“Is it not allowed to?”
“No, the hundred men with it make sure that it does not mate. It is a part of the ritual. The stallion must remain pure.”
“So?” She asked.
“So,” Radhagupta said, “when you will be rubbing your soft palms, smothered with ghee all over its body, I mean all over, it is natural that he should get very excited and….”
“You, Prime Minister, are as subtle as a slap in the face,” she said, interrupting him.
“I am sorry, My Lady,” Radhagupta said, “I know I don’t have a way with words. I think I should stop here now.”
“Here? Means there is more?” Now there was horror in her voice and on her face.
“Your anointing with ghee has excited the horse,” Radhagupta said, “and it is in this excited state that the horse is slaughtered. Chants are made - Steed, from thy body, of thyself, sacrifice and accept thyself. Thy greatness can be gained by none but thee.”
“And then?” She asked.
“I don’t know how to say this, My Lady.” He said, pulling back.
“You’ve spoken until now; you can surely go further.”
“You will have to perform copulation with the dead horse, My Lady,” Radhagupta said, looking away from her face. But the corner of his eye caught the changed expressions fluently. The control on her face was gone and it had changed into an expression of sudden shock.
“What!” Her voice resonated in the whole chamber.
Nice. Radhagupta thought. Time to deliver another blow, and thank my sister for this.
“It’s not my place to say this,” he said, “but you and Maharaja Sushem must not have slept in the same bed for a long time. This too is a part of the ritual. The stallion shall be the first.”
“This is disgusting.” She almost shouted. The shock on her face had disappeared and turned into anger. Her rosy cheeks had become scarlet red. Her clear forehead now had wrinkles. Her sweet lips had now turned into a frown.
“Not only this,” Radhagupta said, “you shall also have to spend the whole night, beside the dead horse, lying by its side. In the mud. In the open. Maybe it will be raining. It is only in the morning that you shall be relieved.”
“But this is hideous.” She said. “Why didn’t anybody tell me?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Radhagupta said. “No self-respecting woman shall agree to perform these strange rituals. I used to think that the queens nobly do it for the sake of their husband’s fame, but now I see the truth. They simply do not know.”
“Why should I go through this ordeal?” She glared. “For the sake of what? This worthless Yadnya serves no purpose at all. Why should I unnecessarily suffer?”
“My point exactly.” Radhagupta said. “But this Yadnya is a matter of declaration of power for the Maharajas.”
“What power?” There was fire in her eyes now. “The whole of the country already belongs to Samrat Bindusar. The horse is wandering merely for ritual’s sake, or for the sake of Sushem’s pride.”
“And that pride is exactly why the Maharaja will not let his Maharani stop it,” Radhagupta said. “So brace yourself, My Lady, you are going to have to go through this ordeal after all.”
“Unless…” She said.
“Unless what?”
“Unless the horse does not return,” she said, her gaze transfixed somewhere at the ceiling.
“It is halfway gone, My Lady,” Radhagupta said. “The whole of the Bharathvarsha belongs to Samrat Bindusar. Who will dare stop his son’s horse?”
“Maybe the horse will die.” She said.
“Unlikely, My Lady,” Radhagupta said. “The stallion is chosen at the peak of its health. A hundred nobles and doctors are constantly on its tail.”
“Maybe the horse shall have an accident.”
“Impossible, My Lady.” Radhagupta was enjoying this. “The hundred nobles have the duty to protect the horse at all costs. They will face the wrath of Maharaja Sushem should something happen to it.”
“Prime Minister,” she said loudly this time. “You are being purposefully innocent.”
Radhagupta smiled. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. It had been much easier than he had expected. “Perhaps, My Lady,” he said. “You made me tell you horrible things, but demand that my action be based on subtle hints.”
“You want me to say it?” Her eyes had already said it as she glared at him with her jaw clenched. She looked even more beautiful that way.
“Loud and clear would be nice,” he said.
