Puru kept looking at Alexander. Ambhi’s soldiers tried pulling his chains, to bring him to the ground. The metal of the chains tug into his flesh, pulling him, but his strength subverted them all. He would just not bow.
“Well, let it be!” Alexander finally said, “If a man doesn’t want to bow, he shall not bow.”
The soldiers left the chains and walked away from him. Puru was looking at Alexander who had now stood up.
“Raja Porus!” Alexander asked, “Do you recognize me?”
Puru shook his head. Alexander was pronouncing his name as Porus instead of Puru but he did not bother to point it out.
“Bring me my helmet,” Alexander ordered. Men immediately hastened to bring him his helmet.
Alexander took it, and put it on. Now Puru understood.
“I knocked you off your horse.”
“Not only that,” Alexander said, “You killed my horse too.”
There was a sudden pin drop silence all around him. Puru could even hear his own breath. Some of Alexander’s officers drew their swords.
“Halt!” Alexander ordered. “It is my horse he killed. Whatever is to be done, I shall do!” He drew his sword and jumped down from the platform to the ground. He walked up to Puru. Porus was indeed very tall. He barely came up to his chin.
Alexander raised his sword. Puru kept looking at him. Even in the face of impending death, there was no fear on his face.
As Alexander swung his sword, Puru closed his eyes. But to his surprise, he did not feel anything. There was just a large metallic clang. Porus didn’t feel dead at all. He opened his eyes.
Alexander’s sword had dug into the chains that were binding his wrists. It had cut the metal binds into two pieces.
Puru looked at Alexander, who was looking up at him, smiling. “Free the rest of him now,” he ordered, turning back and returning to climb back upon the wooden platform.
Puru looked at Ambhi, whose face was filled with surprise.
“You have lost the battle, Raja Porus.” Alexander said, once he was seated. “But that does not give me any right to bind and humiliate you.”
Chanakya’s words were echoing in Puru’s head.
Earn his respect!
But how? He had asked.
Alexander is a proud man.
So?
Only proud men respect pride.
“But you have lost after all,” Alexander continued, “And so, I can’t glorify you too much either. A question now arises, Porus. How am I to treat you?”
Earn his respect, Chanakya had said.
“I am a Raja,” Puru said loudly, “I am a leader of men. I fought to save my kingdom, my people from foreign rule. I fought with all my strength, all my might, and all my ability, yet I lost. But that does not take away from me my kingship. I am Raja by the will of the people I rule, and they shall not accept any ruler other than me. They shall rise against any other who tries. So Conqueror Alexander, you should treat me exactly like you would treat a ruler of men. Like a Raja!”
Everyone looked at him and at Alexander, to see what reaction this belligerence would produce. For some moments, Alexander’s face was completely blank.
Then, he smiled. “Raja Porus!” He said, “I have fought in a hundred battles to know exactly this - That you can’t ever predict who will win a battle until it is won. Battlefields are breeders of chaos. Anything can happen. Maybe our positions could have been reversed today. And if you had asked me the question that I have asked you now, this is exactly how I would have answered. Or maybe, I could have been dead after being knocked off from my horse. I must tell you this, Porus; in the hundreds of battles that I have fought, I have never come as close to death as I did today, nor has my army come so close to defeat as it did today. So many of my men are dead, that the counting of the bodies is still going on. You have fought extremely well, my friend. And fought you have at least! Not like these other coward kings who have surrendered at the first sign of battle.”
Puru noticed a look of shock on Ambhi’s face.
“I shall indeed treat you as a brave king, “Alexander finished. “Now go and rest for the day, then we shall talk.”
Alexander gestured for them to go, and the soldiers took him away.
“You do not understand.’ Ambhi had raised his voice. They were in Porus’s royal tent. It was almost evening.
“I do not understand?” Alexander shouted. “I am the conqueror of Bharath. You are just a client king, who helped me in a very tiny way. It is you who doesn’t understand.”
“I captured him for you,” Ambhi said.
