The Secret of the Nagas

by Amish Tripathi

  Their platoon had moved deeper into the forests south of Magadh after the skirmish with Prince Ugrasen and his platoon. The Naga had been injured seriously and was not in a position to travel far. They had travelled as fast as they could without risking the Naga’s life, as the angry Magadhans scoured the land for the killers of their prince.

  Vishwadyumna hoped the sounds he was hearing did not come from the Magadhans. His Lord was in no state to fight. Or flee.

  ‘Put your sword down, you imbecile,’ whispered a strong feminine voice. ‘If I’d really wanted to kill you, I would have done it even before you drew your weapon.’

  Vishwadyumna did not recognise the hoarse whisper. Perhaps, the tiredness of long travel or the cold of winter had roughened the voice. But he certainly recognised the tone. He immediately put his sword down and bowed his head.

  The Queen of the Nagas emerged from the trees, leading her horse quietly. Behind her was her trusted Prime Minister, Karkotak, and fifty of her elite bodyguards.

  ‘I asked you to do just one simple thing,’ hissed the Queen. ‘Can’t you ensure the protection of your Lord? Is that so difficult to do?’

  ‘My Lady,’ whispered a nervous Vishwadyumna, ‘the situation suddenly got out of...’

  ‘Shut up!’ glared the Queen, throwing the reins of her horse to one soldier, as she walked quickly towards the cloth tent at the centre of the clearing.

  She entered the cramped tent and took off her mask. On a bed of hay lay her nephew, the Lord of the People. He was covered in bandages, his body limp and weak.

  The Queen looked at her nephew with concerned eyes, her tone kind. ‘Are we now in alliance with the tribals also?’

  The Naga opened his eyes and smiled. He whispered weakly, ‘No, Your Highness.’

  ‘Then in the name of the Parmatma, why are you risking your own life to save one of the forest people? Why are you causing me so much grief? Don’t I have enough on my plate already?’

  ‘Forgive me, Mausi, but haven’t I already taken care of your biggest source of tension?’

  ‘Yes, you have. And that is the only reason why I have come all this way for you. You have earned the devotion of all the Nagas. But your karma is still not complete. There are many things you need to do. And stopping some royal brat from what you believe is wrong does not figure high on that list. This country is full of repulsive royals who abuse their people. Are we going to fight every single one?’

  ‘It is not that simple, Mausi.’

  ‘Yes, it is. The Magadh prince was doing something wrong. But it is not your duty to stop every person who does something wrong. You are not Lord Rudra.’

  ‘He was trying to kidnap a boy for a bull race.’

  The Queen sighed. ‘It happens all over. It happens to thousands of children. This bull fighting is an addictive disease. How many will you stop?’

  ‘But he didn’t just stop there,’ whispered the Naga. ‘He was about to kill the boy’s mother, because she was trying to protect her child.’

  The Queen stiffened. Quick anger rose within her.

  ‘There aren’t too many mothers like this,’ whispered the Naga with rare emotion. ‘They deserve protection.’

  ‘Enough! How many times have I told you to forget this?’

  The Queen rapidly put her mask back on her face and stormed out. Her men kept their heads bowed, terrified of her fearsome rage. ‘Karkotak!’

  ‘Yes, my lady.’

  ‘We leave within the hour. We’re going home. Make preparations.’

  The Lord of the People was in no position to travel. Karkotak knew that. ‘But, Your Highness...’

  His words were cut short by a petrifying glare from the Queen.

  It was just a little over three weeks when Shiva’s convoy was closing in on Kashi, the city where the supreme light shines. The city had been settled along a voluptuous bend of the holy Ganga river as it took a leisurely northwards meander before flowing East again. If looked at from the sky, this meander gave the impression of a crescent moon, incidentally the royal insignia of the Chandravanshis. Therefore, in the eyes of the Swadweepans, Kashi was the most natural Chandravanshi city.

  Kashi also had its own superstition. The city had been built only along the western banks of the river meander, leaving its eastern banks bare. It was believed that whoever built a house on the eastern side at Kashi would suffer a terrible fate. The royal family of Kashi had therefore bought all the land to the East, ensuring that nobody, even by mistake, would suffer the wrath of the gods.

