The Rigveda Code

by Rashmi Chendvankar

  Om Sudarshanaya Vidmahe

  Mahajwalaya Dhimahi

  Tanno Chakra Prachodayat

  The Acharya smiled as he gradually realized the purpose for which he had been invited by the King.

  *****

  The bells of the palace sounded off the seventh prahara of the day. It was nightfall. The Queen’s maids had already dimmed the oil lamps in her chamber. The King entered the Queen’s chamber. Princess Rikshavi was fast asleep on the bed and the Queen was standing at the window, lost in thoughts. “Bhairavi…” Vrajesh softly called out. Bhairavi turned back and walked towards him. “Yes Your Highness….” she replied.

  It was ages since she had lovingly called him by his first name. Yet, the usual formal address from her disappointed Vrajesh. “Well”, he said, “I had come here to speak about Princess Rikshavi. I know you love her a lot, but we cannot afford to spoil her with our love. She is a princess – she cannot roam around in the palace like this. You need to groom her…” “She’s a child Your Highness. But I agree that she needs to be groomed. We need to channelize her energy. That can be only possible through education”. Bhairavi had intelligently brought up a topic which Vrajesh had tried to avoid all these days. He could not refuse her at the moment. “Yes… you are right. I will send Prime Minister Prabhavsen to you tomorrow. He will arrange a teacher for the princess. Hope you will also teach her the manners of Kshatriya women and groom her into a fine lady – just like yourself” The King turned and walked out before Bhairavi could respond. Bhairavi kept gazing at the direction the King went…..

  *****

  Prabhavsen was in the Queen’s chambers one morning, after two days. “We have arranged for a teacher to teach Sanskrit to the Princess, Your Highness”, he said. “Okay. That’s good. What else shall be taught to her Prabhavsenji?” the Queen inquired. Prabhavsen was nervous. “The King has ordered only for a Sanskrit teacher, Your Highness” he replied.

  The Queen was visibly agitated. “Only Sanskrit?” I understand…. She is not an heir to your kingdom. She does not need any other education, right?” the Queen sarcastically remarked. “Isn’t that also the reason for the indifference His Highness shows to my daughter?” she angrily asked. Prabhavsen was at loss of words. “Your Highness…..” he stammered. “Don’t worry Prabhavsen!” The Queen thundered, “The princess already has an in-house teacher. I will teach her all that I have learnt in Kosal. Sciences, archery and yes – use of weapons – whichever I know! Don’t you remember what Acharya Devak has said about Rikshavi?”

  Prabhavsen was speechless. He nodded his head and quietly exited the Queen’s chamber. He decided that he will not report the incident to the King. He did not want to be a reason for another argument between the royal couple. But the Queen’s words kept ringing in his ears – “Don’t you remember what Acharya Devak has said about Rikshavi?” He remembered the day Acharya Devak, the royal astrologer, was summoned by the Queen for reading Rikshavi’s horoscope. Rikshavi was still a month - old baby then……

  Acharya Devak was revered all around the kingdom for his expertise in astrology. Students from far and wide visited him to seek education in astrology. The royal family of Vrij had been consulting him since two generations. He had prepared and interpreted the horoscopes of the King’s father and the King himself. He had also warned the royal family of an early threat to the life of their first child, Prince Pranav. Now, the Queen had summoned him for preparing the horoscope of her newly born baby girl. Prabhavsen was also summoned to make arrangements for Acharya Devak. A horoscope, among other things, required the date, time and location of the child’s birth, to determine the planetary positions at that time. Prabhavsen had himself provided these details to Acharya Devak.

  The old astrologer looked stunned as he prepared and read the horoscope. His white sideburns quivered as he shook his head in amazement. He looked at the baby princess and the Queen with wide eyes. “This is an extraordinary horoscope Your Highness! The horoscope of one of those persons whose names are eternally engraved in history!” he said.

  The Queen listened with rapt attention as he continued – “This girl will be the most luminous personality of this land….. Her name will shine like a star for ages to come! She will protect this land from evil forces! And her horoscope has a very unique ‘rajayoga’ –she is destined to rule without any position of power! The Queen was ecstatic. Tears flowed down her eyes as a tender smile spread across her face. But she was equally baffled. “Rule without any position of power?! What does that mean Acharya?” the Queen asked. Acharya Devak smiled. “Some things can only be experienced, Your Highness! They cannot be explained”, he said, “The designs of the Almighty are amazing!”

