‘But, Grandfather,’ said Divya, not getting any reply to her question, ‘the family of Prestha has been emancipated from slavery. Prithusen has been honoured by the Republic itself.’

Glancing at the mynah in the cage hanging by the door, the aged Chief Justice said, in a voice heavy with anxiety, ‘You are quite right, my dear. Therein lies the intricacy of the problem. Prestha has been emancipated. Prithusen has been honoured by the Republic, or he would never have come to raise the question of justice. Those young colts who were snatched by Prestha from their mothers and sold in the market, or those slaves in whom he trades, do not raise the question of justice. Dear girl, it is not difficult to satisfy the demand for justice made by one individual. Young Prithusen can try to protect his rights with the power of his sword. But the question is not only of his honour or of his rights. The problem is a far more intricate one. He has applied to the Council for a commission in the army and he deserves it too. His father is ambitious; he can spend a thousand gold pieces. If the law court grants him the same rights and privileges as are enjoyed by the high-caste members of the nobility, then he automatically becomes entitled to a commission in the army. And if the Council grants him the right of a commissioned rank in the army, he automatically becomes entitled to the rights and privileges of the high-caste nobility.’

The Chief Justice’s gaze was still on the bird in the cage, ‘For Prithusen to secure a commission means his stepping onto the first rung on the ladder of nobility. If every caste can acquire the status and the rights of noblemen, then there will be no authority left with the nobility. Had the Republic consisted only of the twice-born Brahmins, the situation would have been different, but the Republic is not a homogeneous society. It now consists of Greek and many Kshatriya and Vaishya nobles who have been influenced by Buddhist faith and in whose eyes, therefore, purity of caste and caste privileges have no significance. Nevertheless, they are jealous of the power of the caste nobility. That is why the Chairman of the Republican Council has been shelving the issue all along in the Council. The question before the law courts is a challenge to the basic structure of society.’

‘But, Grandfather,’ said Divya, discouraged by this answer, ‘what about the principle in the law courts of the Republic of Madra, of the lion and the deer drinking together at the same stream?’

A smile lit up her great-grandfather’s face with its snow-white beard and moustache. ‘The metaphor of the lion and the deer drinking together is needed to inspire respect for the law,’ he said. ‘The lion and the deer can drink together only if they are subservient to someone else. That person is free who can force them to drink from the same watering hole, and that ability and desire of his, in itself, forms the basis of law. The atheist Marish was punished by the law for having broken his pledge to engrave scenes from the Buddha’s previous incarnations. It was necessary to do so to safeguard the system. But would it have been proper for Marish to act against the dictates of his conscience? Daughter, justice can have many forms.’