A Tryst with Destiny

@VGL : A Persian story would be really nice. A suggestion : Play the Safavids in SOI, they're really cool in that.

Well,I wanted to play DOC.But thanks for the opinion.I might do that

Samrat Ashok left a legacy that was hard to live up to. He and his grandfather would stand highest in the pantheon of rulers this land had. Under their enlightened rule, Bharatvarsh emerged strong and prosperous. Samrat Chandragupt gave Bharat strength, and Samrat Ashok gave it a soul.

Under the guidance of Samrat Chandragupt and his mentor Acharya Chanakya, Bharata grew enough strength to fight off the army of Alexander. The strength would not dissipate, but only grow with time. The armed forces of the Mauryan empire were feared and envied by lesser civilizations. It gave us the strength to stand firm before the world. This was the strength which would allow samrat Ashok, who once was feared as Chandashok, to spread the glory of our culture to the world. Under his guidance the message and learning of the Buddha would spread to far off lands, and thus Bharata would begin the conquest of souls to the very ends of the Earth.

By the time Samrat Samprati sat the throne of Magadh, the tripitak was read by persians, Greeks, Chinese and even the nomadic Tocharians. Buddhism, was the largest religion in the world.



At the end of samrat Samprati's reign, the empire stood taller than ever and Bharatvarsha was grander than it had ever been. It was the richest and most extensive nation in the world.



Her cities were counted amongst the greatest



and her learning surpassed all others



But for all this power and glory the dynasty had attained for this land in its one hundred and fifty years of existence, it would all seemed to have been wasted. For samrat Samprati, had not appointed his heir as successor. Prince Salisuka in his time had proven himself unworthy of the throne, or so at least samrat Samprati thought. For the first time since Samrat Nand had sat the throne of Magadh, there was no successor sitting beside the emperor to pass on the crown to. No diarchy was established.

When emperor Samprati died, he left the throne of Magadh vacant and the future of the dynasty uncertain.

It was at this time, that the ministers intervened. Once again, after nearly two hundred years, it would seem that there was a need for the ministers to chose a new samrat for Magadh, and Bharata. The five ministers met in conference to determine the fate of Magadh.

The finance minister put forth the candidature of Pushyamitra Sunga. A brahmin military leader from the south-western province of Avanti. He was the protege of general Chandragupt and was thought more capable than the 'quarelsome' and 'incompetent' Salisuka Maurya, whom even his father had disowned. The ministers however, were cautious. Salisuka was a prince disliked by his father, but not disowned of his inheritance. He would not take lightly to being bypassed by a rival contender. Yet, they did not oppose Pushaymitra Sunga's candidature.

When he heard of the minister's plot, he was enraged. "The throne is mine by rights ! Just as it belonged to my father and his father before him ! What do these upstart ministers think, that they can seat whoever they want ?! If the throne is mine I will take it !" Salisuka then went on to call upon the ministerium and demanded a vote.
And so there was a vote.

Of the five ministers of the court of Magadh, the finance minister stood alone in his support for the candidature of Pushyamitra Sunga. With this move, Samrat Salisuka maurya, first of his name, legitimized his place as the Samrat of Magadh and the ruler of Bharatvarsh. With him sat his two sons, Prince Satadhanvan and Brihadrath.

He now sat upon the legacy of his forefathers and all they had built. He saw in their work, the power to subjugate and destroy, but not the power to create. His first act as emperor of Bharata, was to decree hereditary succession as the law. This law would remain till the end of days he proclaimed. He made his second decree that day on the fate of those he deemed traitorous "And of those that defy me ! I shall give them this warning." armed guards, seized the finance minister who had voted for Pushyamitra Sunga, and enforced his exile to Gandhar. "And you?" the emperor asked of Pushyamitra Sunga, the general clenched his fist and breathed heavily subduing pent up rage, "What can I do, but do as the emperor decrees" "Then you shall fight for me, loyally and without question!" .

With this first victory, Samrat Salisuka had effectively eliminated any opposition to his reign. As emperor over the Mauryan empire, his first major policy decision would be to reverse the policies of his forefathers, Samrat Ashok and Samprati. No more would there be grand temples or monasteries, the century of peace that Ashok had once promised would be undone in a matter of five years.. five frightful years.

