‘It sounds like an intelligence failure to me,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘He says Lord Shiva took them by surprise as he appeared at the gates of Mrittikavati with one hundred thousand soldiers. Vidyunmali put up a brave defence with a mere twenty-five thousand, but was routed.’

Kanakhala understood the strategic significance of Mrittikavati. ‘Mrittikavati houses the headquarters of the Saraswati fleet. And Vidyunmali had taken what was left of our warships as well. If the Lord controls Mrittikavati, he now controls the Saraswati River.’

‘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.