  As Shiva’s ship was moving towards the legendary Assi Ghat or Port of Eighty, one of the main docking points of this thriving city, the crowd on the steps started beating their drums for the ceremonial welcome aarti.

  ‘It’s a beautiful city,’ whispered Sati, running her hand over her protruding belly.

  Shiva looked at her and smiled, taking her hand, kissing it gently and holding it close to his chest. ‘For some reason, it feels like home. This is where our child should be born.’

  Sati smiled back. ‘Yes. This shall be the place.’

  Even from afar, Bhagirath could make out the countenance of many Ayodhya nobles jostling with the Kashi aristocracy, striving to raise their welcome lamps while berating their aides to hold their family pennants higher. They wanted the Mahadev to notice and favour them. But the Neelkanth noticed something more unusual.

  ‘Bhagirath,’ said Shiva, turning to his left, ‘this city has no fortifications. Why in the name of the Holy Lake do they have no protection?’

  ‘Oh! That’s a long story, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath.

  ‘I have all the time in the world. Tell me the entire tale, for this is one of the strangest sights I have seen in India.’

  ‘Well, My Lord, the story starts at Assi Ghat, where we are about to dock.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘This dock did not get its peculiar name because it has eighty steps. Neither did it get its name from the small Assi rivulet that flows close by. It got its name due to an execution that took place here. In fact, eighty executions in just one day.’

  ‘Lord Ram be merciful,’ said a flabbergasted Sati. ‘Who were these unfortunate people?’

  ‘They were not unfortunate, My Lady,’ said Bhagirath. ‘They were the worst criminals in history. Eighty members of the Asura royalty were put to death by Lord Rudra for war crimes. Many believe that it was not the exhausting battles between the Devas and Asuras that put an end to the evil Asura menace, but this sublime act of justice that Lord Rudra performed. Without their key leaders, the Asura insurrection against the Devas fizzled out.’

  ‘And then?’ asked Shiva, remembering what the Vasudev Pandit at Ayodhya had told him.

  Who said the Asuras were evil?

  ‘And then, something strange happened. Soon thereafter, Lord Rudra, the greatest and most fearsome warrior in history, abandoned all violence. He banned the use of Daivi Astras that had caused enormous casualties in the Deva-Asura war. Anyone who disobeyed this order would feel the wrath of Lord Rudra who said he would even break his vow of non-violence and destroy seven generations of the man who used any divine weapons.’

  ‘I know of Lord Rudra’s order on the Daivi Astras,’ said Sati, as the Meluhans were also aware of the Mahadev’s ban on divine weapons. ‘But I didn’t know the story behind it. What made him give this order?’

  ‘I don’t know, My Lady,’ said Bhagirath.

  I know, mused Shiva. This must have been the moment when Lord Rudra realised the Asuras were not evil, just different. He must have been racked by guilt.

  ‘But the story did not end there. Lord Rudra also said Assi Ghat and Kashi had become holy. He didn’t explain why, but the people of that time assumed that it must be because this was the place that ended the war. Lord Rudra said there would be no further killing at Assi Ghat. Ever. That the place should be respected. That the spirits at Assi Ghat and Kashi would forgive the sins of even the most sinful and guide them to salvation if their
dead body was cremated there.’

  ‘Interesting,’ said Sati.

  ‘The Kashi kings, who were great followers of Lord Rudra, not only banned any executions or killing at Assi Ghat, they also threw it open for cremations for people from any kingdom, without prejudice of caste, creed or sex. Any person can find salvation here. Over time, the belief in Kashi being the gateway to a soul’s deliverance gained ground and vast numbers of people started coming here to spend their final days. It was impossible for the small Assi Ghat to cater to such large numbers of the dead. So cremations were stopped at Assi and the city converted another massive ghat, called Manikarnika, into a giant crematorium.’

  ‘But what does that have to do with there being no fort walls?’ asked Shiva.

  ‘The point is that if the most influential people in Swadweep came here at the time of their death, with the belief that this would be a place where their sins would be forgiven and they could attain salvation, very few would want Kashi to be destroyed or even be involved in the regular wars that raged in the confederacy. In addition, Kashi kings took Lord Rudra’s orders of nonviolence to what they believed was its logical conclusion. The royal family publicly swore that neither they, nor their descendants, would ever indulge in warfare. In fact, they foreswore any killing, except in the case of self-defence. To prove their commitment to their words, they actually tore down their fort ramparts and built an open ring road around the city. They then erected great temples all along the road, giving it an aura of spirituality.’

