Parvateshwar’s reaction was a combination of embarrassment and anger. Shiva smiled weakly, for the first time in three weeks. For some reason, the fact that Anandmayi seemed to have returned to her original self made Shiva happy.

Anandmayi turned towards Shiva with a low bow. ‘The truth has just come to me, my Lord. I am sorry about my sullenness earlier. But I was deeply troubled at the time. Your being on the side of the Suryavanshis can have only one of two explanations. Either we are evil. Or you are not who we think you are and the legend is false. Accepting either of these explanations would destroy my soul.’

Shiva looked at Anandmayi attentively.

‘But I realised only now,’ continued Anandmayi. The legend is not false. And we are obviously not evil. It is just that you are too naive. You have been misled by the evil Suryavanshis. I will set it right. I will show you the goodness of our path.’

‘We are not evil,’ glowered Parvateshwar.

‘Parvateshwar,’ sighed Anandmayi. ‘I have told you before. That lovely mouth of yours has much better uses than talking. You shouldn’t waste your breath unnecessarily.’

‘Stop your impudence, woman!’ cried Parvateshwar. You think we are evil? Have you seen the way you treat your own people. Hungry eyes have stared at me all through our journey. Children lie abandoned on the side of potholed highways. Old desperate women beg for alms all through your “impregnable city”, while the Swadweepan rich lead lives better than a Meluhan emperor. We have a perfect society in Meluha. I may agree with the Lord and accept that maybe you are not evil. But you certainly don’t know how to take care of your people. Come to Meluha to see how citizens should be treated. All your lives will improve with our way of governance.’

‘Improve?’ argued an agitated Anandmayi. ‘We are not perfect, I agree. There are many things that our empire could do better, I agree. But at least we give our people freedom. They are not forced to follow some stupid laws mandated by an out of touch elite.’

‘Give them freedom? Freedom to do what? Loot, steal, beg, kill?’

‘I don’t need to argue with you on our culture. Your puny mind will not be able to understand the benefit of our ways.’

‘I don’t want to! It disgusts me to see the way this empire has been managed. You have no norms. No control. No laws. It is no wonder that despite not being evil, you have contaminated your hands by allying with the Nagas. By fighting like coward terrorists and not brave Kshatriyas. You may not be evil, but your deeds certainly are!’

‘Nagas? What the bloody hell are you talking about? Do you think we are mad that we will ally with the Nagas? You think we don’t know how that will pollute our souls for the next seven lives? And terrorism? We have never resorted to terrorism. We have strained against our natural instincts to avoid a war with your cursed people for the last hundred years. Hence we have retreated from the border provinces. We have cut all ties with you. We have even learned to live with the lower flow of the Ganga since you stole the Yamuna from us. My father told you that we had nothing to do with the attack on Mount Mandar! But you did not believe us. And why should you? You needed an excuse to attack us again!’

‘Don’t lie to me. At least not in front of the Mahadev! Chandravanshi terrorists have been found with the Nagas.’

‘My father told you that nobody under our control had anything to do with the attack on Mandar. We have nothing to do with the Nagas. It’s possible that some Chandravanshis, just like some Suryavanshis, could have helped the terrorists. If you had worked with us, we may have even found the criminals!’

‘What rubbish is this? No Suryavanshi would ally with those monsters. As for some Chandravanshis assisting the terrorists, you’ll have to answer for that. Swadweep is under your control!’

‘If you had kept diplomatic relations with Swadweep, you would have known that we are a confederacy, not authoritarian like you. Ayodhya is only the overlord. Other kings within Swadweep pay us tribute for protection during war. Otherwise, they have the freedom to run their kingdoms any way they choose.’

‘How is that possible? You’re saying the Emperor of Swadweep doesn’t run his own empire?’

‘Please,’ begged Shiva, stopping the argument which reflected the debate raging in his mind. He did not want to be troubled by questions for which he had no answers. At least not yet.

Parvateshwar and Anandmayi immediately fell silent.

Turning slowly towards the window again, he asked, ‘What is that building, Anandmayi?’

‘That, my Lord,’ said Anandmayi, smiling happily at being spoken to first, ‘is the Ramjanmabhoomi temple, built at the site of Lord Ram’s birthplace.’

‘You have built a temple to Lord Ram?’ asked a startled Parvateshwar. ‘But he was a Suryavanshi. Your sworn enemy.’

‘We did not build the temple,’ said Anandmayi, raising her eyes in exasperation. ‘But we have refurbished and maintained it lovingly. And furthermore, what makes you think Lord Ram was our sworn enemy. He may have been misled to follow a different path, but he did a lot of good for the Chandravanshis as well. He is respected as a God in Ayodhya.’

Parvateshwar’s eyes widened in shock. ‘But he had sworn to destroy the Chandravanshis.’

‘If he had vowed to destroy us, we wouldn’t exist today, would we? He left us unharmed because he believed that we were good. That our way of life deserved to survive.’

Parvateshwar was perturbed, out of arguments.

‘You know what Lord Ram’s full ceremonial name is?’ asked Anandmayi, pressing home her advantage.

‘Of course I do,’ scoffed Parvateshwar. ‘Lord Ram, Suryavanshi Kshatriya of the Ikshvaku clan. Son of Dashrath and Kaushalya. Husband of Sita. Honoured and respected with the tide of the seventh Vishnu.’

‘Perfect,’ beamed Anandmayi. ‘Except for one minor mistake. You have missed one small word, General. You have missed the word Chandra. His full name was Lord Ram Chandra.’

Parvateshwar frowned.

‘Yes, General,’ continued Anandmayi. ‘His name meant “the face of the moon”. He was more Chandravanshi than you know’

‘This is typical Chandravanshi double talk,’ argued Parvateshwar, gathering his wits. ‘You are lost in words and names rather than deeds. Lord Ram said that only a person’s karma determines his identity. The fact that his name had the word moon in it means nothing. His deeds were worthy of the sun. He was a Suryavanshi, through and through.’

‘Why couldn’t he have been both Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi?’

‘What nonsense is that? It’s not possible. It’s contradictory.’

‘It appears impossible to you only because your puny mind cannot understand it. Contradictions are a part of nature.’

‘No, they aren’t. It is impossible that one thing be true and the opposite not be false. The universe cannot accept that. One scabbard can have only one sword!’

‘That is only if the scabbard is small. Are you saying that Lord Ram was not big enough to have two identities?’

‘You are just playing with words!’ glared Parvateshwar.

Shiva had stopped listening. He turned towards the window. Towards the temple. He could feel it in every pore of his body. He could feel it in his soul. He could hear the soft whisper of his inner voice.