A Tryst with Destiny

What happened to Nand?

For years, maybe even decades, the author traversed the Indian countryside. Nobody knows how long this period of his immortal lifespan was, especially not the author himself. He was all alone as well. Even when his friends from the modern age abandoned him, at least they were charitable enough to post pictures of their better lives on the Internet. Now not even that would happen; his colleagues would not be born for many centuries. The "wise sage" who whisked him to this time was of no help either. Though the "sage" gave him the bag of gold coins, he lied about the rest, and has long abandoned him unwitting victim.

And so, for who knows for how long, the author has lived like a hermit, wandering the plains and occasionally jungles whichever which way. From time to time he comes across a village populated by farmers. All poor and living on the edge of starvation, they are usually unwilling to give any sustenance away, let alone to an obvious foreigner. It doesn't help that the English language itself will not develop for centuries. Sometimes, when enticed by one of the dwindling number of gold coins the author has, they spare him some food. Occasionally, they take the coin without giving back anything in return. And a couple of times they attack the weary author outright. Between these extremes most villagers ask him to politely leave. And the author does leave. And a few times, the villagers look at the author's emaciated condition, a starvation without death, and give him food out of simple charity.

* * *

In another one of his journeys the author comes across a stone hut. The hut glows purple-red from the inside, dramatically contrasting with the blue night behind it. Wispy translucent smoke, barely visible, rises from a chimney. It is the lone structure on a rounded, grassy hill, with farms surrounding it. The author, like a moth, is attracted to it and trudges up it, despite barely able to walk on flat ground. It is an instinctive feeling, the feeling that opening the wooden door will change his current destitute state, that drives him.

Two people are in the blacksmith's hut. They are the most prominent features in the room, which is otherwise bare and dusty. An iron anvil sits near the center of the square room. On one wall are iron tools and weapons - hoes, swords, and axes. Some small tools related to metalworking lie scattered in front of the bigger ones. There were other tools lying on the other wall, but they were covered with a large piece of beige fabric.

The sitting man looks middle aged. Though he is strong, he looks thin, due to free calories not being easy to come by in Classical India. His hands are clearly calloused from working the tools so much; his eyes looked just as weary, indicating that the man has spent many sleepless nights. He sports a beard that wraps tightly around his entire chin. He wears nothing except for a piece of whitish cloth wrapped around his waist, stained to an almost beige from all the dust. He looks similar to the multitudes of other peasant men the author saw in his voyage across the countryside.

The standing man, his feet slightly apart and his hands hanging to his sides, looks somewhat stranger. He is wearing similar clothing to the sitting older man. However, unlike the old man, he has bulging muscles, with clearly defined abdominals and biceps. His complexion is olive, as if he had worked under the sun for his entire life. His eyes are jet black; they could cut a tiger in half. The strange thing about him, however, is that his hair is a dusty blond, with a few streaks reddened by what looks to be hair dye.

The author immediately recognizes him, or at least thinks so. "Is this man Nicholas Bionat?" he asks somewhat rhetorically in English.

"Yes," Nicholas says, also in English.

"The...Nicholas Bionat?" the author asks again.

"Yes, William Sayer," Nicholas responded.

William had no idea what to do next. Because here he was, another man from the Modern Day. Would Nicholas, a fellow traveler, be his salvation? Hastily, he embraces Nicholas in a great bear hug.

"Um, okay," Nicholas says. "But please, get off of me."

"So, Nicole," William says, referring to a common high school nickname of Nicholas's, "the two-time Olympic Gold medalist and superstar in the shooting sports, who leaves to his maternal ancestral hometown in Siberia never to return again, returns to meet me in an unknown blacksmith's house in India thousands of years ago. What gives?"

"Must be the same conman sage," Nicholas says.

"Oh yeah, that guy, the guy who promised me a palace only for me to leave me living as a hobo going across the subcontinent," William says with derisiveness.

"Ah, so you had been fooled by the sage's promise of gold," Nicholas says.

"Yes, I have," William says as he states the obvious.

"Ah. I have heard of stories like him, leaving people stranded in space and time, who additionally magnifies their sufferings by forcing immortality on them. He's quite an active guy in some parts of Russia. So when he came for me, I turned down his gold offer, both his coin bag and his promises of nonexistent wealth, and asked for another thing instead. And he gave me that thing, in modified form."

"What is it?" William asks, somewhat jealous.

Nicholas responds. "I asked for the ability to speak every language. He said that I dreamed too big, however, so I narrowed the wish down to the ability to speak every Indian language. He finalized my offer by saying that I could speak every Indo-Aryan language. That is, even if I go to the south of the Subcontinent, I was trapped in a linguistic pit. But it's more than good enough."

"Okay," William says.

