Son of Bhrigu

by CHRISTOPHER C. DOYLE

  ‘A mantra to destroy the effect of our mantras?’

  Tiwari shook his head. ‘No. The power of positive mantras cannot be destroyed. But it is possible that Shukra has developed a shield of some sort, using mantras. After all, mantras can be used for anything, as you know. It is just that no one has ever come up with the idea or the means to use the power of mantras to achieve evil ends. If Vishwaraj succeeds in shielding the Nagas from the power of our mantras, then nothing will stop them from overrunning the Gurukul.’

  With these ominous words, Tiwari lapsed into silence.

  Arjun looked on as Vishwaraj stood there, apparently doing nothing. What was he waiting for?

  Suddenly, as Arjun watched, Vishwaraj started speaking in a loud voice. Arjun couldn’t make out the words over the chant of the mantras being recited in the Gurukul, but it was clear that Vishwaraj was attempting something.

  The Nagas seemed to be regrouping, as Vishwaraj continued to speak. Clearly, he was intoning some sort of mantra that was helping the Nagas. Despite the constant chanting of the mantras, that protected the Gurukul from the Nagas, it was clear that the reptilian army was slowly re-organising itself.

  How long would it be before the Gurukul would falter?

  Where was Maya?

  Was she going to return in time? And would she bring help with her?

  Arjun stared at the dark sky above and at the Nagas, a well of fear rising in his heart.

  A student ran up to Jignesh. ‘Mahamati, Maharishi Satyavachana is not in the Assembly Hall.’

  ‘Then search for him!’ Jignesh thundered above the clamour of the mantras, Vishwaraj’s intonation and the roars of the Nagas. ‘Find him fast! We need him here more than ever!’

  Arjun’s heart sank. If Satyavachana could not be found, what were their chances against an assault by the Nagas? An assault, which looked more and more imminent.

  Time was not on their side.

  Chapter Eighty-two

  Too late

  The Gurukul

  Arjun watched, terrified, as the Nagas advanced, finally breaking through the invisible barrier that had held them at bay until now. Vishwaraj had fallen silent and stood staring at his opponents, as the Nagas marched past him, on either side, toward the Gurukul. Whatever he had done had worked. The mantras that the Rishis from the Gurukul continued to hurl at the Nagas seemed to have no effect.

  Full of trepidation, Arjun looked at his uncle and braced himself, waiting for the command to attack. The Rishis had held back the Nagas for as long as they could. It would be up to the Kshatriyas now to stave off the savage assault that he knew would come.

  This was different from the battle with Shukra’s army on the first night they arrived at the Gurukul. Those were blundering, clumsy creatures who only held the advantage of superior numbers. Tonight was different. The Nagas were a well oiled fighting machine – it was obvious from the way they organized themselves. And their prowess as warriors was legendary. Despite himself, despite his efforts to keep his spirits up, Arjun realized that this was a battle that they could not win.

  He saw Parth, Virendra and Jignesh hurriedly confer. Words passed between the three men that Arjun could not hear.

  What were they discussing?

  To his surprise, Parth suddenly turned around and yelled, ‘Retreat!’

  While Virendra marched through the ranks around him, echoing the cry of ‘Retreat!’ Jignesh, Parth and Usha disappeared, no doubt to spread the word among the other defenders of the Gurukul.

  Virendra came up to Arjun who looked at his uncle questioningly.

  ‘We’re too sparsely spread out,’ Virendra told him, understanding his unspoken question. ‘The area to defend is too large and we’re thin on the ground. We will have massive casualties if we stay here and make a stand. We’ve decided to retreat to the Assembly Hall. It will be easier to defend. Our forces will be concentrated. We can hold out there for a while longer and hopefully buy some time. But not for too long. We can only hope that Maya comes back soon. Otherwise . . . ’

  Arjun looked at his uncle’s grim face and nodded. Though his heart was terrified, he knew that if they had to make a stand, the Assembly Hall was their best bet. The novices had already been shepherded into the subterranean hall, to keep them safe, when the siege had begun. With the fighting forces of the Gurukul concentrated around the Hall, they still stood a chance.