“If you had not, some of my other men would have captured him,” Alexander said.
“I joined you and your battle because you promised me the Satrapy of Northwest Bharath,” Ambhi said. “You promised me that I would rule it in your name.”
“The one who gives is the one who takes it away,” Alexander said.
“You are turning back on your word,” Ambhi said.
“That’s what I fight battles for,” Alexander said. “To have the power to break a vow. To have the power to enforce my will.”
“I knew of Greek spies in Taxila,” Ambhi said with rage. “Your spies! You broke our treaty! Yet, I did not complain and came to your help.”
“And these spies,” Alexander laughed, “they are still there. So you shouldn’t complain now either, or some of them will be ordered to slit your throat while you sleep.”
“You threaten me,” Ambhi said meekly. “Forgive me if my words have angered you. All I am trying to tell you is that if you let Porus live, he shall betray you in the future.”
Alexander laughed loudly, “This coming from a man who has already betrayed his own people.”
“But I did not betray you,” Ambhi said.
“Who am I to you?” Alexander mocked. “I am just a foreigner. A foreigner who promised you power in return of service, and you grabbed at the opportunity with both hands. You betrayed your own people. You are of the betraying kind, Ambhi! You shall betray me too, when someone even more powerful offers you a deal. On the other hand, Porus is the brave king who chose to fight even in the face of adversity. Even in the face of defeat. He is the man who shall never let go of my heart if I entrust it to him.”
“You have cheated me,” Ambhi said, his head bent.
“It is what you deserve.’ Alexander chided. “I shall not make you Governor of the Northwest. You shall return to your kingdom, leaving your army under my control, and obey whoever I appoint as Governor.”
“And who will that be?” Ambhi meekly asked.
At the same time, soldiers announced the arrival of Raja Porus. Alexander turned to greet him.
“Welcome Raja Porus.” He said. “And now, the Governor of the Northwest in my name.”
Asoka
Vidishanagri, 271 BC
He and his thousand men reached Vidishanagri in the early hours of the afternoon, when the sun was just above their heads like a crown and the ground below them was hot like a cooking pan. The stone walls of the city shone in the bright light and were hard to look at. The city was surrounded by a forest on three sides and a pass on one.
Asoka ordered his men to set up camp for the night along the city walls. “We’ll be here for a while.” He told them.
While the men got busy setting up tents, he searched for Devi. He found her already packing her things.
“Going somewhere?” He asked her.
“Yes… home!” She winked.
Asoka was taken aback. “Vidishanagri is your home?” He asked with surprise, “I took you for a woman of the forest.”
“However thrilling ‘a woman of the forest’ may sound,” Devi winked, “I do have a home here in the city.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Asoka exclaimed, feeling foolish.
“Because you didn’t ask.” She winked again, as she took her belongings and started walking. Asoka walked beside her.
“So who is at your home?” h
e asked. “Parents?”
“Just my father.” Devi said. “My mother died giving birth to me.”
“That’s a very paradoxical way to die,” Asoka said. “Giving birth to a Vaidya.”
“Oye, my mother was a Vaidya too.” She reminded him.
They walked along the walls towards the gate through the black walls that lay on the side of the pass.
“So can I meet your father?” He asked.
“No, you can’t!” She said with her eyes as big as marbles. “If he finds out that I have returned with a thousand men, he’d never let me go out on my own again.”
Asoka laughed. “I just wanted to tell him, that you saved my life.” He said. “Perhaps I could give him something as a token of my gratitude.”
“It was me who saved you, not him.” Devi pointed out. “So you better give your token of gratitude to me.”
Asoka looked at her mesmerized, as she smiled sweetly.
They had reached the city gates. The large wooden gates were wide open, with no guards visible around them at all.
“I see no guards!” Asoka exclaimed, as they walked in.
“Vidishanagri is a trading post.” Devi said. “Merchants don’t like closed doors. That’s why Vidishanagri’s gates are always open.”