“Sushem would never agree if I ask him to stop the Yadnya,” she said. “But I want that the horse should never come back.”
“Your Highness can do better,” Radhagupta said slyly.
“Oh, you rascal!” She said helplessly. “Alright! Listen. Prime Minister Radhagupta, I want you to make sure that the horse never comes back here to Taxila, and the rituals that are to follow its return never take place.”
It was done. Radhagupta leaned forward. “That was better.” He said.
“So can you do it?”
“You are the Maharani, My Lady.” He said. “You are the future Samradni, and I am the newly appointed Prime Minister. I would do anything to get into your good graces.” Then he bit his tongue and realized that that sentence could have gone either way. Don’t lose control now. He said to himself. But she hadn’t noticed it at all.
“So do you have a plan?” She asked.
“Yes.” He said.
“Tell me.”
“Listen!”
Asoka
Avanti, 271 BC
The royal palace in Ujjain was taller than he had expected, and it gave him a panoramic view of the city. Asoka stared at the countless houses from the palace walls.
Shiva walked in from behind him and patted his shoulders. “Another letter has arrived for you, with a courier.”
Asoka took the roll of parchment and read it. As his eyes moved over it, his jaw clenched and his face became red with anger. “This is most intriguing.” He said.
“What’s in it?” Shiva asked.
Asoka handed the letter back to Shiva. Shiva read it.
“This bears the seal of Maharaja Sushem’s wife.” He said. “Maharani Divija.”
“The contents are far more intriguing than the sender,” Asoka said
Shiva read it too, and looked up. ‘I can’t believe this!”
“I can,” Asoka said. “There was never any love between me and him, but I never thought it would come to this.”
“Father was correct!” Shiva said with anger. “All Mauryas are scum. To think of killing one’s own brother is a sin of the highest order.”
“I always wondered why Maharaja Sushem agreed to send me to Avanti,” Asoka said. “Now I see his intentions clearly. He wanted to have me killed and out of his way.”
“But that still does not explain why his wife would tell you about it,” Shiva said.
Asoka took back the letter and read it loudly.
“Dear brother-in-law,” he read, “I write to you because I believe that a grave injustice has been committed upon you. If I am right, you must have been attacked before you received this letter. I know for a fact that this attack was ordered, I am shameful to say, by my husband, Maharaja Sushem.”
“That bastard!” Shiva said with rage. “That half-Greek son of a whore Greek mother.”
“I wish that he should be paid back with his own deeds,” Asoka read the letter further. “You can have your revenge on him if you can find and stop his Ashwamedha stallion, which is somewhere down there, just like you, in Madhya Bharath.”
“That man deserves punishment!” Shiva said.
“Yes he does,” Asoka said, folding back the letter. “But he is my brother after all. I can’t act based upon just a letter.”
“Then what are you going to do?” Shiva asked.
“I am going to find the other assassin,” Asoka said, “and ask him who sent him!”
; They were interrupted by a soldier who entered the balcony. “Maharaja Avarak wants to see you.” He informed.
“We’ll be there shortly,” Shiva said. Once the soldier had gone, he turned to Asoka. “They still call him Maharaja.” He said. “They always have.”
“And soon they shall call you Maharaja too,” Asoka patted his back. They entered the chambers together.
Raja Avarak sat on a huge armchair. He looked at Asoka.
“I have something to tell you, Prince Asoka.” He said.
Asoka sat down opposite him.
‘Alone if I can,” Avarak said.
“You want me to go, Father?” Shiva looked at him.
“Yes,” Avarak said. Shiva bowed and left the room.
“I am sorry I had to make him leave like that,” Avarak said, “but what I have to say, he wouldn’t have liked.”
“What do you have to say?” Asoka asked.
“I want to ask you a question first,” Maharaja Avarak said.
“I’ll do my best to answer it,” Asoka said.
“Shiva told me about how you saved his life in the southern wars,” Avarak said.