  The Queen was puzzled. But she instinctively knew that her daughter was extraordinary. She profusely thanked the Acharya, sought his blessings and left the chamber in high spirits.

  What happened after that was permanently engraved in Prabhavsen’s mind….. Acharya Devak reverentially touched the ground where the baby princess was placed. He folded his hands and closed his eyes. “She has come, O Lord! Bless her with your wisdom!” he muttered. Prabhavsen was dumbstruck as he watched the Acharya from the door.

  The baby girl was named “Rikshavi”, derived from the word “Riksha” which meant “the star” in Sanskrit.

  *****

  “Acharya Dhaumya seeks to take your leave, Your Highness!” Prabhavsen informed the King Vrajesh. The King gave an irritated look to the Prime Minister. “Well…” he said with a sigh, “make arrangements for his departure, Prabhav!” Prabhavsen nodded understandingly. The King indeed knew that the old sage was of no help…. Prabhav remembered the day when the Acharya had arrived in the Sheshagara…..

  After he examined the stand in the Sheshagara, Acharya Dhaumya gave them a mysterious smile. “This is our precious ancestral heritage, Acharya!” the King proudly told him, “But as you see, it is incomplete. I owe it to my ancestors to complete this magnificent heritage. And I require the assistance of a learned man like you! Bless us with your knowledge, Acharya!”

  “I am afraid that I can be of no help to you, O King!” the Acharya said with a gentle smile, “But I am sure your answers verily lie in this heritage, which you say, has been passed to you by your ancestors!” King Vrajesh looked back at the stand. The Acharya had pointed towards its base plate. Vrajesh had mentally translated the verse on the base plate innumerable times in the past……

  We will perceive the ‘Sudarshana’,

  We will meditate upon the enormous flame,

  Through which the ‘Chakra’ will enlighten us.

  It did not make much sense to him…. The King was disappointed. He had approached Acharya Dhaumya with a lot of expectations… No other sage had been given access to the Sheshagara before…

  “I do not have the intellect to understand the implication of that verse Acharya!” Vrajesh persisted, “I am sure you will be able to help us…..” “Some objects cannot be acquired, O King! They emerge and give themselves to those who are their true claimants!” the Acharya replied.

  The King fidgeted impatiently. This old man was not giving him any useful clue. “This is my ancestral heritage, Acharya! It has been lost by the stroke of fate…. When will it come back to me?” The King put forth another question. The Acharya smiled again. Prabhavsen felt a tinge of sarcasm in sage’s smile. “The object described in the verse will emerge when the Kshatriya code is broken!” the Acharya exclaimed. The King’s face lit up with hope. This made some sense…. “What is the Kshatriya code, Acharya?” he eagerly asked. “How can a Brahmin answer that question?” Acharya Dhaumya curtly retorted. The ‘Brahmins’ were a race of teachers and knowledgeable persons, to which most of the Acharyas like Dhaumya belonged…

  The King realized that the old sage had no intentions to give him any guidance. It was also worthless enticing this eccentric man with wealth. The King had already tried seeking guidance from many other learned men, but in vain. Acharya Dhaumya j
ust added to that count. Prabhavsen however found this man different. The Acharya’s mysterious smile always seemed to conceal a secret…. His words certainly had a hidden message…

  The Acharya was finally sent to the royal guest house that day. After a few days of rest, he was now ready to go back to Takshashila… Here he stood – seeking the leave of the King….

  The King escorted Acharya Dhaumya upto the gates of the palace. Sages of his stature were entitled to such respect from kings as per the prevalent customs.

  “What you seek may not be what you really desire, O King! Truth has many dimensions!” Acharya Dhaumya mumbled as he reached the palace gates. The King gave a reluctant smile and touched the feet of the old sage. “May God bestow you with the intellect to understand that truth has multiple facets!” the Acharya said as he blessed the King.

  “It is not the truth that I seek Acharya…” King Vrajesh muttered to himself… “I seek the most powerful weapon on the earth!”