Asoka looked around. He could see the color indigo everywhere. Vidishanagri was known to be a Buddhist stronghold. It was said that the only non-Buddhist person in the city was its Raja.
The city was mostly populated by traders and merchants, almost all of them following the teachings of the Buddha.
“I think we should split up here,” Devi said to him. “I’m sure you’re not going where I am.”
“But then who will show me directions?” Asoka asked, with mock helplessness.
“Don’t be a bull.” Devi said. “Your manner suggests very well that you’ve been here before.”
Asoka smiled. “Indeed I have.”
“When?” She asked.
“Vidishanagri was the base of the southern wars,” he said. “We passed through here as we marched south.”
“You fought in the southern wars?” Her face was filled with surprise.
“So did almost all the youth of Vidisha,” Asoka exclaimed. “Why the tone of surprise?”
“I just thought,” Devi said, “prince and all that you are, you didn’t need to.”
“It’s all quite a long story.”
“I’m sure you’ll find the time to tell me,” she said.
“So when will me meet again?” Asoka asked.
“Don’t you worry about that,” Devi said with a smile. “I’ll enter your life again, just as unexpectedly as before.”
“I do hope I won’t have to almost die once again before that happens,” Asoka said.
Devi smiled. Her smile was beautiful!
They split at the town square, and she was soon lost in the crowd. Men rubbed shoulders with him as he walked along the street. Vidishanagri was almost as crowded as Patliputra itself! Though almost ten times smaller.
Asoka walked through the narrow alleys of the city. He was headed for the marketplace. It was a crowded spot, but he soon found who he was looking for.
It was a jeweler’s shop. The jeweler was a young man, displaying ornaments of various kinds to the customers who stood observing them. He was much fat and almost covered the entire space in the inside of the shop.
Asoka sneaked behind him, and held him threateningly. “Give me all your ornaments.” He threatened. “If you care for your life.”
The jeweler’s vast body first stiffened, but relaxed within a moment. “I would have surely given you all my jewels for I value my life very much,” he said. “But that would have happened had I not recognized your voice.”
Two guards had immediately appeared at the shop, with spears in their hands. “Everything all right, Kanakdatta?” they asked.
“As well as it could be, officer,” Kanakdatta said, as Asoka loosened his grip on his throat. “This is just an old friend of mine.”
The guards nodded and walked away. Kanakdatta took Asoka’s arm and pulled it strongly. Asoka almost lost his balance.
“Look at you!” Kanakdatta said, staring at his friend. “You look, well…so princely.”
“And look at you!” Asoka said, hugging his friend. “This peddling of wares does not suit you at all. You would look much finer in armor and steel.”
“This peddling of wares helps to buy finer armor and steel, my friend. “ Kanaka said, patting Asoka on the back. “You, Prince, were expected here more than a week ago.”
“I know, “Asoka said, getting out of the hug, “I ran into some trouble.”
“And got out of it sure too, no doubt,” Kanaka said, as he called his assistant.
“Mind the shop while I show my friend around,” he told him.
He pulled Asoka out of the shop, into the streets. “So what kept you?” He asked.
“A minor problem,’ Asoka said, hoping the bandage beneath his armored arm was not seen.
“The city received a letter from Patliputra that you would pass through here with your army,” Kanaka said, “but you didn’t appear.”
“But now, I have appeared. And now I must see Raja Utamacharya.”
Kanaka laughed. “You want to see the Raja,” he said, amid laughs.
“What’s so funny about that?” Asoka asked.
“Come, I’ll show you,” Kanaka said.
The city marketplace was crowded with people. Kanaka and Asoka waded through the crowd.
“Merchantship suits you, my friend,” Asoka teased. “Look at how fat you have become.”
“Not only that, my friend,” Kanaka said, “I have grown rich too. I have become one of the richest men in the city.”
“What items do you trade?” Asoka asked, as they walked.