"And through this skill, I managed to get the company of this man and his family," Nicholas continues, referring to the seated man. "He doesn't have too much food, but they had enough to feed me. Perhaps if you're lucky, they have enough to feed you."

A wind rustles through the open door and knocks the fabric down. Uncovered are another set of tools. Most are standard agricultural implements and weapons. At the bottom of a pile, however, is something that surprises William to this very day, a strange black machine of many moving parts. It has a handle, along with a slot designed for the finger. A long tube extends for most of its body. Besides it are several black curved rectangles, stacked neatly on top of each other.

"Is that what I think it is?" William wonders in astonishment.

"Oh yes," Nicholas cheerfully says. "A Kalashnikov-47; I bought it myself back in Russia. I asked the sage if I could also bring stuff with me to the past, and he said yes, and so I brought this and a bunch of magazines."

Ok, I'll be joining now

Grifguz said:

Ok, I'll be joining now

Click to expand...

Joining what?

I think he means he is joining the story not joining in as Darius' minister .

In a ruined temple mound, Shishunag II prayed for three straight days to the Goddess Kali. The elders of Kalinga had denied Shishunag II his war with Magadh. But he never completely accepted this denial. But with none of the santhal tribes willing to support his cause he was left alone. Years went by and Shishunag grew old. Every day would pass with him scheming his vengeance and finding ways to put to death the scions of Dhrittiman. He became a stronger sword fighter than ever before and despite his age, he could very well be among the best fighters in the whole of Bharata.

"Justice, Vengeance, Fire and blood..." he muttered as he practiced "Justice, Vengeance, Fire and Blood!" he hacked on bamboo manequins practicing his sword fighting skills "Justice, Vengeance Fire and blood!" and then he came. Standing before him was Shishunag's closest friend and best student, a tribal elder named Kanu. "Put it to rest my friend" "It is time for you to rest now, you have been practicing for hours now" "Rest? Rest ?! While the usurper and his dogs still seat the throne of Magadh ?! The throne the people wanted my father to sit on ! Mitr, I have not rested for forty years now, I have made a blood oath on my mother's death bed. I swore vengeance, justice" "Fire and blood. Those two will not bring you justice my friend. Neither will vengeance". "I will not forsake my quest at the behest of those spineless elders!" "Be watchful of your words Raja Shishunag, the elders are not to be disrespected" "A third of the tribes want war." ".. and two thirds want peace. This is a ganarajya, as you had built it friend. The majority want peace, so the majority have peace. If you wanted only what you thought was good then why would you have us believe in such ideals of self rule?" Shishunag fell silent at those words, but anger still burnt in him.

"I do not care what you have to say Kanu, the time will come soon..." Kanu was struck with fear at those words "Time for what ?" Shishunag gave a cold hard smile with smoldering eyes. Kanu had seen that look before, when Shishunag drove Kalinga to war with Magadh.

In the dead of night, Shishunag gathered an assembly like none these lands had seen before. Of all those who had supported Shishunag and his war against Magadh, and all of those who were his most fierce warriors and disciples. Eight thousand braves had brought their spears to join two hundred swordsmen led by Shishunag. "Men !Today is the day we conquer! My father had made a call once, and the whole of Bharata had answered him. A call for Justice, for vengeance, to rain fire and blood on the unrighteous enemy who usurped the throne of Magadh. We gather here to redeem their pledge and to make good their unfinished task. We gather our strength here to march upon the usurious enemy that sits on Magadh, and liberate these lands and her people from their tyranny. Lend your voice to mine, Nyay Pratishodh Rakt Aur Agni !" the soldiers chanted in unison "Nyay Pratishodh Rakt Aur Agni" Justice, vengeance, fire and blood. An old chant that had shaken the land of Bharata decades ago, when Udayabhadra sat the throne of Magadh and Amatya Shishunag led rebels across the Himayalas, but from among those voices emerged a voice of dissent. "Stop this madness!" it was Kanu who had come with the intention to save his beloved friend from his suicidal path.

"Shishunag, this war will end in madness. Do you realize what will happen if you do this ?" "I know, I will either take that which is mine or die a glorious death trying!" "You would destroy yourself, and this republic that you have created. Anarchy will reign because you mutinied against the decision of the republic" "Then perhaps it deserves to die". Kanu swirled his spear readying for a fight "I cannot let that happen" "I will not be stopped by the likes of you Kanu!" The two fought and fought hard. Shishunag was a master of sword and shield and wore armour, but Kanu was skilled with the spear and had defeated many a foe who wore armour. Kanu swirled his spear with such force and rapidity it felt as thought he had three spears. Shishunag sat in formation studying his foe, the foe who had been his friend and whom he himself had trained in the fighting arts. He positioned his sword and shield prepared to deflect every blow that Kanu could land on him.

