The Secret of the Nagas (48 page)

Within two months of the Naga Queen’s request to Shiva, Parvateshwar had made arrangements for travelling to Panchavati.

Shiva’s entourage had grown considerably since the time he had sailed into the city where the supreme light shines. Accompanying Shiva on the voyage was his entire family, as the Mahadev refused to leave Sati and Kartik behind. Kali and Ganesh obviously had to be there. Veerbhadra and Nandi were fixtures of the Neelkanth’s retinue. And Veerbhadra had insisted on his wife Krittika accompanying him this time, not just because they missed each other, but also as he knew she would not be able to bear parting company from Kartik for so long. Ayurvati was the obvious choice for the physician on board. Shiva also wanted Bhagirath and Parshuram with him. And Parvateshwar, his General and security head, could not leave without Anandmayi.

Parvateshwar had arranged for two brigades to travel with them. So two thousand soldiers, both Chandravanshi and Suryavanshi, travelled in a fleet of nine ships along with the royal vessel carrying the Neelkanth and his close aides. Vishwadyumna, the loyal Branga follower of Ganesh, and his platoon, were also commissioned into the Chandravanshi Brigade.

They sailed slowly so they could keep all the ships together. Two months had passed since they had left Kashi when they neared Vaishali.

Remembering his conversation with Gopal, the Chief of the Vasudevs, Shiva turned towards Veerbhadra, Nandi and Parshuram. All of them, except Nandi, were smoking pot on the deck, contemplating the river.

‘Apparently Lord Manu had said that Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin,’ said Shiva, breaking the silence of the moment, taking the chillum from Parshuram.

Parshuram frowned. ‘I have heard this too. But I could never make sense of it.’

Shiva took a deep drag of the marijuana, exhaled and passed the chillum to Veerbhadra. ‘What do you make of it, Bhadra?’

‘Frankly, a lot of what your Vasudev friends say is mumbo-jumbo!’

Shiva burst out laughing. So did his friends.

‘I wouldn’t quite say that, brave Veerbhadra.’

A surprised Shiva turned around to find Ganesh behind them. Shiva fell silent, all traces of humour dropping from him. Parshuram immediately bowed his head to Ganesh, but did not say anything out of fear of angering the Neelkanth.

Veerbhadra, who was growing increasingly fond of the Lord of the People and believed him to be a man of integrity, asked, ‘So what would you make of it, Ganesh?’

‘I would think it’s a clue,’ said Ganesh, smiling at Veerbhadra.

‘Clue?’ asked Shiva, intrigued.

‘Maybe for the Neelkanth to understand what he should be searching for?’

‘Carry on.’

‘Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin. So the Neelkanth has to find one side of a coin, right?’

Shiva frowned.

‘Is it possible to find one side of a coin?’ asked Ganesh.

Shiva slapped his forehead. ‘Of course, search for the whole coin instead!’

Ganesh nodded, smiling.

Shiva stared at Ganesh. A germ of an idea was forming in the Neelkanth’s mind.

Search for Good. And you shall find Evil as well. The greater the Good, the greater the Evil.

Veerbhadra held out the chillum to Ganesh. ‘Would you like to try some?’

Ganesh had never smoked in his life. He looked at his father and couldn’t read what was written in those deep, mysterious eyes. ‘I would love to.’

He sat down and took the chillum from Veerbhadra.

‘Place it in your mouth like so,’ said Veerbhadra, demonstrating by cupping his hands, ‘and breathe in deeply.’

Ganesh did as he was told, collapsing in a severe bout of coughing.

Everyone burst out laughing. Except Shiva, who continued to stare at Ganesh, straight-faced.

Veerbhadra stretched out to pat Ganesh on his back and took the chillum away from him. ‘Ganesh, you have never been touched by this evil.’

‘No. But I’m sure I’ll grow to like it,’ smiled an embarrassed Ganesh, glancing for a moment at Shiva as he reached out for the chillum again.

Veerbhadra drew it out of reach. ‘No, Ganesh. You should remain innocent.’

The fleet was at the gates of Branga. Parvateshwar, Anandmayi and Bhagirath had transferred into the lead ship to supervise operations.

‘I’ve seen it before, I know,’ said Anandmayi, staring at the gates, ‘but I still get amazed at their sheer ingenuity!’

Parvateshwar smiled and put his arm around Anandmayi. And almost immediately, much to Anandmayi’s annoyance, he turned back to the task at hand. ‘Uttanka, the second ship is not high enough. Tell the Brangas to fill more water into the pool.’

Unnoticed by Parvateshwar, Anandmayi raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly. Then she turned her husband’s face and kissed him lightly. Parvateshwar smiled.

‘All right, you lovebirds,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Keep a lid on it.’

Anandmayi laughed and slapped her brother on his wrist.

Parvateshwar smiled and turned towards the gates, to supervise the crossing.

‘This crossing will go well, General,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Relax. We know what the Brangas are doing. There are no surprises here.’

