Sati stared at her father in shock. Veerini was holding her head.

‘So my beloved child,’ said a sarcastic Daksha. ‘I have followed my raj dharma. There is enough Somras for all of Meluha for centuries to come. Now give the drink of the gods to Kartik every day till he turns eighteen. He will go down in history as the greatest man ever.’

Sati didn’t say anything. She still appeared shocked by the news of the secret Somras manufacturing facility. There were hundreds of questions running through her head.

‘Did you hear me?’ asked Daksha. ‘You will give the Somras to Kartik every day. Every day!’

Sati nodded.

Shiva was standing on the dried river bed where the Brangas had made their temporary workshop. Five ships were being constructed. Shiva, who had seen some massive ships being built at Karachapa, the Meluhan sea port, was amazed at the radically different design of the Branga ships. So was Parvateshwar.

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?’