[It looked something like this
Link to video.

Kanu charged forward with his spear twirling and striking, but every blow was deflected by Shishunag's shield. Kanu gave two dozens blows, every one of which was deflected by Shishunag's spear and sword. It made no difference whether he struck on foot or whether he struck by jumping. When Kanu finally succeeded in trapping Shishunag in a grapple, it would seem as though the fight would have been won by Kanu, but Shishunag was not one to be deceived by such tricks. He used the grapple against his foe, and disarmed his spear. The final blow was struck by a swipe of the sword which beheaded Kanu. Thus, the last campaign of Shishunag, the second of his name, struck the first blood.



Through thick jungle and hills, the santhal army travelled North, till they reached the borders of Kashi from where they could threaten Kashi. Shishunag had particular disdain for the city of Varanasi and its warrior monks who fought against his father. He meant to burn it to the ground and massacre every brahmin as punishment. That would be his first act of vengeance. However, in his haste, he underestimated his foe. The Santhals would have to leverage the hidden paths through forbidden jungles to surprise the enemy. Without siege weaponry, this would be the only way to conquer the great cities of the plains. What he did not know, was that the samrat had appointed spies to the borders of the jungles and won over tribes along the borders. They reported the great tribal army moving North before it could come near Varanasi and land on the wheat fields nearby. It was here that the army of Magadh faced the enemy.

Four divisions of magadh faced down the army of Shishunag. These were not battle hardened men, but sons of peasants and kshatriya who had been either drafted into the army or recruited with basic training. Shishunag II was a trained sword fighter as were his loyal two hundred men. On the field of wheat Shishunag and his men descended on the Magadhan army. On these fields, the army of Magadh would face its greatest challenge yet and also face its first and greatest defeat.



Eight Thousand skirmishers and swordsmen fought against Thirteen thousand axemen, archers, and spearmen. Shishunag's men fought against the axes with their swords. He was the best trained sword fighter in Bharata, and his men were among the toughest soldiers in the realm. Against them, the half trained hastily assembled draftees from Magadh would stand no chance. The swordmen slashed and swiped their way through ranks of axemen, their armour only slowed them down as the blades of hell descended upon their bodies. Over and over again batallion after batallion of axemen met their doom before Shishunag's swords. Shishunag alone was said to have killed a hundred men. Before the first battle was over, Two thousand seven hundred men lay dead or dying on the field of wheat, but no more than a hundred had died of Shishunag's army.

The spearmen of Varanasi would put up a better fight when faced with spear wielding Santhal warriors. Four thousand Santhal warriors against two thousand five hundred armored spearmen. The soldiers of Magadh had earned their armor through rigorous training in the baracks of Varanasi, but the tribes had numbers on their side. Outnumbered almost two to one, the spearmen were ultimately defeated, but not before inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. Of the four thousand Santhals who had set forth from the jungles of Kalinga, only four hundred remained, but of the spearmen there were none. They fought till the last man, for the samrat and for Magadh. The day ended in defeat for the army of Magadh as Shishunag inflicted the most crushing defeat that they had yet faced.

The field of wheat was littered with the mangled corpses of dead warriors. When their funeral pyre was lit later in the night, it was said that the skies came alive with a saffron glow. Shishunag looked over the sight and thought to himself "... fire and blood...." . Even though the rebel army had taken victory in battle, the war still remained to be fought. The death battalion had finally joined the fight. Now, they would face the best soldiers that Magadh had to offer. Their own forces were near depletion.

News of the defeat in battle had reached the court of Pataliputra. At this point in time, Samrat nand ruled along with his son Kumar(Prince) Mahapadmanand, whom he was grooming to be an able autocrat. A messenger had come that day to the court with two rather strange looking men with blue eyes and blonde hair, they were witness to the carnage that took place at Kashi. One of them, a more grizzled man whose skin was more tanned than the other narrated the whole incident. "The field of wheat was wet with blood my sire. The armies of Magadh were utterly destroyed". The samrat was shocked, his heart nearly stopped beating and he fell from his throne. It took the urgent intervention of the palace medic to revive him, but he would rule no more. Samrat Nand who had ruled India for so long as its first true autocrat, now passed on the baton to his son. "Rule with an eye towards Dharma" were his last words.

"There are those who dare to threaten the might and unity that Magadh has forged through the milennia. I, Samrat Mahapadmanand, shall answer them. Justice, Vengeance fire and blood they say ? Then I will give them what they want." declared Samrat Mahapadmanand. He would lead the army of Magadh on the wheat field. The presence of the king boosted the morale of the men who had just seen the crushing might of the Santhals before them. The samrat had taken the two travellers with him to bear witness to the battle. If the fighting on the first battle was fierce, the fighting on the second battle would shake even the hardest of men.



