The First Aryan

by Paramu Kurumathur

  They thanked the queen and took their leave. Kaśyapa said, ‘The guard said that Vāyata had come in that evening to see Kutsa, but the queen says that he may not have. Which of the two is lying?’

  Agastya said, ‘There’s a chance that they did not lie on purpose. Maybe they just forgot what exactly happened—it has been some time and there is no reason for them to be paying any special attention to that fateful evening. And remember that the queen was not very sure.’

  ‘Could be.’

  ‘We will need to talk to Vāyata soon.’

  16

  Kaśyapa Continues His Investigations

  The next day, the two young investigators went to meet Vāyata. He was rather stand-offish and uncooperative initially—he must have felt that it was beneath his dignity to talk to younger students. However, when he saw that they were showing him proper deference, he was mollified.

  Kaśyapa started, ‘Sir, do you remember our fellow student, Atharvan, who died about three months ago?’

  ‘Yes, I do. It must have been a great shock to the other students in your school. There was some consternation in our school too. It was very unsettling. He was, after all, a student just like the rest of you. However, as unfortunate as that is, I’m afraid I must say that he was not very polite to his elders.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘He insulted my guru, Jaraduṣṭra, during a debate your guru had invited us to. He also insulted me when we came to meet Guru Vasiṣṭha.’

  ‘Do you know how he died?’

  ‘I heard that he drowned in the rivulet outside the south gate.’

  Agastya asked, ‘Did you go out of the city that morning?’

  ‘I don’t remember what morning it was, honestly. You may not know this, but I do sometimes go out to teach the children of the ostracized priestly-class families a little outside the city. I also meet their fathers and talk to them sometimes. Before you react, you must know that Bhārgava also does this. Anyway, what day was this?’

  They were not going to tell him that they already knew this. Agastya said, ‘It was the morning of the fourth day of Tapasya.’

  ‘I don’t remember what happened on that particular day. I am not too sure whether I went out or not.’

  ‘Why do you meet the ostracized people?’

  ‘I want to reform them, get them to accept a moral life and accept Varuṇa as the chief god.’

  Agastya asked, ‘Have you studied the esoteric sciences?’

  ‘Yes, I have, which is why I do not support these practices. I understand them well by now and know that they are against the natural order.’

  ‘Atharvan once told me that someone approached you to perform esoteric practices to benefit them.’

  ‘He was wrong! Nobody approached me. Even if they did, I would not perform any esoteric practice for them.’

  Kaśyapa said, ‘Atharvan was learning the esoteric sciences along with Bhārgava. He was quite good at it.’

  ‘Yes, I understand that he was.’

  ‘If you did go, when would you have got back that morning after meeting the ostracized people?’ Kaśyapa asked, suddenly.

  ‘Towards the end of the first part of the morning,’ Vāyata replied, and immediately bit his tongue.

  Kaśyapa caught on instantly. So, you did go out that day, didn’t you? However, he pretended to have not noticed the slip. Instead, he changed his focus. ‘Sir, we got to know that Bhārgava had arranged for you to visit the king’s son, Kutsa, as part of a bet?’

  Vāyata hesitated. ‘Yes, he did take me to meet the boy a few times.’

  ‘How many times?’

  ‘Two or three.’

  Agastya asked, ‘Remember the day the boy died?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Did you visit him that day?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so.’

  ‘Are you sure? One of the guards said that he saw you go in with Bhārgava.’

  ‘He must be mistaken. He must be getting confused with another day.’

  ‘What did you do when you met the boy?’

  ‘I first did some deep meditation to help me bring my mind to focus. Then I would explain to him the concept of Varuṇa worship.’

  ‘Did he understand the concepts when you taught him?’

  ‘It was very difficult. He was still a very young boy. I had to put the concepts in very simple terms for him to understand. But many a time he would get distracted by his toys and not listen to me. I am sure Bhārgava also faced the same problem. You can ask him.’

