For fifteen years the position of Mahamatya was held by Krishnasen. For these fifteen years, he administered the vast realm that was the Empire of Magadh, standing beside the two brother monarchs on the Lion throne, but just as day passes into night and seasons pass, every man must face that time when he would step down from his throne.
The two crowned Emperors of Magadh waited at their room, anxious and fearful of the future. Vashishtputra paced the room biting his thumbnail while his brother sat beside the bed with arms folded bearing a pensive look on his face. Pulumayi looked to his brother pacing to and fro and said, "The Amatya should not leave at this time."
Vashishtaputra turned to him and replied, "Mahamatya Krishnasen has made his choice. We must respect it."
"The realm needs him brother." Pulumayi said as he stood up, "We need him. You know this to be true. If it were not, you would not be pacing around this room with fear as you do now."
"It is true. I do fear for the future, both you and I have ruled under his shadow. His guidance has been there with us since our father left, but how much longer can we have him with us ? The Mahamatya is over eighty years old. Do not forget, that he only returned to our service on our father's pleading. We have no call to keep him with us."
"If it is so. Then he must appoint a successor."
"And so he shall!" the voice sounded from behind the curtains. It was Krishnasen who had entered with a scroll in his hand.
Pulumayi rose first and asked, "Mahamatya! Is it true what we hear ? Do you wish to retire?"
"That is true", Krishnasen replied, "I feel my time has come. I have served this realm since the time of your father's reign, but age has worn me down. The realm is in peace now, the pirates of the West have been thwarted, the North and South are united once more, and the boundaries beyond Gandhar are secure. Soon the Army of Magadh shall have thwarted the city states of Brahmadesh. We truly live in a time of peace. Samrat Vashishtaputra, Kumar Pulumayi, your reign is secure now. I feel my final duty has ended."
Samrat Vashishta spoke anxiously, "We need your guidance Mahamatya. I do not feel we are ready."
"Samrat, believe me when I say this. You are ready."
"But someone must take your place Mahamatya. Who have you appointed."
The Mahamatya smiled and handed the scroll in his hand to the anxious king, who unrolled it to find the name of the Mahamatya's candidate. "Jayantu ? Your son ?"
"Yes samrat. The only one to whom I have bequeathed by knowledge of arthashastra. I feel he will be capable in dispensing his duties."
The samrat was apprehensive, "But he is merely 21 years old."
"And how old was Chandragupt Maurya when destiny had chosen him as the Samrat of Bharata ?"
The question found no answer. Both rulers conceded on the wisdom of the Mahamatya's candidate and accepted the resignation.
The realm was indeed entering a time of peace and prosperity, but troubled lurked around the corner such that would test the ability of the new Mahamatya.
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"This is an outrage ! We will not stand for it !" the man shouted, "Those Northerners want to take our freedom away from us again ! Shame on you who consented to this !" it was a lone voice among a gathering of a hundred at the central square. The herald had just announced the result of the Chola Nadu plebiscite, where five out of six Dravidans had chosen to join in the Empire of Magadh. It was clear not every citizen of this kingdom would make this choice, it was not unusual for a dissenting voice to stand out from the crowd.
Ravanan was five decades old and sickly. He lived an impoverished life in the Cholan countryside, etching out a living from farming. This was not always true for his family, once they had been respectable warriors in the Cholan army. His ancestor fought against the Mauryan empire in the Great Southern War led by Sri Satakarni. His ancestor bore witness to the scouring of the crowned kingdoms of the South by the invading hordes of the North. Successive generations had grown with bitterness towards the North. So when he had heard that the plebiscite had been decided, and the people of Chola Nadu had willingly forsook their independence, he found it hard to accept.
Ravanan rushed through the crowd to the raised platform where the herald stood with the scroll in hand. He turned to the crowd, the people talked among themselves, they bore a content look on their face, "Who do these Northerners think they are, bargaining our freedom like a thing for sale ! Shame on you those who have voted for this ! Are you such fools as to believe their words ? Have you forgotten they had burned these lands !"
"Oh come down you old fool !" a young man called out from among the crowd,
"It happened hundreds of years ago ! Just get over it !"
Soon others in the crowd started yelling abuses at Ravanan, but a handful of people shoved themselves ahead. These half dozen men were supporters of Ravanan, they too had opposed joining the Empire of Magadh.
"What's wrong in what he's saying! He is right, this is just a Northern trick to decieve us again ! They want our gold and our ships!", Shivanand spoke out from among the dozen, but his words could not convince most of the men in teh crowd
"While the rest of Bharata develops we stay poor ! At least now there's a chance that the Empire will develop the South !"
"Oh why're we listening to these fools , let's throw them out of here !"
"Beat them! Beat them !"
