“I see you have already started to think like a Samrat,” Radhagupta said. His throat still felt dry after drinking two goblets of wine. There was something about this young prince which made his throat dry.
Sushem laughed. Radhagupta had started to feel tipsy. He did not pour any more wine. He had to be on his guard. Prince Sushem was known to notice small things.
“It intrigues me that you would come here to just deliver a letter,” Sushem said. “You are a Prime Minister after all, not an envoy.”
“The Samrat specifically instructed me to deliver the letter,” Radhagupta said.
“The Samrat is ill, isn’t he?” Sushems eyes were quick upon the rolled parchment on the bed. “And here is his Prime Minister, His right hand in the matters of the state wandering about delivering letters.”
“One letter!” Radhagupta said.
“Oh, I’ve heard different,” Sushem said. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Tell me why you are here, Minister.”
“I am here to make sure that the letter is delivered promptly in the hands of Prince Vittasoka.”
“It is very intriguing that the Samrat would think that the letters would not be promptly delivered if his Prime Minister did not deliver them himself,” Sushem said.
“The Samrat is not afraid,” Radhagupta said, “merely cautious.”
“Can I see the contents of the letter?” Sushem said, pointing to the roll of parchment on the bed. “I’m just interested because Vittasoka is my younger brother.”
“Sure.” Radhagupta handed over the roll to him. Sushem unrolled it and read it out loud.
“My Son,” he He read, “It is my utmost pleasure to confer upon you the title of Maharaja of Avanti. I wish that you should come to Patliputra immediately, to seek my blessings and then set upon your new task.”
Radhagupta looked at Sushem, whose face had become extremely thoughtful. He rolled the letter back and handed it to Radhagupta. “I would have done it differently were I him.” He said.
“What do you mean?” Radhagupta asked.
“I would have made Asoka the Governor of Avanti,” Sushem said.
“And I thought you considered him as a thorn in your way,” Radhagupta said.
“I consider him the thorn in my way,” Sushem said. “But thorns must be softened, not stepped upon.”
“And how would making him Governor of Avanti soften that thorn?” Radhagupta asked.
“You are the Prime Minister!” Sushem mocked. “You of all people should not ask this question. You are the one who should have advised the Samrat about that in the first place.”
The last one lost his job because of it. Radhagupta smiled. “But you haven’t answered my question,” he said.
“Asoka and I were never close.” Sushem said. “But nor was there any deep hatred between us. I may be guilty of having ignored him all my life, but never did I deliberately cause any harm to him.”
“And?”
“And when I heard he wanted to go on this mission to Avanti, I convinced Father that he be allowed to do that.” Sushem said. “I also made sure that he knew it was because of me that he could go to Avanti. That was my way of trying to reinforce the relations between us. Making him Governor of Avanti would have deepened the relations further.”
“Oh I see.” Radhagupta said. “You want to exploit him emotionally.”
Sushem smiled. “Asoka was always an emotional man.” He said. “By making him Maharaja Asoka, I would have made sure that he would never go against me. He would never love me, but nor would he ever betray me as long as he lived.”
“And that was all you wanted, wasn’t it?” Radhagupta said.
“But Father has messed all of that up now,” Sushem said.
“Not really,” Radhagupta said. “In fact you can still turn this thing to your advantage. If you make him Maharaja after your ascent to Samrat, it will be a more powerful gesture of your hand of friendship towards him than if the Samrat had made him Maharaja.”
Sushem smiled. “True that.” He said. “It looks like I may keep you as my Prime Minister after all.”
“And then I shall be forever indebted to you, Maharaja,” Radhagupta said, bowing his head.
“But you see, I on the other hand see a better solution to this problem than the one you show me,” Sushem smiled. “And that is why I say I don’t need any ministers in the first place because they can’t tell me anything I don’t already know!”
Radhagupta sat up a little straighter. “And what is this better solution that you see?” He asked.