  Kaśyapa remembered the days when he was a youngster of about ten years. He smiled to himself as he recollected how his guru sometimes became impatient with him because he would keep getting distracted.

  That’s all they could get out of Vāyata that day, but they took his advice and went in search of Bhārgava. They were told that he too was seen going out of the south gate. Bhārgava was in his garden. He seemed to be in a good mood. Kaśyapa hailed him and he seemed happy to see Agastya and him.

  Kaśyapa said, ‘Bhārgava, we came to talk to you about a few things.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Do you remember Atharvan’s death?

  ‘Yes, poor fellow. I was close to him initially. We came to the guru’s house around the same time many years ago. Why do you ask?’

  Agastya answered, ‘When Atharvan’s parents came here after hearing about his death, they could not get a clear answer about how and why he had died, even though we tried our best to gather the facts. Our guru has asked us to look into the death so that we can give his parents a definitive answer. Poor people! They deserve to be told the truth.’

  ‘Ha! That is interesting. Why you two?’

  ‘Well, the guru picked us. Anyway, have you thought about his death?’

  ‘Yes. Many times. He was too young to die.’

  ‘Did you see him go out that morning when he died?’

  ‘No. I did not. I did not notice him gone until it was pointed out before our classes began that morning.’

  ‘Our guru’s wife says that she saw someone go behind Atharvan that morning. Do you know who it could be?’

  ‘Not sure. It could have been anyone. It was a very misty morning.’

  Agastya asked, ‘Did you go out of the south gate that morning?’

  ‘No. I did not.’

  ‘The gatekeeper said that he saw you going out,’ Agastya lied.

  ‘Did he? I may have gone out to the garden then. I do not remember. Some herbs require being tended to early in the morning for them to grow well and retain their medicinal properties.’

  ‘Did you see Vāyata that morning outside the gate?’

  ‘Now that you mention it, I think I did see him. When I was on my way to the garden, he was coming back from the rivulet. I assumed that he had gone to relieve himself.’

  ‘Around what time was this?’

  ‘It was a long time ago; I don’t remember such small details.’

  Agastya asked, ‘Was Atharvan very good at the esoteric sciences?’

  ‘He was. We were both equally knowledgeable about the subject, but he was better known for his adeptness. I used to warn him about unscrupulous people trying to use him to meet their nefarious ends. In fact, I remember Veśa asking him to perform some such esoteric practice.’

  ‘Veśa? What did he want?’

  ‘I was not close enough to hear what exactly he had asked him, but I could make out from their body language that whatever Veśa had asked him to do, Atharvan had refused.’

  Kaśyapa shifted his attention to Kutsa’s death. ‘We heard that you had been taking Vāyata to the king’s son’s room?’

  ‘Where do you hear such things! I had not “been taking him” with me. I took him once or twice.’

  ‘Did you take him with you the evening Kutsa died?’

  Bhārgava looked at both of them. ‘I do not remember. I don’t think I did, but I am not sure.’

  ‘What did you normally do when
you got into the boy’s room?’

  ‘I spent some time with him, talking to him and giving him lessons.’

  ‘What did Vāyata do when he went in with you?’

  ‘I would get him in and then leave the room. But I secretly kept watch to ensure nobody caught them during their interactions. I believe he used to talk to Kutsa and try to influence him.’

  ‘When would he leave?’

  ‘He would leave soon. I would go in after he left.’

  They thanked him and turned to leave when Bhārgava stopped them, looked at Kaśyapa and said, ‘I heard that you were making a big deal of your visit to the Dasyu capital?’

  Agastya said, ‘Don’t trigger him! He will never stop.’

  Bhārgava ignored him and asked, ‘Tell me about it. Is the city bigger than ours?’

  Kaśyapa said, ‘It is much bigger than Parśupur; it was the first time I saw a city of that size. Like Parśupur, it is also completely walled on all sides.’