Before long the argument turned violent, and the crowd forced out Ravanan and his supporters. Eventually they had to flee Kanchipuram beaten and bruised. At the gates, they sat huddled together. "Something must be done. We must organized ourselves", said Ravindran, "We must oppose this merger."
"They say, that many who were opposed to the union have already organized themselves." Ravanan replied,
"That's just hearsay ! If they were organized so well, then the Empire wouldn't be able to make this union at all!"
"And as luck would have it ! It is not hearsay after all."
"Who said that ?"
Under the great banyan tree at the gate of Kanchipuram, a shadowy figure emerged and walked towards the dozen men. He was young, and dressed modestly. A string across his body belied his brahmin caste. A red turban and dhoti completed his appearance. "Who among you is willing to kill and die for Chola Nadu ?"
One by one , the men in the group stood up. "And who are you to ask this ?"
"You may call me Meghdoot. I come from the Western village twenty leagues West from here. Now answer my question. Who among you, is willing to lay their lives for Chola Nadu's freedom. For those who are willing, I will bring you to the army of liberation."
Ravanan, Shivanand and the others looked at each other, they found it hard to believe the words of this stranger, but everyone knew in their hearts that they would be willing to kill for the freedom of their motherland. "I will go!" Ravanan stood up first, "But how do we know we can trust you."
Meghdoot looked at the men before him, "You are twelve, and I am alone. If anything, I should be afraid of you."
Reluctantly, they all agreed to follow this mysterious man. After walking through hills and along dirt roads, they finally came to the Eastern village. This village was infamous for being an abode of ghosts. Forty years ago, a mysterious illness had taken the lives of all those who lived in the village, it was said the water had been poisoned. No one knows why the village became deserted, all that is known, is that it lays here deserted now. Those who decided to remain in the village of their forefathers, reluctant to leave, died here and remained as ghosts. Whether or not there really were ghosts, whether or not this story was true, it was enough to keep away travelers. It was the perfect place to hide from prying eyes.
The group kept walking deep into the village, the huts and brick temples had been consumed by growing vines and invasive trees. Roots and branches tore through walls which once housed families. The only sound one could hear, was the eerie sound of forest creatures, but in the distance another sound could be heard sounding faint through the wind. "What is this misbegotten place you've brought us to?" one of the men asked, it was clear he no longer felt as eager to follow the stranger.
"Patience my friend. We are nearly there."
As the party kept walking through the remnants of the dirt road, the sounds of shouting men and clanging steel became clearer and clearer. They walked into a gate created by two arching trees intertwining with one another and then turned to a cave. "This better not be a trick Meghdoot !" Shivanand warned,
"I assure you, this is no trick." he said unsheathing his dagger and handing over to Shivanand, "But if you feel cheated, feel free to thrust this into my heart."
"That will not be needed" Ravanan replied, "Look there."
In the cave they could see the flickering lights of torches, the sound of men became louder. The curious men walked on and found no less than two hundred men training with arms being commanded by a leader. In the dim light of the torches, they could not recognize him, but as they came closer his face became clearer. "Keechaksen !" a startled Ravindran exclaimed. It was the disgraced nyayadheesh of Kanchipuram. It was not known what had come of him, but now it was known, at least to Ravindran and the men in the party.
The army that was training before them, was indeed an army of liberation. For a year now, Keechaksen and his cohorts were preparing for the day when Chola Nadu would be reunited with the Empire of Magadh. In his time as nyayadheesh, he conspired to usurp the administration of Kanchipuram, but he failed. The then Lankan Raja banished him thereafter, and nothing but rumors were heard of him after that.
"Senapati Keechaksen", Meghdoot bowed before him, "These men want to join our illustrious army."
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For twenty five years, the empire of Magadh remained at peace. The once youthful rulers had now aged, their restless minds had become sober. Mahamatya Krishnasen's successor had guided the emperors during this time, indeed it could even be said that he ruled for them. Samrat Gautamiputra had left two weak successors to the throne of Magadh, but he also left to them every tool to rule the empire effectively. All of Magadh's enemies had been thwarted, its administration strengthened and governance secured. There were only pirates and brigands left to challenge the empire.
The strongest of these foes were the pirate lords of Sindh, but their reign of terror was brought to an end by the brave sacrifice of the sailors of the Lankan fleet. With their end, it seemed like there would never be a threat to the realm, the emperor and his brother became indolent. The younger, married to a princess of Ujjain, thought of nothing but his new wife and child, while The elder became indolent. It was in this time, that shadowy forces worked unnoticed.
While the North was safe and secure, trouble brewed in the far South of the realm. Reports emerged of ravenous bands of warriors raiding the gold mines in the hills West of Chola Nadu. For long, the Mahamatya had warned about reports of secret armies training in the outlying hills near Kanchipuram, the emperor's reply then was as it is today, "Outlandish rumors! Nothing more. The realm is at peace and shall ever be in peace.", the Mahamatya could only shake his head.