The sound of the emperor's fist banging against the armrests had become almost ritual in the palace of Pataliputra. A sound eclipsed only by the emperor's shrill angered shouting "Empty the treasury for all I care! I want to see hordes of war elephants in my army!" he screamed before draining the treasury to finish researching knowledge of horseback riding. A project which was nearly completed in any case.



"I don't care if I have to make infants pick up boulders ! I will have this damned monastery built now!" he shouted before forcing the people of Magadh to work till death upon the Jain monastery his father had commissioned. Standing before it he would often smile an arrogant cocksure smile as though saying "look at me now father, who is the incompetent now?"



"Every man who can work a plough can work a hammer in a forge, and any man who can wield a stick can wield a sword just as well. Make them train my legions of swordsmen! There will be time later for building useless shrines for pathetic monks!" said the emperor before forcing farmers and artisans out of their fields and forges to work on making armor and swords for his army. Famine was the outcome of this measure as able men left their fields untended for the samrat's projects.



Mercenary companies who had been sent back to their homelands were now recalled. The Charioteers and spearmen whose grandfathers and great grandfathers had fought the war against Alexander, would now fight another war. But against whom ? Salisuka kept his ministers wondering, till one day, he broke his silence. Samrat Salisuka banged his fist on the armrest and shouted "We head South to conquer the Tamil kingdoms of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas ! This is my order ! Does anyone object ?"

Woohoo! War against the Cholas!

Time to empty a can of Coca-Chola!

Nicholas Bionat was sound asleep. Moonlight shone through the translucent curtains, just enough to show his calm countenance, a wavering smile. Then a frown. As a scribe, an occupation he held for perhaps a century, he was one of the most trusted men in all of Bharat. Even the new emperor liked him and his friend - an accomplishment indeed.

All that would change today.

"Nikōlasa," a man whispered as he creaked open the door. "Nikōlasa!"

Nicholas slowly opened his eyes. He was surprised, but he did not have the energy to show it. Getting up at sunrise was hard enough, let alone in the middle of the night.

"Nikōlasa, this is very important," the man said. "I need you to wake up now and come with me to see the Emperor!"

After what seemed like two hours of Nicholas getting up, donning his morning clothes, washing his face and hair, he walked down the long hallway to one of the back rooms of the palace.

There, Emperor Salisuka was standing; to both of his sides were bodyguards. The bodyguards were deeply tanned and held eternal scowls. Emperor Salisuka, on the other hand, had a paler complexion, enough that one could make out veins under the back of his hand. He also appeared less angry than his entourage, almost calm, even.

In front of him was a table. On it was a box, made of solid gold. On its elegantly decorated top was writing: "I have become death, destroyer of worlds," it quoted from the Bhagavad Gita.

"Good day," Emperor Salisuka said, ignoring that the night was still at its deepest outside.

"Good morning, my majesty" Nicholas said as he and his companion bowed respectfully to the emperor.

"Indeed," the emperor said. "Now, I have brought you here for a very special reason. Very special."

Nicholas said nothing.

Emperor Salisuka produced a key, almost out of thin air. It was a key. Like the box, it was golden; it glowed in the candlelight of the room. "First, I want to show you the contents of this box. They will be among the items you will need for your mission."

"Mission?" Nicholas quipped.

"Yes indeed, a mission." Emperor Salisuka crouched down such that his eye level was at the box. Gingerly, he inserted the key into the keyhole, turned it left and right, and removed it. He slowly opened it.

"Look at it." Emperor Salisuka turned the box around, such that the lid was to the back. In it were bullets, arranged perfectly in two rows of six. Their dull iron contrasted with the lustrous gold. They were not the bullets that Nicholas brought with him to Bharat. They were indigenous, crafted by the emperor's personal blacksmiths.

"As you know," the emperor continued, "only you know the secrets of your weapon. Your friend from the future is but a philosopher, only useful for his literary skills. But you are a true Kshatriya, a philosopher-king. You have demonstrated you skills to us during the the fitness tests, the demonstration matches, and ultimately, the battle against Alexander. You are perhaps our most powerful soldier: skilled in our ways of the sword, and a professional in your own ways of the gun."

