‘Shiva is not a Lord!’ screamed Daksha. ‘How dare you? Who are you loyal to, Kanakhala?’

‘Your Highness,’ said Bhrigu, his calm tone belying the menace beneath.

Daksha recoiled in fear.

‘Your Highness, perhaps it would be better if you retired to your personal chambers.’

‘But...’

‘Your Highness,’ said Bhrigu. ‘That was not a request.’

Daksha closed his eyes, shocked at the immense disrespect being shown to him. He got up and left his office, muttering under his breath about the respect due to the Emperor of India.

Bhrigu turned to Parvateshwar, unperturbed, as if nothing had happened. ‘General, what else does Vidyunmali say?’

‘The entire Saraswati fleet is under the Lord Neelkanth now. But it gets worse.’

‘Worse?’

‘The people of Mrittikavati have now pledged loyalty to him. The survivors of Vidyunmali’s army have been held prisoner in Mrittikavati. Fortunately for us, Vidyunmali managed to escape with five hundred soldiers and send this message.’

‘So the Neelkanth has stationed himself in Mrittikavati for now?’ asked Bhrigu, careful not to use the term ‘fraud Neelkanth’ in Parvateshwar’s presence. ‘Because he will have to commit his own soldiers to guard ours, right?’

‘No,’ said Parvateshwar, shaking his head. ‘Our army is being held prisoner by the citizens of Mrittikavati.’

‘The citizens?!’

‘Yes. So the Lord Neelkanth does not have to commit any of his own soldiers for the task. He has managed to take twenty-five thousand of our soldiers out of the equation but he still has practically his whole army with him. He has commandeered our entire Saraswati fleet. I’m sure he is making plans to sail up north even as we speak. Vidyunmali also writes about a fearsome corps of exceptionally well-trained elephants in the Lord’s army, which are almost impossible to defeat.’

‘Lord Ram, be merciful!’ said a stunned Kanakhala.

‘This is worse than we’d ever imagined,’ said Bhrigu.

‘But I don’t understand one thing,’ said Kanakhala. ‘How does the Lord have an army of one hundred thousand in Meluha, when a hundred and fifty thousand of his soldiers were in Ayodhya a few weeks back?’

‘Ayodhya?’ asked a surprised Bhrigu.

‘Yes,’ said Kanakhala and proceeded to tell him about the message she had just received from Ayodhya about the siege and the destruction of the Magadhan forces.

‘By the great Lord Brahma!’ said Bhrigu. ‘This means the Ayodhya army cannot sail past Magadh. They will have to march through the forest, which means it will take them forever to come to our aid.’

‘But I still don’t understand how the Lord Neelkanth has so many soldiers in Meluha,’ persisted Kanakhala. ‘The Branga and Naga armies together don’t add up to this number.’

The truth finally dawned on Bhrigu. ‘The Vasudevs have joined forces with Shiva. They are the only ones outside of the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshis who can bring in so many soldiers. This also explains the presence of the exceptionally well-trained elephants Shiva used in the Battle of Mrittikavati. I have heard stories about the prowess of the Vasudev elephants.’

Bhrigu was not aware that the strongest strategic benefit of the Vasudevs was not their elephant corps, but their secretive Vasudev pandits hidden in temples across the Sapt Sindhu. These pandits were the eyes and ears of the Neelkanth, providing him with the most crucial advantage in war: timely and accurate information.

‘Lord Shiva will be here soon with a large army,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘And the three hundred thousand soldiers of Ayodhya will not reach us in time. He has played his cards really well.’

‘I do not have a military mind, General,’ said Bhrigu. ‘But even I can see that we are in deep trouble. What do you advise?’

Parvateshwar brought his hands together and rubbed his chin with his index fingers. He looked up at Bhrigu after some time. ‘If Ganesh decides to enter Meluha from the north, we are finished. There is no way we can defend ourselves against a two-pronged attack. Our engineers have been working hard at repairing the road that was ruined by the Yamuna floods. I’ll immediately send them instructions to leave the road as it is. If Ganesh chooses to cross from there, then we must make the journey difficult for him. Marching a hundred and fifty thousand strong army on a washed-out road is not going to be easy.’

‘Good idea.’

‘The Lord Neelkanth could be in Devagiri in a matter of weeks.’

‘It’s a good thing you have engaged the army in training exercises and simulations,’ said Bhrigu.

‘The Lord will not win here,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘That is my word to you, Maharishiji.’

‘I believe you, General. But what do we do about the Vasudev elephants? We cannot win against Shiva’s army unless we stop his elephants.’

‘What do you think, Shiva?’ asked Gopal.

Gopal, Sati and Kali were with Shiva in his chamber at Mrittikavati, conferring. They were re-evaluating their strategy in the light of the news received from Panini.

Kali was clear in her mind. ‘Shiva, I propose that you leave Mrittikavati and sail out to Pariha. If you can convince the Vayuputras to give you a lethal daivi astra, say the Brahmastra, this war will be as good as over.’

‘We cannot actually use these daivi astras, Your Highness,’ said Gopal. ‘It will be against the laws of humanity. We can only use such weapons as deterrents to make the other side see sense.’

‘Yes, yes,’ said Kali dismissively, ‘I agree.’

‘How long will the journey to Pariha take, Panditji?’ asked Shiva.

‘Six months at the minimum,’ said Gopal. ‘It could take even nine to twelve months if the winds don’t favour us.’

‘Then the decision is clear,’ said Shiva. ‘I don’t think going to Pariha at this stage makes sense.’

‘Why?’ asked Kali.

‘We have momentum and time on our side, Kali,’ said Shiva. ‘Ayodhya’s army cannot come into Meluha for another six to eight months at least. Ganesh and Kartik can reach the northern frontiers of Meluha within a few weeks. We will have a six-month window with two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers on our side against just seventy-five thousand on the side of Meluha. I like those odds. I say we finish the war here and now. In the time that it will take me to go to Pariha and return, the situation may have become very different. Also, don’t forget, all we know is that the Vayuputras are not with Maharishi Bhrigu. That does not necessarily mean that they will choose to be with us. They may well decide to remain neutral.’

‘That makes sense,’ agreed Sati. ‘If we conquer Devagiri and destroy the Somras factory, the war will be over regardless of what the Vayuputras choose to believe.’

‘So what do you suggest, Shiva?’ asked Gopal.

‘We should divide our navy into two parts,’ said Shiva. ‘I’ll move up the Saraswati and then north, up the Yamuna with a small sailing force of twenty-five ships. I’ll meet Ganesh and Kartik as they march down the Yamuna road and we’ll board their soldiers onto my ships. By sailing, we can get to Devagiri quicker, instead of waiting for them to march to the Meluhan capital. In the meantime, Sati will lead the other contingent of the navy, carrying our entire army from Mrittikavati up the Saraswati to Devagiri. Sati should leave three weeks after me so that we reach Devagiri around the same time. With two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers besieging Devagiri, they may actually see some sense.’