one-horned,’ explained Saini.

‘And, if you bring these seals together, what should they tell you?’ asked Chhedi. ‘In fact, what makes you believe that these four seals are not simply four isolated artefacts?’

‘Because they’re virtually identical—except for minor variations. The position of the three-headed animal appears slightly differently on each seal, but the faces are not even slightly at variance to one another, Dumpy. Varshney himself told me that they even had a base plate that was later lodged in a
temple built by Raja Man Singh in the sixteenth century,’ said Saini. ‘Do you have a pair of scissors that I could borrow?’

Chhedi plucked scissors from the leather box on his desk and offered it to Saini.

‘Now could I request you to access my web mail on your computer and take a printout of the photographs that Varshney had sent me of the four seals?’ asked Saini. Chhedi obliged and soon Saini had all four photographs before him. He compared Chhedi’s actual seal with the fourth photograph just to be sure that the photographs were indeed of the very same artefacts.

Saini then took the photographs that Chhedi had printed out and cut them into squares so that they resembled the actual seals. Taking the four photographs, he started shuffling them around on the table, almost
as though he were solving a child’s jigsaw puzzle. A few minutes later, a smile appeared on his face.

‘Do you see what I see?’ he asked Chhedi and Priya. Priya caught on immediately. It was impossible not to be stunned by the symbolism of the swastika that lay before them.

The Chandal Chaukdi
—
the devious foursome consisting of Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Shakuni and Karana
—
decided to attack the Pandavas in the forest and finish them off ,’ replied Sir Khanwork on the Kaliyugaonce and for all. Vidura pleaded before Dhritarashtra to stop them, but the blind king ended up scolding Vidura instead. Angry and hurt, Vidura decided to leave Hastinapur and go join the Pandavas in the forests. Soon thereafter, Dhritarashtra repented and sent messengers to bring Vidura back while disallowing any attack on the Pandavas. Since they could not attack the Pandavas, the Kauravas decided to humiliate them by setting out on a cattle census. They established their base camp near the Pandavas and cooked the very best gourmet delights in order to torment the Pandavas. Unfortunately for the Kauravas, they were attacked and captured by the forest Gandharvas, the divine messengers between the gods and humans. Not forgetting their duty, the Pandavas rescued the
Kauravas from the Gandharvas, thus leaving the Chandal Chaukdi shamefaced.

‘So we have a swastika—so what, Roger?’ asked Chhedi. ‘How has it added to your knowledge in any way?’

‘Dumpy, the swastika is probably the oldest symbol of the Vedic civilisation. Unfortunately, it was adopted by Adolf Hitler’s genocidal Nazi party and acquired a negative connotation the world over,’ said Saini. ‘Among Hindus, however, it is extremely holy. The word “Swastika” itself is derived by combining two Sanskrit words “Su” and “Asti”. Su means “good” and asti means “existence” or “life”. The overall context of the symbol is thus of peace, good health, prosperity and happiness. The question that has always plagued me though, is this: is the swastika merely a symbol, or did it mean much more in ancient times? After all, an X in an algebraic equation does not mean the same thing as an X used to mark a spot on a map!’

‘Are you trying to say that the swastika marks a specific physical location geographically?’ asked Chhedi.