  *****

  CHAPTER 2

  THE LOST CHAKRA

  900 BC.

  Viraatnagari, the capital of Matsya kingdom

  Is your ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ more powerful than ‘Bramhastra’, Vasudev? Arjun asked Krishna as they walked together in the Pandav military camp to supervise war - preparations. War had been declared between the Pandavs and the Kauravs. Krishna had vowed to remain ‘nishastra’, that is, without any weapons, during the war. He was simply going to be a charioteer to Arjun – the Pandav who was known to be the greatest archer ever born!

  “Oh! Even the greatest archer of the world cannot control his curiosity about my Sudarshan Chakra! That too, when I have already declared that I am not going to use it!” Krishna playfully remarked. Arjun looked embarrassed. The ‘Sudarshan Chakra’ was an indeed an enigma…. It was rumored to be like a circular disk with serrated edges…. It was hence known as ‘chakra’ – the circular disk…

  Krishna placed a hand on Arjun’s shoulder. “Knowledge of weapons like my Sudarshan Chakra should remain in the most responsible hands, Arjun….” he said in a grave voice… “Else, it should not be passed on at all! Knowledge of such weapons is better forgotten…. Otherwise, it can cause the destruction of the world!”

  Arjun looked a little disappointed. His question was left unanswered. Krishna smiled at his cousin and dear friend. “I promise you my friend…” he said, “I will leave behind for you as my legacy, the most powerful ‘chakra’ in the world!”

  *****

  600 BC.

  Vaishali, the capital city of the kingdom of Vrij.

  “We are wasting our resources, Your Highness! Thousands of soldiers have lost their lives during the last four years…. We have still not attained our objective!” The words of Vajrasen resounded in the Sheshagara. King Vrajesh arched his eyebrows. “These words do not suit the commander-in-chief of my army!” he sternly retorted. Vajrasen looked at Prabhavsen expectantly. Prabhavsen too agreed with Vajrasen. The expeditions, especially the mercenary payments, were a huge burden on the kingdom’s treasury…

  “May be what we are looking for does not exist, Your Highness! That is what Acharya Dhaumya meant…” Prabhavsen added, staring at the stand in the corner…. “This stand may simply be a misleading object! Acharya Dhaumya had said that what we seek may not be the object which we desire….”

  “I am not going to give up my search due to the advice of some eccentric sage!” King Vrajesh thundered. “But we have already defeated almost all the western and central kingdoms, Your Highness!” Vajrasen persisted, “We have defeated the Chedis, Surasenas, Dasarnas and the Karushas… Even the formidable Avanti and Malava kingdoms have been defeated… They all are our vassal states now! The Kurus have also unconditionally allowed us to carry our search expeditions!”

  “We have not found it in any of these states, Your Highness!” Prabhavsen continued, “We have also searched in the kingdoms of our allies – Kosal and Gandhaar!”

  The King let out a deep sigh. “We have not conquered all of them, Vajrasen!” he said in a calm voice, “The kingdoms of Gurjara and Saurashtra are still free! Our treasure might lie there… Everyone knows that the Lord left his mortal body at Prabhas, which is situated in Saurashtra!”

  Vajrasen flinched as he heard the name of Saurashtra. It was one of the most formidable kingdoms of the western Bharatkhanda…

  *****

  900 BC.

  Prabhas, a coastal town in the kingdom of Saurashtra,

  present day Gujarat.

  36 years after the Mahabharat war, which was won by the Pandavs.

  Krishna stood on the shores of the ocean at Prabhas and stared blankly at the horizon. There was absolutely no sign of his island city, Dwarka, which had been swallowed by the ocean a few hours before…. The men in his clan, the Yadavs, had killed each other in a violent brawl that day. As if on cue, soaring ocean waves entered the island city after that. Krishna had bravely saved the Yadav women and children from the clutches of death and had brought them safely to the shores of Prabhas in the kingdom of Saurashtra. He had sent his trusted messenger, Daruka, to Hastinapur. His cousins, the Pandavs, ruled there after their victory in the Great War of Kurukshetra. “The Pandavs will surely rescue my people and take care of them… My people will be safe… They don’t need me any further now…” he thought to himself. He walked some distance and sat down under a tree, exhausted with the travails of his phenomenal life.

  Memories flooded his mind...

  “Your clan will be destroyed in the same way….” The words of Gaandhari resounded in his mind.