“I have seen Asoka since he was a little boy.” Sushem said. “When all of us were kids and we would play children’s games like kabbadi. You know what kabbadi is, right?” He asked, looking up.
“Indeed I do.” Radhagupta said. “Two groups send one player in the other group’s territory and he tries to touch a player and return without getting caught.”
‘Exactly!” Sushem said. “And both of the groups have a captain. The captain decides who to send to the attack each round, but the captain would never go for the attack himself.”
“I don’t see how this solves your problem,” Radhagupta said.
“Because you are a Minister,” Sushem taunted. “You see, Prime Minster, when all of us brothers used to play kabbadi, I would always be the captain.” A sly smile had crept up on his face. “And Asoka, he would always be the first one I would send on an attack against the other group. And yes, I would always take him in my group, because he was a very good attacker.”
“What are you trying to imply, Maharaja?” Radhagupta’s eyes had become very wide.
“I am telling you that Asoka doesn’t want to be a Maharaja of anything,” Sushem said, leaning back. “Like he would never want to be the captain. All he always wanted was to be the first one to attack. Which is what he wants, which is what he displayed by asking to be sent on this mission to Avanti in the first place, And which is what I shall give him when I become Samrat to ensure that he is forever on my side like he would be when we were playing kabbadi, irrespective of the differences between us!”
“And what is that?”
Sushem smiled. “I shall make him my General.” He said. “The leader of the army. That is what he has always wanted. And I shall give him that. And like when we were kids, we would make a great team once again.”
Radhagupta wondered what he should say, but he was saved by a soldier who peeped inside the tent and announced dinner.
*
It was the lonely quiet of midnight, and Radhagupta sat alone on the bed in his tent. One of his hands gently massaged his forehead, while the other lay forgotten upon his lap. It was not usual for him to have headaches, but it wasn’t usual for him to not know what to do either.
Maharaja Sushem and his men had left the camp after dinner. Sushem had told him that he had to be in the city that night to look after the Ashwamedha Yadnya preparations. He had said that he did not get much time from the rituals of the Yadnya, and that they may not see each other again. But before going, he had dropped a bombshell big enough to induce a serious headache in Radhagupta’s mind.
He sat upon the bed, thinking deeply. What was he to do? They had always assumed that they would be able to use the bitterness between Sushem and Asoka to foster the opposition between them.
But Sushem had put a wrench in these assumptions by displaying that he intended to offer a hand of friendship towards Asoka.
What was he to do? Radhagupta felt his head hurt more as he thought. There was no Arya Chankya he could turn to here. Here in Taxila, he was alone. Completely alone!
His hand crept upon the bundle of the Rigveda which he always carried with him. The holy Grantha of the Aryas. The book that shows the way. The book that tells you what to do.
And silently, Radhagupta began reading it. After some time had passed, he smiled. The Rigveda had done it again. It had shown him the way!
Chanakya
Taxila, 50 years earlier
&n
bsp; I looked upon the city of Taxila from afar. I wondered if I should enter it, then decided against it.
The caravan rider who had dropped me there had informed me that Raja Ambhi still ruled there and I did not desire another encounter with the Raja after our last one had been so sour. Almost a year had passed since then, but Raja Ambhi was not a man who would forget and forgive.
I walked back to the forest. I felt like a failure. I felt like I was a man with no home. I had failed in bringing any help to counter the Greeks. I thought that I should go and see Raja Puru, but I wasn’t sure how Puru would react to me in Greek presence. Furthermore, the conditions I had seen in the kingdom of Paurava had made me despise Puru.
I sat with my back to a tree. I was going to take a nap, I decided. All the problems that I had to face, I would face it after that. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since so long. I fell asleep as soon as I had closed my eyes.
I was awakened by the sound of voices and spears. I thought they were soldiers, so I hid in a bush beside the tree.