  The defenders of the Gurukul slowly retreated, converging on the Assembly Hall and leaving the rest of the Gurukul, adjacent to the field of the Kshatriyas, unguarded and undefended.

  A tight ring began to form around the Assembly Hall amid the chanting of mantras and the roar of the Nagas, which grew progressively louder and menacing as they drew closer.

  ‘Maya!’ Arjun suddenly remembered that Maya was asleep in the guesthouse, with only Amyra to guard her. With the entire Gurukul army gathered around the Assembly Hall, the guesthouse was among the cottages that had been left undefended. Somehow, with Satyavachana suddenly disappearing, and the Nagas advancing, it seemed that everyone had forgotten that Maya’s physical body was still in the Gurukul.

  Arjun broke away from the rest of the defenders and ran towards the guesthouse.

  ‘Arjun, wait!’ Virendra called, realizing what his nephew was planning to do. ‘You can’t go alone!’ He looked around desperately, torn between following his nephew and staying with the defending forces.

  ‘Mahamati Kanakpratap.’ Virendra looked around in surprise. It was Varun. Behind him were Tanveer, Agastya and Adira. Varun spoke again. ‘We will go after Arjun.’

  There was no time to lose. Virendra nodded at them, gratefully, and the four children sprinted off in the direction of the guesthouse.

  In the sky above the Gurukul

  Maya gazed in horror at the scene that was unfolding on the ground below. She had decided to return, not to the confines of her room in the guesthouse, but to the sky over the Gurukul, before finally returning to her body. She had wanted to see how the siege was progressing.

  She saw that things were going badly for the inhabitants of the Gurukul, who were losing ground to the Nagas.

  In the light of the glowing orbs that danced over the Gurukul, she saw the Nagas begin to cross the Kshatriya practice field and advance towards the cottages that housed the classrooms and dormitories. Beyond the classrooms, she could see the students and Mahamatis of the Gurukul form a knot around the Assembly Hall.

  Fear gripped her as she realized that she may have been too late in returning. The Gurukul was almost overrun. How long could they defend the Assembly Hall without the weapons to strike against the Nagas?

  A sense of guilt washed over her. She had spent too long indulging herself, exploring the ruins and the foundations of Dwarka. Had she not deviated from the plan, she would have accomplished her mission and returned sooner.

  She corrected herself immediately. It wasn’t her return that was important to their cause. She had travelled here at the speed of thought.

  But he couldn’t do that. It would take time to cover the distance from the Gulf of Cambay to Panna.

  As she looked on, the Nagas reached the first set of cottages and began tearing them apart with their bare forelimbs, slashing, pounding and kicking at the walls and roofs until the cottages disintegrated.

  A terrifying thought flashed through her consciousness as she saw half the Naga forces break away. They were unable to advance beyond the classrooms to the Assembly Hall. That was a good sign. It meant that the defences still held.

  What it also meant was that the Nagas, seemingly intent on the destruction of the Gurukul, bypassed the Assembly Hall and began wrecking the dormitories that lay between the Assembly Hall and the hillside that served as the alternate entrance to the Gurukul. The guesthouse lay in the same direction, Maya recalled with rising panic. It was just a matter of time before the Nagas reached and made short work of the guesthouse as well.

  Amyra!

  Maya’s first thought
was for the novice who was guarding her while she slept. It was supposed to be a simple job, not requiring any specialized skills. Which was why Amyra had been accepted as a sentry, without a fuss or debate, when she had volunteered. No one had imagined then that the Nagas would ever penetrate the defenses of the Gurukul, leave alone reach as far as the guesthouse. The novice stood no chance against the Nagas when even the Mahamatis were helpless in the face of their onslaught.

  Maya watched, frozen with terror, as the Nagas began demolishing the dormitories, heading slowly but surely towards the guesthouse.

  Chapter Eighty-three

  Assault on the Guesthouse

  The Guesthouse

  Arjun reached the guesthouse and clattered up the stairs to Maya’s room. He tried the door but it was locked. He pounded at it.

  ‘Let me in!’ he cried.

  But there was no response.

