‘She worked at his gurukul. That in itself was against the norm in her clan.’

‘How is working in a school a rebellion?’

‘Because in her clan it was prohibited for women to go out and work.’

‘They couldn’t work? Why? I know that some clans have rules that do not allow women on the battlefield. Even the Gunas had that rule. But why against work in general?’

‘Because my mother’s clan was amongst the stupidest on the planet,’ said Parshuram. ‘My mother’s people believed a woman should remain at home. That she shouldn’t meet “strange” men.’

‘What rubbish!’ said Shiva.

‘Absolutely. In any case, like I said, my mother was wilful. And, also her father’s darling. So she convinced him to allow her to work at my father’s gurukul.’

Shiva smiled.

‘Of course, my mother had her own agenda,’ said Parshuram, ‘She was desperately in love. She needed time to convince my father to give up his vows and marry her.’

‘Give up vows?’

‘My father was a Vasudev Brahmin. And a Vasudev Brahmin cannot marry. Other castes within the Vasudevs can, but not Brahmins.’

‘There are non-Brahmins amongst the Vasudevs?’

‘Of course. But Brahmins steer the community. To ensure that they remain true to the cause of the Vasudevs, they have to give up all earthly attachments like wealth, love and family. Therefore, one of their vows is that of lifelong celibacy.’

Shiva frowned. What is this obsession among the Indians about giving up earthly attachments? How, in the Holy Lake’s name, can that guarantee that you will evolve into a better human being?

‘So,’ continued Parshuram, his eyes crinkling, ‘my mother finally convinced my father to break the rules. He was in love with her, but she gave him the courage to give up his Vasudev vows so he could spend his life with her. Even more, she also convinced her own father to bless their relationship. Like I said, when she wanted something, she made it happen. My parents got married and had five sons. I was the youngest.’

Shiva looked at Parshuram. ‘You are really proud of your mother, aren’t you?’

‘Oh yes. She was quite a woman!’

‘Then why did you...’

Shiva stopped talking. I shouldn’t have said that.

Parshuram became serious. ‘Why did I... behead her?’

‘You don’t have to speak about it. I cannot even imagine the pain.’

Parshuram took a deep breath, sliding down to sit on the deck. Shiva sat on his haunches, touching Parshuram on his shoulder. Veerbhadra stood, staring directly into Parshuram’s pain-ridden eyes.

‘You don’t need to say anything, Parshuram,’ said Shiva.

Parshuram closed his eyes, right hand over his heart. He chanted repeatedly, bowing to Lord Rudra in his prayer. ‘Om Rudraiy namah. Om Rudraiy namah.’

Shiva watched the Brahmin warrior quietly.

‘I have never spoken about it with anyone, My Lord,’ said Parshuram. ‘It was the trigger that set my life on the path it has taken.’

Shiva reached out and touched Parshuram’s shoulder again.

‘But I must tell you. If there is one person who can heal me, it is you. I had just completed my studies. And like my father, I too wanted to be a Vasudev. He didn’t want me to. He didn’t want any of his sons to become Vasudevs. He had been expelled from their tribe when he had chosen to marry my mother. He didn’t want any of us to suffer his fate in the future.’

Veerbhadra sat down as well, all ears for Parshuram’s story.

‘But I had my mother’s doggedness in me. Unlike my brothers, I was determined. I thought I would enter the tribe of Vasudevs as a Kshatriya, as this way, I wouldn’t be bound by their detachment vows. I trained as a warrior. My father sent a letter to Ujjain, the Vasudev capital, to a few elders who still sympathised with him and requested them to consider my application. When the day finally arrived, I departed to the closest Vasudev temple for my examination.’

What did this have to do with his mother?

‘What I didn’t know when I left was that my grandfather had died. He was the only one holding back my mother’s barbarian horde of a family. The moment his influence was gone, they decided to do what they had always wanted to do. Honour kill.’

‘Honour kill?’

Parshuram looked at Shiva. ‘When the people in the clan believe a woman in their community has insulted the honour of her family, the clan has the right to kill that woman and everyone else with her to avenge their loss of face.’

Shiva just stared, stunned.

What honour can there be in this barbarism?

‘The men of my mother’s family, her own brothers and uncles, attacked my father’s gurukul.’

Parshuram stopped talking. A long-held back tear escaped from his eyes.

‘They...’ Parshuram held his breath and then found the strength to continue. ‘They killed my brothers, all my father’s students. They tied my mother to a tree and forced her to watch as they tortured my father for an entire day, doing unspeakable horrors. Then, they beheaded him.’

Veerbhadra squirmed, unable to comprehend such insanity, such evil.

‘But they didn’t kill my mother. They told her that they wanted her to live, to relive that day again and again. That she had to serve as an example to the other women so that they would never dare bring dishonour to their families. I returned to find my father’s gurukul destroyed. My mother was sitting outside our house, holding my father’s severed head in her lap. She looked like her soul had been burnt alive. Her eyes wide, blank. A shadow of the woman she had been, broken and brutalised.’

Parshuram stopped talking and turned to look at the river. This was the first time he was talking about his mother since that terrible day. ‘She looked at me as though I was a stranger. And then she said words that would haunt me forever. She said: “Your father died because of me. It is my sin. I want to die like him.”’

Shiva’s mouth fell open in shock, his heart going out to the unfortunate Brahmin.

‘At first I didn’t understand. And then she commanded: “Behead me!” I didn’t know what to do. I hesitated. Then she said once again: “I am your mother. I am ordering you. Behead me.”’

Shiva pressed Parshuram’s shoulder.

‘I had no choice. My mother was catatonic. Without my father’s love, she was nothing but an empty shell. As I picked up my axe to carry out her order, she looked straight into my eyes: “Avenge your father. He was the finest man that God ever created. Avenge him. Kill every single one of them! Every single one!”’

Parshuram fell silent. Shiva and Veerbhadra were too stunned to react. The only sounds were those of the somnolent waves of the Madhumati breaking gently against the ship.

‘I did as she said. I beheaded her,’ said Parshuram, taking a deep breath and wiping his tears. Then his eyes lit in remembered anger as he spoke through gritted teeth. ‘And then I hunted down every single one of those bastards. I beheaded every single one of them. Every single one. The Vasudevs expelled me. I had killed people without the permission of their tribe, they said. Without a fair trial, they said. I had committed a wrong, they said. Did I, My Lord?’