The Secret of the Nagas (20 page)

They walked together around the great wooden stands on which the ships rested. The size and structure of the ships was vastly superior to the standard Swadweepan vessels. They were almost the size of Meluhan crafts. But the difference was at the bottom of the hull. Below the waterline, the hull had been thinned out to a ridiculously narrow range and it went down flat for a good two or three metres.

‘What is the point of this, Parvateshwar?’ asked Shiva.

‘I don’t know, My Lord,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘It is the strangest design I have ever seen.’

‘You think it helps the ship cut through the water faster?’

‘I’m not sure. But shouldn’t this extension make the ship less stable?’

‘The coating on it should make it heavy,’ said Shiva as he touched the metal plates that had been hammered into the wood. ‘Is this that strange new metal your people have discovered recently?’

‘Yes, My Lord. It does look like iron.’

‘In that case its heaviness probably increases stability.’

‘But the heaviness would also slow down the ship.’

‘That’s true.’

‘I wonder what these strange grooves are for?’ asked Parvateshwar, running his hand over a deep furrow which ran all along the metal plates on the hull extension.

‘Or these hooks for that matter,’ said Shiva as he looked up at the many large hooks on the hull, around two metres above the furrow.

Just then Divodas, accompanied by Ayurvati, joined them. Working in the sun for double shifts was tiring out the Brangas. Divodas had requested Shiva for Ayurvati’s help. Ayurvati was only too delighted to have her team prepare some ayurvedic energy infusions for the Brangas.

‘My Lord,’ said Divodas, smiling. ‘Lady Ayurvati is a genius. Drinking her medicines is like getting a shot of pure energy. My worker’s efforts have doubled over the last few days.’

An embarrassed Ayurvati turned red. ‘No, no, it’s nothing.’

‘What is it with you Suryavanshis?’ asked Divodas. ‘Why can’t you take a compliment properly?’

Shiva and Ayurvati laughed out loud. Parvateshwar did not find it funny. ‘Lord Ram said humility is the mark of a great person. If we forget our humility, we insult Lord Ram.’

‘Parvateshwar, I don’t think Divodas was suggesting anything that would hurt Lord Ram,’ said Ayurvati. ‘We all respect the Lord. I think Divodas was only suggesting we enjoy the better aspects of our life a little more uninhibitedly. Nothing wrong with that.’

‘Well,’ said Shiva, changing the topic, ‘what I’m more interested in is this strange extension at the bottom of the ship. First of all, it must have been very difficult to design. You would have to get the weight and dimensions exactly right or else the ship would keel over. So I must compliment your engineers.’

‘I have no problems with accepting compliments, My Lord,’ smiled Divodas. ‘My engineers are brilliant!’

Shiva grinned. ‘That they are. But what is the purpose of this extension? What does it do?’

‘It opens locks, My Lord.’

‘What?’

‘It is a key. You will see how it works when we reach the gates of Branga.’

Shiva frowned.

‘Any ship without this can never enter Branga. It will be crushed.’

‘The gates on the mighty Ganga?’ asked Parvateshwar. ‘I had thought that was a myth. I can’t imagine how a gate could be built across a river of this size and flow.’

Divodas smiled. ‘You need legendary engineers to build reality out of myth. And we have no shortage of such men in Branga!’

‘So how does that gate work?’ asked Shiva.

‘It will be much better if you see it, My Lord,’ said Divodas. ‘Awesome structures like that cannot be described. They can only be seen.’

Just then, a woman holding a one-month old baby came up. It was the Branga high priestess. The same one who had stopped Bhagirath’s attack at the Branga building.

Shiva looked at the child and smiled. ‘What a lovely baby!’

‘That’s my daughter, My Lord,’ said Divodas. ‘And this is Yashini, my wife.’

Yashini bent down to touch Shiva’s feet and then placed her daughter there. Shiva immediately bent down and picked up the child. ‘What’s her name?’

‘Devayani, My Lord,’ said Yashini.

Shiva smiled. ‘She’s been named after the daughter of Shukra, the teacher?’

Yashini nodded. ‘Yes, My Lord.’

‘It’s a beautiful name. I’m sure she will teach the world great knowledge as she grows up,’ said Shiva, as he handed the baby back to Yashini.

‘Dreaming for our children’s careers is too ambitious for us Brangas, My Lord,’ said Yashini. ‘All we can hope for is that they live to see their future.’

Shiva nodded in sympathy. ‘I will not stop till I change this, Yashini.’

‘Thank you, My Lord,’ said Divodas. ‘I know you will succeed. We do not care for our own lives. But we have to save our children. We will be forever grateful to you when you succeed.’

‘But Divodas,’ interrupted Ayurvati. ‘Even the Lord is grateful to you.’

