The Epic of Kautilya : Born To Be King

by Deepak Thomas

  Ādi sniffed the air and bounded into the bushes.

  After a while he returned, having found a cave. In the time he’d been gone, clouds had blotted out the sun and it had got dark. Tiny droplets of rain had started falling. By the time they got to the cave, the thunderstorm had reached its full fury. The forest was gloomy, illuminated only briefly by sudden lightning.

  Kautilya surveyed the cave. It wasn’t too deep and she checked that there were no signs of previous occupancy.

  “What are you looking for?” Ādi asked as he sat down.

  “Any signs this cave belongs to an animal,” Kautilya said. “You never know when bears or snakes may return to their homes.”

  “You see this,” Ādi pointed to his nose. “Do you think it’s for show?”

  “I guess not,” Kautilya said.

  “Stop thinking,” Ādi said. “Leave it to people who are good at it.”

  Kautilya almost lost her temper at that comment, but she calmed herself down.

  Ādi began to pile together the dry wood and twigs he’d picked up on the way.

  “Let me,” Kautilya said and tried to help.

  Ādi stood up straight and stared straight at Kautilya. “Are you trying to impress me?”

  Kautilya was shocked. “No.”

  “Then why do you keep doing this?” Ādi asked. “You have to meddle in everything I do.”

  “I was just trying to help,” Kautilya said.

  “Well, you’re not,” Ādi said. “You carried the bags and you slowed us down, you filled the water bag and you got us trapped. Now you’ll light the fire and burn us to death. I don’t need you to carry the bags, read the maps, fill the water or light the fire. If you really want to help, do something I can’t manage on my own. All right?”

  Kautilya backed off and sat down. Her attempts to help had backfired all morning. She was useless, she always had been. Ādi was right, she was a spoilt princess.

  Lightning flashed in the sky and the forest was lit up blue again. Kautilya watched the rain get heavier and trees sway under the onslaught of nature.

  “He was a ghost,” Kautilya said. “The spirit of someone who died but no one did his funeral rites. So he’s still stuck in the land of the living. I think he was doing penance to get himself into the world of the dead so he can be born again.”

  Ādi scoffed. “Thanks for the info. What good does that do us?”

  “You have to understand your enemy before you can defeat him,” Kautilya said.

  “You know what your problem is?” Ādi said. “You think too much. You just need to be stronger than an enemy if you want to defeat him.”

  “That’s such a simple view,” Kautilya said.

  “Tomorrow,” Ādi said, “I’ll find that ghost and deal with him. Just wait and watch.”

  Kautilya turned onto her side and began to think. How would she beat this ghost?

  Ādi chuckled.

  Kautilya did not respond.

  “Hey, princess,” Ādi said.

  “What?” Kautilya asked.

  “That ghost called me your lover,” Ādi said. He chuckled again.

  “So?” Kautilya asked.

  “You think we would be good lovers?” More chuckling.

  “Aren’t you already with Saira?” Kautilya said.

  “So you did think about it?” Ādi said.

  “No, I did not,” Kautilya said and sat up. “It’s not good to proposition other people when you’re already with someone.”

  “It’s just a joke,” Ādi said. “Get over yourself. Saira is the most beautiful thing in the world. She’s sweet, smart, a brilliant fighter and her green eyes and pink lips...” Ādi sighed.

  Kautilya lay back down. Ādi was clearly in love with Saira. She wondered if he loved Saira the way Jay loved her. “I’m sorry. I got the wrong idea.”

  “It’s all right,” Ādi said. “You just can’t help it.”

  Kautilya clenched her fists. For some reason, Ādi could annoy her more than anyone she’d ever known.

  CHAPTER 32

  Final Rites

  The next day Kautilya woke up early.

  The rains had stopped. She waited for Ādi to wake up.

  “Hey,” Kautilya said. “I have a plan.”

  “A plan to do what?” Ādi asked.

