‘Hmm?’ said Shiva as he looked up. ‘I’m sorry your Highness. I was a litde distracted.’

Daksha looked with a concerned expression at Kanakhala. He had seen a similar look of despair on Sati’s face at dinner the previous night. But she had refused to say anything.

‘Do you want to meet later?’ asked Daksha.

‘Of course not, your Highness. It’s alright. My apologies. Please continue,’ said Shiva.

‘Well,’ continued a concerned Daksha, ‘we were talking about the changes that Lord Ram brought about in society’

‘Yes,’ said Shiva, shaking his head slightly to get the disturbing image of Sati’s last plea out of his mind.

‘The Maika system worked fantastically well. Our society boomed. Ours was always one of the wealthiest lands on earth. But in the last one thousand two hundred years we have shot dramatically ahead of everyone else. Meluha has become the richest and most powerful country in the world by far. Our citizens lead ideal lives. There is no crime. People do what they are suited for and not what an unfair social order would compel them to do. We don’t force or fight unprovoked wars with any other country. In fact, ours has become a perfect society.’

‘Yes, your Highness,’ agreed Shiva, slowly getting into the conversation. ‘I don’t believe that perfection can ever be achieved. It is more of a journey than a destination. But your society is certainly a near perfect society.’

‘Why do you think we are not perfect?’ argued Parvateshwar aggressively.

‘Do you think it is perfect Parvateshwar?’ asked Shiva politely. ‘Does everything in Meluha go exactly as Lord Ram would have mandated?’

Parvateshwar fell silent. He knew the obvious, even if he didn’t like the answer.

‘The Lord is right Parvateshwar,’ said Daksha. ‘There are always things to improve.’

‘Having said that, your Highness,’ spoke Shiva, ‘your society is wonderful. Things do seem very well ordered. What doesn’t make sense to me then, is why you and your people are so concerned about the future. What is the problem? Why is a Neelkanth required? I don’t see anything that is so obviously wrong that disaster would be just a breath away. This is not like my homeland where there are so many problems that you wouldn’t know where to begin!’

‘My Lord, a Neelkanth is needed because we are faced with challenges that we cannot confront. We keep to ourselves and let other countries lead their lives. We trade with other societies but we never interfere with them. We don’t allow uninvited foreigners into Meluha beyond the frontier towns. So we think it’s only fair that other societies leave us alone to lead our lives the way we want to.’

‘And presumably they don’t, your Highness?’

‘No they don’t.’

‘Why?’

‘One simple word, my Lord,’ replied Daksha. ‘Jealousy. They hate our superior ways. Our efficient family system is an eyesore to them. The fact that we take care of everyone in our country makes them unhappy because they can’t take care of themselves. They lead sorry lives. And rather than improving themselves, they want to pull us down to their level.’

‘I can understand. My tribe used to face a lot of jealousy in Mount Kailash since we had control over the shore of the Mansarovar Lake and hence the best land in the region. But sometimes I wonder if we could have avoided bloodshed if we had shared our good fortune more willingly.’

‘But we do share our good fortune with those who wish it, my Lord. And yet, jealousy blinds our enemies. The Chandravanshis realised that it was the Somras that guaranteed our superiority. Funnily enough, even they have the knowledge of the Somras. But they have not learnt to mass produce it like we do and hence haven’t reaped all the benefits of it.’

‘Sorry to interrupt, your Highness, but where is the Somras produced?’

‘It is produced at a secret location called Mount Mandar. The Somras powder is manufactured there and then distributed throughout the empire. At designated temples across Meluha, trained Brahmins mix it with water and other ingredients to administer it to the population.’

‘Alright,’ said Shiva.

The Chandravanshis could not become as powerful as us since they never had enough Somras. Eaten up by their jealousy, they devised a devious way to destroy the Somras and hence us. One of the key ingredients in the Somras is the waters of the Saraswati. Water from any other source does not work’ ‘Really? Why?’

We don’t know my Lord. The scientists can’t explain it. But only the waters of the Saraswati will do. That is why, the Chandravanshis tried to kill the Saraswati to harm us.’

‘Kill the river?’ asked Shiva incredulously.

‘Yes my Lord!’ said Daksha, as his childlike eyes flared up at the Chandravanshi perfidy. ‘The Saraswati comes from the confluence of two mighty rivers up north — the Sutlej and the Yamuna. In the olden days, the course of the Sutlej and Yamuna used to be neutral territory. Both the Chandravanshis and we visited the land to draw waters for the Somras.’

‘But how did they try to kill the Saraswati your Highness?’

‘They diverted the course of the Yamuna so that instead of flowing south, it started flowing east to meet their main river, Ganga.’

‘You can do that?’ asked Shiva in amazement. ‘Change the course of a river!’

‘Yes, of course you can,’ answered Parvateshwar.

‘We were livid,’ interjected Daksha. ‘But we still gave them a chance to make amends for their duplicity’

‘And?’

‘What can you expect from the Chandravanshis, my Lord?’ said Daksha in disgust. They denied any knowledge of this. They claimed that the river made such a dramatic change in its course all by itself, due to some minor earthquake. And even worse, they claimed that since the river had changed course of its own accord, we Meluhans would simply have to accept what was essentially God’s will!’

‘We of course refused to do that,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘Under the leadership of King Brahmanayak, his Highness’ father, we attacked Swadweep.’

‘The land of the Chandravanshis?’ asked Shiva.

‘Yes Shiva,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘And it was a resounding victory. The Chandravanshi army was routed. King Brahmanayak kindly let them keep their lands and even their system of governance. We didn’t even ask for any war reparations or yearly tribute either. The only term of the surrender treaty was the return of the Yamuna. We restored the Yamuna to her original course to meet with the Saraswati.’

‘You fought in that war, Parvateshwar?’

‘Yes,’ said Parvateshwar, his chest swollen with pride. ‘I was a mere soldier then. But I did fight in that war.’

Turning to Daksha, Shiva asked, ‘Then what is the problem now, your Highness? Your enemy was comprehensively defeated. Then why is the Saraswati still dying?’

We believe that the Chandravanshis are up to something again. We don’t understand it as yet. After their defeat, the area between our two countries was made into a no-man’s land and the jungle has reclaimed it. That included the early course of the Yamuna as well. We stuck to our part of the bargain and never disturbed that region. It appears that they didn’t honour their end of the promise.’