‘The Meluhans have only seventy-five thousand soldiers in Devagiri,’ said Ganesh. ‘So we’re going to launch a coordinated attack.’

‘What are the details of the plan?’

‘We’re to sail up the Ganga and reach the Ganga-Yamuna road. We will then march to Meluha. My father is going to sail up the Yamuna in a fleet to meet us as we march. Together, we will then sail down to Devagiri. My mother, in the meantime, will arrive with the hundred thousand soldiers under her command.’

‘So we will have two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, all fired up with the fervour of recent victories, against seventy-five thousand Meluhans holed up on their platforms,’ said Bhagirath. ‘I like the odds.’

‘That’s exactly what baba must have said!’ grinned Kartik.

‘You are going to give me the answer I want,’ growled Vidyunmali, ‘whether you like it or not.’

A Vasudev major, captured from Shiva’s army, had been tied up on a moveable wooden rack with thick leather ropes. The stale air in the dark dungeon was putrid. The captured Vasudev was already drenched in his own sweat, but unafraid.

The Meluhan soldiers standing at a distance looked at Vidyunmali warily. What their brigadier was asking them to do was against the laws of Lord Ram. But they were too well-trained. Meluhan military training demanded unquestioning obedience to one’s commanding officer. This training had forced the soldiers to suppress their misgivings and carry out Vidyunmali’s orders until now. But their moral code was about to be challenged even more strongly.

Vidyunmali heard the Vasudev whispering something again and again. He bent close. ‘Do you have something to say?’

The Vasudev soldier kept mumbling softly, drawing strength from his words. ‘Jai Guru Vishwamitra. Jai Guru Vashishta. Jai Guru Vishwamitra. Jai Guru Vashishta...’

Vidyunmali sniggered. ‘They aren’t here to help you, my friend.’

He turned and beckoned a startled Meluhan soldier. The brigadier pointed at a metallic hammer and large nail.

‘My Lord?’ whispered the nervous soldier, knowing full well that to attack an unarmed and bound man was against Lord Ram’s principles. ‘I’m not sure if we should...’

‘It’s not your job to be sure,’ growled Vidyunmali. ‘That’s my job. Your job is to do what I order you to do.’

‘Yes, My Lord,’ said the Meluhan, saluting slowly. He picked up the hammer and nail. He walked slowly to the Vasudev and placed the nail on the captive’s arm, a few inches above the wrist. He held the hammer back and flexed his shoulders, ready to strike.

Vidyunmali turned to the Vasudev. ‘You’d better start talking...’

‘Jai Guru Vishwamitra. Jai Guru Vashishta...’

Vidyunmali nodded to the soldier.

‘Jai Guru Vishwamitra. Jai Guru... AAAAHHHHHHHHH!’