asked Shiva.
‘Yes Shiva,’ said Parvateshwar, speaking for the first time to Shiva. He noticed that
Parvateshwar did not fawn over him and call him Lord. ‘In Lord Ram’s view, any society that
conducted its transactions based on anything besides merit could not be stable. His view was
that a person’s caste should be decided only on that person’s karma. Not his birth. Not his sex.
No other reason should interfere.’
‘That is nice in theory, Parvateshwar,’ argued Shiva. ‘But how do you ensure it in practice. If
a child is born in a Brahmin family, he would get the upbringing and resources which would be
different from that of a child born in a Shudra family. So this child would grow up to be a
Brahmin even if he was less talented than the Shudra boy. Isn’t this unfair to the child born in
the Shudra family? Where is the “merit” in this system?’
‘That was the genius of Lord Ram, Shiva,’ smiled Parvateshwar. ‘He was of course a brave
general, a brilliant administrator and a fair judge. But his greatest legacy is the system he
created to ensure that a person’s karma is determined only by his abilities, nothing else. That
system is what has made Meluha what it is — the greatest nation in history’
‘You can’t underestimate the role that Somras has played, Parvateshwar,’ said Daksha.
‘Lord Ram’s greatest act was to provide the Somras to everyone. The elixir is what makes
Meluhans the smartest people in the universe! The Somras is what has given us the ability to
create this remarkable and near perfect society.’
‘Begging your pardon, your Highness,’ said Shiva before turning back to Parvateshwar. ‘But
what was the system that Lord Ram set up?’
‘The system is simple,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘As we agreed, the best society is when a
person’s caste is decided only by his abilities and karma. Not by any other factor. Lord Ram
created a practical system that ensured this. All children that are born in Meluha are
compulsorily adopted by the empire. To ensure that this is done methodically, a great hospital
city called Maika was built deep in the south, just north of the Narmada river. All pregnant
women have to travel there for their delivery. Only pregnant women are allowed into the city.
Nobody else.’
‘Nobody else? What about her husband, her parents?’ asked Shiva.
‘No, there are no exceptions to this rule except for one. This exception was voted in around
three hundred years ago. Husbands and parents of women of noble families were allowed to
enter,’ answered Parvateshwar, his expression clearly showing that he violendy disagreed with
this corruption of Lord Ram’s system.
‘Then who takes care of the pregnant woman in Maika?’
‘The hospital staff. They are well trained in this,’ continued Parvateshwar. ‘Once the child is
born, he or she is kept in Maika for a few weeks for health reasons while the mother travels
back to her own city’
‘Without her child?’ asked a clearly surprised Shiva.
‘Yes,’ replied Parvateshwar, with a slight frown as if this was the most obvious fact in the
world. ‘The child is then put into the Meluha Gurukul, a massive school created by the empire
close to Maika. Every single child receives the benefit of exacdy the same education system.
They grow up with all the resources of the empire available to them.’
‘Do they maintain records of the parents and their children?’
‘Of course they do. But the records are kept in utmost secrecy and only with the record-
keeper of Maika.’
singke
(singke)
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