The hundred braves of Shishunag's legion charged the death battalion. It was a gory orchestra of blood, iron and human shrieks. The famed death battalion who prided themselves as minions of Yamraj, now met their equal on the field of battle. Outnumbered thirty to one, the swordsmen of Shishunaga II fought to the last man, and killed four times as many as their number before the legion and Shishunag himself succumbed to the axe. It was said that two dozen of the best trained axemen had to fight him for three whole hours before defeating Shishunag. The remainder of the Santhals fled into the jungles, beaten and bruised from the fighting. Thus, ended the saga of justice and vengeance, in fire and blood. The santhals took the body of Raja Shishunag to be burnt on the soil of Kalinga and buried there.

"Let it be known of the great warrior who challenged the might of Magadh" spoke the samrat, "Let it be known of the glorious battle where that man attained immortality. For his courage shall pass on to legend and inspire many generations to come". The emperor welcomed the two travelers and kept them as scribes in the palace of Pataliputra. The people of Bharata would forever know of this battle as the "Bloody wheat" but for the men who survived it, it would be known as their "Agni pariksha" or the test of fire.

With the end of this affair, the samrat turned his eye towards reconstructing the realm. The revolution set in by the successors of Acharya Dhrittiman now seemed to come to an end. With the murder of the old ministerium by his own father, Samrat Nand, a new more pliable ministerium needed to be appointed. Till then, he assumed absolute power over all ministerships. The samrat worked day and night to make plans for the reconstruction of the realm. First and foremost on his mind was peace with the Kingdom of Kalinga. With the death of Shishunag, that seemed a very real possibility now.



A delegation from Magadh met the elders of Kalinga with an offer of peace. The offer was unanimously accepted. The eldest of the elders who had now proclaimed himself Raja after Shishunag's death declared "Our people will remain ever grateful to the great leader Shishunag, the second of his name. However, there can be no justification for his actions. He was driven by revenge and anger, and that destroyed him in the end. These actions were ill concieved and do not bode well for our peoples. It must be known, that when Raja Shishunag went against the orders of the tribal elders who had forsaken the path of war with Magadh, he made himself a renegade for his own selfish cause. He did not have our support in his doomed endeavor neither do we feel any responsibility for his rash actions. I hope Samrat Mahapadmanand understands this. Let there be peace between our two peoples".

Reconstruction would be a slow process. Pataliputra was a city perched on the edge, with riots, crime and banditry taking place almost daily. If it was not for the Sangh at Mahabodhi, the city would destroy itself with a hundred night of long knives. Disease was rife, poverty was everywhere. Men who came there from afar would express wonder at how a city which is so cultured and developed could tolerate having its people wallow in such misery. Samrat Mahapadmanand had ordered that every city would now train guilds of workers to be sent to the mines of kashi to rebuild the iron mines and restart work on the unfinished projects from Ajatshatru's time, the township in Vanga and of connecting a road to Tibet and Herat.

After many years, there seemed to be peace in Bharata, but tremors were being felt. A threat was taking shape from the West. A threat like no other.

Samrat mahapadmanand was known throughout the realm for bringing peace to Bharata and setting the stage for reconstruction. He focussed his reconstruction in two areas. The economy and the military. The empire of Magadh had expanded since the Samrat Nand had allowed the Kambojas to join the realm, adding to the burden of administrative expenses. On the other hand, valuable workforce had been destroyed since the first Shisunag's rebellion. Projects initiated in the past remained unfulfilled and there was an urgent need to improve Pataliputra which was being bogged down by a sorry state of law and order. All this required a secure atmosphere and an environment of peace. Thus, Mahapadmanand set out on the arduous task of rebuilding Bharat to its former state of peace and prosperity.

The military would be difficult to rebuild without access to mining iron in the hills South of Kashi. Armored infantry could not be trained without the right tools or equipment. The mines which were ruined by the disastrous Santhal raids, would have to be rebuilt from scratch. Only after that could further projects be contemplated. An intermediate step taken by the emperor was to hire mercenaries to fill the void of powerful infantry men. In the distant North West beyond the lands of the Kambojas another tribe of semi-nomadic traders dwell in city states. Their greatest city state is Afrosiyab whose borders cover far and wide. These people call themselves Tocharian, but the people of bharat call them Kushan. From there a band of mercenary spearmen approached us with contracts. The samrat was glad to oblige.



