CHAPTER 21

Preparation for War

The noise of the explosions stopped within an hour of the first. It wasn’t much later that
Shiva, Parvateshwar, Sati, Nandi and Veerbhadra, accompanied by a brigade of one thousand
five hundred cavalry, were on their way to Mount Mandar. Brahaspati’s scientists rode with the
brigade, sick with worry over their leader ’s fate. They rode hard and hoped to cover the day—
long distance to the mountain in fewer than eight hours. It was almost at the end of the second
prahar, with the sun directly overhead that the brigade turned the last corner of the road where
the forest cover cleared to give them their first glimpse of the mountain.
A furious cry arose as they got their first sight of what was the heart of their empire.
Mandar had been ruthlessly destroyed. The mountain had a colossal crater at its centre. It was
almost as if a giant Asura had struck his massive hands right through the core of the mountain
and scooped out its core. The enormous buildings of science were in ruins, their remnants
scattered across the plains below. The giant churners at the bottom of mountain were still
functioning, their eerie sound making the gruesome picture even more macabre.
‘Brahaspati!’ roared Shiva, as he rode hard, right into the heart of the mountain, where the
pathway, miraculously, still stood strong.
‘Wait Shiva,’ called out Parvateshwar. ‘It could be a trap.’
Shiva, unmindful of any danger, continued to gallop up the pathway through the devastated
heart of the mountain. The brigade, with Parvateshwar and Sati in the lead, rode fast, trying to
keep up with their Neelkanth. They reached the top to be horrified by the sight they saw. Parts
of the buildings hung limply on broken foundations, some structures still smouldering. Scorched
and unrecognisable body parts, ripped apart by the repeated explosions, were strewn all over.
It was impossible to even identify the dead.
Shiva tumbled off his horse, his face devoid of even a ray of hope. Nobody could have
survived such a lethal attack. ‘Brahaspati...’

‘How did the terrorists get their hands on the daivi astras?’ asked an agitated Parvateshwar,
the fire of vengeance blazing within him.
The soldiers had been ordered to collect all the body parts and cremate them in separate
pyres, to help the departed on their onward journey. A manifest was being drawn up of the
names of those believed dead. The first name on the list was that of Brahaspati, Chief Scientist
of Meluha, Sarayupaari Brahmin, Swan chosen-tribe. The others were mostly Arishtanemi,
assigned to the task of protecting Mandar. It was a small consolation that the casualties were