Parvateshwar turned to Bhagirath with a frown. He was surprised the Ayodhyan Prince had used the term ‘General’. He could tell his brother-in-law was trying to say something but was being cautious. ‘Out with it, Bhagirath. What are you trying to say?’

‘We know the path here,’ said Bhagirath. ‘We know what the Brangas are doing. There will be no surprises. But we have no idea what route the Nagas will lead us on. Only the Almighty knows what surprises they may have in store. Is it wise to trust them so blindly?’

‘We’re not trusting the Nagas, Bhagirath,’ interrupted Anandmayi. ‘We are trusting the Neelkanth.’

Parvateshwar remained silent.

‘I’m not saying we shouldn’t trust the Mahadev,’ said Bhagirath. ‘How can I? But how much do we know of the Nagas? We’re going through the dreaded Dandak forests with the Nagas as our guides. Am I the only one concerned here?’

‘Listen,’ said an irritated Anandmayi. ‘Lord Neelkanth trusts Queen Kali. That means I will trust her. And so will you.’

Bhagirath shook his head. ‘What do you say, Parvateshwar?’

‘The Lord is My Lord. I will walk into a wall of flames if he orders me to,’ said Parvateshwar as he looked towards the banks, where accumulator machines had just been released, pulling their ship forward with tremendous force. The Meluhan General turned to Bhagirath. ‘But how can I forget that Ganesh killed Brahaspati, the greatest scientist of Meluha? That he destroyed the heart of our empire, Mount Mandar. How can I trust him after all this?’

Anandmayi looked at Parvateshwar and then at her brother uncomfortably.

‘No, Krittika,’ said Ayurvati. ‘I am not doing it.’

Krittika and Ayurvati were in the Meluhan doctor’s office on the royal ship. The hooks on the sideboards of their ship were being attached onto the machine that would pull it through the gates of Branga. Practically everyone on the vessel was on the deck, to see this marvellous feat of Branga engineering in action. Krittika had used the time to meet Ayurvati without Veerbhadra’s knowledge.

‘Ayurvatiji, please. You know I need it.’

‘No you don’t. And I’m sure if your husband knew, he would say no as well.’

‘He doesn’t need to know.’

‘Krittika, I am not doing anything to put your life in danger. Is that clear?’

Ayurvati turned around to prepare a medicine for Kartik. He had cut himself while practicing with Parvateshwar.

Krittika saw her chance. There was a pouch lying on Ayurvati’s table. She knew this was the medicine she desperately craved. She slipped it quietly into the folds of her angvastram.

‘My apologies for disturbing you,’ said Krittika.

Ayurvati turned around. ‘I’m sorry if I appear rude, Krittika. But it is in your own interests.’

‘Please don’t tell my husband.’

‘Of course not,’ said Ayurvati. ‘But you should tell Veerbhadra yourself. Right?’

Krittika nodded and was about to leave the room when Ayurvati called out to her. Pointing towards Krittika’s angvastram, Ayurvati said, ‘Please leave it behind.’

Embarrassed, Krittika slowly slipped her hand into her angvastram, took the pouch out and left it on the table. She looked up, eyes moist and pleading.

Ayurvati held Krittika’s shoulder gently. ‘Haven’t you learnt anything from the Neelkanth? You are a complete woman exactly the way you are. Your husband loves you for who you are and not for something you can give him.’

Krittika mumbled a soft apology and ran from the room.

Chapter 23

The Secret of All Secrets

The convoy crossed the gates of Branga and sailed into the river’s westernmost distributary, the Madhumati. A few weeks later they passed the spot where Shiva had battled with Parshuram.

‘This is where we fought Parshuram,’ said Shiva, patting the ex-bandit on his back.

Parshuram looked at Shiva and then at Sati. ‘Actually, this is where the Lord saved me.’

Sati smiled at Parshuram. She knew what it felt like. Being saved by Shiva. She looked at her husband with love. A man capable of pulling the poison out of the lives of all those around him. And yet, he couldn’t pull the poison out of his own memories, still being tortured by his own demons. No matter how hard she tried, she could not get him to forget his past. Perhaps that was his fate.

Sati’s musings were interrupted by Parshuram. ‘This is where we turn, My Lord.’

Sati looked in the direction the exiled Vasudev pointed. There was nothing there. The river seemed to skirt a large grove of Sundari trees and carry on towards the Eastern Sea.

‘Where?’ asked Shiva.

‘See those
Sundari
trees, My Lord,’ said Parshuram, pointing towards a grove with the hook fixed on his amputated left hand. ‘They lend their name to this area. The
Sundarban
.’

‘Beautiful forest?’
asked Sati.

‘Yes, My lady,’ said Parshuram. ‘They also hide a beautiful secret.’

On the orders of Kali, the lead ship turned into the grove that Parshuram had pointed towards. From the distance of her own ship, Sati could see the figure of Parvateshwar, also on the deck, looking at Kali and trying to argue with the Naga Queen.