  “A plan to get us back to the other side. To beat the ghost in the water,” Kautilya said.

  “I’m sorry, genius,” Ādi said, “but your bright ideas are the reason we’re here. Let me show you how it’s done.”

  An hour later Kautilya and Ādi were at the bank of the river.

  “Old man!” Ādi screamed, but got no response.

  Kautilya sighed.

  “Old man!” Ādi tried again. Nothing.

  Suddenly Ādi stepped forward and screamed at the water, “Hey, you stinking ghost! You’ve been in the water for so long but have you ever considered taking a bath? You stinking, moss-covered fool.”

  Currents began to form on the surface. Ādi turned and smiled.

  The water divided and the ghost re-emerged on the surface. His eyes radiated fury and his whole body was trembling with wrath.

  “You foolish children!” he roared. “I let you off easily the last time. Not this time. This time I am going to end you.”

  He raised his hands and three towers of water formed around him. When he pointed at the bank, the water began to race towards them.

  Kautilya was not fast enough but Ādi managed to push her out of the way. The three towers splashed around them and receded but the ghost was already working on his next attack, and three new towers started racing towards them. They dodged the water again as it whipped across the banks.

  The ghost did not relent. Three more towers formed.

  “We need to...” Kautilya began, then realised Ādi had disappeared. She looked around for him.

  With a loud scream, Ādi leapt out of the water. He couldn’t fly like Saira but he could certainly jump high.

  Ādi threw a punch at the ghost but his fist passed right through it.

  “And you called me a fool?” the ghost said. He clenched his fists and the waters crashed onto Ādi. He was sucked into a whirlpool and began to sink.

  “Ādi!” Kautilya screamed and ran towards the bank. She pulled out an arrow. “Agnyastra,” she chanted and then shot the arrow towards Ādi. The explosion disoriented the ghost.

  Ādi got out of the whirlpool and crept back onto the river bank.

  Kautilya helped him up.

  Ādi coughed out water. “Thanks, princess.”

  “Punching the ghost didn’t help, did it?” Kautilya asked.

  Ādi pursed his lips. “What do we do now?”

  “We change the frame,” Kautilya said.

  “What?” Ādi asked.

  “Change the frame,” Kautilya said. “We fight him on our terms. An elephant can crush a crocodile on land. So the crocodile fights the elephant in water.”

  Ādi didn’t seem to understand. “So we pull him onto land? But I can’t get a grip on him. So how do we do that?”

  “You cannot defeat him with physical strength,” Kautilya said. “So we change the terms to something other than physical strength. To terms that give us the advantage.”

  Kautilya stood up straight and looked at the ghost. “Hey, Mr Ghost, you’re physically strong, but what about your mind? Have the years of penance made you any wiser?”

  The ghost was puzzled.

  “I challenge you to a contest of wits,” Kautilya said.

  He studied Kautilya from head to toe. “You must be one-tenth of my age. What makes you think you could beat me? Your lover had more sense. Punching me would be less futile.”

  “Prove yourself with action,” Kautilya said. “Not with words. What bec
omes darker as the day becomes brighter?”

  The ghost was stunned. Then he began to laugh. “You’re serious. Well, this is amusing. So what was your question again?”

  “What becomes darker as the day becomes brighter?” Kautilya repeated.

  “A shadow,” the ghost said. “Foolhardy girl. That was such a pathetic attempt. Answer me this: what can you see when you close your eyes that disappears when you open them?”

  Kautilya hesitated. Then she realised and said, “Dreams. You can only see them when you sleep and they disappear when you wake up.”

  The ghost nodded.

  “My question,” Kautilya said. “What poisons you if you eat it but feeds you if you bury it?”

  The swirling waves around the ghost had calmed down. He tapped his chin. Then he brightened up.

  “Of course,” he said, “a rotten fruit. If you eat it, it upsets your stomach. If you bury it then you get a tree. My turn: what multiplies when you add it but divides if you reduce it?”

