The First Aryan

by Paramu Kurumathur

  Kaśyapa said, ‘Veśa, the prince and the guru have asked us to investigate the circumstances of the death of the king’s son, Kutsa, and our fellow student, Atharvan.’

  ‘Okay. What can I do to help you?’

  ‘Do you remember the morning when we found Atharvan in the rivulet?’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’

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

  ‘I don’t recall going out that morning, but I had gone out a few days before that to get rare provisions for the prince’s palace. I was making my way back to Parśupur that morning. I remember this well because that was the morning that the vice commander and a couple of others had been found killed. I learnt about the priestly-class boy’s death later.’

  ‘Yes. Do you remember when you got back that morning?’

  ‘Early morning.’

  ‘Did you meet Atharvan?’

  ‘No, I did not see him.’

  ‘Did you see anyone we would know?’

  He thought for a while. ‘Now that you say it, I spent some time outside the gate waiting for the provisions to arrive in carts. Dīrghaśravas was there too, waiting for his carts to roll in. I also saw Vāyata when I went to the side of the road to relieve myself.’

  ‘The side where the rivulet is?’

  ‘No, I think it was the other side, near the archery practice field. Vāyata was performing some esoteric sacrifice. He had lit a fire.’

  Agastya looked surprised. ‘Esoteric sacrifice? Are you sure?’ He almost asked him how he knew this, given that he was a servant, but he held back.

  ‘Yes, I am sure. It was not a normal sacrifice, with ghee or holy wooden sticks or soma or such. He had some herbs near him.’

  He continued, ‘He is a crafty person, that one. I’m sure he was conducting these sacrifices to create some obstacles to the Cows’ Walk to impose the importance of his views.’

  Kaśyapa asked, ‘Did you ask Atharvan to perform some such practice for you?’

  He looked at them, taken aback. ‘No. Who told you?’

  ‘That is not important. Are you sure you did not ask Atharvan for some help?’

  Suddenly, Agastya asked, ‘Are you happy with your position as the second-ranking servant in the kingdom?’

  ‘I am young. I can wait. I did not ask Atharvan for aid of any sort,’ Veśa smiled. ‘But I think Dīrghaśravas did. I think he wanted some help to overcome some competitor.’

  Kaśyapa ignored that and asked instead, ‘Where were you on the night Kutsa died?’

  ‘I was with the prince. Dīrghaśravas and Yadu had been summoned to meet him. I was attending to them.’

  ‘Who else came into the prince’s palace that night?’

  ‘Well, the boy’s tutor came in with Vāyata.’

  ‘Are you sure Vāyata came?’

  ‘Yes, I am sure.’

  ‘How long were they there?’

  ‘They went in together. A while later the tutor went out and the boy was alone with Vāyata.’

  ‘Then?’

  ‘I am not sure what happened after that. I got busy with my work.’

  19

  The Vassal Kings Capitulate

  Sudās spoke to Vasiṣṭha, Yadu and Dīrghaśravas. ‘We need to open discussions with the small kings across the Vipāsa. They have to realize that we mean business.’

  He wanted to take quick action to tackle the insubordination of the vassal kings. His plan was to first send an embassy to the vassal kings to ensure that they understood the gravity of the situation.

  The commander asked, ‘Should we not just send a few soldiers across the border to let them know that we do, indeed, mean business?’

  ‘That might alarm them. They may mobilize their soldiers and cause unnecessary bloodshed. Why should we risk losing our men? Also, they may be getting tacit support from some of the larger kingdoms to the north or west and may just be testing our resolve to see how far they can go.’

  ‘That is true.’

  ‘I think it is best to send an embassy to them to politely convey that we will not tolerate any funny business. We need to remind them that they need to fall in line or they will face our wrath.’

  The prince then turned to Dīrghaśravas and told him, ‘This is where you come in. We would like you to go as the ambassador to talk to the two kings.’

  Dīrghaśravas was unsure. ‘Forgive me for asking, prince, but why me?’