  ‘Okay. So, it is bigger than Parśupur. What else?’

  ‘It has well-cobbled roads, with all houses, shops and other buildings arranged neatly in rows. There was absolutely no garbage on the streets—not even the smell of it. The city really is magnificent. There were many large open public baths, some of which are over 100 pauruṣas long and wide. Some of these tanks are used for bathing and swimming, others for washing clothes and many for supplying drinking water and domestic use.’

  Bhārgava interjected, ‘Public baths inside the city? That is not good.’

  Kaśyapa ignored him and went on, ‘All parts of the city are connected by cobbled roads. There is an elaborate system of closed drains that takes sewage from all houses to the river. They even have open storm drains to ensure that the rains do not flood the city.’

  Agastya asked, ‘You seem to be very impressed with the city, don’t you?’

  Kaśyapa continued, ‘Yes. What struck me as interesting was that there weren’t any soldiers in sight. There were a few guards carrying sticks, but nothing more. I think there are lesser episodes of crime there than here in Parśuvarta. Things looked very peaceful.’

  Bhārgava said, ‘Obviously. They are not prone to wars like we are. They are a timid people.’

  Agastya said, ‘But Sudās would not have made a compact with them unless he was convinced of their military calibre.’

  ‘The lesser said about Sudās and his compact with the Dasyus, the better.’

  Kaśyapa went on with his comprehensive praise, ‘Whether timid or not, the people are very friendly and much less suspicious of strangers than the people in Parśuvarta. Their language is different, but many of them understand our language; there is a lot of trade and commerce between our kingdoms. The signs of this commerce are everywhere: large carts carrying goods were going around all through the day, the labourers were carrying heavy loads. They also have better and more superior metal techniques.’

  Bhārgava asked, ‘What about their religion? I have heard that they do not make sacrifices to their gods—their gods are different.’

  ‘Yes. They have large temples for the gods. You are right, no sacrifices are offered.’

  ‘Who are their gods?’

  ‘Paśupati is their main god.’

  ‘And?’

  Kaśyapa was not sure. Bhārgava asked, ‘So . . . what do people of the priestly class do if there aren’t any sacrifices?’

  ‘Since their system of worship is not as complicated as ours, their priests do not wield the immense power that the Aryan priestly class does. Among the Dasyus, the warriors are the most powerful.’

  Bhārgava was not convinced. ‘This is obviously not right. Should not the priests, who are closest to the gods, have the most power?’

  ‘They do not believe that the priests should have a monopoly over access to the gods. For them, anyone who goes to the temple can commune with the gods. This, in turn, implies that education in the scriptures is not restricted to the upper classes. So, the average person on the street there was more knowledgeable than his counterpart in Parśuvarta.’

  Bhārgava said, ‘They may be educated. I accept that. Also, I accept that their city is better than ours. But they are not Aryans—they are not the chosen ones.’

  Kaśyapa said, ‘I know they are not Aryans, but I do think that in many respects they are better than us, even though we are the chosen ones. I am convinced that by marrying the Dasyu princess, Sudās’s dynasty will have better blood and not worse.’

  Bhārgava said with a scowl, ‘Only time will tell.’

  17

  Journey to the Northern City

  Everything was finally ready for the travel to the northern city. It was the sixteenth day of the month of Śukra, the day after the new moon, the one hundred and thirty-fourth day of the year.

  The previous night, before going to sleep, Kaśyapa went outdoors to admire the night. Mars was almost overhead in Svātī, Saturn was high up in the sky to the north of and between Mūla and Pūrvā Aṣāḍhā, and Jupiter was high up in the sky to the south of and between Pūrvā and Uttarā Phalguṇī.