  ‘Kashi wasn’t attacked and conquered?’

  ‘On the contrary, My Lord,’ continued Bhagirath, ‘their intense commitment to Lord Rudra’s teachings almost made Kashi sacred. Nobody could attack this city, for it would be seen as an insult to Lord Rudra. It became a land of supreme peace and hence prosperity. Suppressed people from across the confederacy found solace here. Traders found that this was the safest place to base their business. Peace and nonalignment to any other kingdom in Swadweep has actually made Kashi an oasis of stability.’

  ‘Is that why you find so many Brangas here?’

  ‘Yes, My Lord. Where else would they be safe? Everybody is out of harm’s way in Kashi. But the Brangas have tested even the famed Kashi patience and hospitality.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Apparently, they are very difficult to get along with. Kashi is a cosmopolitan city and nobody is forced to change their way of life. But the Brangas wanted their own area because they have certain special customs. The Kashi royal family advises its citizens that the Brangas have suffered a lot in their homeland and that Kashi denizens should be compassionate. But most people find that difficult. In fact, a few years back, it was rumoured that the situation came to such a pass that the king of Kashi was about to order the eviction of the Brangas.’

  ‘And then what happened?’ asked Shiva.

  ‘Gold managed to do what good intentions couldn’t. Branga is by far the richest land today. The king of Branga had apparently sent gold equivalent to ten years of Kashi’s tax collections. And the eviction order was buried.’

  ‘Why would the Branga king spend his own money to help people who have abandoned his country?’

  ‘I don’t know, My Lord. I think we can put that down as another strange characteristic of the Brangas.’

  The ship docked softly at Assi Ghat and Shiva looked towards the multitudes gathered there to welcome him. Parvateshwar was already organising the place so that Shiva could alight. He saw Drapaku at a distance giving orders to Nandi and Veerbhadra. Bhagirath had already bounded down the gangway in search of the Kashi head of police. Sati tapped Shiva lightly. He turned to look at her and she gestured delicately with her eyes. Shiva looked in the direction she had indicated. In the distance, away from the melee, letting his nobles and the Ayodhya aristocracy hog the frontlines of the Neelkanth’s welcome, under an understated royal umbrella, stood a sombre old man. Shiva joined his hands in a polite namaste and bowed slightly to Athithigva, the king of Kashi. Athithigva in turn bowed low in respect to the Neelkanth. Sati could not be sure from the distance, but it appeared as though the king had tears in his eyes.

  Chapter 5

  A Small wrong?

  ‘Mmm,’ mumbled Shiva as Sati softly kissed him awake. He cupped her face gently. ‘Are my eyes deceiving me or are you getting more beautiful every day?’

  Sati smiled, running her hand along her belly. ‘Stop flattering me so early in the morning!’

  Shiva edged up on his elbows, kissing her again. ‘So there is a fixed schedule for compliments now?’

  Sati laughed again, slowly getting off the bed. ‘Why don’t you go wash? I have requested for breakfast to be served in our room.’

  ‘Ahh! You are finally learning my ways!’ Shiva always hated eating at the organised and civilised dining room gatherings that Sati liked.

  As Shiva walked into the comfortable washroom attached to their chamber at the Kashi palace, Sati looked out. The famous ring road, also called the Sacred Avenue, was clearly visible. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Unlike the congested city of Kashi itself, the avenue was very broad, allowing even six carts to pass simultaneously. There was a breathtaking profusion of trees around the road, with probably all the species of flora from the Indian subcontinent represented. Beyond the trees lay the plethora of temples. The boulevard extended upto a roughly semi-circular distance of more than thirty kilometres and not one of the buildings built on its sides was anything but a place of worship. The Chandravanshis liked to say that almost every Indian god has a home on Kashi’s Sacred Avenue. But of course, that belief was scarcely built on reality, considering that the Indians worshipped over thirty million gods. But one could safely state that practically all the popular gods had a temple dedicated to them on this holy pathway. And the most majestic temple of them all was dedicated, but of course, to the most admired of them all, the great Mahadev himself, Lord Rudra. It was this temple that Sati was staring at. It had been built close to the Brahma Ghat. Legend had it that the original plan for the temple, hatched by the Devas during the life of Lord Rudra himself, was to have it close to Assi Ghat, the scene of Lord Rudra’s deliverance of justice. But the great Mahadev, the scourge of the Asuras, had ordered that no memorial to him must ever be built near Assi Ghat, with one of his most unfathomable lines — ‘Not here. Anywhere else. But not here’. No one had understood why. But at the same time, no one argued with the fearsome Lord Rudra.

