The Oath of the Vayuputras: Shiva Trilogy 3

Chapter 43

A Civil Revolt

Bhagirath and Brahaspati had come to the Lothal port, having been informed by an advance boat that Shiva’s ship would be arriving soon. They could now see Shiva’s merchant ship sailing in from the east, from the vantage position of the port walls. To the south, they could also see the naval contingent that had left under Kali’s command, steaming forward. All the ships would probably dock at Lothal at the same time.

Brahaspati took a sharp intake of breath as he saw a woman on the foredeck of Shiva’s ship.

Bhagirath couldn’t help notice the dramatic transformation in Brahaspati. He turned towards Shiva’s ship. They were still quite far, but he could make out the countenance of Shiva and Gopal. Standing next to them was a woman, an Indian-looking woman. But the Ayodhyan prince didn’t have the foggiest clue about her identity.

‘Who is she, Brahaspatiji?’ asked Bhagirath.

Brahaspati was crying. ‘Oh Lord Brahma! Oh Lord Brahma!’

‘Who is she?’

Brahaspati seemed to be delirious now. Delirious but happy! He turned around, rushing down the steps towards the docks. He was rambling in pure delight. ‘They let her go! Shiva freed her! Lord Ram be praised, he freed her!’



‘Isn’t that Shiva’s ship?’ said Kali, pointing ahead.

Kali, Ganesh and Kartik had rushed back to Lothal and were surprised to discover that there was no siege on the city at all. They saw the merchant ship just ahead, pulling into the circular port. Fifteen minutes later Kali’s ship docked at a berth as well. Shiva’s ship was anchored just ahead of theirs. As soon as they got off the gangway plank, they rushed towards Shiva. They could see that Bhagirath and Brahaspati had come to receive the Neelkanth and Gopal. A stunned Brahaspati had just embraced a woman. Both of them were crying profusely.

‘Shiva!’ shouted Kali from a distance, sprinting towards him.

Shiva turned and smiled at Kali. ‘I saw the Naga ships behind us. Where had you gone?’

‘We were led on a wild goose chase,’ said Kali. ‘We were led to believe that Panchavati was under attack.’

‘The Meluhan ships were a decoy?’ asked Bhagirath.

‘Yes, Prince Bhagirath,’ said Kartik. ‘The ships had only five thousand men. They had no intention of attacking Panchavati.’

‘That is good news,’ said Bhagirath.

‘Where’s Sati?’ asked Shiva, looking around.

‘There’s some good news regarding her as well,’ said Bhagirath.

‘Good news?’ asked Ganesh.

‘Yes, we may have found a solution to end the war,’ said Bhagirath.

‘We’ve come back with a solution as well,’ said Gopal, pointing to the large trunk that was being lowered carefully onto the docks from their ship.

Shiva looked again at an obviously delighted Brahaspati who was refusing to let go of Tara. She was crying inconsolably, her head gently nestled against Brahaspati’s chest. They appeared like teenagers in the first heady flush of love.

‘Looks like there is good news all around,’ said Shiva, smiling.



‘How in the Holy Lake’s name can this be good news?’

Bhagirath maintained a nervous silence, fearful of Shiva’s wrath.

‘But, My Lord,’ said Chandraketu, ‘Lady Sati believed this was our best chance at peace. And it looks like Emperor Daksha himself wants it. If he signs a peace treaty, then the war is over. And we do not want to destroy Meluha, do we? All we want is the end of the Somras.’

‘I don’t trust that goat of a man,’ said Kali. ‘If he hurts my sister, I will burn his entire city to a cinder, with him in it.’

‘He won’t hurt her, Kali,’ said Shiva, shaking his head. ‘But I’m afraid that he may make her a prisoner and use that to negotiate with us.’

‘But, My Lord,’ said Chenardhwaj, ‘that is impossible. The rules governing a peace conference are very clear. Both parties are free to return, unharmed, if a solution or compromise is not found.’

‘What’s to stop my grandfather from not following the laws?’ asked Ganesh. ‘It will not be the first time he’s broken a law.’

