‘The walls of Ayodhya are impregnable,’ warned Gopal, drawing attention to another factor. ‘We might be able to bog them down, but we won’t be able to destroy the city.’

‘I know,’ said Ganesh. ‘But our aim is not to destroy Ayodhya. It is to ensure that their navy is unable to sail their forces over to Meluha. Our main battle will be in Meluha.’

‘But what if Surapadman attacks from the rear after we have laid siege on Ayodhya?’ asked Gopal. ‘Caught between Ayodhya in front of us and Surapadman behind us, we could get destroyed.’

‘Actually, no,’ said Ganesh. ‘Surapadman attacking us from behind would make things easier for us. It’s when he moves out of Magadh that we’ll make our move.’

Shiva, Kartik and Sati smiled; they understood the plan.

‘Brilliant,’ exclaimed Parshuram.

The rest turned to Parshuram for a whispered explanation on the side.

‘You don’t have to lie,’ continued Kali to Shiva. ‘Refrain from telling Surapadman the entire truth, except for those portions which will make him pause. Let his ambition play out the rest. We require him to allow our ships to pass through the confluence of the Sarayu and Ganga, towards Ayodhya. Once that is done we will achieve our objective one way or the other; either by holding Ayodhya back or by destroying the Magadhan army.’

Shiva’s brief nod acknowledged his assent. ‘But what about Meluha? Should we launch a frontal attack with all our might? Or, should we adopt diversionary tactics to distract their armies while a small group searches for the secret Somras facility and destroys it?’

‘Our Branga and Vaishali forces will battle in Magadh and Ayodhya, leaving the Vasudevs and the Naga armies for the Meluhan campaign,’ said Sati. ‘So we will have much smaller forces in Meluha. Of course, they will be exceptionally well-trained and will have superb technological skills, like the fire-spewing elephant corps that the Vasudevs have developed recently. But we have to respect the Meluhan forces; they’re equally well-trained and technologically adept.’

‘So are you suggesting that we avoid a direct attack?’ asked Shiva.

‘Yes,’ said Sati. ‘Our main aim has to be to destroy the Somras manufacturing facility. It will take them years to rebuild it. That much time is more than enough for your word to prevail amongst the people. The average Meluhan is devoted to the legend of the Neelkanth. The Somras will die a natural death. But if we attack directly, the war with Meluha will drag on for a long time. The more it drags on, the more innocent people will die. Also, the Meluhans will begin to look upon the war as an attack on their beloved country, and not the Somras. I’m sure there will be large numbers of Meluhans who would be willing to turn against the Somras, but if we challenge their patriotism, then we have no chance of winning.’

Kali was smiling.

‘What?’ asked Sati.