  ‘Mainly because you are not threatening. You have had trade relations with these small kingdoms and the kings know you well. I have also heard that you have a way with people that few others do. You can be friendly yet firm, which is a useful skill at the moment. You can take with you a few cavalry soldiers and archers for protection. I do not expect any trouble, but the roads may not be safe. Also, their capitals are quite close to each other. I’m sure you can meet both of them in one day.’

  ‘And what should I tell them?’

  ‘They will have to declare their allegiance to Turvaśa, come here and pay homage to him, promise to compensate for their indiscretion and also pay their annual tribute.’

  Accordingly, Dīrghaśravas went across the Vipāsa with his retinue the next day to meet the two vassal kings. Kaśyapa and Agastya watched him cross the river in a boat.

  *

  He must have done a good job communicating with the kings because when he came back, two days later, he had good news: the kings had reaffirmed their allegiance to Turvaśa and reissued the edicts with his name. Also, they had agreed to come to the northern city to meet the king and pay homage to him on the ninth day of the coming month, Nabha, on the day when the sun would be at its northernmost.

  Kaśyapa wondered why there should be such a long gap before the vassal kings came to pay homage. He asked his guru and was told that the prince wanted to keep the queen and Jaraduṣṭra away from Parśupur for as long as possible, so they would not stir more rebellious ideas or mischief among their adherents. This also gave the prince and the commander time to inspect the border areas in the north and west to ensure that the security there was adequate.

  *

  The days progressed into a month. Though most of them had been quite happy to lounge around, eat and sleep, they did wonder what they were doing there. On the first day of Nabha, there was some excitement when Sudās announced that his wife, Jabālā, was pregnant. He arranged for a grand feast to celebrate the occasion. The pregnancy clearly strengthened the prince’s position—here was the crown prince with a possible male successor. The Aryans performed special sacrifices to ensure that the child was born a male. An Aryan man was required to be part of sixteen ceremonies in his life; some of them were performed while he was still in the womb.

  One point of concern, however, was that the queen and her adherents, on hearing this news, would grow desperate and resort to some drastic measure.

  Time passed slowly and, after a long wait, the ninth day of the month of Nabha finally arrived. The sun was at its northernmost and it was a sweltering day. There were still no pre-monsoon showers. After breakfast that morning, Kaśyapa and Agastya went out to the northern city. This city had no walls around it and looked quite vulnerable. But any enemy who made the mistake of taking the city to be easy prey would know that things were otherwise. It was a permanent cantonment, with the majority of the people being of the warrior class. The others ranged from traders who provided abundant supplies for the warriors, like weapons for fighting—knives, bows and arrows—and other items for hunting; to herbalists and apothecaries who sold balms and oils for massages and bodybuilding; to owners of drinking and gambling dens; to courtesans and prostitutes; and to servants and slaves. The city was well known among the neighbouring kingdoms and attracted people from all over to shop, eat, drink, gamble and have fun.

  As they were walking around, they saw Veśa walking towards the shops with a bag. Suddenly, Vāyata appeared out of nowhere and started saying something to him. They were out of earshot, which is why Kaśy
apa and Agastya could not hear what they were saying, but it looked like Vāyata was berating him. Veśa showed deference but did not seem to be listening to him. He soon defused the situation by bowing to him, folding his hands and calmly walking away.

  Kaśyapa pretended he hadn’t noticed any of this to avoid embarrassing Veśa and shifted his focus to the many pie-dogs, one of whom came towards them wagging its tail, begging with its eyes for something to eat. There were a lot of food stalls around and the two friends were very excited to sample the items on sale. They spent some time sitting among a group of people watching a juggler-acrobat in action. He contorted his body to pass through the smallest of hoops, while his assistant went around collecting donations.

