‘What you are saying appears to make sense,’ said Bhrigu, before turning to Daksha. ‘I suggest that we follow Lord Parvateshwar’s strategy. Your Highness?’

Daksha immediately nodded his assent.

But Vidyunmali could guess that the Emperor’s heart was not in this decision. He wondered if there was an opportunity for him to convince the emperor of a more aggressive course of action.

The stunned army of Ganesh was transfixed by the devastation on the hilly battlefield south of Devagiri, as they sailed down the Saraswati. Bloated carcasses of elephants and horses littered the hill, flies buzzing around them. Crows and vultures fought viciously over the beasts’ entrails, even though there were enough corpses around for them all. The squawking and cawing of the feasting birds added pathos to the macabre scene.

Of particular interest to the soldiers though, was the fact that there were no human dead bodies on the battlefield. The Meluhans, true to their honourable traditions, had in all likelihood conducted funeral ceremonies for all their enemy warriors. Also, they noticed that there was no debris in the Saraswati. That meant Sati’s ships had escaped the devastation, hopefully with most of her army intact.

Shiva stood on the deck of the lead ship, surveying the battlefield along with his sons and sister-in-law. He knew that he couldn’t stop now and engage in a battle at Devagiri. He simply didn’t have the strength of numbers anymore. He had to retreat farther south and find what was left of Sati’s army. His scouts had already told him that the devastation looked worse than it actually must have been. Most of the infantrymen in Sati’s army had survived and her ships were sailing south to safety. Shiva knew that with much of Sati’s army intact, he still had a fighting chance in the war, but he would have to reformulate his strategy.

All that was for later, though. His mind was seized for the moment with one thought alone: was his Sati all right? Was she hurt? Was she alive?

‘Neelkanth,’ said Gopal, rushing up to Shiva. He had just received word from a Vasudev pandit envoy, who was hiding on the eastern bank of the Saraswati, waiting for Shiva’s ships to arrive. ‘Lady Sati was still alive when she was pulled aboard one of the retreating ships.’

‘Still alive? What do you mean?’

‘She was badly injured, Shiva. She personally led the cavalry against the rampaging elephants and Meluha’s own horsemen. Nandi and Veerbhadra managed to pull her to safety. She was unconscious by the time she reached the ship. Unfortunately, the man I talked to didn’t have any further information.’

Shiva made his decision immediately. He knew that his naval formation would only be able to sail as quickly as the slowest ship. He couldn’t wait that long.