Rauma was informed by Girika, who sometimes as a pilgrim, sometimes as sarthavaha or caravan-servant, made the journeys to Tosali or to other bigger cities of Kalinga and knew how to penetrate almost everywhere as a well-disguised penitent. Rauma consulted Sapalin and they decided that Rauma should not refuse. He would take the Kshatriya as his wife so as not to raise suspicion in Guptika. Satyavati was surprised to see a tall, slim young man with lively features who looked at her with pleasing interest. He knew that the women of Kalinga were seen to be passionate, and he struck her pleasantly by his quiet and assured approach.
A few months passed by. Once, on a night of a full moon, at the verandah of the house which, like a strong fortress, was built on a rock, Satyavati saw how Rauma was staring into the depths, overlooking the wide bluish tinged landscape. She walked up to him.
‘What makes the Mahamatra ponder so much?’
‘I am reflecting, Satyavati, how peaceful nature can be, how Chandra always fulfils its promise and caresses the earth with its soft glow and how mist covers the fields like the clothes do the priests, and how in the palaces the people are planning destruction and death.’
‘You dislike it, to betray your master, to serve our country.’
‘Well, it is what Shakuni, Sarata and many others from Magadha do.’
‘It is a sacred duty to fight for the gods.’
‘Is Shakuni fighting for the sacrificial fees of the priests, Sarata for the throne of Magadha, and I for a kingdom in the great empire? Or, do we serve the gods?’
‘Your talk is barren like that of the heretic sramanas, my Rauma. Is not the purpose of all to conquer the enemy of our gods?’ After a pause, Satyavati asked, ‘Was Sanghamitra beautiful?’
‘Almost as beautiful as you.’
‘Do you still love her?’
‘The wife of Agnibrahma! Does a Kshatriya love somebody else’s wife? You know that he became a Buddhist and that Mahindra, who should have to succeed the Maharajah, has been sent to Ujjain as Viceroy and is called back. Ashoka does think him unsuitable as Raja, so certainly too as Maharajah. He became a monk in the yellow robe. Sanghi … mitra … allowed her beautiful long tresses to be cut and put on the yellow robe. The joining of the Maharajah in the Sangha seems to work contagiously so that not only people in his surroundings, but also large groups of common people are taking refuge in the Buddha.’
‘Maybe, he forces them to do so.’
‘No, many are so fully convinced of the wisdom of the Maharajah that they believe in the rightness of his view. His conversion is for them enough proof that the Buddhists profess the right doctrine, and the sacrificial priests lost their trust.’
‘And you, Rauma?’
Rauma laughed. ‘Why ask me? I work for the gods of Aryavarta and for my kingdom!’
‘Only because Sanghamitra preferred somebody else? Under Ashoka, too, you would have become rajuka.’
Rauma was surprised at Satyavati’s astuteness but did not show it. She was not allowed to know anything of his thoughts.
‘And a Buddhist,’ he added casually.
‘Do you not feel for the yellow robe, now Sanghamitra, too …’
‘No, because it condemns the ruler to powerlessness!’
‘Does battle appeals to you so much? And what if Ashoka wins? Do you think he will forgive you? Where do you want to hide yourself? And me?’
‘We do not intend to allow Ashoka to win.’
‘Are you a boaster like the lecherous Shakuni or the power-mad Sarata and the Kalingan army-commanders? The holy Muta was in Pataliputra and he told the Raja: ‘If you risk the war, then your country will be destroyed!’ Where do you want to hide you and me, my Rauma?’
In the clear moonlight Rauma could see that there was fear in her eyes. For what?
‘I do not want to fall into the hands of Ashoka’s warriors!’ she suddenly sobbed.
‘Return to Tosali if you are afraid, Satyavati.’
‘But then what about you, Rauma?’
‘Do you fear for me?’
‘Maybe.’ She cast her eyes down and knelt at his feet. ‘Who is that martial forest-demon who is constantly consulting you?’
‘The overseer of the roads, Sapalin, he is clever and never gets tired.’
‘Is he from Magadha?’
‘Yes.’
‘And to be trusted?’
‘Like myself.’
‘What are you doing to help the victory of the people of Kalinga?’
‘I pave the way to Suhma.’