The hire of the mercenary company was not without merit. Of late troubling reports were coming from the lands of the Yavanas. The emissary of Magadh stationed on the Ionian isles have been corresponding with the emperor back home. The latest letter sent back bore a most troubling message :

"There are loud noises being heard from the ruling elite of the Yavanas. A young and talented military leader named Alakshendra has emerged from a lesser known family in the East. His people, the Macedonians, talk in disdain about the culture of the people of the East. Of us in Bharata, these Macedonians have nothing but contempt. This man Alakshendra, reasons that as the leader of civilization, his people must conquer the lands of the East and subjugate them to the rule of the Yavana. His most immediate enemy of course are the Persians, Babylon and Misr in the next instance and in the final instance, we stand in his quest to conquer the world. Be warned samrat, that he has the power to fulfill his ambitions. And the greeks have the power to defeat mightier nations than themselves."



The report unnerved the emperor. It made him think more in terms of what threats his realm could have from outside. Now that the threats from the South were pacified, perhaps it was time to look beyond the boundaries of Bharat. He tasked his newly appointed minister of foreign affairs with drafting a report on the relations we had with other major powers in the world. The report revealed interesting developments in the far West.



While most of the world was at peace with one another, a war had broken out between the nation of Misr, and the empire of Persia. It boggled the emperor why and how Persia could become entangled in such a war with such a distant nation whose very existence seemed a mystery to most in Bharat. Then the truth of the matter was revealed. Persia had vast spread out holdings which were disparate and distant. One such holding was to be found in the Eastern edge of the mediterranean sea. We did not have accurate maps of the region, hence the geography of the region was shrouded in mystery. It was in fact a border dispute between the two nations which led to war being declared by the Pharaoh of Misr. The war did not in any way affect trade between our two nations. Bharat was at the centre of world trade for she had opened her doors to all civilizations from the far East to the far West. The Chinese in particular had the deepest regards for our culture and people.

The state of affairs pleased emperor mahapadmanand. His reign was long and peaceful but not prosperous. Old wounds would take time to heal, and the emperor was weary of forcing progress upon this realm. The only urban improvement that he could claim was the construction of a library in Takshashila. This was however, most welcome by the community of scholars there who took every advantage of the new facilities. In the gurukul at Takshashila, would be born one of the finest political minds of the age. He was Acharya Vishnugupt Chanakya and his talent in theory and oratory brought him fame from across the realm. Impressed by his prodigal brilliance emperor Mahapadmanand made him minister of Foreign affairs as well as domestic affairs.



The move did not bode well with the ousted ministers however, and they would plot the removal of the samrat. Prince Dhananand as he was then, was appointed as the governor of Indraprasth, and viceroy over Takshashila. As governor he had drawn infamy for his corrupt ways and cruel behaviour. Much of the exchequer was being drained away in these regions, and investigations seemed to indicate that this money was being leaked away to the accounts of officials loyal to Dhananand and some to Dhananand himself.

Though the emperor was known to be just, he could not make himself impartial. Knowing that his own son would be involved in such low and dishonorable actions pained him, but the father in him instinctively sought to protect his child. This would prove to be his undoing.

One day, the ousted minister of foreign affairs and domestic affairs met with the captain of the Kushan mercenaries. Together they plotted the downfall of Mahapadmanand. Minister Vishnugupt had his ears on every development and sought to forewarn the emperor the danger that he faced from these forces. But, he would not believe that his own son could conspire against the father. "The ties of blood would make it impossible for a son to war against his own father. For he is a part of me as much as I am a part of him" wrote the emperor in reply. Acharya Vishnugupt Chanakya simply prepared himself for the inevitable.

The next day, the emperor called his ministers. The ministers walked in, and soon after, nearly eighty spearmen entered the great hall of the palace of Pataliputra. They were led by Dhananand and his accomplices. "Today is your last day as emperor father. Make your seal on this parchment and abdicate !" The ministers seated at the hall were furious. "This was unacceptable" some said, others were bold enough to call Dhananand as a traitor. Emperor Mahapadmanand implored his son not to shed blood on this hall, he would abdicate peacefully and leave Pataliputra forever taking sanyas with the Buddhist Sangh.

Thus began the reign of Dhananand. As his first act, he reinstated the ousted ministers of foreign and domestic affairs as rewards for their service to his cause. Not only so, but he set about expelling every minister who had dared to oppose him starting with Acharya Vishnugupt. He was called before the ministerium to stand trial for trumped up charges of corruption and money laundering (all charges for which the Acharya had found Dhananand guilty). His sentence was exile to the province of Gandhar. "There you may starve to death on a desert hill" the emperor said mockingly. "Don't underestimate me Dhananand. And do not underestimate the power of an Acharya. There is great strength in the scholars of Bharata and you have just provoked it. This Dhananand will be your undoing I promise you that!" the acharya warned as he left the palace.

Humiliated and insulted the Acharya swore vengeance upon the Nanda king as he was taken out of the palace and onto a cart which would carry him all the way to Gandhar. He undid his hair and promised that till he deposed Dhananand and placed a righteous King on the throne he would not tie his hair. It was on his way to Gandhar where this righteous king would present himself.



