‘It has to be the Nagas, My Lord,’ said Bhagirath. ‘They cannot be trusted!’

‘Sure!’ said Shiva, sarcastically. ‘The Nagas sprung this trap to kill their own Queen. And then Ganesh led a counterattack on his own people and blew them up with daivi astras. If he had daivi astras and wanted us dead, why didn’t he just use the weapons on us?’

Pin-drop silence.

‘I think the astras were meant to destroy Panchavati. They planned to slaughter us easily from their ships and then sail up to the Naga capital and destroy it as well. What they didn’t bet on was the Naga wariness and extensive security measures, including the devil boats. That saved us.’

What the Neelkanth was saying made sense. Ganesh thanked Bhoomidevi silently that the Naga Rajya Sabha had agreed to his proposal of arming the banks of the Godavari outpost with devil boats for any such eventuality.

‘Someone wants us all dead,’ said Shiva. ‘Someone powerful enough to get such a large arsenal of daivi astras. Someone who knows about the existence of such a huge river in the South and has the ability to identify its sea route. Someone resourceful enough to get a fleet of ships with enough soldiers to attack us. Who is that person? That is the question.’

The sun was rising slowly over the horizon, spreading light and warmth over the tired camp. A relief party from Panchavati had just arrived with food and medical supplies. Ayurvati had finally relented and was resting in a medical tent, after having been assured that most of the injured were taken care of. The death toll had not risen further as the night had progressed. Even those with nearly fatal injuries had been saved.

Kartik and Nandi trooped into the camp after the night long search along the river and went straight up to Shiva. Kartik spoke first. ‘There are no survivors, baba.’

‘My Lord, we checked both the riverbanks,’ Nandi added. ‘Went through all the wreckage. Even rowed five kilometres downriver, in case some survivors had been washed off. But we found no one alive.’

Shiva cursed silently. He suspected who the attackers were but wasn’t certain. He called Parvateshwar and Bhagirath. ‘Both of you recognise the ships in your respective countries. I want you to study the wrecks properly. I want to know if any of those ships were Meluhan or Swadweepan.’

‘My Lord,’ cried Parvateshwar. ‘It cannot be...’

‘Parvateshwar, please do this for me,’ interrupted Shiva. ‘I want an honest answer. Where did those goddamned ships come from?’

Parvateshwar saluted the Neelkanth. ‘As you command, My Lord.’

The Meluhan General left, followed by Bhagirath.

‘You think it’s a coincidence that this attack happened just a day before you were to discover the secret?’

Shiva and Sati were sitting in a semi-secluded area along the river near the camp. It was the last hour of the first prahar. The cremation ceremonies had been completed. Though the injured were in no state to travel, the general consensus was that reaching the safety of Panchavati was imperative. The Naga city offered better protection than an indefensible forest road. The Nagas had arranged carts to carry the injured in the convoy to their capital and were scheduled to leave within the hour.

‘I can’t say,’ said Shiva.

Sati remained quiet, looking into the distance.

‘You think... that your father could be...’

Sati sighed. ‘After all that I have learned about him recently, I would not put it past him.’

Shiva reached out and held Sati.

‘But I don’t think he can order an attack of this magnitude all by himself,’ continued Sati. ‘He doesn’t have the capability. Who is the master puppeteer? And why is he doing this?’

Shiva nodded. ‘That is the mystery. But first, I need to know this big secret. I have a feeling the answers could be deeply connected with all that is going on in Meluha, Swadweep and Panchavati.’

The sun was high when the entourage, bloodied and tired, marched up the river banks of the Godavari to the Naga capital, Panchavati. The land of the five banyan trees.

These weren’t just any odd five banyans. Their legend had begun more than a thousand years ago. These were the trees under which the seventh Vishnu, Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, had rested during their exile from Ayodhya. They had set up house close to these trees. This was also the unfortunate place from where the demon king Ravan had kidnapped Sita, triggering a war with Ram. That war destroyed Ravan’s glittering and obscenely rich kingdom of Lanka.

Panchavati was situated on the north-eastern banks of the Godavari. The river flowed down from the mountains of the Western Ghats towards the Eastern Sea. To the West of Panchavati, the river took a strange ninety degree turn to the South, flowed straight down for a little less than a kilometre and then turned East once again to continue its journey to the sea. This turn of the Godavari allowed the Nagas to build grand canals, and to use this cleared part of the Dandak to meet the agricultural needs of their citizens.

To the surprise of the Suryavanshis, Panchavati was built on a raised platform, much like the cities of Meluha. Strong walls of cut stone rose high, with turrets at regular intervals to defend against invaders. The area around the walls, extending a long distance, was used by Nagas for agricultural purposes. There was also a comfortable colony of guest houses set up for regular Branga visitors. A second wall surrounded these lands. Beyond this second wall, land was again cleared far and wide, to give a clear line of sight of approaching enemies.

Panchavati had been established by Bhoomidevi. The mysterious non-Naga lady had instituted the present way of life of the Nagas. Nobody knew the antecedents of Bhoomidevi. And she had strictly forbidden any image of hers from being recorded. Hence the only memories of the founder of the present Naga civilisation were her laws and statements. The city of Panchavati was the epitome of her way of life, combining the best of the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshis. It loudly proclaimed her aspiration above the city gates. ‘Satyam. Sundaram.’ Truth. Beauty.

Shiva’s convoy was allowed entry from the outer gates and led straight to the Branga guest quarters. Each member of the convoy was assigned comfortable rooms.

‘Why don’t you relax, Shiva,’ said Kali. ‘I will bring the secret out.’

‘I want to go into Panchavati now,’ said Shiva.

‘Are you sure? Aren’t you tired?’

‘Of course I’m tired. But I need to see the secret right now.’

‘All right.’

While Shiva’s company waited outside in the guesthouse, Kali and Ganesh led Shiva and Sati into the city.

The city was nothing like they had expected. It had been laid out in a neat grid-like pattern, much like Meluhan cities. But the Nagas appeared to have taken the Suryavanshi ideal of justice and equality to its logical extreme. Every single house, including that of the Queen, was of exactly the same design and size. There were no poor or rich amongst the fifty thousand Nagas who lived there.

‘Everyone lives the same way in Panchavati?’ Sati asked Ganesh.

‘Of course not, Maa. Everyone has a right to decide what they want to do with their lives. But the state provides housing and basic necessities. And in that, there is complete equality.’

Practically all the inhabitants had lined up outside their houses to see the Neelkanth walk by. They had heard of the mysterious attack on the Neelkanth’s convoy. The people were thanking Bhoomidevi that nothing had happened to their Queen or the Lord of the People.