“Mostly weapons, “Kanaka said, “but now, I dabble in ornaments too. Everyone wants weapons and ornaments, but not everybody can have them. The shop you saw me in, that was my ornaments venture. To sell weapons, on the other hand, I don’t have to open a shop. People come to me for that.”
“How does your trade work?” Asoka asked.
“The southern wars taught each of us different tricks, my friend,” Kanaka said. “I learnt that those Dravidians down south do a hell of a better job at shaping iron than we do here.”
“So you still buy weapons from non-Aryas? You haven’t changed one bit, Kanaka,” Asoka taunted.
“Until nobody knows, nobody cares,” Kanaka winked. “My weapons are in great demand all over the realm. You’d be surprised to know that even Maharaja Sushem up north buys them from me.”
“And so do rebels in the west,” Asoka said, looking his friend in the eye, “rebels like Avarak.”
Kanakdatta stopped in his tracks and bit his lip. “So you know about that?”
“I did my homework before starting off on this campaign, friend,” Asoka said, “I know you sold weapons to them.”
“There are rumors that I willingly sold weapons to the rebels of Avanti,” Kanaka said slowly. “Believe me, these rumors aren’t true at all. If truth be told, I was most unwilling to sell it to them.”
“Then why did you?” Asoka asked.
“Everyone has to follow a higher power, friend,” Kanaka said.
“Except that your kind does not believe in one,” Asoka taunted as they began to walk again.
“Look, it’s fun being a Buddhist,” Kanaka said. “I was young, I wanted to fight. I could fight in the southern wars. Now I am older, and find solace in being a merchant, so I am a merchant. Not tied to the Varna, like your kind.”
“Even I am a half-Vaishya, yet I live by the sword,” Asoka said, “because I am fond of it.”
“You are the Samrat’s son,” Kanaka said. “Your caste does not matter. Not everyone is that lucky though.”
“It’s a shame though,” Asoka said. “You were a great fighter.”
“And I am now a great merchant,” K
anaka said smiling. “My weapons trade still keeps me in touch with my older occupation though.”
“Yes, like dealing with the enemies,” Asoka mocked.
“Well come on, look at the bright side,” Kanakdatta said. “The fact that I sold weapons to the rebels of Avanti means that I can tell you the exact number of weapons that these rebels possess.”
Asoka laughed sarcastically. “Did you at least meet him when you took your weapons caravan to Ujjain?”
“No, I did not meet him!” Kanakdatta said, without looking at Asoka. “I dealt with his subordinates. They acted as messengers between me and him. I told them the rates, they went to him and came back and negotiated on his behalf.”
“And you did not see him even once?”
“I asked to see him!” Kanakdatta replied. “But they told me he was elsewhere. He is leading the whole rebellion in Avarak’s name! I am sure he avoided seeing me!”
Asoka sighed. “Why did you sell him weapons, Kanakdatta? Didn’t you have faith in me? Didn’t you have faith that I would come to solve this matter?”
Kanaka shook his head. “I did not do it why you think I did it.” He said. “I did not do it to save him. For that, I knew you’d come. On the other hand, I’ve already told you. I was forced to sell weapons to the rebels.”
“By whom?” Asoka asked, confused.
“As I said, by a higher authority.”
“By the Raja?”
Kanaka laughed. “The Raja is not the highest authority in Vidishanagri, my dear friend.”
“Then who is?” Asoka asked, wide-eyed.
“One story at a time, friend, one story at a time,” Kanaka said, pointing.
They had reached the palace walls.
The palace was rather small, but then he was comparing it with the one in Patliputra. It was nicely decorated though. Kanaka spoke with the guards, and they let them enter. The throne room was smaller too.
Raja Utamacharya sat on the throne at one end. Two women blew a fan at him. The room wasn’t crowded at all, compared to the rest of the city. There was no one in there, except the two of them.
Asoka bowed before Raja Utamacharya. “I am Asoka,” he said, “Son of Samrat Bindusar, Leader of all the Aryas and Chakravartin of the whole Bharathvarsha.”
The Prince of Patliputra Page 12