CHAPTER 9

Love and its Consequences

‘I didn’t want to question you in front of them. Their faith is overwhelming,’ explained Shiva
with a wry grin. He was beginning to like Brahaspati. He enjoyed being around a man who
treated him like an equal.
Brahaspati nodded. ‘I understand, my friend. What do you want to ask?’
‘Why me?’ asked Shiva. Why did the Somras have this strange effect on me? I might have a
blue throat, but I don’t know how I am going to become the saviour of the Suryavanshis. The
Emperor tells me that I am supposed to be the one who will complete Lord Ram’s unfinished
work and destroy the Chandravanshis.’
‘He told you that?’ asked Brahaspati, his eyes wide in surprise. ‘The Emperor can be a little
tiresome at times. But suffice it to say that what he told you is not completely correct. The
legend doesn’t exactly say that the Neelkanth will save the Suryavanshis. The legend says two
things. First, that the Neelkanth will not be from the Sapt-Sindhu. And second, the Neelkanth will
be the “destroyer of evil”. The Meluhans believe that this implies that the Neelkanth will destroy
the Chandravanshis, since they are obviously evil. But destroying the Chandravanshis doesn’t
mean that the Suryavanshis will be saved! There are many other problems, besides the
Chandravanshis, that we need to solve.’
‘What kind of problems? Like the Nagas?’
Brahaspati seemed to hesitate for a moment. He replied carefully. ‘There are many
problems. We are working hard to solve them. But coming back to your question, why did the
Somras have this effect on you?’
‘Yes, why did it? Why did my throat turn blue? Forget about stopping the degeneration of
my body, the Somras actually repaired a dislocated shoulder and a frostbitten toe.’
‘It repaired an injury?’ asked an incredulous Brahaspati. ‘That’s impossible! It is just
supposed to prevent diseases and ageing, not repair injuries.’
‘Well, it did in my case.’
Brahaspati thought for a bit. ‘We will have to do experiments to come up with a definitive
answer. For now though, I can think of only one explanation. From what I know, you come from
the high lands beyond the Himalayas, right?’
Shiva nodded.
‘The air gets thinner as you go higher up the mountains,’ continued Brahaspati. ‘There is less
oxygen in thinner air. That means your body was used to surviving with less oxygen and
resultantiy was less harmed by the oxidants. Therefore the anti-oxidants in the Somras may
have had a stronger effect on you.’
‘That could be one of the reasons,’ agreed Shiva. ‘But if that was the case, the rest of my
tribe should have also turned cold and blue. Why just me?’