‘It was a war.” Asoka said. “We saved each other’s lives many times.”
“But he tells there was a special incident,” Avarak said.
Asoka sat down. “There was.”
“I want you to tell me,” Avarak said.
“It’s quite a long story.”
“And I’m all ears.”
“Asoka!” The cry was loud and desperate, and it was followed by rumbling sounds of falling rocks.
Asoka fixed his grip upon a crevice on the sheer face of the cliff and looked down. Few feet below him, Shiva was dangling on the rock by one hand.
“You better get your hold back,” Asoka said. “I can’t help you here.” He himself was almost slipping, and changed his foothold from one crack to another. He looked back.
Shiva had managed to stick back to the cliff with both hands. “I’ve never done this, Asoka.” He said.
“Well nor have I,” Asoka said, looking back up. His mind was wavering to not more than an hour ago when they had been in the safety of their camp on flat ground.
“Soldier Asoka.” General Sunga’s voice was very cold and soft, yet it frightened the sweats out of them when they heard it.
“Yes, Sir!” He had turned to attention at once. What was General Sunga doing in the soldier camps?
“I have the most serious complaint about you!”
“I can’t think of what that could be?” Asoka’s voice was firm, but he had started sweating. He knew what was about to come.
‘You shall look at the ground when I talk to you, soldier.”
Asoka looked at the ground. General Sunga’s boots were riddled with mud.
“Now, soldier! Come clean. I know what you have done,” General Sunga said.
“I can explain,” Asoka said.
“I don’t want you to explain,” General Sunga shouted. He rarely raised his voice, so the raised voice tore through Asoka. “I want you to answer.” He finished. “Why did you steal from the pantry, soldier?”
“The rations given to our division were unfair,” Asoka said, looking up. “Our division spearheaded yesterday’s attack. We were at the vanguard, leading the attack from the front. It is unfair that we got the same rations as everyone.”
“You shall look down, soldier,” General Sunga shouted. Asoka looked down again. “Answer me.” The General said. “Who are you?”
“I am a soldier,” Asoka said, with his head bent.
“Yes, that is correct.” General Sunga’s voice was back to being low. “You are just a soldier. You are no Maurya Prince here; you are just a common foot soldier.”
“Yes, Sir,” Asoka said.
“Where are we?” General Sunga asked.
‘We are in the south,” Asoka said.
“What are we doing?”
“We are fighting a war for Patliputra.”
“And what shall take us through it successfully?”
“Our discipline!” Asoka said.
“And you call stealing from kitchens discipline?”
“The division which acts as vanguard must get more rations,” Asoka said defiantly. General Sunga looked at him angrily. “You question my actions, do you boy?” He said.
Asoka looked up. “Yes I do.” He said. General Sunga’s eyes had turned red. “Where is that accomplice of yours?” He asked loudly.
Asoka looked back. Shiva stepped out from the men who were watching. “It was me.” He said.
“Ah, it’s to be expected then.” General Sunga said. “Two princes, too defiant to serve in the army. You shouldn’t have come here if you wanted to back answer and question your superiors.”
“Asoka is right, General,” Shiva said, walking up and standing beside him.
General Sunga’s eyes were red with anger, but his voice was still calm. “Silence! You two.” He said. Then he looked back and pointed towards the sky. “What do you see?” He asked.
Asoka looked to where the general was pointing at. It was the sheer cliff of Suvarnagiri. On the other side was the fort and on this side was the cliff.
“It’s Suvarnagiri.” He said.
“What are we doing here?” General Sunga asked.
“We are laying siege,” Asoka said, confused. What was the General getting at?
“Since how many days?”
“Almost a month now,” Asoka said. He looked at Shiva. He was confused too.
“You two deserve punishments,” General Sunga said loudly. “One day, you shall lead men, so you must be taught your lessons.”
The General was still staring at the cliff. Asoka’s heart skipped a bit. The General was looking at the cliff for far too long.