  ‘They call it the Vishwanath temple,’ said Shiva, startling Sati with his sudden appearance. ‘It means the Lord of the World.’

  ‘He was a great man,’ whispered Sati. ‘A true God.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Shiva, bowing to Lord Rudra. ‘Om Rudraiy namah.’

  ‘Om Rudraiy namah.’

  ‘It was good of King Athithigva to leave us alone last night. We certainly needed the rest after the string of ceremonies at Assi Ghat.’

  ‘Yes, he seems to be a good man. But I fear he will not be leaving you alone today. I could make out that he has a lot to talk to you about.’

  Shiva laughed. ‘But I do like his city. The more I see it, the more it feels like home.’

  ‘Let’s eat our breakfast,’ said Sati. ‘I think we have a long day ahead!’

  ‘Especially not you?’ asked Kanini. ‘He actually said that?’

  ‘Those very words,’ said Anandmayi. ‘He said he cannot touch any woman. Especially not me!’

  Kanini expertly massaged the rejuvenating oil into Anandmayi’s scalp. ‘That does make sense, Princess. There are only two women who can make a man break the vow of lifelong celibacy. Either the apsara Menaka or you.’

  ‘Two?’ Anandmayi had her eyebrows raised at being considered akin to the celestial nymph.

  ‘My apologies,’ chuckled Kanini. ‘What is Menaka compared to you!’

  Anandmayi laughed.

  ‘But this is a far tougher challenge than Menaka’s, Princess,’ continued Kanini. ‘Sage Vishwamitra had taken
the vow late in his life. He had already experienced the pleasures of love. Menaka just had to remind him, not create the need. The General on the other hand is a virgin!’

  ‘I know. But when something is so beautiful, achieving it cannot be easy, can it?’

  Kanini narrowed her eyes. ‘Don’t lose your heart before you have won his, Princess.’

  Anandmayi frowned. ‘Of course I haven’t!’

  Kanini stared hard at Anandmayi and smiled. The Princess was obviously in love. She hoped Parvateshwar had the good sense to realise his good fortune in time.

  ‘You have a beautiful capital, Your Highness,’ said Shiva.

  The sun had already covered a third of its daily journey. Shiva was sitting in King Athithigva’s private chambers with Sati. Drapaku, Nandi and Veerbhadra stood guard at the door supporting the baton-wielding Kashi royal guard. It was a mystery to Drapaku how only batons could be used to protect a royal family. What if there was a serious attack? Meanwhile, Parvateshwar had set off on a tour with the Kashi police chief. He wanted to ensure that the path from the palace to the Kashi Vishwanath temple was well-protected for the Neelkanth’s planned visit in the afternoon. It was expected that practically the entire city would be lining the Sacred Avenue to catch a glimpse of the Neelkanth, for only the nobility had been allowed to meet him at his arrival at Assi Ghat.

  ‘Actually, this is your city, My Lord,’ said Athithigva with a low bow.

  Shiva frowned.

  ‘Lord Rudra had spent most of his time in Kashi, calling it his adopted home,’ explained Athithigva. ‘After his departure to his birth land to the West, the Kashi royal family conducted a puja at Assi Ghat, effectively making Lord Rudra and his successors our true kings for eternity. My family, while being different from the royal family that conducted that puja, honours the promise to this day. We only function as the caretakers of the birthright of Lord Rudra’s successors.’

  Shiva was getting increasingly uncomfortable.

  ‘Now that Lord Rudra’s successor is here, it is time for him to ascend the throne of Kashi,’ continued Athithigva. ‘It will be my honour to serve you, My Lord.’