  Kaśyapa and Agastya woke up earlier than usual and performed their daily rituals—they were exempt from lessons that morning because they had to pack for the journey, even though they had few possessions. They normally wore a woollen cloth wrapped around their waists and a woollen piece of cloth that could be draped around the shoulders and pulled tight in front for warmth. Kaśyapa had two of each kind. They also had woollen cloaks with sleeves that they would wear when they were outdoors in winters, especially during the nights and early mornings. He packed one set of clothes in a small pack along with his cloak, wore the other set and was ready to go.

  They had never travelled this far before, though later in their lives Kaśyapa and Agastya would visit many places and kingdoms. They were excited about the travel and stay, primarily because they knew that since they were staying with the two royal couples, they would get delectable food every day.

  It was the first part of the day, a warm and dry morning; there had been no rains for months. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the monsoon and hoping that in about two weeks’ time a few pre-season showers would bring the temperature down and provide water for the plants and animals by filling up the rivers and ponds.

  The party gathered at the king’s palace, where Sudās and Veśa were making sure that they had everything they needed for the journey. By the time Jaraduṣṭra and Vāyata arrived, they were ready to set off. The priests performed a small sacrifice to the god of roads and journeys, Pūṣan, to ensure a safe journey.

  Shorten our ways, O Pūṣan, move aside obstruction in the path;

  Go close before us, cloud-born God.10

  Drive, Pūṣan, from our road the wolf, the wicked inauspicious wolf,

  Who lies in wait to injure us.11

  Who lurks about the path we take, the robber with a guileful heart;

  Far from the road chase him away.12

  Tread with thy foot and trample out the firebrand of the wicked one,

  The double-tongued, whoe’er he be.13

  Lead us to meadows rich in grass; send on our way no early heat;

  O Pūṣan, find thou power for this.14

  The prince and the commander were seen giving last-minute instructions to the new vice commander who had been appointed soon after the previous one was murdered. He was made in charge of the city’s safety in the absence of the prince. The garrison of five hundred soldiers in the city would be under his command.

  The prince and the commander had thought that it would be wise to have some backup for the five hundred soldiers in the northern city. So, during the previous few days, the commander had levied another five hundred soldiers from around the countryside. This contingent had already been sent ahead.

  The prince and two of his henchmen led the party on horseback, followed by ten cavalry soldiers and ten archers on foot. Veśa followed on horseback. The successful undertaking of the journey res
ted on his shoulders. Behind them came a luxury carriage with four oxen yoked to it. This had the king, the queen and the prince’s wife. It was flanked by many soldiers and archers on foot on each side. The next carriage was a small one with two oxen yoked to it. This carried Guru Vasiṣṭha. This was flanked by a soldier on each side. The next carriage, also with four oxen, had the courtesan and her girls, also flanked by a pair of soldiers. The next was a small carriage which carried Jaraduṣṭra and Vāyata, with a soldier on one side. Next came the merchant, Dīrghaśravas, on horseback, with his bodyguards and servants by his side.

  The small carriage after that had Kaśyapa, Agastya and Bhārgava. They were, to their disappointment, not flanked by any soldiers. Behind them came a few carriages with the servants of the queen, the prince’s wife and the courtesan; cooks, servants and the storekeeper to take care of the party on their journey. There were a few physicians with herbs, concoctions and other medical supplies like salves, poultices and surgical appliances. Behind them were carriages with provisions for the next nine to ten days of travel and some essentials to help them in the first few days after their arrival. This train of carriages, surrounded by around fifty cavalry soldiers, twenty archers and a hundred soldiers on foot, would be able to travel around a yojana in a day. The commander, Yadu, on horseback, protected by a few cavalry soldiers and archers, was travelling at the end. This way he could keep an eye on the entire caravan and reach anywhere quickly if needed.

  Kaśyapa asked Agastya, ‘Why are we using ox-carts? Why can’t we have horses? Won’t it be faster?’

  Agastya replied, ‘We have just learnt how to hitch a horse to a carriage. We have not perfected the art yet. However, rest assured that that is something which can be done soon. You should know that you cannot just throw a yoke over a horse’s neck like you can do to an ox.’