Today, those very rumors have come true, and the gold mines of Kanchipuram are being raided and captured one by one. Like a plague, the army grew into a menace, but the army of Chola Nadu was ever ready to face this latest challenge. It fell upon the Mahamatya to deal with the menace.
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The fires seemed to burn more vividly at night. The militia army of Keechaksen had undertaken a strategy of unrestrained loot and destruction of the gold mining province of Kolar. He had ambitions which went far beyond simply protesting against accession, he intended to create a realm in his own image. The wealth needed for this ambitious project could only come from the gold of the South. From there, he would build a new Dravidian empire, the likes of which would challenge the Empire of Magadh.
Ravindran stood with his spear in hand, solemnly looking upon the flames billowing out of the cavern. In his mind, he could still hear the deathly shrieks of the miners trapped inside. "What is all this for?" he would ask himself, "Is this the cause for which we fought ? Is this liberation ?"
When he had joined this army, it was nothing more than a rabble of a handful of poorly armed and trained militia recruited from the villages of Chola Nadu. Now it had grown to a force of a thousand warriors, but there was something in that rabble of poorly trained troops that was missing in this army. This army, had no cause, no love for the nation, no hope for the future, its only purpose seemed to hoard gold and massacre innocents.
Ravindran was the last of the group of men who had joined from Kanchipuram. Over the fifteen years that he had been part of this insurgency, he witnessed first hand the souring of the vision of an independent Chola Nadu. 'I envy Ravanan' he thought to himself, 'he died before he could see this.' The man who had led them, was the first to perish. His frail body has failed his fiery mind before he reached his 60th birthday. By then the militia had already grown, Ravanan died with hope in his eyes, that his countrymen would one day be free, the old glory of the Chola kingdom would revive. 'Oh Ravanan you naive fool.'
The night was hot and humid, like most nights in the southern kingdoms. The men of the militia made merry with their loot, gorging themselves on women and mead. These men were mercenaries, recruited from among bandits and brigands, some among them were wayward pirates from the North West, they were the most ruthless of them all. Ravindran preferred to keep aloof from their company, tonight he was given the task of keeping watch on the hills to the North East. Scouts had reported that the spearmen from Chola Nadu had been mobilized on orders of the emperor of Magadh. Three thousand well trained armored troops were marching towards their camp, the thought of it had made Keechaksen paranoid, and the mercenaries more desperate. It was as though an imminent death loomed upon them, as inescapable and dark as the night itself. All in the army knew an ignominious end to this rebellion was awaiting them, none knew who would live and who would die, this night was perhaps their last moment to enjoy the pleasures of life, but for Ravindran, the defeat would serve a dual purpose. He would accept it as a just punishment for his part in the unjustified slaughter of innocents, and a liberation from servitude to this army of looters.
"It would be for the best", he said to himself as he sat at his watch, "Let this wretched life come to its wretched end". A few moments had passed, when the ominous sound rang through the darkness of the night. Mixed with the sound of crickets and bats, there was the sound of rustling trees, the fell wind and the thump of war drums. 'They have arrived', Ravindran took a deep breath as he braced himself, 'May the gods judge me fairly'.
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The commander of the elephant division was abound with confidence when he declared before the emperor, "Do the people of Pugam even know how to draw swords ? Ha ! There won't even be a battle, it will be glorious slaughter ! I do not think that those primitives would be able to stand without wetting themselves at the sight of our might elephant hordes !"
The emperor and the court applauded the words of the commander. Soon enough, they would be tested as the horde of 200 war elephants made their way through the muddy hills East of Vanga, into the wild lands of Brahmadesh. Before them, lay the city state of Pugam. The King of Pugam was known to be a tempermental young man, at the age of 16 he had inherited more than he could be entrusted with. His grandfather had built for his people, the city state of Pugam, but he had not lived long to see the fruits of his work. Not one year had passed, that the visionary leader had met his death, the throne passed to his indecisive son who could not see the wisdom in treading lightly with the Empire of Magadh. His son, frustrated with the indecisiveness of his father, declared independence from the Empire of Magadh, and sought to build his own kingdom 'to rival that of Magadh itself!'.
Little did he know of the terrors he would unleash upon himself. Mahamatya Jatayu felt that there was wisdom in the path shown by his predecessors, that the course should be such as had been decided by Samrat Gautamiputra Satakarni. He had sought to keep to that plan and worked to restrain Samrat Pulumayi from taking any action which would be excessive. It was his decision to send only the elephant division to deal with the upstart kingdom in the East.
With the might of the elephant division poised at the borders of Brahmadesh, it would not be long before the petty nation would surrender or be destroyed.
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. Europa Universalis !