  Kautilya began to think.

  “What multiplies when you add it but divides when you reduce it?” the ghost asked again.

  It did not make sense. What kind of arithmetic was that? She looked to Ādi for help. But he was staring at the two of them with the most befuddled expression. She realised no help would come from that direction.

  Multiplies when you add ... of course.

  “I know the answer, Mr Ghost,” Kautilya said.

  “Say it,” the ghost said.

  “It is love,” Kautilya said.

  The ghost laughed. He was having a great time. “Good, good. You are a smart one. Your turn.”

  “If one step of the Preserver can cover one world,” Kautilya said, “and three steps can cover three worlds then how many can five steps cover?”

  The ghost guffawed. “Is that the best you’ve got? That’s so easy. It’s five.”

  Kautilya shook her head. “You’re wrong.”

  “What?” the ghost said. “What do you mean I’m wrong? If one can cover one and three can cover three then five can cover five.”

  Kautilya continued to shake her head.

  “All right,” the ghost said, “what is the answer, then?”

  “Three.”

  “How...” the ghost began. Then it dawned on him and he bellowed with laughter. He clapped his hands. “Of course, there are only three worlds in Triloka: Devaloka, Jambudvipa and Patala. You got me. That was a very good one.”

  “Now,” Kautilya said, “can you please let us go? We are on an urgent mission and our friends must be worried.”

  The ghost smiled. “You surprised me, little girl. And it was good entertainment. But you did disturb my penance. So...”

  Immediately towers of water formed around the ghost.

  Ādi was back on his feet ready to fight. “So much for that.”

  “Please don’t fight us,” Kautilya said. “We can help each other.”

  The ghost paused. “Help each other?”

  “Yes,” Kautilya said. “Your penance is to achieve something. We disturbed it. It’s only fair that we do something to compensate.”

  The ghost paused. “Do you know how to do the final rites for the deceased?”

  “Yes,” Kautilya said.

  “I am ... I was a trader from a village on the other side of the Rishyamukh hills,” the ghost said. “My cousin and I were returning from a visit to Aryavrat. We’d found a hoard of ape treasure by the banks of the river. It was enough treasure to see us through the rest of our lives but we had an argument. My cousin drowned me in the river. I don’t think my wife and children know I have passed. No one has ever conducted a funeral rite for me and I’m stuck here.”

  “We will do your final rites,” Kautilya said.

  The ghost cackled. He ran his fingers through his beard and pulled out the years of algae and moss that had accumulated. “I’ve waited so long for my soul’s release. It’s not the gods who provide it in the end.”

  “Maybe in a way it is,” Kautilya said. “Maybe this is the answer to your penance.”

  The ghost floated towards the river bank. “Thank you, girl. Make your way across the river. It will not drown you or your friend.”

  Kautilya nodded. The ghost collapsed into a pile of bones at her feet.

  “Let’s cremate the bones,” Kautilya said.

  “Why do you want to go through that hassle?” Ādi said. “I’ll just bury him.”

  “Humans need cremation for the funeral rites to be complete,” Kautilya said.

  Ādi stared at Kautilya for a while. Then he sighed. “All right, I’ll get the wood.”

  “I’ll come along,” Kautilya said.

  A little later they covered the bones in firewood and made a funeral pyre. Kautilya repeated the chants she had heard from priests cremating the dead. Once the cremation was completed she made two balls of mud, put them on a leaf and floated them down the river.

  She washed her hands as she watched the balls of mud float away. Then she remembered something.

  “There’s one more rite I need to conduct,” Kautilya said.

  She made two more of the balls of mud, put them on a leaf and floated them down the river as she prayed to the gods and to her father.

  “Who are those for?” Ādi asked.

  Renuka’s face passed through Kautilya’s mind. “A friend. Let’s go now.”

  They crossed the river. When they reached the other side, Ādi came up to Kautilya.