“This is a good concealed place; we can sit here for a while.” A deep voice declared. The voice seemed strangely familiar. There were sounds of spears clanging and swords being sheathed. So they indeed were soldiers!
“State your problem, brother.” The same voice said again. I peeped out of the bush a little bit to see what was going on. I could see a man sitting with his back to me on a rock. The man was wearing armor. He was surrounded by more men in armors, but they didn’t look like soldiers. Opposite the man, a peasant and his wife stood, with their hands joined.
“My Lord,” the peasant said, “my father died some days ago, leaving me and two of my brothers behind. My father owned eleven cows before he died, which he had used for milk. On his deathbed, he gave us very strange conditions for the division of his cows.”
“What conditions did he give?” The man on the rock asked.
“He said that half of the cows must go to the eldest son, which is me.” the peasant continued, “then, my younger brother must get a quarter of the total cows and the youngest brother must get one sixth of the total cows.”
The man on the rock laughed, “I see your problem.”
Behind the tree, I had seen it too, hiding in the bush. The dying man had made a calculating mistake being on his deathbed. I held a branch up to see how the man on the rock would solve it.
“The three of us are at our wit’s end in trying to figure out how the division is to be made. We were very close once, but now this problem of inheritance has strained our relations.”
“This is very wrong.” The man on the rock said loudly. “You brothers must stick together in the world, whatever may come. A bunch of cows is no issue to fight over. To demonstrate this, I give to you one of my own cows, a good cow which gives a lot of milk.”
“That is very kind of you, My Lord.” The peasant said, falling at the man’s feet.
“Oh, get up.” The man on the rock said. “The problem is not solved yet, is it? Now tell me how many cows you have.”
“Now we have eleven plus one, twelve cows, My Lord.” The peasant said, counting on his fingers.
“Good.” The man on the rock said “Now if we are to make divisions according to the wishes of your father, how many cows will you get?”
The peasant thought for a while. “I will get half of twelve, which is six cows.”
“And your younger brother will get a quarter of twelve, which are three cows.” The man on the rock said.
“That is correct, My Lord.” The peasant said.
“And your youngest brother, who was to get one sixth of the total cows, will get one sixth of twelve, that is two cows.”
“Absolutely, My Lord.” The peasant said.
“Will you count, my dear brother, how many cows have been distributed?” The man on the rock asked.
The peasant counted slowly, on his fingers. One, Two, three….. And then, his eyes lit up with surprise.
“There are eleven cows distributed, My Lord.” He exclaimed.
“Exactly.” The man on the rock said. “And now, only one cow remains. It is the same cow which I gave to you at the beginning. So with your permission, I shall take it back, because it is no longer necessary.”
“You are a magician, My Lord.” The words escaped the peasant’s mouth as he fell at the feet of the man on the rock. He held on to them with both of his hands, clasping them firmly. Chanakya could feel the jubilation of the peasant too, as he looked at them. The problem of the distribution of the cows had been solved in a most innovative and beautiful way.
The man on the rock rose and brought the kneeling peasant back to his feet by raising him up with his hands. “Remember,” he said, “the bonds which are so closely knit, like the bonds of brotherhood, must not be strained by little things like the division of cows. These things shall come and go, but the unity of one’s own kind of utmost importance. That is the thing which is missing in us Aryas. That is what has allowed the foreigners like the Greeks to rule over us. Should we be united in one cause, no one, not even Alexander would be powerful enough to overwhelm us.”
I smiled. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. The hope which had been lost came back to me as I saw the peasant wipe the tears of joy off his face.
As long as the men like the one on the rock are present, hope in the Aryas will never be lost.
I got to my feet and out of the bush where I was hiding. The soldiers looked at me due to my sudden appearance. So did the man on the rock. Our eyes met.
I saw the man’s face. I couldn’t believe my eyes. In the time that had passed, the voice had changed so much, but there was no mistaking the face. There was no mistaking the dark brown eyes.
It was my old student, the one I had left behind while leaving for the east.
