Parvateshwar nodded.The Meluhan war council sat quietly, observing five minutes of silence in honour of the
martyrs of Mandar. General Parvateshwar and his twenty-five brigadiers sat to the right of
Emperor Daksha. To Daksha’s left sat the Neelkanth, the administrative Brahmins led by Prime
Minister Kanakhala and the governors of the fifteen provinces.
‘The decision of the council is a given,’ said Daksha, beginning the proceedings. ‘The
question is when do we attack?’ ‘It will take us at the most a month to be ready to march, your
Highness,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘You know that there are no roads between Meluha and
Swadweep. Our army would have to travel through dense, impenetrable forests. So even if we
begin the march in a month, we will not be in Swadweep before three months from today. So
time is of the essence.’
‘Then let the preparations begin.’
‘Your Highness,’ said Kanakhala, adding a Brahmin voice of reason to the battle cry of the
Kshatriyas. ‘May I suggest an alternate?’
‘An alternate?’ asked a surprised Daksha.
‘Please don’t get me wrong,’ said Kanakhala. ‘I understand the rage of the entire nation over
Mandar. But we want vengeance against the perpetrators of the crime, not all of Swadweep.
Could we try and see whether a scalpel might work before we bring out the mighty war sword?’
‘The path you suggest is one of cowardice, Kanakhala,’ said Parvateshwar.
‘No Parvateshwar, I am not suggesting that we sit like cowards and do nothing,’ said
Kanakhala politely. ‘I am only suggesting a way to see whether we can get our vengeance
without sacrificing the lives of our soldiers and other innocents.’
‘My soldiers are willing to shed their blood for the country, Madam Prime Minister.’
‘I know they are,’ said Kanakhala, maintaining her composure. ‘And I know that you too are
willing to shed your blood for Meluha. My point is that can we send an emissary to Emperor
Dilipa and request him to surrender the terrorists who perpetrated this attack? We can threaten
that if he doesn’t, we will attack with all the might at our disposal.’
His eyes scowling with impatience, Parvateshwar said, ‘Request him? And why would he
listen? For decades, the Swadweepans have got away with their nefarious activities because
they think we don’t have the stomach for fight. And if we talk about this “scalpel approach” after
an outrage like Mount Mandar, they will be convinced that they can mount any attack at will and
we will not respond.’
‘I disagree, Parvateshwar,’ said Kanakhala. ‘They have mounted terrorist attacks because
they are scared that they cannot take us on in a direct fight. They are afraid that they cannot
withstand our superior technology and war-machines. I am only looking from the standpoint of
what Lord Shiva had said when he had first come here. Can we try talking to them before we
fight? This may be an opportunity to get them to admit that there are sections in their society
who are terrorists. If they hand them over, we may even find ways of coexisting.’
‘I don’t think Shiva thinks like that anymore,’ said Parvateshwar, pointing towards the
Neelkanth. ‘He too wants vengeance.’
Shiva sat silently, his face expressionless. Only his eyes glowered with the terrible anger