  Outside this circle, some youngsters, both boys and girls a few years younger than Kaśyapa and Agastya, who had come to the market for fun and were thus spared their daily routines, were playing with marbles. Kaśyapa and Agastya were pleasantly surprised to see the girls playing with the boys. In the capital city, there was strict segregation between the sexes. They didn’t expect people to be so much more liberal in this provincial town. The marbles they were using were smooth and round, the size of the end of one’s nose. Kaśyapa and Agastya also bought some marbles from a nearby shop and joined them. The marbles were to be propelled forward strategically. Each child would hold a marble in his or her hand, propping it against the middle finger of the other hand. The finger was then pulled backward and released, imitating the action of a slingshot, while the thumb of the same hand was anchored on the ground, to catapult the marble forward. There were three small, shallow depressions in a straight line on the ground. The objective of the game was to plant your marble in four holes in a fixed sequence: first, second, third and then second, again. Your opponents could strike your marble out of the pits using their own when it was their turn, in order to make the task difficult for you.

  Kaśyapa said, as they stood among the expert marble-players, ‘Come on, Agastya. I can beat you with my left hand!’

  ‘I can beat you with my feet, you braggart.’

  One of the girls who was playing cut in and said, ‘You city boys are all talk. Show us.’

  Kaśyapa aimed carefully and managed to clear the first two holes, when one of the girls sent his marble flying far away. Agastya was amused, ‘Ha! You show-off! You are done for!’

  Before he could finish talking, his marble too was sent flying out of the play area.

  ‘You peacock, where do you stand now, eh?’ Kaśyapa mocked him.

  The game went on this way and the girl who had flung their marbles far away won the round. The penalty for losing was painful. Kaśyapa and Agastya had to fold their hands and press them to the ground right where the third hole was. The winner aimed her marbles at their knuckles. It was a humiliating walk away from the playfield, beaten by kids younger than them.

  ‘Nice girl. I almost enjoyed being hit on the knuckles by her,’ Agastya said slyly, almost in a whisper.

  ‘You fool!’

  *

  In the afternoon, after lunch, they were all excited to greet the vassal kings and courtiers. The castle was a hotbed of activity. People were coming in and going out—with the kings expected, the castle needed to be well stocked with provisions. Also, soldiers were posted around the castle to ensure security. Many of the local people—villagers, traders and soldiers of the northern city—and many visitors from the neighbouring kingdoms had assembled outside the castle to catch a glimpse of the vassals paying homage to Turvaśa.

  Towards the fourth part of the day, the two kings’ parties emerged—a thick cloud of dust rising in their wake. Many of their servants had accompanied them since they planned to stay at the castle for a few days. The kings were received formally by the castle keeper and led to their rooms to rest for a while.

  In the evening was the formal ceremony in the central room of the castle palace—the room with the open quadrangle. The priests had started performing sacrifices early in the morning to invoke the gods as witnesses to the reaffirmation of Turvaśa’s overlordship over the two vassals. When the time came, the king and queen stood at one end of the room, flanked by the guru and the prince. The two vassals walked towards the king from the other end of the hall, carrying their spears. They then laid the spears at the king’s feet. Turvaśa then gave each of them another spear and the vassals laid the additional tribute for the year at his feet in gratitude. Thus the ceremony ended.

  After the ceremony was the much-anticipated grand feast. Kaśyapa and Agastya went to the kitchen to see the items being prepared. The kitchen was full of people: cooks, servants, supervisors and handlers of the larder. The keeper of the larder was sitting at the door, verifying the items being sent in to the cooks. There were at least ten earthen pots in which vegetables, grain and meat were boiling, steaming or roasting. Sweets were being prepared with milk and grain. A mouth-watering aroma of spices and delicacies hung in the air. Kaśyapa hoped there would be something delicious without meat for the students of the priestly class. Veśa was the overall supervisor of the grand occasion.

  Kaśyapa whispered to Agastya, ‘I think we have talked to all the people I had on my list of suspects for the two murders. We should take stock of the situation. What conclusions have you reached?’

  Agastya said, ‘My feeling is that the two deaths are unconnected in their motives. Therefore, should not the perpetrators be different?’

  ‘They could be different, but we cannot dismiss the possibility that they could have been done by the same person too. Go on.’