  Inside Maya’s room, Amyra stared, wide-eyed at the door. Someone was clamouring to get in. Who could it be? She had instructions to let no one in, to allow no one to disturb Maya’s sleep. Maya’s mission was critical to the survival of the Gurukul. If her sleep was disturbed, the entire mission could be jeopardized.

  Amyra sat, huddled on the floor, curled up in the corner as the pounding on the door continued. She was not going to open the door.

  Not if Mahamati Mahesh himself asked her to.

  Not until Maya woke up on her own.

  Amyra glanced nervously at Maya, who was still slumbering peacefully, her breathing slow and regular. The noise at the door didn’t seem to affect her.

  Outside the room, Varun, Tanveer, Agastya and Adira joined Arjun.

  ‘Door’s locked,’ Arjun said tersely.

  ‘Break it open.’ Varun looked at the others. ‘Let’s do it together.’

  The roars of the Nagas were getting closer. It was only a matter of moments before they reached this cottage and began tearing it down.

  Outside the Guesthouse

  The Nagas demolished the last of the dormitories and advanced, with a roar, on the guesthouse. It was among the last few cottages standing between them and the hillside.

  Maya, looking on, snapped out of her paralysis. If the Nagas reached the guesthouse before her atma re-entered her body . . .

  The thought instantly whisked her away.

  Inside the Guesthouse

  Maya awoke with a jerk and sat up in bed, the horror of the scene outside still playing out in her mind.

  Amyra sprang to her feet. ‘Maya! Are you okay?’

  Maya nodded and got out of bed slowly. The first few minutes after her atma travel were always disorienting. She always carried a sensation of being drained, of a physical and mental weakness that would instantly put her back to sleep.

  But tonight, she did not have that luxury.

  The two girls shrank against a wall in horror as the cottage shuddered and the noise of glass shattering and walls collapsing, amid the roars of the Nagas, came to their ears.

  Outside the Guesthouse

  The first group of Nagas reached the guesthouse and began attacking it. Two balconies were torn down along with half of the thatched roof, in an instant. Windows shattered and window frames were jerked out of their sockets and flung away as the powerful arms of the Nagas battered the cottage, the roars of the reptilians filling the night.

  Inside the Guesthouse

  The door to the room flew open under the combined assault of Arjun and his friends, as the lock gave way.

  Maya and Amyra looked up in surprise as five bodies tumbled into the room.

  ‘Quick,’ Arjun hissed. ‘We have to get out of here now!’

  But it was too late.

  The section of the wall in which the door leading to the balcony was set, was abruptly ripped away, and disappeared, leaving a gaping hole.

  Through the ragged gap, three enormous Nagas came into view.

  Before anyone could blink, Tanveer fitted his bow with an arrow and let it fly. A second arrow followed almost instantly, and a third and a fourth.

  Maya was amazed. She had never seen Tanveer in action with a bow before and had no idea of his skills, though she had heard a lot from Arjun about how Tanveer had displayed his prowess in the practice combat sessions.

  The archer’s hands were a blur as he launched a barrage of arrows at the Nagas. While the arrows could not cause serious harm to the Nagas, they definitely acted as an irritant. The three Nagas, apparently frustrated by the continuous arrow pricks, disappeared from view.

  ‘We need to move now,’ Arjun urged. He could tell that the relief from the Nagas wouldn’t last long. This was the only opening they had to escape. ‘The Nagas will be . . .’ he began.

  ‘Look!’ Amyra interrupted him, pointing through the hole in the wall.

  They all stared.

  The six children, despite their misgivings, drew closer to the hole in the wall to get a better look.

  Maya heaved a sigh of relief.

  Their deliverance was at hand.

  Chapter Eighty-four

  The Final Battle

  The Assembly Hall

  The Gurukul

  Jignesh stared, stunned, at the sudden appearance of Satyavachana.

  ‘Maharishi,’ he began, trying to keep his anger in check, ‘we were searching for you.’

  Satyavachana nodded, understanding. ‘I had not forsaken you. Look.’ He pointed towards the sky.

  A strange sound came to the ears of everyone on the ground.

  A sound of wings flapping.

  But these were no ordinary wings. To make a sound that could be heard over the din of battle, they had to be enormous wings.