‘My Lord,’ said a Vasudev pandit entering the chamber and addressing Gopal. ‘I have urgent news.’

‘I think we can talk later, Panditji,’ said Gopal.

‘No, My Lord,’ insisted the pandit in charge of the Lothal temple. ‘We must speak now.’

Gopal was surprised but he knew his Vasudev pandits did not panic unnecessarily. It had to be something important. He rose and walked up to the pandit.

‘Lord Ganesh,’ said Chenardhwaj, resuming his conversation with Ganesh. ‘The peace conference rules were laid down by Lord Ram himself. They are amongst the fundamental rules that can never be amended. They have to be rigorously followed, on pain of a punishment worse than death. Even a man like Emperor Daksha will never break these rules.’

‘I pray to the Parmatma that you are right, Chenardhwaj,’ snarled Kali.

‘I have no doubt, Your Highness,’ said Chenardhwaj. ‘The worst that can happen is that no deal will be struck. Then Lady Sati will return to us.’

‘Lord Ram, be merciful,’ exclaimed Gopal loudly.

Everyone turned sharply to look at the Chief Vasudev. Gopal was still standing close to the door, along with the Lothal Vasudev pandit.

‘What happened, Panditji?’ asked Shiva.

An ashen-faced Gopal turned to Shiva. ‘Great Neelkanth, the news is disturbing.’

‘What is it?’

‘Parvateshwar’s army finally mobilised and marched out of Karachapa three days back.’

A loud murmur erupted in the chamber. They would have to prepare for battle...

‘Silence,’ snapped Shiva, before turning to Gopal. ‘And?’

‘Surprisingly, they turned back within a few hours,’ said Gopal.

‘Turned back? Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Gopal. ‘My Vasudev pandit tells me the army has been sent back to the barracks. But Lord Parvateshwar and Lord Bhrigu have pressed on. They set sail up the Indus in a lone fast-ship, with just their personal bodyguards.’

‘Where are they going?’ asked an alarmed Shiva.

‘I have been told that they’re rushing towards Devagiri.’

Shiva felt a chill run up his spine.

‘And a flurry of birds have been flying out of Karachapa,’ said Gopal. ‘All of them towards Devagiri. My pandit at Karachapa doesn’t know the contents of those messages. But he says he has never seen so much communication between Karachapa and Devagiri.’

There was deathly silence in the chamber. All those present were aware of Parvateshwar’s spotless reputation for honourable conduct. If he was rushing to Devagiri without a large army that would slow him down, it only meant that something terrible was going on in the Meluhan capital. And he was rushing to stop it.

Shiva was the first to recover. ‘Get the army mobilised immediately. We’re marching out.’

‘Yes, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath, rising quickly.

‘And, Bhagirath, I want to leave within hours, not days,’ said Shiva.

‘Yes, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath, hurrying out.

Chandraketu, Chenardhwaj, Maatali, Ganesh and Kartik hastily followed the Ayodhyan prince.



‘Maa will be all right, baba,’ said Kartik, allowing hope to triumph over confidence.

Shiva and his entourage had stopped for a quick meal, just a few hours outside of Lothal. The Neelkanth had marched out immediately with Kartik, Ganesh, Kali, Gopal, Veerbhadra, Parshuram, Ayurvati and an entire brigade. Their main army, led by Bhagirath, would move out the next morning. Shiva’s entire being was wracked with worry. He couldn’t wait till the entire army was mobilised. He had taken the Pashupatiastra with him, as insurance.

‘Kartik is right, great Neelkanth,’ said Gopal. ‘It’s possible that Emperor Daksha may break the rules of a peace conference, but he will not hurt Princess Sati. He may try to imprison her to improve his negotiating position. But we have the Pashupatiastra. That changes everything.’

Shiva nodded silently.

Kali listened intently to Gopal. But the words did not give her any solace. She did not trust her father. She was deeply troubled about the safety of her sister. She was consumed with guilt about the petulant way in which she had parted with Sati. The two extra arms on her shoulders were in a constant quiver.