Dhananand's stint as provincial administrator had won him little love among the people, but as emperor it would win him even less. His first major administrative act was to force entire populations out of the provinces and cities to join the force of bonded labor for reconstructing the realm. The aim was noble, and the means ignoble. Nowhere more was this seen than in Takshashila. The republic of Matsya and Gandhar had all but faded away. The officials and governors appointed from Magadh had usurped most of all the power that the oligarchs once possessed. Over time their position was reduced more and more to that of a titular head. A clever policy of manipulation and rigging in the appointment of oligarchs in the senate had ensured servility from among them. The role of the Acharyas from indraprasth and Varanasi were also instrumental in ensuring the denudation of the republic. The final blow to its existence would come in the form of Dhananand.

When he had declared that twenty thousand of Takshashila's citizens were to join the new workforce for reconstruction of the iron mines, the oligarchs stood to oppose him. They collectively petitioned against the emperor and passed a resolution to boycott the latest diktat. Samrat Dhananand was infuriated, "How dare they ! These maggots ! These non-persons ! Challenge the order of Samrat Dhananand! I will show them... I will show them what happens to those who dare to oppose me !" the oligarchs were attacked and enslaved. Every last one of them was sent to work among the workforce. Emperor Dhananand secured a decree from the brahminical council at Varanasi that declared that the oligarchs were now to be deemed as shudras liable to be treated only as beasts of burden and no better. The hundred oligarchs were paraded in chains through the streets of Takshashila before being sent to work on the iron mines of Kashi.



In disgust, Chandragupta Maurya, a military leader posted in Takshashila resigned his office. However, in a twist of fate, he and Acharya Vishnugupt met the very day his caravan entered Takshashila. Chandragupta Maurya reminded the acharya of himself in his fiery youth. A prodigy himself, he had established his skill in warfare during the peacekeeping operations in the volatile Western frontiers near Herat. They had only heard about one another in legend and rumor and had the greatest regard for each other. Chandragupt Maurya considered Acharya Vishnugupt as his mentor and desired that he take him under his tutelage, to which the Acharya gladly obliged. It was here, in Takshashila, at the darkest hour of the Nanda Dynasty, that Acharya Vishnugupt and Chandragupt Maurya authored a new future for Bharat.

The tremors from the West had finally begun to be heard in the East. The forewarning that the emissary from Europe had given was true. The young Greek leader Alexander of Mykedon had united all the Greek clans under one rule, and set out to conquer Asia. Emperor Dhananand busy indulging himself and celebrating his supposed victory paid no heed to "the far away and fanciful threat from the West" .



The emperor did not know, that he was sowing the seeds of his own doom. The reappointed foreign minister was indolent and tended to take things for granted. This was a trait he showed in his dealing with the kingdom of Avanti and the developments in Kalinga. As once predicted by Kanu, the Kalinga republic did collapse after Shishunag's rebellion. In place of that republic, emerged a monarchy shaped on the traditions of Magadh and Avanati. The new king of Kalinga, set about to raid and conquer the surrounding weaker kingdoms. Avanti after its disastrous defeat against Magadh seemed ripe for the picking. The king of avanti had started showing concern for his independence but was weary of joining the empire of Magadh as long as Dhananand sat the throne. Tales of his arrogant oppression of Takshashila had not won him much love outside of Bharat either. Acharya Vishnugupt was quick to take advantage of the situation before him.



"In order to defeat a stronger enemy, one should surround it with an alliances of nations which feel threatened by it." Chanakya theorized, and working on this strategy, he devised an alliance with the King of Avanti. His first task, was to convince Chandragupt Maurya not to resign his office. There were not many who could fill his shoes, and Dhananand would have need for all the talent he could muster. Despite his weaknesses the emperor did have talent for finding talent. Chandragupt Maurya would then leverage his position as military advisor to manipulate the movement of troops.

Acharya Vishnugupt would then start a disinformation campaign. In his years as pupil and professor at the Gurukul of Takshashila wherein he had earned the title of Acharya, Vishnugupt had earned a large following. He would use the networks he had created then to build an effective network of spies. "Knowledge is key to victory. Spies are key to an empire" he would say. He would put his own notion to the test, when he embarked on the disinformation campaign against Dhananand. At first sowing fear of rebellion in the Western provinces due to the coming of Alexander and then sowing fear in the minds of the emperor. This threw the emperor in a state of paranoia. He would concede to every demand Chandragupt would make, and Chandragupt would act on the guidance of Acharya Vishnugupt Chanakya.



In the meanwhile, the greek hurricane was making its way across the known world. One by one, the realms of Egypt/Misr, Babylon, and Persia were falling. The Persians were now the only force which had held out against the armies of Alexander.