  Thirty Six years ago, all of Gaandhari’s sons, the Kauravs, were killed in the devastating war at Kurukshetra. The distraught woman had held Vasudev Krishna responsible for the war and the consequent death of her sons….

  “I tried my best to avoid the war, O Queen! Your son Duryodhan refused to give even five villages to the Pandavs… It is he who made the war imminent….” Krishna had calmly replied to her….

  “Her curse has finally fructified!” Krishna thought to himself and let out a deep sigh. “Bharatkhanda will remain in the shadows of that devastating war for centuries… But the Almighty knows that I tried my best to prevent it!” he said to himself and closed his eyes.

  “May the world find a way to peace.... May the welfare of the people prevail!” Krishna prayed and went into a deep meditative pose. He never woke up again….

  *****

  600 BC.

  Vaishali, the capital of Vrij.

  “Rikshavi! Your stance was incorrect young lady!” Queen Bhairavi scolded her ten year old daughter whose arrow had just hit the bull’s eye. “But I got the target, Maa!” Rikshavi replied and ran towards her mother in glee. The princess had started learning archery from the Queen. The classes were being held in a huge courtyard at the backside of the royal palace, early in the morning, as the rest of the day was spent learning Sanskrit literature, Sciences and Philosophy. “Rikshavi – what had I told you about your stance? Don’t you remember?” the Queen asked angrily. “Yes Maa, I know – body perpendicular to the target, feet shoulder length apart and an eye on the target…. But what can I do? Once I see the target, I forget other things!” Queen Bhairavi smiled to herself. “She is a natural!” she thought. “Her intuition is her best teacher… Her body intuitively positions itself towards the target… But will her intuition continue to guide her? Should she rather master the technique?”

  The Queen silently stood in the middle of the huge courtyard, contemplating about her daughter’s abilities. The Queen was an excellent archer herself, but she had never attempted teaching archery to anyone. And teaching Rikshavi was indeed a challenge.... she was an inquisitive little girl and did a lot of things intuitively, rather than following a set technique. Rikshavi had also learnt aiming and throwing various projectiles like daggers and spears. The Queen had ordered smaller versions of such weapons for her princess to practice. Rikshavi hardly missed her targets. She practiced everyday wi
th her mother. But the Queen was yet not happy about it.

  Archery was considered the hallmark of a Kshatriya’s abilities. All Kshatriya boys acquired archery training right since childhood. Queen Bhairavi had learnt archery along with her brother, Indraneel, in Kosal. And she was trying to impart the same education to her daughter. Though Rikshavi’s abilities impressed her, they also confused her…. She had not seen anyone shoot intuitively like this. She feared that without technique, Rikshavi would remain an untrained amateur archer. But what could she do? Rikshavi was too young to understand.

  “Maa! Look! Prabhavsenji is walking towards us!” Rikshavi broke into the Queen’s thoughts… “What brings you here, Prabhavsenji?” the Queen inquired. Prabhavsen knew that the Queen trained her daughter in the courtyard. But it was an unsaid pact between her and the Prime Minister, to remain discreet about it. “Well…, the King is looking for you, Your Highness! There is an invitation for some ceremony from Kosal, your father’s home…” The Queen’s face lit up at the mention of Kosal. She turned to Rikshavi. “Let’s go, Rikshu… let’s see what ceremony your grandfather is arranging! This is wonderful news Prabhavsenji, wonder what the ceremony is! It’s been a long time that I have seen Father… And he has also not seen Rikshavi since a long time… The last time he saw her, she was a two year old baby……..” The Queen kept chattering spiritedly like a little girl, as they moved towards the palace. Very few things made her so happy…..

  *****

  As the Queen entered one of the meeting chambers, she saw a Kosal messenger standing respectfully before King Vrajesh. “Bhairavi! Kosal is going to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of King Mahendra, your father! We all are invited for the Shashthi Poorthi celebrations!” the King happily told Queen Bhairavi. He knew that this news would bring joy to his wife and he longed to see her face light up…. As expected, Bhairavi smiled at Vrajesh… “Let us read out the invitation, Your Highness!” she said. She knew that her husband would have waited for her before the invitation could be read out. The King gestured to the messenger. The messenger held out the invitation roll to the King, which was marked with auspicious red kum kum. The King touched the invitation as a token of acceptance, upon which, the messenger opened it and read it aloud. The messenger was then taken to the guest room.