Both Shiva and Divodas turned towards Ayurvati. Surprised.

‘Why?’ asked Divodas.

‘Your medicine saved Kartik’s life,’ explained Ayurvati.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Well, many a times, within the womb, the umbilical cord gets wrapped around the baby’s neck. In some of these cases, the baby cannot survive the journey of birthing. It suffocates and dies. I’m not sure since I wasn’t there, but I think that is what may have happened with Princess Sati’s first child as well. Kartik had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. But this time, I applied your medicine on Princess Sati’s belly. It somehow permeated the womb and gave Kartik the strength to survive those few crucial moments till he slipped out. Your medicine saved his life.’

‘What medicine?’ asked Divodas.

‘The Naga medicine,’ said Ayurvati, frowning. ‘I recognised the paste as soon as I smelt it. And only you could have given it, right?’

‘But I didn’t!’

‘You didn’t?’ asked a shocked Ayurvati, turning to Shiva. ‘Then... Where did you get the medicine from, My Lord?’

Shiva was stunned. Like someone had cruelly destroyed one of his most precious memories.

‘My Lord? What is it?’ asked Ayurvati.

Shiva, looking furious, abruptly turned around. ‘Nandi! Bhadra! Come with me.’

‘My Lord, where are you going?’ asked Parvateshwar.

But Shiva was already walking away. Followed by Nandi, Veerbhadra and their platoon.

‘PANDITJI!’

Shiva was in the Kashi Vishwanath temple. As ordered, Nandi and Veerbhadra waited outside, along with their platoon.

‘PANDITJI!’

Where the hell is he?

And then Shiva realised he didn’t need to shout. All he needed to do was transmit his thoughts.
Vasudevs! Are any of you listening?

No answer. Shiva’s anger rose another notch.

I know you can hear me! Will one of you have the guts to speak?

Still no answer.

Where did you get the Naga medicine from?

Absolute silence.

Explain yourself! What relationship do you and the Nagas have? How deep does this go?

No Vasudev responded.

By the holy lake, answer me! Or I add your name to the enemies of Good!

Shiva didn’t hear a word. He turned towards the idol of Lord Rudra. For some strange reason, it didn’t appear as fearsome as he remembered. It seemed peaceful. Serene. Almost like it was trying to tell Shiva something.

Shiva turned around and screamed one last time. ‘VASUDEVS! ANSWER ME NOW OR I ASSUME THE WORST!’

Hearing no answer, Shiva stormed out of the temple.

Chapter 9

What is Your Karma?

‘What happened, Shiva?’

The little boy turned around to find his uncle standing behind him. The boy quickly wiped his eyes, for tears were a sign of weakness in Guna men. The uncle smiled. He sat down next to Shiva and put his arm around his diminutive shoulder.

They rested in silence for a while, letting the waters of the Mansarovar lake lap their feet. It was cold. But they didn’t mind.

‘What ails you, my child?’ asked the uncle.

Shiva looked up. He had always wondered how a fierce warrior like his uncle always sported such a calm, understanding smile
.

‘Mother told me that I shouldn’t feel guilty about...’

The words stopped as tears choked Shiva. He could feel his brow throbbing once again
.

‘About that poor woman?’ asked the uncle.

The boy nodded.

‘And, what do you think?’

‘I don’t know what to think anymore.’

‘Yes, you do. Listen to your heart. What do you think?’

Shiva’s little hands kept fidgeting with his tiger skin skirt. ‘Mother thinks I couldn’t have helped her. That I am too small, too young, too powerless. I would have achieved nothing. Instead of helping her, I would probably have just got myself injured.’

‘That’s probably true. But does that matter?’

The little boy looked up, his eyes narrowed, tears welling up. ‘No.’

The uncle smiled. ‘Think about it. If you had tried to help her, there is a chance that she would still have suffered. But there is also a chance, however small, that she may have escaped. But if you didn’t even try, there was no chance for her. Was there?’

Shiva nodded.

‘What else did your mother tell you?’

‘That the woman didn’t even try to fight back.’

‘Yes, that may be true.’

‘And mother says that if the woman didn’t try to fight, why would it be wrong for me to do the same?’

‘That is an important point. The sin was being committed against her. And yet she was accepting it.’

They kept quiet for some time, staring at the setting sun.

‘So, even if the woman didn’t fight back,’ said the uncle. ‘What do you think you should have done?’

‘I...’

‘Yes?’

‘I think it doesn’t matter if the woman didn’t fight to protect herself. No matter what, I should have fought for her.’

‘Why?’

Shiva looked up. ‘Do you also think I should have been pragmatic? That it wasn’t wrong to run away?’