‘Shush … Be careful!’
‘I pave the way for the Kalingan armies,’ he went on, whispering. ‘Yonder at the border! We are making a large clearing in the jungle much wider and more open yet. From there, on the other side is a wide road that goes down to the slopes of the fields alongside the Mahanadi. Four roads on this side lead to Suhma, for each army division one.’
‘So, when Ashoka comes, he will have four roads, Kalinga one, and upwards!’
‘When Ashoka comes first he has only one road to Kalinga, we will have four to Suhma. And behind the wide pastures is the River Mahanadi.’ Satyavati did not notice his unrest. She took the hem of his cloth and kissed it respectfully.
‘I do not know, my Rauma, whether you are all not fighting for a lost cause. Before I was brought here, I went to see Muta, made offerings, and begged him to tell me what fate awaited me here. He kept silent, lost in his yoga. Could it be that Ashoka would attack Kalinga from here?’
‘Why here, behind the Mahanadi? The borders with Kalinga are long and open.’
‘Would you leave me if you have to flee before the Maharajah?’
‘No, you are my wife.’
‘Forced upon you, and you on me!’
‘Forced upon me, you say, Satyavati? I thought that they wanted to give me, with your beauty, a compensation for shattered hopes.’
‘I know. But with me, they had yet another goal …’
‘Keep silent, Satyavati. You never know whether the drowsing jungle down there or the house here has not hidden wide-open ears!’ Rauma hissed.
‘Listen, my Rauma. I loathe the men of Magadha, the Raja who looks for his good fortune outside Kalinga, my father, who gave me away as a commodity of exchange, and degraded a Kshatrya to a spy. Do you trust me your secrets, Rauma? I have to tell them to Prince Sarata. Remember that, Rauma!’
‘So, you would rather serve Ashoka,’ he mocked.
‘No, not if he wishes to destroy the land of my forefathers, wipe out the confused Kalingans, and absorb our land within his huge, great empire. Rather than betraying my country, I would die, to become reborn in a new incarnation as a Vaishyi, whose man works the holy ground and sticks to the laws of our fathers. That is, if a spy can be reborn as a Vaishyi, Rauma. Or, is she going to become a hyena, to follow the tiger? I was proud to be a Kshatriya. For their goals, they did not spare me the deepest humiliation. For the glory of Kalinga and its gods! Bah! Muta says: total destruction! Soon, I will be left by everyone, and by you, too, Rauma.’
‘What do you want from me?’
‘Your love. I cannot live without your love!’
‘With what secrets do I have to pay for that?’
She flinched. ‘Secrets? No secrets! Shakuni sought my love and I refused, because I loathed him! Our line is a line of Kshatriyas! Then he forced—perhaps out of revenge—the Raja and my father to have me brought to you, to serve the Kalingas as a spy. Our country does not know sacred laws anymore, my Rauma. One only serves the gods. Please, keep your secrets, which I have to betray, with caution, my Rauma. Guptika may unveil them himself!’
Rauma picked her up, kept her in his arms, but she felt his distrust. How could it be otherwise, she thought bitterly. One who believes in Shakuni, the Brahmin, thinks that a woman is a sink of iniquity, never striving for anything beyond love. Like Kalinga, the war. Like Ashoka, the yellow robe.
Rauma brought her back to her quarters. Then he returned to the verandah. Was she
playing a trick? He was certainly not insensitive to this beautiful woman with her sharp manas. Yet, he did not trust her! Why should not Shakuni have taught her to win his, Rauma’s, love, to fish out more plans and secrets out of him, to better fathom him by feigning admiration and pretending to curse the Kalingans and renounce Shakuni. Not again would he fall victim to love for a woman! The Master, that was his life! He did not want to meet death burdened with a curse.
The scent of the Kovidari-tree …
26
THE BLACK NECESSITY
he Ashokarama sent out its monks through all Magadha to spread Buddha’s teachings of love with its highest precept: ‘Thou shalt not kill’. The Maharajah prepared his armies for war, eliminating every obstacle on the way to Kalinga so that his huge army could proceed with speed. Rauma, together with Sapalin, made the roads and fields ready for the Kalingans. Girika, who criss-crossed the enemy country in disguises of every kind, kept the Maharajah well-informed of Sarata’s and Shakuni’s activities.