  “Good job ... err ... What is your real name?” Ādi asked.

  “Princess,” Kautilya said and laughed. Ādi laughed along with her.

  “I found our bags,” Ādi said. He raised the washed-out jute sacks and poured out the contents onto the ground.

  A pulpy map splashed onto the ground and he sighed. “What do we do now?”

  “I know the way,” Kautilya said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, trust me,” Kautilya said and began walking towards the rising sun.

  “I’m pretty sure the base is to the west, princess,” Ādi said.

  “We’re not going back to the base yet,” Kautilya said. “We have a mission to complete.”

  Ādi grinned. “That’s the way to go, princess.”

  As they walked off towards the rising sun Kautilya turned to Ādi. “I hoped you learned an important lesson today.”

  “What’s that?” Ādi asked.

  “You can’t punch your way out of every problem.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Ādi scratched the back of his head. “Sometimes you need to kick your way out.” And then he burst out laughing.

  A few hours before, those comments would have annoyed Kautilya. But for some reason, now she laughed along with him. She felt she had made a friend.

  CHAPTER 33

  The Black Banners

  As the sun rose Kautilya led Ādi through the undergrowth, down the secret paths she’d memorised. He was impressed. Nina was smart but this human operated at another level. At least her memory did.

  And what she did with that ghost. Answering riddles in an instant. Had she memorised them from before? And she knew funeral rites. Why would anyone know funeral rites?

  And her smell. Her scent had driven him crazy since the first day he’d met her. He had a great memory for smells and he was sure he’d never come across this one, yet it seemed familiar. As if he’d dreamed of it.

  Sometimes when he was with Saira and Kautilya’s scent wafted past him, he would lose all track of what Saira was saying. Was he a bad person? Of course I am. He smiled to himself.

  But he would never be disloyal to Saira. He loved her more than this strange human.

  “To the left,” Kautilya said. “That’s the road Nina told us to scout.” She turned around and
their eyes met.

  Her eyes were so sad and beautiful. Ādi tensed up. She always had that effect on him. He had to say something to break up the tension.

  “Are you sure the map wasn’t upside down when you memorised it?” Ādi said, though it was a weak joke.

  “No,” Kautilya said, confused. “So let’s go?”

  “All right,” Ādi said, “let’s go.” He walked up to her. “How long did it take you to memorise the map?”

  “I can memorise maps with one glance,” Kautilya said.

  “Is that something you can learn to do?”

  “You probably can,” Kautilya said. “I didn’t learn it though. I was born with the ability.”

  Ādi was amazed. “Wow, I didn’t know humans had special abilities. Is it a siddhi you have?”

  “No. I don’t know...” Kautilya said. “It’s a long story.”

  Ādi looked around. “Well, I can’t see anything else to do till we get to the road.”

  Kautilya smiled. “Then I’ll tell you.” She related the strange story of her birth.

  “Are you joking?” Ādi asked when Kautilya was done.

  “No,” Kautilya said, “it’s the truth.”

  “Wow. So your five brothers have their own abilities too, eh?”

  “Oh, they’re amazing,” Kautilya said. Her face lit up. “All of us loved mangoes. Dhanush would knock them out of the tree with a slingshot. Then Sameer would just run like the wind and collect them all before anyone else could. But Bali loved mangoes even more than the rest. So he would just rip the tree out of the ground and carry it away to eat the mangoes at his pleasure.”

  She realised something and paused. A sad darkness spread over her face again.

  “So you have to kill them now?” Ādi asked.

  Kautilya’s eyes widened. “No, I only want revenge.”

  “That means you have to kill them,” Ādi said. “A life for a life.”

  Kautilya stared into the distance pensively. She did that often and it annoyed him. Sometimes he just wanted to grab her and ask what she was thinking about.

  But she’d gone through a lot, in her childhood and in the recent past. Which was better, to be born an orphan, or lose your family after having felt their love?