“There is an oil storehouse past this cliff,” General Sunga said, “I want you two to climb it and set fire to it.”
Asoka could hear the men behind them gasp with horror. “I’ve never climbed cliffs before.” He said, as he found his words.
“And no one has ever stolen in my camp before either,” General Sunga turned. “Get going.” He said. “You don’t have much time before it gets dark.”
“Damn the General,” Shiva panted as he lifted himself with strength along the top of the cliff. Asoka was already above him and he lent a hand. “No use in calling the General names now.” He said.
“That bastard is biased towards us,” Shiva said amid breaths as he lay on the rocky ground, “because we are noblemen and he is a commoner.”
“All of that does not matter now,” Asoka said, looking at the camp from atop the cliff. It looked like small lights spread over the ground. Darkness had started to fall. They had just made it.
“I can’t even breathe.” Shiva gasped.
“We need to get going,” Asoka said. “The sooner it is over, the better.”
“The sooner it’s over?” Shiva looked at him. “We’re on a death sentence for God’s sake.”
“I’m not going to die,” Asoka said, “and you’re not going to either. We are going to complete what we’re told and then we’re going to go spit at the General’s feet.”
“It’s too easy to say,” Shiva said. “For the Gods’ sakes, I would never have stolen from the kitchens if I knew this was going to happen.”
“Oh, cut the whining now and get up.” Asoka said, turning away. He looked at the vast plateau. The hard climb was over; there was a forest now in front of them now.
“The oil storage is across this.” He said. “Near the gates.”
Shiva got to his feet. “You’re right.” He said. “Let’s move.”
They moved through a dusty pass along the forest. They climbed up and rested along a rock. They could see the oil storage from there. “It’s quite close to the gates.” Shiva said. “There will be guards.”
But Asoka wasn’t looking at the storehouse at all. He was looking at a spot some distance away from it between the storage and
them at the edge opf the forest
“What are you looking at?” Shiva asked. Asoka pointed. There were two men by the darkness of the forest.
“Guards?” Shiva wondered.
“They don’t look like guards,” Asoka said. “We need to get closer and listen to them.”
He and Shiva moved slowly along the trees, careful not to make too much noise. Soon they were in earshot.
One of the men was speaking loudly. “You should have come sooner. I was waiting here for a long time.”
“I got delayed.” The other voice said.
Asoka looked at Shiva and Shiva was looking right back at him. They knew that voice. It was their friend. It was Kanakdatta.
They ran out of the forest and grabbed the two men. Shiva grabbed the other one, and Asoka grabbed Kanaka. Kanakdatta tried to resist, but he stopped when he saw Asoka’s face.
“Asoka?” He stared in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”
“It is I who should ask you this,” Asoka said angrily. He looked at the other man whom Shiva had brought down to the ground.
“What were you doing with him?” Asoka asked, letting Kanaka go. Kanaka stood with his arms folded and leaned against a tree. “Why don’t you ask him?” He said slyly.
Shiva hit the other man on the head. “What were you doing here” He asked.
“I was just taking money.” The man said.
“What money?” Asoka asked.
“Money for the fine quality arrows he sold me?” Kanaka said.
“What in God’s name, Kanaka?” Asoka gasped, “I never took you for a traitor.”
“Okay, stop right there,” Kanaka said. “I am no traitor. This man here is the traitor instead from his side.”
“What are you saying, Kanakdatta?” The man gasped, but Shiva put a hand over his mouth. “Don’t speak until you are spoken to.” He said.
Asoka turned to Kanakdatta. “You better explain what you were doing.” He said angrily. “Or I will kill you as a traitor.”
“There will be no need for that.” Kanaka said. “Look at this sword you are holding.”
“You sold it to me,” Asoka said, clutching its hilt. “Don’t tell me you bought it from the non-Aryas of Suvarnagiri.”
The Prince of Patliputra Page 24