Shiva turned his face away. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply. ‘He saved your life. He saved Kartik’s life. For that I must love him. He has done much to make me think that he is a good man.’

Sati remained silent.

‘But...’ Shiva took a deep breath. ‘But it’s not easy for me. Sati... I just can’t...’

Sati sighed. Perhaps going to Panchavati may make everything clear.

‘My Lord, what are you saying? How can I?’ asked a flabbergasted Dilipa.

He was sitting at Maharishi Bhrigu’s feet in his private chambers in his palace at Ayodhya. Prime Minister Siamantak had become a past master at keeping Bhrigu’s frequent visits to Ayodhya a secret. The Maharishi’s medicines were working their magic. Dilipa was looking healthier with every passing day.

‘Are you refusing to help, Your Highness?’ Bhrigu’s voice was menacing, eyes narrowed.

‘No, My Lord. Of course not. But this is impossible.’

‘I will show you the way.’

‘But how can I do it all by myself?’

‘You will have allies. I’ll guarantee that.’

‘But an attack such as this? What if someone finds out? My own people will turn against me.’

‘Nobody will find out.’

Dilipa looked disturbed. What have I got myself into?

‘Why? Why is this needed, Maharishi ji?’

‘For the good of India.’

Dilipa remained silent, worry lines on his face.

Bhrigu knew the self-obsessed Dilipa would not particularly care about the larger cause. So he decided to make it very personal. ‘You also need to do this, Your Highness, if you want to prevent disease from eating up your body.’

Dilipa stared at Bhrigu. The threat was clear and overt. He bowed his head. ‘Tell me how, Maharishi ji.’

Within two months of the Naga Queen’s request to Shiva, Parvateshwar had made arrangements for travelling to Panchavati.

Shiva’s entourage had grown considerably since the time he had sailed into the city where the supreme light shines. Accompanying Shiva on the voyage was his entire family, as the Mahadev refused to leave Sati and Kartik behind. Kali and Ganesh obviously had to be there. Veerbhadra and Nandi were fixtures of the Neelkanth’s retinue. And Veerbhadra had insisted on his wife Krittika accompanying him this time, not just because they missed each other, but also as he knew she would not be able to bear parting company from Kartik for so long. Ayurvati was the obvious choice for the physician on board. Shiva also wanted Bhagirath and Parshuram with him. And Parvateshwar, his General and security head, could not leave without Anandmayi.

Parvateshwar had arranged for two brigades to travel with them. So two thousand soldiers, both Chandravanshi and Suryavanshi, travelled in a fleet of nine ships along with the royal vessel carrying the Neelkanth and his close aides. Vishwadyumna, the loyal Branga follower of Ganesh, and his platoon, were also commissioned into the Chandravanshi Brigade.

They sailed slowly so they could keep all the ships together. Two months had passed since they had left Kashi when they neared Vaishali.

Remembering his conversation with Gopal, the Chief of the Vasudevs, Shiva turned towards Veerbhadra, Nandi and Parshuram. All of them, except Nandi, were smoking pot on the deck, contemplating the river.

‘Apparently Lord Manu had said that Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin,’ said Shiva, breaking the silence of the moment, taking the chillum from Parshuram.

Parshuram frowned. ‘I have heard this too. But I could never make sense of it.’

Shiva took a deep drag of the marijuana, exhaled and passed the chillum to Veerbhadra. ‘What do you make of it, Bhadra?’

‘Frankly, a lot of what your Vasudev friends say is mumbo-jumbo!’

Shiva burst out laughing. So did his friends.

‘I wouldn’t quite say that, brave Veerbhadra.’

A surprised Shiva turned around to find Ganesh behind them. Shiva fell silent, all traces of humour dropping from him. Parshuram immediately bowed his head to Ganesh, but did not say anything out of fear of angering the Neelkanth.

Veerbhadra, who was growing increasingly fond of the Lord of the People and believed him to be a man of integrity, asked, ‘So what would you make of it, Ganesh?’

‘I would think it’s a clue,’ said Ganesh, smiling at Veerbhadra.

‘Clue?’ asked Shiva, intrigued.

‘Maybe for the Neelkanth to understand what he should be searching for?’

‘Carry on.’

‘Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin. So the Neelkanth has to find one side of a coin, right?’

Shiva frowned.

‘Is it possible to find one side of a coin?’ asked Ganesh.

Shiva slapped his forehead. ‘Of course, search for the whole coin instead!’

Ganesh nodded, smiling.

Shiva stared at Ganesh. A germ of an idea was forming in the Neelkanth’s mind.

Search for Good. And you shall find Evil as well. The greater the Good, the greater the Evil.

Veerbhadra held out the chillum to Ganesh. ‘Would you like to try some?’

Ganesh had never smoked in his life. He looked at his father and couldn’t read what was written in those deep, mysterious eyes. ‘I would love to.’

He sat down and took the chillum from Veerbhadra.

‘Place it in your mouth like so,’ said Veerbhadra, demonstrating by cupping his hands, ‘and breathe in deeply.’

Ganesh did as he was told, collapsing in a severe bout of coughing.

Everyone burst out laughing. Except Shiva, who continued to stare at Ganesh, straight-faced.

Veerbhadra stretched out to pat Ganesh on his back and took the chillum away from him. ‘Ganesh, you have never been touched by this evil.’

‘No. But I’m sure I’ll grow to like it,’ smiled an embarrassed Ganesh, glancing for a moment at Shiva as he reached out for the chillum again.

Veerbhadra drew it out of reach. ‘No, Ganesh. You should remain innocent.’

The fleet was at the gates of Branga. Parvateshwar, Anandmayi and Bhagirath had transferred into the lead ship to supervise operations.

‘I’ve seen it before, I know,’ said Anandmayi, staring at the gates, ‘but I still get amazed at their sheer ingenuity!’

Parvateshwar smiled and put his arm around Anandmayi. And almost immediately, much to Anandmayi’s annoyance, he turned back to the task at hand. ‘Uttanka, the second ship is not high enough. Tell the Brangas to fill more water into the pool.’

Unnoticed by Parvateshwar, Anandmayi raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly. Then she turned her husband’s face and kissed him lightly. Parvateshwar smiled.

‘All right, you lovebirds,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Keep a lid on it.’

Anandmayi laughed and slapped her brother on his wrist.

Parvateshwar smiled and turned towards the gates, to supervise the crossing.

‘This crossing will go well, General,’ said Bhagirath. ‘Relax. We know what the Brangas are doing. There are no surprises here.’

Parvateshwar turned to Bhagirath with a frown. He was surprised the Ayodhyan Prince had used the term ‘General’. He could tell his brother-in-law was trying to say something but was being cautious. ‘Out with it, Bhagirath. What are you trying to say?’