"If Bharat has the misfortune of being ruled by an incompetent king, then Alexander may yet succeed in conquering her. But if a righteous ruler can take the throne of Magadh and hold the mantle of Bharata, then it would be impossible for Alexander to hope to conquer her" Chanakya would say. It was the unity of Bharata from Gandhar in the North to the lands far South, all would come under one rule. It was a dream and a vision Chandragupta Maurya shared and one he hoped to fulfill. It was for the fulfilment of this dream, that they worked to defend against Alexander's invasion. The King of avanti was befooled by Chanakya, into joining sides with the Persian king against Alexander, he would now be a target, but Alexander could only threaten Bharat if he could conquer Persia.

At the gates of Persepolis, his seemingly unstoppable army was bogged down in a hopeless siege. For near five years now, his fruitless war had raged on. After the spree of initial successes against weak kingdoms and weakly defended cities, the Macedonian behemoth was faltering when faced against an adversary who could defend himself. Even so, with a massive Greek army so close to our borders, Chanakya found suitable cause to keep the emperor befooled. Despite the best thought advise of his prime minister whose loyal defense of the new king had earned him the title of "Rakshas". He only did what he believed was his duty, but in the eyes of the people, he was nothing more than a demon for he defended Dhananand.

A time came, when Dhanananda's paranoia had made him take the most irrational decision of expelling the prime minister from the ministerium. Thus, Dhananand lost his most capable ally. Even as Chandragupta Maurya gained control of virtually all of the armed forces of Magadh. They were now stationed at Takshashila and Takshashila was in all but name, the realm of Chandragupta and Chanakya. The garrison of Pataliputra was reduced to a token presence of a few conscript archers while that of Takshashila swelled to over a hundred thousand!



With the second largest army behind him, the genius of Acharya Vishnugupta and a paranoid emperor handicapped for any ally. The ensuing coup was smooth, bloodless and quick. A procession marched its way through the gates of Pataliputra, the purpose of the visit, ostensibly to honor the wise king and pay tribute from the eternally grateful subjects of Takshashila. A vast procession led by a dozen elephants draped in gold and silks, with carts after carts laden with goods, went up through the roads of Pataliputra till they reached the palace.

The emperor was there before them to greet the procession in person. When the carts were uncovered, armed men emerged from there. Hundreds of archers, spearmen and even some club wielding warriors. They surrounded the palace of Pataliputra and took the emperor hostage. From atop the elephant sat Chandragupta Maurya looked down upon Dhanananda and beside him sat a man the emperor was only too familiar with. The two men came down from the elephant, and faced the emperor. Acharya Vishnugupta Chanakya revealed himself to the emperor after five years of exile and subversive activities from Takshashila. The Acharya smiled, and slowly tied his hair. "My first task has been completed" he said, then he pointed to Chandragupt and said "Here stands before you the new samrat of Bharat and rightful king of Magadh. For he is a righteous and deserving King".

Emperor Dhananand sank down to his knees, and prepared for the inevitable.

Legions upon legions of Greek hoplites swarmed the lands of Mesopotamia and Persia. One by one the great cities of antiquity fell to their spears and catapults. Persepolis was the last line of defense for the faltering Persian empire and Darius III feared certain doom if they were left unassisted. He would sit and consult with his ministers on the future course of action.

Quite unlike the previous samrat of Bharat, the new ruler, Chandragupta Maurya, was concerned about the affairs of the world, and in particular those which would affect the integrity of India's frontiers. In him the Persians felt they could find an ally in their struggle against Alexander. However, there would be a cost to securing his aid in this war. The cost perhaps would be Persia's independence.

Darius and his ministers sat and discussed three options.

1) Whether to accept Greek suzerainty and submit without further fighting thus becoming Alexander's vassal. ( Yes or no )

2) Whether to continue fighting and hope by some miracle of Ahura Mazda, that the Greeks decide to end their war against us and leave. ( Yes or no )

3) Whether to seek to be protectorate to the rule of Chandragupta Maurya under whom there may be a possibility that persia would survive against Greece. ( Yes or no )

[ Here I am going to introduce a new rule in my IAAR. From time to time I will give command of a country for one major decision to the players here. I start this, with persia and giving the above three choices. So for any of those who may be willing to take it, you have to play Darius III and his ministers and chose one of the three aforementioned options. Answer by writing Option 1 Yes or No This voting will be open for another 20 hours. ]

How strong are Persia's cities at the moment?

Option 1. Yes for now anyways.

We Persians will strike when Alexander is weak.

So says,

Emperor Darius, third of my name

Option 1. YES
Then,we shall make a strong army and control the combination of the Arabic,Ottoman and Achaemenid empire and make Seljuk our vassals(by world builder or something)

DKVM said:

Option 1. Yes for now anyways.