"Now your gun is perhaps the most powerful weapon in Bharat, perhaps in the world. It is enough to wipe out an entire battalion of enemy soldiers without harm to the self. Even elephants will succumb to its effects. But there's only one of it. And while we can make the bullets, we still cannot replicate the intricacy of your gun. It has confounded our most skilled craftsmen, our most knowledgeable scientists. But here, one gun is enough."

"Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to go down to the lands to the south of Bharat, to the kingdoms of the Tamils. We are about to declare war on them. I need you to assassinate all their kings and princes, such as to sow chaos in their lands. With their leadership shot, we then can swoop in and engulf the Tamil states, where we will bring our glory to those barbarous peoples. Do you accept?"

"Yes," Nicholas said in an unequivocal manner. "Yes, I lust for adventure. I will accept your challenge, my majesty, and I will do my best to complete it."

"Okay," Emperor Salisuka said. Even he was surprised by the confidence of Nicholas' response. "Come with me, then," he said. "I will show you the details of the plan."

map of the empire

Emperor Salisuka looked at the map of his empire. It was the largest, most extensive empire that existed in the world. It spread from Gandhaar in the far North West, to Avanti and Assaka in the South. Only the lands to the far South were left to conquer. Lands which were ruled by a confederacy of three kings. The King of the Pandyan ruled from Thanjavur, the King of the Cheras ruled from Cochi, and the king of the Cholas ruled from Kanchipuram.

Even before declaring war, the emperor sent his most trusted spy, Guptachr Nikolasa to assassinate every king of the Tamil confederacy. Five brutal years had passed in preparation for this war, the emperor's health kept worsening. He wanted a swift and decisive victory over the Tamils, "What could they possibly do anyways ? True they had elephants, but we have the numbers and the resources ! Even if we lose three men for every kill, we would still beat them two times over!" Salisuka thought to himself.

The day he had declared war, he was most restless. He did not sleep then, he constantly reviewed the battle plans put forth by his generals. The army of Takshashila was placed under the command of Pushyamitra Sunga and Satakarni. Two of the best leaders the the empire had at this time. The emperor had a special fondness for the latter, in whom he entrusted the affairs of the entire peninsula. It was said that the Mauryan empire had not one but two dynasties, The Mauryans ruled the North, and the Satakarni's ruled the South. Under his command, the army was moved to the Southernmost border of Avanti.



The emperor sat in council with his generals the next day, "The army is ready to strike samrat." General Satakarni reported, "No.. not yet. Let us wait for Nikolasa to return with the heads of their kings. We'll march with their heads on a pike as our banner" said the emperor with an evil grin. Just then, a messenger walked in "A messenger has come from the Tamil kingdoms", that seemed to surprise the emperor, there was a hint of fear in his eyes. "Send him in" . The messenger came with a letter that he opened and read out "The Tamil Confederacy sends this message, the emperor Salisuka Maurya, Samrat of Magadh. It has come to our notice, that spies under your service have been sent to assassinate the three crowned kings of Pandya Nadu, Chola Nadu and Chera Nadu. For this crime, your spy who goes by the name of Nikolasa, has been imprisoned and awaits execution." Salisuka's face turned pale, he was overwhelmed in equal parts by anger and fear. His body started to tremble, in a burst of anger he shouted out "Send the army out now! Kill this messenger !"

Moments later he started panting and his hands shook more violently than ever. "Call the vaidya !" Pushyamitra Sunga shouted , the palace vaidya rushed to the aid of their emperor. He was escorted back to his bedchamber. Two hours later, the royal vaidya came out. "Samrat Salisuka, is no more. The emperor is dead". There was no emotion in his voice, nothing to suggest any sorrow nor joy. The ministers did their best to hide their sense of relief and gratefulness, while Satakarni steepled his fingers, closed his eyes and gave a very slow smile. Once again, uncertainty threatened the throne of Magadh. All eyes were on Pushyamitra Sunga, the runner up candidate and the one favored by the ministry, "The emperor had decreed hereditary succession as law. This is as good as appointing a successor. Then the throne rightfully passes to Satadhanvan. To him, I pledge my loyalty" and with these words, Pushyamitra Sunga ended all speculation of placing him in power. Satakarni, smiled again.