So, another Grishma1 passed by and the Varshaa2 which followed, poured down its torrents over the hotly burning country. The monks reflected on the teachings, repeated with endless repetitions the sutras of the Tathagata, the legends of his life, his discourses, the jatakas, the tales of his reincarnations, or composed new tales full of imagination which would enthral the people during their triumphal tours through the country. But in the palace the Maharajah consulted with his army commanders, with the chief controllers of the roads, the officers overseeing the food supply for the vast armies or he watched over the exercises on the huge encampment grounds, weighed up plans with Sela, gave orders to ensure a rapid and successful march, without allowing the talks with Sagata and the Sangha to lose impetus.
The Ganga and the Mahanadi had withdrawn themselves to their beds during Sharath3, Ashoka held his last meeting with his council of ministers, the parishad, before the embarkation of the expedition. Subhadrangi was announced. She had been witness to three Mauryas: the conqueror Chandragupta, the vanquisher of enemies, Bindusara, and her son. Maybe later on, Mahindra would have to rule, too … Maurya!… Did tearing oneself free from the sacrificial priests mean surrender to the monks in the yellow robes? Rid oneself of the cobra and fall into the strangling clutches of the python? The Maharajah walked up to his mother and led her to a seat beside his. Without speaking a word she sat down. The Maharajah spoke very generally of his plans to deal with the Kalingas during the coming seasons of Sharath and Hemanth. Asandhimitra, who had seen the inner struggle Ashoka had to fight between his sacred inner endeavours and the necessity, still wanted to prevent the disaster. Khallataka wanted more compromise with the priests and the gods of Aryavarta and Sayana wanted to negotiate. Ashoka had Sura come in.
‘Sura, give the latest information of my messengers from Rauma’s district.’
‘In Kalinga rules the indomitable will for war. The army thinks itself to be strong. They do not fear the Maharajah; they say he hides his cowardice behind Buddha’s maxim, ‘thou shalt not kill.’ Everything is being readied for an inevitable shock attack on the east: Suhma, Anga and Banga. Thereafter to threaten Videha and Magadha with a now much larger army and with the help of Manipura in Further-India. The people either remain silent out of fear or are carried away by the flush of enthusiasm of the war-mongers. No one is allowed to express doubts about their success.’
‘Such is the situation. I have to protect Suhma, Anga and Banga.’
‘Send them your conditions, maybe …’
‘I have sent them my conditions, High Agramahisi. Minister Udgata left yesterday for Tosali. Do not think they will accept them. I know they will refuse. That refusal will be for me the signal to start moving the army. Listen: ‘The Maharajah of Aryavarta demands the extradition of Shakuni, Prince Sarata, and the other commanders from Magadha; severe punishment of the captains of the Kalingan pirate-ships and of the gangs that violated the borders of Magadha; immediate reduction of the Kalingan army, to the capacity existing under Bindusarsa’s reign, handing over of all surplus elephants; recognition of the anointed Maharajah of Aryavarta as the supreme ruler of the Kalingas. Only under these conditions will there remain peace between the two countries and shall the Maharajah recognise the King of Kalinga’.’
If they do not submit, then I will force the Kalingans to comply.’
All kept silent. Subhadrangi stood up.
‘So, my son, the Maurya! It is the black necessity!’ She then left the meeting.
Two weeks later, Sura raced into Pataliputra with the message from Girika, who had joined the mission as a lipikara, that the King would send a reply to the demands. When minister Udgata remarked that this answer would be seen as a refusal, the Raja responded that Kalinga was a free country and the King would not tolerate interference in its affairs by the Maharajah. Udgata demanded to know if the Raja then expected the Maharajah to tolerate interference in his country. The Raja had nothing to do with that. Sura also informed Ashoka that Prince Sarata had ordered the army to move up to the Mahanadi.
Herewith, the war was unavoidable.
The army, blessed by Sivi with water from the holy Ganga, marched south over the Son bridge. Asandhimitra watched with the Maharajah the marching of army brigades, going endlessly for hours. Asandhimitra gazed in awe at the ominous military force. The Maharajah wanted the march to take place in strict order without delays and with the greatest possible speed.
