When the fishermen in his kingdom informed him of a large Meluhan fleet stationed in a hidden lagoon nearby, he had gone personally to investigate. Keeping himself concealed, Jadav had seen the massive fleet and immediately surmised that this had something to do with the war raging in the north between the Neelkanth’s forces and the Meluhans. He had also received news that the Nagas themselves were racing down the western coast, towards the mouth of the Narmada. He’d immediately got into a fast cutter to intercept the Nagas before they entered the river that marked the southern boundary of the Sapt Sindhu. He was convinced the Meluhans intended to take the Nagas by surprise and attack them from the rear.

‘Your Highness,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘I assumed the Meluhans would enter the Narmada after you and assault your rear guard. They could devastate your entire fleet before you even realised what had happened.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a forward ambush planned for us as well,’ said Kartik.

‘We’ll attack them in their hidden lagoon,’ said Kali. ‘We’ll burn their ships down and hang their rotten carcasses on the coastal trees.’

Ganesh had remained silent till now. Something was amiss. ‘Your Highness, how many Meluhans are there?’

‘Fifty ships, Lord Ganesh,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘It’s a reasonably large force. But you have more than enough ships to take them on.’

‘I didn’t ask you about the ships, Your Highness,’ said Ganesh. ‘I asked how many men...’

Jadav Rana frowned. ‘I don’t know, Lord Ganesh.’ He then turned to his men. ‘Do you people have any idea?’

‘It’s difficult to be sure, My Lord, since they have largely remained on ship,’ said one of Jadav Rana’s lieutenants. ‘But judging by the amount of food they have been foraging, I don’t think there would be more than five thousand. You have many more men, Lord Ganesh. You can win very easily.’

Ganesh held his head. ‘Bhoomidevi, be merciful.’

A stunned Kali stared at Jadav Rana’s lieutenant. ‘Are you sure? Just five thousand?’

Jadav Rana was surprised. He didn’t understand why the Nagas looked so upset. Logically, they should have been happy. They outnumbered the Meluhans dramatically.

‘My men are well acquainted with these coasts, Your Highness,’ said Jadav Rana. ‘If they’re saying that the Meluhans number only five thousand, I would go with that number.’

‘We’ve been taken for a ride,’ said Ganesh. ‘There’s no attack planned on Panchavati. They were trying to divide our forces. And they succeeded.’

A worried Kartik looked at his elder brother. ‘They’re probably attacking Lothal even as we speak.’

‘And we took a hundred thousand men away from maa,’ said a distraught Ganesh.

Kali turned and yelled the order at her prime minister, Karkotak. ‘Turn around, now! We’re going back to Lothal! Double rowing till we get there! MOVE!’

Chapter 43: A Civil Revolt

Chapter 43