By law, the Tamils had declared war on Magadh, by holding the royal scribe hostage. The war plans remained unchanged. The army stationed near the banks of the Kaveri would attack the Chera lands first. From there, they would move East to the Pandyan lands, and finally to the very heart of the Tamil confederacy, the mouth of the Kaveri river at Kanchipuram. The new samrat Satadhanvan Maurya, gave his seal of approval to the plan. Now Bharat shall witness its bloodiest battle.



A division of swordsmen earlier stationed on the Kaveri, travelled North to link up with the main army. It was here that the first battle of the War of the South was fought. Tamil swords met Mauryan swords on the banks of the Kaveri. Three thousand blades against three thousand blades. The swordsmen of the Mauryas were skilled veterans from the Kalinga war, trained in the arts of sword fighting. The Tamils, though not battle hardened were no less skilled than their enemies. The blades met, and the Mauryas emerged victorious. The field was littered with the dead and dying soldiers of the Mauryan empire and the Tamil confederacy. The remaining troops marched North and linked with the main army marching South.

It was an army the likes of which the Tamils never saw. Having developed in the far South of Bharata, they had not seen the vast armies of the Greeks or the power of Persia. They had never faced a large army... till today. Two hundred and fifty thousand archers, spearmen, axemen, swordsmen and horse cavalry marched on the Chera land. Among them, were Tamil spearmen mercenaries and tamil charioteers. General Pushyamitra Sunga had not seen any wisdom in recruiting these mercenaries for war. They would empathize with the foe, after all, how could they fight their own people ? They were the weak link in the Maurya armed forces. Yes, they were great fighters, no one could doubt that, against Greeks and any other Northern foe, they would fight ably.. but against other Tamils ?

As the army approached the Chera city of Cochin, they saw the enemy they faced. Five hundred war elephants prepared to face the Mauryan army. Though the knowledge of training elephants were known to the men of the North, they did not know the technique to armor them, nor to construct the forts atop these creatures, that the Tamils knew of. The prospect of fighting a horde of these beasts had frightened many before they came to this war. But Pushyamitra Sunga had adapted his army to fighting a horde of these creatures. The Kamboja cavalry would be key. Elephants were strong, but also fickle, they are easy to anger and easy to decieve.

Even as the army was preparing to besiege Cochin, a batallion of sixty elephants had managed to cross the Kaveri and enter Avanti. This division was in the sight of the main army, yet the men were told not to engage them. "We must preserve our full strength for the war on the Tamil country. Our northern troops are sufficiently strong to tackle just one elephant batallion." Pushyamitra Sunga wasn't entirely convinced by general Satakarni's words. The two did not like each other, it always seemed as though this man had a hidden agenda, a plan of his own.



The siege of Cochin began with a bombardment from the catapults. The walls of Cochin fell to the constant battering of the catapults. Beyond that, they caused collateral damage on troops and citizens sheltering behind the fortifications. The Tamils in their panic sent their archers to counter the catapults. The enemy was bewildered at the sight of such advanced weaponry. The Mauryans had won the psychological battle already. The Chera king could see that defeat was imminent. The Chera army could either fight and die or surrender. They chose to fight.

A hundred war elephants were sent on a charge against the Mauryan army. The catapults were the target, but they failed to coordinate their charge. The elephants scattered in different directions, which allowed the Mauryan army to overwhelm them with archers and spears. Fire tipped arrows were shot at the elephants provoking them to run with fear. The elephants were thus disorganized and sent retreating. The first charge failed.

Now it was the Indian side who would attack. The Kamboja cavalry had already perfected the tactic of hit and run in the war against Alexander, this was a tactic they would use here as well. The timing of the invasion was perfect, as it was the dry season. In the wet seasons, the rain would make the soft soil of the South slippery making it nearly impossible for cavalry to work effectively. Hills presented another tactical disadvantage. Despite these, the Indian side would triumph. The damage would be doubled by the bombardment from catapults. The cavalry began harassing the elephants with arrows distracting them away from the catapults which kept their bombardment of the garrison. The horses drew the elephants to a trap, where Kushan spearmen and archers awaited their kill. Twenty thousand spears and archers pounced on the elephant horde killing or injuring every one of them.