The one whom I had told to make sure that the northwest remained worth saving!
And now I was sure he was the one who had been successful at achieving what had been asked of him!
It was Chandragupta.
The Prophecy
Northwest, 50 years earlier
Alexander and Porus waded through the rough grass in the dense forest. Trees towered over them, blocking almost all of the sunlight. Soldiers walked alongside them, their spears out. There pace was slow, for traversing the waist high grass was difficult.
“I don’t see why you insisted that I come here,” Alexander said to Porus as he pushed a little twig stuck in his garment out of the fabric, while continuing to wade through the grass with difficulty. “I don’t see anything of importance at all in this forest!”
Puru rose up high in the grass due to his height, and the twigs only came up to his knees.
“Maharishi Dandayan is the greatest Rishi in this region.” He said, pressing the grass easily with his feet. “He is a fortune teller. It is said that his predictions never go wrong.”
“If such are his powers,” Alexander mocked, “Why does he live in a dense forest like this? Any Raja would offer him anything to keep him in a palace in his Rajya.”
Puru laughed. “There is nothing a Raja could offer that these Rishis would want. Such are their ways. They practice an old set of teachings in the Bhagvad Gita, our holy book, called the Dhyan yoga. It tells them to live like this.”
“If such are the ways taught in the holiest of your books,” Alexander laughed, “I shall feel no remorse in burning it down.”
They had reached the cave where Maharishi Dandayan lived. The Rishi stood there, meditating on one leg, like a crane. He wore no clothes at all, except a loincloth which covered his privates. His hair and beard were so long that they were entwined with each other.
“Maharishi!” Puru said, joining his hands. Dandayan opened his eyes.
“I, Raja Puru, seek your blessings,” Porus said, bending to touch the Rishi’s feet. Dandayan walked a few steps back.
“You shall have none of my blessings, Raja Puru.” His voice was deep and nasal. “You have brought
misery to your people under this Greek rule. You have shunned the duties of a Raja and bent at the feet of this Greek foreigner, Alexander.”
“Excuse me,” Alexander said, interrupting, “but I am The Alexander you speak of.”
Dandayan surveyed him from head to foot. “What do you want?” He asked.
“Same thing as Raja Puru here,” Alexander said. “Your blessings, before I set out to conquer the rest of Bharath.”
Dandayan laughed. He laughed very long and loud. Alexander kept watching.
“You dream too much.” Dandayan finally said when he had stopped laughing. “You have become proud by defeating just one Raja on the very outskirts of this land. Bharath is too big, Conqueror, too big for you. You haven’t even crossed the Beas River yet. Beyond it lies the large empire of Magadha which is already as big as the one you have built until now. And yet, you dream of becoming a world conqueror. Do you even know how big the world is?”
It was now Alexander’s turn to laugh. “Damn you fortune tellers. You do nothing but criticize. No one is ever good enough for you. We have the likes of you back at home in Greece too. Oracles they are called and they happen to think that I shall be world conqueror. Now who is to be believed, you or they? You know what the answer is? None of you. Because all you do is sit with your eyes closed and try to drag men of action like us down. I have no respect for the likes of you. I could even kill you right now and be done with it.”
“Kill me?” Dandayan laughed. His yellow teeth looked horrid. “I am not afraid of death, Sikander,” he said, “because I have nothing, nothing at all to lose. But you on the other hand, you should be very very afraid of death. Because you have so much to lose. For when you die, as any mortal man will, all that you have earned until now will not matter at all and go away, faster than you acquired it.”
Puru was looking at the Rishi dumbfounded. It was a prediction.
“World conqueror,” Dandayan said, “the world you have conquered shall be divided into four parts. It will all crumble and be destroyed in the chaos. And don’t look at these lands around you, the lands of the ancient Raja Bharath, because these holy lands of us Aryas won’t be a part of it.”
The Prince of Patliputra Page 22