Ganesh’s tactical mind reflected in his opinion. ‘Though Ujjain is nice, what fascinated me were the elephant stables. We watched the mahouts tend to these beasts of war, each one of the five thousand of them equivalent to a thousand foot soldiers. I dare say our strength has increased manifold, given that the Vasudevs follow the Neelkanth. With these elephants on our side, we are not as precariously placed as we were earlier.’

‘Precariously placed?’ asked Parshuram. ‘Lord Ganesh, forgive me for disagreeing with you. But how can you say that? We have the Neelkanth with us. That means a vast majority of Indians will be with us. I would say that the odds overwhelmingly favour us.’

‘Parshuram, I have always admired your bravery and your utter devotion to the Neelkanth. But hope alone does not win battles. Only an honest evaluation of one’s weaknesses, followed by their mitigation, can win the day.’

‘What weaknesses can we have? We are led by the Neelkanth. The people will follow him.’

‘The people will follow the Neelkanth, but their kings won’t. And remember, the people do not control the army, kings do. Emperor Daksha is already against us. So is Emperor Dilipa. Together they have the technological wizardry of Meluha and the sheer numbers of Swadweep. That makes a very strong army.’

‘But dada,’ argued Kartik, ‘even the most capable army is of little use if it is led by incapable leaders. Do you see any good generals on their side? I see none.’

Ganesh shook his head and looked at Brahaspati and Nandi before turning back to Kartik. ‘They have the best. They have Lord Parvateshwar.’

Sati burst in angrily. ‘Ganesh, I have warned you to desist from insulting Pitratulya.’

‘I know he is like a father to you, maa,’ said Ganesh politely. ‘But the truth is Lord Parvateshwar will fight for Meluha.’

‘No, he will not. Your father trusts him completely. How can you believe he will escape and join those who tried to kill the Neelkanth?’

‘Maa, Parvateshwarji has too much honour to escape. He will leave openly, once he has revealed his intentions to baba. And trust me, baba will let him go. He will not even try to stop him. For they are both honourable men who’d rather bring harm upon themselves than forsake their honour.’

‘Indeed, he’s an honourable man, Ganesh. Will that sense of duty not bind him to the path of the Neelkanth?’

‘No. Parvateshwarji is with baba because he is inspired by him, not because he is honour-bound to follow him. He is supremely committed to one value alone, as in fact all Meluhans are: the protection of Meluha. You can ask any of the Meluhans here.’