‘But no matter which side of the river we sail and how quickly we row, we will still lose people if they decide to attack,’ said Ganesh. ‘Remember, we are on ships, so we cannot get our men to disembark fast enough to retaliate.’

‘Why don’t we increase their risks?’ asked Kartik.

‘How?’ asked Ganesh.

‘Have half the soldiers from every ship go ashore before Magadh. We could get them to march on the eastern banks alongside our ships. The reduced load will make our ships move faster. Also, the Magadhan battlement on the eastern bank would know there is a massive contingent of enemy soldiers marching just outside their walls. They would have to think twice before doing anything stupid.’

‘I like the idea,’ said Bhagirath.

‘I’ve thought of something even simpler,’ said Chandraketu.

Ganesh looked at the Branga king.

‘The Magadh royalty is amongst the poorest in Swadweep,’ said Chandraketu. ‘It’s a powerful kingdom but King Mahendra has lost a considerable part of his fortune owing to both his son Ugrasen’s as well as his own gambling addiction.’

‘Do you want to bribe them?’ asked Bhagirath.

‘Why not?’

‘For one, we would need massive amounts of money. A few thousand gold coins will not suffice. We won’t be negotiating with some army officers but the royalty itself.’

‘Will one million gold coins be enough?’

Bhagirath was stunned. ‘One million?’

‘Yes.’

‘Just to make it through unharmed?’

‘Yes.’

‘Lord Rudra, be praised. That will be nearly six months of tax collections for the Magadhan royalty.’

‘Exactly. I’ll dispatch Divodas to Magadh with half the amount in the first ship. The other half can be handed over once our last ship has passed by safely.’

‘But they could use this wealth to buy weapons,’ said Kartik.

‘They will not be able to do that quickly enough,’ said Chandraketu. ‘And what they do with the money after the war is over is not my concern.’

‘Can you really afford to give away so much gold, Your Highness?’ asked Ganesh.

Chandraketu smiled. ‘We have more than enough, Lord Ganesh. But it means nothing to us. I would give away all the gold that we have to stop the Somras.’

‘All right,’ said Ganesh. ‘I see no reason why it won’t work.’

Chapter 21: Siege of Ayodhya

Chapter 21

Siege of Ayodhya

The cool northerly wind was a welcome relief for Shiva as he sat on the deck of the lead ship with Gopal, Sati and Kali clustered around him. As the fifty-six vessel armada made steady progress upriver, he knew that in just a few weeks they would reach close to the headwaters of the Chambal from where the soldiers would disembark and march to the Narmada.

‘Panditji, do your ships that wait for us at the Narmada have the additional capacity to carry the fifty-five thousand soldiers who accompany us?’ asked Kali.