We Persians will strike when Alexander is weak.

So says,

Emperor Darius, third of my name

Click to expand...

and then,they never did

Option 3 Yes

We cannot accept the Greek's oppression! These westerners must be punished for their invasion.

Option 1 Yes

Chandragupta Maurya donned the crown of Magadh after Dhananand's execution to become the fourth Samrat of Bharata. Acharya Vishnugupt Chanakya would become his Prime Minister. In his position of Prime Minister the Acharya would ensure the smooth functioning of the samrat's rule guiding him through the most challenging obstacles that came his way. Under Dhananand, a vicious famine had struck owing to his brutal forced labor policies.

Over half a million had perished in that famine resulting in the worst decline of population that the land had ever witnessed. Emperor Mahapadmanand's plan for reconstruction seemed to be even more difficult than before. It was made all the more difficult with the persistent threat of the Yavanas on the Western border. In the Southern and Eastern border things were not as peaceful as they seemed.



The king of Avanti was suffering from raids by the Santhals of Kalinga. Kalinga now had re-emerged from the chaos after Raja Shishunag's suicidal war with Magadh and its new king had expanded his domains. Avanti was right in feeling threatened. Chanakya who had already established Avanti as an ally of Magadh, would now push things farther. From Takshashila, the army of the Mauryas could strike in three directions. Either it could strike North to meet any threat to Herat, it would strike West and fight the Yavanas, or it could strike South and invade Avanti.

The Sindhu river gave quick access for armies to move South to the Western sea and attack the coasts of Avanati. A messenger came from Avanti to treat with the new samrat of Bharata. He read out the king's message before the court of Pataliputra :
"PradyotaRaj from Avanti sends you his greetings o all powerful Samrat. It has been many years now, since Avanti's borders have been raided by the powerful tribes of Kalinga. It is the king's belief now, that he no longer has the strength to fight these tribes alone and seeks the protection of Magadh. Pradyotraj considers it his honor should the crown of Magadh accept his submission and acceptance to the empire of Magadh".

The Acharya's had assessed the situation correctly. A smile came to his face which suggested vindication. Samrat Chandragupt arose, "Tell Pradyotraj, that Magadh stands before the rest of Bharat, as the patriarch before his family. It is the duty of he who sits as the samrat of Magadh, to protect his family that is all the kingdoms and peoples of Bharat. To defend your kingdom from the strength of Kalinga, we accept your offer to merge with our illustrious empire".



The response of the people of Avanti was lukewarm. For generations they had been at odds with Magadh, and there were those whose fathers had fought against the army of Magadh when Samrat Nand sat the throne. For them to accept the rule of Magadh was not easy, but a new threat had arisen from the East. Kalinga was on the rampage. Having re-emerged from the anarchy after Shishunag's rebellion, it laid claim to all lands across the Eastern coast of Bharata. To assert this, it attacked the lands of the Tamil people.



The fishing village of Kanchipuram was home to a few thousand tamil fishermen, but it was the first settlement of its kind in the far South. The Tamil people had been in contact with the people of the North for many centuries now. From trade and travel, they had learnt different and varied sciences. But some said they had gone farther. The literary traditions of the sangam would open up new knowledge, some of which were said to be lost with the fabled lost continent of Lemuria. Ages past, and the Tamil people were finally confident in asserting themselves on the world. They arose to make the seas their own and perhaps, build a civilization to rival that of the Aryans of the North.



An emissary from the Tamil tribe of the Cholas met with the emperor making known of the existence of their domains. The claims angered Chandragupt Maurya and he was willing to show the strength of his armed forces, the same strength he had now vowed to use against the kingdom of Kalinga breaking the peace pact signed with his predecessors. The same strength which threatened to strike West and defend the borders of Bharata against the threat of the Yavanas. His army was the second most powerful in the world, but tasked with defending the largest empire that exists, it was stretched to the limits of its resources.

The Acharya reminded Samrat Chandragupt Maurya of one of the basic tenets of his six-fold policy on war and peace : "Whoever is inferior to another shall make peace with him; whoever is superior in power shall wage war; whoever thinks "no enemy can hurt me, nor am I strong enough to destroy my enemy," shall observe neutrality; whoever is possessed of necessary means shall march against his enemy; whoever is devoid of necessary strength to defend himself shall seek the protection of another; whoever thinks that help is necessary to work out an end shall make peace with one and wage war with another. Such is the aspect of the six forms of policy."

So it was decided, that with the Cholas, there will be peace and neutrality, but with Kalinga there would be war.

Chandragupta Maurya drew out his warplans and as he did so, he watched the borders of his empire, the largest in the world. Chanakya and Chandragupt saw their great dream coming to fruition.

Yay, the Coca-Cholas have arrived!