Shiva held Kali’s hand and smiled faintly. ‘Relax, Kali. Nothing will happen to her. The Parmatma will not allow such an injustice.’

Kali was too pained to respond.

‘Finish your food,’ said Shiva. ‘We have to leave in the next few minutes.’

As Kali began gulping down her food, Shiva turned towards Ganesh. The Neelkanth’s elder son was staring into the forest, his eyes moist. Ganesh had not touched the food in front of him. Shiva could see he was praying under his breath, his hands clasped tightly, repeating a chant in rapid succession.

‘Ganesh,’ said Shiva. ‘Eat.’

Ganesh was pulled back from his trance. ‘I’m not hungry, baba.’

‘Ganesh!’ said Shiva firmly. ‘We may have to engage in battle the moment we reach Devagiri. I will require all of you to be strong. And for that you need to eat. So if you love your mother and want to protect her, keep yourself strong. Eat.’

Ganesh nodded and looked at his banana-leaf plate. He had to eat.

Shiva turned towards Veerbhadra, who had already finished and was wiping his hands on a piece of cloth that Krittika had handed to him.

‘Bhadra, order the heralds to make an announcement,’ said Shiva. ‘We’ll leave in ten minutes.’

‘Yes, Shiva,’ said Veerbhadra and rose up immediately.

Shiva pushed his empty banana-leaf plate aside and walked away. He reached the wooden drum where the water was stored, scooped some water out with his hands and gargled.

A chill ran up his spine again. He looked up at the sky, towards the north, about to make a prayer to the Holy Lake. Then he shook his head. It wasn’t required.

‘He’ll not hurt her. He cannot hurt her. If there’s one person in this world that that fool loves, it is my Sati. He’ll not hurt her.’



‘You are behaving like traitors!’ shouted Vraka.

Brigadier Vraka had been ordered by Parvateshwar to mobilise the army quickly and leave for Devagiri. Parvateshwar hadn’t told them anything about why they were required in the Meluhan capital and the general himself had rushed out earlier with Maharishi Bhrigu. It had taken Vraka two days to get his soldiers boarded onto ships and begin their journey up the Indus. However, they had been waylaid at Mohan Jo Daro by a non-violent protest.

The governor of the city remained loyal to the emperor, but his people worshipped the Neelkanth. When they heard that their army was sailing up the Indus to battle with the Neelkanth, they decided to rebel. Almost the entire population of Mohan Jo Daro had marched out of the city, boarded their boats and anchored all across the river. The line of boats extended across the massive breadth of the Indus and covered nearly a kilometre in length. It was impossible for Vraka to ram his ships through such an effective blockade.

‘We will be traitors to Emperor Daksha,’ said the leader of the protestors, ‘but we will not be traitors to the Neelkanth!’

Vraka drew his sword. ‘I will kill you all if you don’t move,’ he warned.

‘Go ahead. Kill us all. We will not raise our hands. We will not fight against our own army. But I swear by the great Lord Ram, we will not move!’

Vraka snorted in anger. By not fighting with him, the citizens were not giving him a legal reason to attack them. He had been stymied.



Slowly regaining consciousness, Vidyunmali saw that he was lying on a cart that was ambling along on the riverside road. He raised his head. The fresh stitches on his stomach hurt.

‘Lie back down, My Lord,’ said the soldier. ‘You need to rest.’

‘Is that traitor dead?’ asked Vidyunmali.

‘Yes,’ said the soldier.

Vidyunmali and his platoon had raced down the riverside road leading from Devagiri to Lothal. They had managed to waylay Kanakhala’s servant, who was rushing to Lothal to warn Shiva of the planned perfidy at Devagiri. The servant had been killed, but not before he had managed to stab Vidyunmali viciously in his stomach.

‘How far are we from Devagiri?’ asked Vidyunmali.

‘At the pace we’re going, another five days, My Lord.’

‘That’s too long...’

‘You cannot ride a horse, My Lord. The stitches may burst open. You have to travel by bullock cart.’

Vidyunmali cursed under his breath.