  ‘Atharvan’s death may have been necessary for the perpetrator. We know that people often approached him to perform esoteric sacrifices for them. There is a possibility that Atharvan must have refused to do this for somebody who was desperate for help and did not want anyone else to know. If people came to know that they were trying to harm others by getting esoteric sacrifices done, it may have social consequences, especially since they might be people of high social standing. Did Atharvan threaten the killer about complaining to our guru? Maybe. Maybe that is why they had to ensure that Atharvan was silenced.’

  ‘Hmm . . . what about Kutsa?’

  ‘I think he was killed by someone who felt that there may be a threat to the prince’s succession plans. The rebellion that was started by the western chieftain in Kutsa’s name sealed his fate.’

  ‘Who in your view are the main suspects?’

  ‘We already know that Veśa, and maybe Dīrghaśravas, had asked Atharvan to perform some esoteric sacrifices for them, even though they both denied it. Also, they were both outside the gate on the morning that Atharvan died. It must have been a simple matter for whoever it was to seize the opportunity. Atharvan had gone out of the gate, presumably to relieve himself, though he may have consumed some herb or drug that he didn’t want others to know about, and so he kept looking back because he was worried that someone who knew our guru would see him.’

  ‘Possible. But then who did the guru’s wife see following Atharvan that morning?’

  ‘It could have been anyone. Maybe even somebody who was not connected to this incident. We know that there was a clear window of opportunity to put some herbs in Kutsa’s milk as well, when Vāyata left the boy and the guards had not returned. Either Veśa or Dīrghaśravas could have taken the opportunity—they were both in the palace at the time.’

  ‘Who do you suspect more of the two?’

  ‘I think Veśa. In my mind, he is a very determined person who seems to be willing to do anything to ensure that he gets promoted to chief servant. That has been his ambition since he was young.’

  ‘Couldn’t Atharvan have been killed on the queen’s orders? Remember that the queen heard him speak against the king?’

  ‘No. I think he was too small a fry for the queen to have bothered.’

  ‘That’s true. But was he not a small fry for Veśa and Dīrghaśravas too? Your conclusion about Veśa may be true, but I do think that we need more evi
dence before we breathe the first word to anybody about it. I have some ideas. I also have one other person in mind I am suspicious of. Let us wait and watch.’

  After sunset, once the vassal kings and their party had washed and had a few moments of rest, the feast began in the great dining hall. The king, his vassals, Vasiṣṭha, the commander, the prince, Jaraduṣṭra, Dīrghaśravas, the castle keeper, the captain of the castle garrison, Vāyata, Bhārgava, Agastya and Kaśyapa sat in a row along two sides—a length and breadth—of the hall, while the women, the queen, the princess and Ghoṣā sat on the other side, facing the king and the guru. They all had big wooden plates and glasses in front of them. Veśa was supervising the other servants to ensure that their service was good.

  Before the meal, Vasiṣṭha announced that the arrangements for the ceremonies to be conducted during Jabālā’s pregnancy had been made and the auspicious days for each set. By the time he finished, the kitchen servants were ready to serve. The first course was a sweet dish made with barley, milk and jaggery. After this, the glasses were filled with surā for the men who drank and spiced water for the non-drinkers. The prince teasingly offered Kaśyapa and Agastya some surā, but they didn’t dare think about it—their guru was watching them.

  The servants started bringing in the main course. Various meats, spiced vegetables, barley and other cereals, ghee, butter and curds were served one after the other. The prince did not speak much during the course of the meal. The king, however, became noisier as the meal and his drinking progressed. By now, only the students were listening to him since they were not permitted to participate in conversation themselves, while the others had drawn their attention away from him. Vasiṣṭha and Jaraduṣṭra were engrossed in their own discussion, Ghoṣā was talking to Jabālā and Menakā, the castle keeper and the captain of the garrison were discussing the security arrangements. Turvaśa was telling the young boys about his enjoyable stay at the castle, doing nothing but eating, drinking and relaxing. Then he turned to his grim subjects and started speaking about the prince succeeding him and, inevitably, his deceased son.