The Chera army soon began retreating from the field. The archers who defended Cochin too surrendered under the constant bombardment of the catapults. Two thirds of the garrison had either fled or died leaving only a handful of brave archers to defend their city. The battle was as good as won.

The day's fighting had revealed where the loyalties of every soldier lay. The mercenaries recruited from the Tamil lands deserted the army in the midst of the fighting. A spearman company and a chariot company ran from the field of battle and made their way East to Chola Nadu. It was the Kushana and Elamites who brought down the elephants. General Sunga's suspicions were thus proven true, yet General Satakarni seemed unperturbed. "By purging our enemies we have only strengthened ourselves. The remainder of this war would be in our favor just as this battle was" . General Satakarni seemed to be more concerned with his letters than with the war. His tent was lit all through the night. He spent the hours writing letters yet no one, not even General Pushyamitra knew what they were for. "Some battles are won with swords and spears, others with quills and letters" he would say. He could not be sure, but his instincts told him that there was something was not right.

The next day's battle was hardly a battle. A band of Naga warriors had come with the army down South. They were descendants of the same men who had put Kalinga to fire in the age of Ashoka, now they wished to take this zealotry to the South and massacre the Tamil 'vidharmis'. For the people of the North, all Tamils were inferior, and belonged among Shudras. The way of Manu had hardly any followers here, Tamils were either Buddhist or jaina. The latter the Nagas considered heretical, and the former outright blasphemy. Only a hundred archers remained, to defend Cochin against the fanatical warriors. A thousand trident and club wielding warriors descended on the ruinous city from the hills. The archers fought bravely, but were overwhelmed. Cochin was razed to the ground, its inhabitants massacred ruthlessly. The temples and Maths were plundered for every piece of treasury the nagas could find.



General Pushyamitra Sunga did not want this, he did not order this. "Who sent the Nagas !?" "Who gave them the order!" the general was furious. "It was I" said Satakarni "How could you send the Nagas, what gave you the right!" "We won this battle, now we shall win the war. With Cochin burnt to the ground, the other Tamil kingdoms would know the price of resistance. They would either surrender or lose the will to fight" General Sunga had lost patience, He grabbed Satakarni by the neck and punched him in the face. The way General Sunga attacked Satakarni, it seemed as though he meat to kill him! It took the intervention of the seven captains in the tent to stop the fighting. "You have blood in your hands Satakarni! This will not go down well." A look of scorn was Satakarni's reply.

In the next day General Satakarni said that he would be leaving for Avanti. "The city of Avanti is being threatened by the Tamil elephants. I must be present there to defend my land" the general said, Pushyamitra Sunga became suspicious "Oh so now the elephants are a serious threat ? I recall a man once telling me that the army in the North is capable to deal with 'one mere elephant batallion'. You are needed here." Satakarni did not speak another word and rode off with his personal guards back to Avanti. Clouds darkened the skies, rains announced their coming with thunder. It was an ominous sign.

"Dun Dun Dun"

Ahhh, nothing smells better than typical Roman Indian politics.

You'd be surprised at how cut throat RL Indian politics can be. And you thought corruption in America was bad...

jackelgull said:

And you thought corruption in America was bad...

Click to expand...

It isn't though

CaterpillarKing said:

It isn't though

Click to expand...

Have you seen Detroit?

Small parts are but America as a whole is pretty clean.

There was a saying, that the North did not care what happened South of the Narmada. For a generation, the line of the Satavahana grew in the shadow of the Mauryan dynasty on the banks of the Narmada. Under the reign of emperor Samprati, the Satavahan dynasty emerged as viceroy over all lands South of the Narmada. With this, the kingdom of avanti had become practically autonomous to Magadh, but what Samrat Samprati gave with the right hand he took with the left. Avanti was stripped of aid and support from Magadh. When the drought hit the arid lands of Avanti, the Satavahan king was forced to beg before Samrat Samprati for aid. "I shall give you the aid you seek" said the emperor "But what shall I get in return?" and so in return, the Satavahan king accepted the submission to the throne of Magadh.

Satakarni had seen his father kneel before the emperor and bargain away the sovereignty of the Deccan. He did so for the future of their people, so that families may not starve. But Satakarni did not forget the humiliation of his dynasty, nor would he forgive..