  Almost with one accord, hundreds of eyes, both human and Naga, turned to the sky.

  Inside the Guesthouse

  The six children watched in rapt fascination as a gigantic shape swooped down from the sky, revealing its form as it approached the hundreds of orbs of light floating in the air above the Gurukul.

  It was a being as strange as it was awe-inspiring. With the face of an eagle and the body of a human — two immensely muscular arms jutting out from a well-muscled, golden torso, and legs that looked like tree trunks — the being had a pair of enormous wings attached to its shoulder blades that gently beat the night air, as he flew over the battlefield that had been the Gurukul.

  Garuda.

  The bane of the Nagas.

  The Assembly Hall

  A loud cheer broke out among the forces of the Gurukul at the sight of Garuda. Jignesh smiled at Satyavachana, a tight, tired smile.

  Maya had done it. She had brought back help. She had managed to find the only one who could save them tonight from the wrath of the Nagas.

  The effect on the Nagas was electrifying. For a few moments, they, too, stood frozen, unbelieving, gazing at the sight of their nemesis circling above them.

  Then, with roars, now tinged with fear, the ranks that had been organized just a while ago, disintegrated as the Naga troops scattered in all directions.

  Almost simultaneously, the massive form of Garuda emitted a loud roar and swooped in, diving at lightning speed into the hordes of Nagas amassed below, tearing into their ranks and ripping, clawing, slashing at them.

  Virendra looked at Jignesh. ‘This is our chance to destroy as many Nagas as we can. Garuda doesn’t need our help, but if we pitch in, we can cause serious damage to their army before they retreat.’ He swiftly outlined his plan to the Maharishi.

  Jignesh nodded, seeing the wisdom in the Kshatriya’s words.

  Shouts filled the air, jostling with the roars and screams of the Nagas, as the Mahamatis , led by Virendra and Jignesh, rallied their student troops for one final attack. With Garuda spreading mayhem among the Nagas, there was no fear of defeat.

  Virendra’s voice cut through the din. ‘Attack!’

  In response to his command, the mass of children huddled around the Assembly Hall began separating into three different strands, which drifted away from th
e main body of the students, only to coalesce again in different locations.

  In the Guesthouse

  ‘You did it!’ Arjun exulted, beaming broadly.

  The seven cheered, their voices joining the chorus outside the Assembly Hall.

  ‘What’s happening now?’ Maya wondered, as she saw the group of students begin to break up into smaller segments, moving in different directions.

  They watched as the students from the Gurukul, along with their Mahamatis , came together for a final onslaught on the army of Nagas.

  Slowly, the plan of attack became clear to the seven children in the guesthouse.

  The Gurukul army had split up into three groups. Two of the groups, consisting of the majority of the students, were moving swiftly to outflank the Nagas, while the third, smaller, group was going to engage head on with the Nagas.

  ‘What are they doing?’ Adira couldn’t understand. None of the others responded. They were as baffled as she was.

  Only Agastya could figure out what was happening. ‘Look carefully. The group in the centre, rushing headlong towards the Nagas, are the most advanced students; the ones who have mastered the higher classes of mantras. Mantras for attack, for creating illusions, and for manipulating matter.’ He couldn’t resist a word of self-praise. ‘Like me.’

  Varun snorted, but remained glued to the action that was unfolding before their eyes.

  ‘They are the only ones who can inflict any sort of harm on the Nagas,’ Agastya continued, ignoring Varun. ‘None of the weapons the Kshatriyas carry can really destroy the Nagas, but they can be used defensively.’ He pointed to the other two groups of students, who had by now almost encircled the milling mass of Nagas and were taking up a defensive position on either side of the Naga army.

  ‘Those two groups are going to use defensive mantras and their weapons to repel the Nagas and hem them in,’ Agastya concluded.

  The strategy behind the formations became clearer to Arjun. ‘I get it. The group in the centre will attack the Nagas, reinforcing Garuda’s onslaught. The Nagas will be flanked on two sides by our defensive troops and on one side by the river. They will have nowhere to run, making them an easier target for Garuda. Brilliant strategy. I wonder who thought of it.’