Thus Daksha had at least one of his dreams fulfilled: Being Emperor of India. Content, Daksha had returned to Devagiri in triumph. The ever pragmatic Dilipa was delighted that despite losing the war with the Suryavanshis, for all practical purposes, he retained his empire and his independence.

‘We leave for Kashi in a week?’ asked Veerbhadra.

‘Hmmm.’

‘Good. I’m getting bored here.’

Shiva smiled handing the chillum back to Veerbhadra. ‘This Bhagirath seems like a very interesting fellow.’

‘Yes, he does.’ Veerbhadra took a puff.

‘What have you heard about him?’

‘You know,’ said Veerbhadra, ‘Bhagirath was the one who had thought of taking that contingent of hundred thousand soldiers around our position at Dharmakhet.’

‘The attack from the rear? That was brilliant. May have worked too, but for the valour of Drapaku.’

‘It would certainly have worked if Bhagirath’s orders had been followed to the T.’

‘Really?’ asked Shiva, smoking.

‘I have heard Bhagirath wanted to take his army in the quiet of the night through a longer route that was further away from the main battleground. If he had done that, we would not have discovered the troop movement. Our delayed response would have ensured that we would have lost the war.’

‘So what went wrong?’

‘Apparently, the War Council didn’t want to meet at night, when Bhagirath called them.’

‘Why in the name of the holy lake wouldn’t they meet urgently?’

‘They were sleeping!’

‘You’re joking!’

‘No, I’m not,’ said Veerbhadra, shaking his head. ‘And what is worse, when they did meet in the morning, they ordered Bhagirath to stick close to the valley between Dharmakhet and our position, helping us discover their movement.’

‘Why the hell did the War Council make such a stupid decision?’ asked a flabbergasted Shiva.

‘Apparently, Bhagirath is not trusted by his father. And therefore, not by most Swadweepan kings or generals either. They believed he would have taken the soldiers, escaped to Ayodhya and declared himself Emperor.’

‘That’s ridiculous. Why does Dilipa not trust his own son?’

‘Because he believes Bhagirath thinks he is a fool and a terrible emperor.’

‘I’m sure Bhagirath doesn’t actually think that!’

‘Well, from what I’ve heard,’ smiled Veerbhadra as he junked out the ash from the chillum, ‘Bhagirath actually does think so of his father. And he’s not far from wrong, is he?’

Shiva smiled.

‘And then, to make matters worse,’ continued Veerbhadra, ‘the entire fiasco was blamed on Bhagirath. It was said that because he took a hundred thousand soldiers away, they lost the war.’

Shiva shook his head, saddened to see an intelligent man being rubbished by the idiots surrounding him. ‘I think he is a capable person, whose wings have been clipped.’

The tranquil moment was suddenly shattered by a loud scream. Shiva and Veerbhadra looked up to see a rider galloping away, while his companion, lagging far behind, was screeching loudly: ‘Help! Somebody help, Prince Bhagirath!’

Bhagirath had lost control of his speeding horse and was hurtling towards the cliff. A near certain death. Shiva jumped onto his horse and charged towards him with Veerbhadra in tow. It was a long distance, but the gentle slope helped Shiva and Veerbhadra make up the expanse quickly. Shiva rode in an arc to intercept Bhagirath’s horse. A few minutes later, Shiva was galloping along Bhagirath’s path. He was impressed that Bhagirath seemed calm and focussed, despite facing a life threatening situation.

Bhagirath was pulling hard on his reins, trying to slow his horse down. But his action agitated the horse even further. It picked up more speed.

‘Let the reins go!’ shouted Shiva, over the loud rumble of the threateningly close Sarayu river.

‘What?!’ screamed Bhagirath. All his training told him letting the reins go was the stupidest thing to do when a horse was out of control.

‘Trust me! Let it go!’

Bhagirath would later explain it to himself as fate guiding him towards the Neelkanth. At this moment, his instinct told him to forget his training and trust this barbarian from Tibet. Bhagirath let go. Much to his surprise, the horse immediately slackened.

Shiva rode in close. So close that he could almost whisper into the animal’s ear. Then he began to sing a strange tune. The horse gradually started calming down, reducing its speed to a canter. The cliff was coming close. Very close.

‘Shiva!’ warned Veerbhadra. ‘The cliff is a few hundred metres away!’

Shiva noted the warning, matching the pace of his horse with Bhagirath’s. The prince kept his control, staying on the horse, while Shiva kept singing. Slowly but surely, Shiva was gaining control. It was just a few metres before the cliff that Bhagirath’s horse finally came to a halt.

Bhagirath and Shiva immediately dismounted as Veerbhadra rode in.

‘Damn!’ said Veerbhadra, peering towards the cliff. ‘That was too close!’

Shiva looked at Veerbhadra, before turning towards Bhagirath. ‘Are you all right?’

Bhagirath kept staring at Shiva, before lowering his eyes in shame. ‘I’m sorry for putting you through so much trouble.’

‘No trouble at all.’

Bhagirath turned to his horse, hitting its face hard for embarrassing him.

‘It’s not the horse’s fault!’ shouted Shiva.

Bhagirath turned back to Shiva, frowning. Shiva walked towards Bhagirath’s horse, gently cradling its face, almost like it was a child being punished unfairly. Then he carefully pulled its reins out, signalled to Bhagirath to come closer and showed him the nail buried in the leather close to the horse’s mouth.

Bhagirath was shocked. The inference was obvious.

Shiva pulled the nail out, handing it to Bhagirath. ‘Somebody doesn’t like you, my friend.’

Meanwhile, Bhagirath’s companion had caught up with them. ‘My Prince! Are you all right?’

Bhagirath looked towards his companion. ‘Yes I am.’

Shiva turned towards the man. ‘Tell Emperor Dilipa his son is an exceptional rider. Tell him that the Neelkanth has yet to see a man with greater control over an animal, even when the odds were stacked so desperately against him. Tell him the Neelkanth requests the honour of Prince Bhagirath accompanying him to Kashi.’

Shiva knew that for Dilipa, this would not be a request but an order. This was probably the only way of keeping Bhagirath safe from the unknown threat to his life. The companion immediately went down on his knee. ‘As you command, My Lord.’

Bhagirath stood dumbfounded. He had come across people who plotted against him, people who took credit for his ideas, people who sabotaged him. But this... This was unique. He turned to his companion. ‘Leave us.’

The man immediately rode away.

‘I have experienced such kindness from only one person up until now,’ said Bhagirath, his eyes moist. ‘And that is my sister, Anandmayi. But blood justifies her actions. I don’t know how to react to your generosity, My Lord.’

‘By not calling me Lord,’ smiled Shiva.