‘Which of these courageous beings, marching along, is marked by Yama? How many widows and orphans? Which of them will return, maybe jubilant, not mourning the death of their comrades and glad with the death of the Kalingan, who most likely as little wanted this cursed war? Who really wants it! Who has a choice! Poor Ashoka, he who reveres Buddha’s ‘Thou shalt not kill’.’
‘Were I not to kill then they will kill twenty-fold. The blood that tolerance demands, Asandhi!’
‘Who? They who want to, or those who have to?’
‘You are right, Asandhi. I do realise that war harms every side and goes against the essence of the Tathagata. But I am the Maharajah. I have to decide and it is my holy conviction that the spirit of Kalinga has to be killed, that the people have to be defeated. Would the Buddha command now – Ashoka, ‘thou shalt not kill’, whatever the consequences? The doctrine, Asandhi, for sake of the doctrine? Do I obey the Buddha no longer when I follow here my conviction: to serve the doctrine for the good that it kindles in the seeking soul? I am the anointed Maharajah, Asandhi, the supreme justice, also the supreme duty. My work is consecrated by the anointment. My will, my profound conviction has to rule.’
‘Ashoka the Righteous. But do you know the consequence of your deeds? Sadly enough, the horrors of war you will know only after the war, when it is too late.’
‘Neither do you know the consequences, Asandhi, if I do not stand up to the Kalingans!’
‘I will keep silent, my Lord. When I see these hundreds of thousands of warriors passing by, I feel only one consolation: your righteousness and divine will; one single faith: your wisdom.’ She looked upon the army, marching continually along over the Son-bridge, and appearing to be unmoved.
In the middle of the road on which Ashoka’s armies marched sat an ascetic in deep meditation. When the workers were preparing the road, he had refused to leave his place which lay just along the route. Nobody dared to be disobedient to Ashoka’s orders; neither did they dare to disturb the ‘tree-rishi’. But Ashoka, seeing how the warriors and animals would place him in danger, requested him to look for a different place in the woods.
‘This is my sacred place, I wish to stay here!’
‘I am the Maharajah and master of the country.’
‘This place is owned by the gods!’
Ashoka ordered that the ascetic be taken away, to look for a quiet place in the forest, where he could be put. In rage, the hermit flared out:
‘Cursed art thou, Maharajah of a great empire, who does not respect the gods; they will punish you, t
he enemies will destroy your armies, and send you to hell!’
‘You are perpetrating a sin, Brahmin, because you are swearing in rage; you are offending the Buddha, who shuns soothsaying.’ To his men, Ashoka said: ‘Put the ascetic in an empty ox-cart, guard him, and take him along to the battle-field. The venerable ascetic will see who is winning the battle and whether his curse has value.’
Hardly anyone knew that the Maharajah has had two large troops of horse-soldiers of Bhils and Rajputans cross the Gondyana, south of the Mahanadi. He himself encamped in an open area of land, north of Rauma’s four roads, to the south of which lay the field that Rauma and Sepalin had intended to be the battlefield and which along one sloping road, gave entrance to the meadows beside the Mahanadi. The Kalingans had thought of making use of it when they would march towards Suhma. Ashoka waited calmly. After some time, the news came in about the first movement of troops in north-Kalinga, then about the construction of a bridge of tree trunks over the Mahanadi, and at last, that the troops had crossed the bridge and had camped in the fields along the side of the river. Several brigades marched up the sloping road towards the intended battlefield.
‘Do you not want to destroy the troops on this side of the river, Sire?’
‘No, Radhagupta, let the whole army cross first, else my Bhils and Rajputans will get into trouble. Moreover, I want to finish off the whole army of Kalinga. I do not want a large part of the troops to flee into the jungle after the battle and to harass me later on. Either we will be destroyed, or they.’
The following morning, one could see from the busy movements of the opposing army that the Kalingans had been informed about Ashoka’s arrival. That early in the morning, sacrificial rites were performed on the other side of the Mahanadi, the weapons were blessed and the drums and trumpets consecrated. Lengthy battle songs echoed through the air, and sacrifices were brought in order to strengthen the gods: soma, animals, and rice. Ashoka knew how important the Kalingans regarded these sacrifices.
Ashoka the Great Page 68