Unbeknownst to anyone in the imperial court of Magadh, General Satakarni was preparing for great changes. Sheltered by the ignorance of the North, General Satakarni prepared his base. The scion of the Mauryas was weak and manipulable, he worked his way up the ladder and ensured that he be among the closest aides of Salisuka. His generalship and position within the court of Magadh were rewards of his clever diplomacy. It was he that convinced the then Prince Salisuka to demand for a vote. All the ministers, barring the minister of finances, were spineless. They would bow before Salisuka, if he so demanded. The result of the vote would be obvious. Prince Salisuka would win and become the new samrat.

Whilst he was manipulating the crown prince, he built up a network of alliances. Chief among them were the militant hindu monks of Kashi. They had become weary of the Mauryan dynasty and its undue favor to Buddhism and heretical hindu cults. Satakarni, like his father had grew up as orthodox hindus whose belief in the order of the four castes and in the divine strength of Shakti was as firm as it was deep. With the monks of Kashi, he made an agreement to make hinduism a state religion at the court of Magadh should he come to power. Thus, he paved the way for rewriting history.

What would be needed now, would be a war. Just as Chandragupt Maurya had taken the refuge of the war with the Greeks to usurp power in Magadh, he would take the cover of the war with the Cholas to usurp power in Magadh. This was a man who had learnt the science of statecraft, perfected by Chanakya an art Mauryan rulers had forgotten after Samprati.

With Salisuka dead, the throne of Magadh passed to two incompetent and incapable princes who were infamous for "doing nothing". In this time it was Satakarni who used his spies in the foreign ministry to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations, managed domestic affairs and kept his eyes and ears on the progress of the war. Five years would pass in war with the Cholas since his departure from the siege of Cochin. Minor battles and skirmishes characterized this phase of the war. Pushyamitra Sunga led the war effort in the far south while Satakarni weaved his worldwide web of intrigue from Avanti.



He made sure, that he would remain in contact with the emissary at Rome, and keep a close watch on developments in the West. The Roman republic as predicted over a century ago, had now gone on the warpath. The Carthaginians who had long resisted the Greeks and Romans finally surrendered with Carthago captured and sacked by Roman legionaries. It was reported, that they now planned to invade Greece. With such a mighty power, it made sense to keep the peace and engage in trade. The Romans had developed an understanding of organized religion and state religion, from the Persians. They promised to share this knowledge with our holy men in return for learning our techniques of horseback riding and elephant rearing.



The monks of Kashi were delighted ! Long had they waited to learn the entirety of these secrets, finally, they were at hand.

Pataliputra was a city brimming with anger and discontent. Salisuka's oppressive rule had left a great deal of anger among its citizenry. But another layer of discontent which would prove powerful in the coming days. The Sangh of Mahabodhi was no longer a centre of spiritual enlightenment, but had degenerated into an institute for hoarding money. It exploited the sentiments of the oppressed masses and acted as a pole of attraction for the lower castes but as soon as they would knock on the doors of the sangh, the bhikkus would extract every penny from them. These exploitative practices were the source of much discontent and alienation among the populous. Against this, the orthodox hindu brahmans seemed the very image of piety and integrity. As the influence of the sangh declined, the influence of the brahman increased. Pataliputra and the whole of Bharata was now gearing up for another revolution.

On a different note

10000 views ! Woohoo !

I thank all my friends and participants here for making this story popular ^_^.

YAHOO! Up with the Brahmins and down with the Buddhists! No one expects the Indian Inquisition!

DKVM said:

YAHOO! Up with the Brahmins and down with the Buddhists! No one expects the Indian Inquisition!

Click to expand...

Militant Buddhists > Brahmins

Also, (correct me if I'm wrong) but wasn't the Buddha a Brahmin (or a Brahmin-in-Training) before he became enlightened?

No his family was of the Kshatriya caste, warriors.

Moai_Spammer said:

Militant Buddhists > Brahmins

Also, (correct me if I'm wrong) but wasn't the Buddha a Brahmin (or a Brahmin-in-Training) before he became enlightened?

Click to expand...

I may have not been to clear. Look at this quote from the update.

the orthodox hindu brahmans

Click to expand...