PART ONE

THE BATTLE OF SHAMBALA

ONE

In the midst of the raging desert heat, Kali could see the approaching army. Their formation was large in size and circular, almost moving like a swarm of locusts. They were systematic, as if each step was calculated in terms of advanced military strategies. For now, his spyglass was affording only a very limited degree of vision. He could see the soldiers holding shields and spears at the outer flanks of the formation, wearing heavy helmets and metal pads over their entire bodies. How will I do this? Thousands of plans raced in his mind, to defeat his rival’s retinue of soldiers, but he lowered his spyglass, handed it over to his general Koko, and made his way to the tent. He passed the dozens of bulls he had brought over from the north to aid in his battle, but he was yet to figure out how. The mahogany table inside the tent was placed in the centre, with maps and figures crowding the top of it. The lamp overhead burnt brightly, giving him the much needed light. He was kneeling close and studying the map intently when he heard the voice of his general. “They are here, my lord.” “Damn,” Kali cursed under his breath. “Has Vikoko returned?” “Not yet,” Koko answered placidly. Kali wasn’t astonished that despite sending over Koko’s sister out in the dangerous fields to study the enemy’s methods and plans, Koko didn’t show any signs of hesitance. They were bound by blood oath to Kali and whatever he commanded would be executed by them even if it meant risking their lives. The tent flaps opened and he saw Vasuki—the blue-eyed tribal prince—with Kuvera, an obese man with a hairy mongoose wrapped around his neck, and Raktapa, with ferocious physical proportions and a bad set of teeth. “I’m quite surprised you all entered together in my humble abode; given you don’t have a civilized history together.” Raktapa began, “Don’t piss around with us, Kali. You promised us the government of Indragarh. We don’t see that.” Kuvera, meanwhile, walked over to the wine glasses, near the fruit baskets, where he poured himself a drink. “I’m certain our dear ally doesn’t want to disappoint us, since his promises have been fulfilled thus far. But I am also certain that if we lose this, there might come a time when I think, ‘hmmm… why did my people and I aid you?’” Kali grinned. “I don’t lose.” Vasuki had a blue robe, matching his eyes. “Vedanta’s army is reaching our base. And your people haven’t even mounted their horses. I’ve told my men to depart instantly.” “So you have come here to bid me farewell? I’m sure you’ll miss a pretty sight if you leave early.” “I’m not joking, man. They are coming. And we will all be dead.” “We have an hour till they reach,” Kali assured him. “An hour is not enough. We don’t have enough men for Vedanta.” Kali nodded. “Yes, but…” And that is when Vikoko entered, her golden hair surrounding her like a halo. She walked in with the heavy armour over her and whispered something in Kali’s ears. “Chakravyuh?” Vikoko nodded. Raktapa growled. “Tell us, man! What happened?” Kali studied the Tribal Heads for a moment. They were all distinguished, hated each other and Kali was the one who had brought them together. He knelt down and with a quill he drew a diagram over the map. “So according to my general Vikoko, Vedanta’s army is in the chakravyuh formation.” “Chakravyuh?” Vasuki narrowed his eyes. “A sort of concentric circle.” Kali continued, “A warfare technique. So the chakravyuh is a method employed to confuse the opponent and then attack them.” “How effective is it?” Kuvera asked. “We can lose.” “Oh dear lord,” Vasuki cried. “How is it possible?” “A chakravyuh,” he began to draw multiple lines inside the big circle that he had drawn earlier, “has several layers. The first layer is the visible one, the people with shields and spears, basically the infantry. Those soldiers are basically sacrificial. No one really gives a damn about them. The second layer is the mounted swordsmen, the cavalry. The third layer consists of the archers and the fourth layer…” he made the last swirl on the page with his inked quill, “is where Vedanta is with his Senapati.” “So to get to him, we need to break three layers of trained, ruthless and bloodthirsty soldiers?” Kuvera’s voice quivered at the end. “Yes, but they are in a circle and they keep moving because if by chance, you try to attack one side of the circle…” he scribbled harshly on the page, “the circle manages to move and others, the less injured ones, will attack you.” “A circle of hell, indeed.” Kuvera rolled his eyes. “How did your general find that out, being a woman and all?” Raktapa asked. Vikoko growled under her breath. Kali just laughed. “She has a good eye and you just need to have a good eye for strategy to see the army.” “Is there a way to end this or do we just leave?” Vasuki blurted out. “Leave and you’ll be termed cowards of the war.” Kali walked over to him, standing nose to nose. “Better a coward than a stupid martyr,” Vasuki said. The smell of betel leaves assaulted Kali’s nostrils. Kuvera sighed. “How many men do you need from my side?” Raktapa came forward. Kali smiled. “Men? Who said I need men?”

TWO

King Vedanta sat in his chariot, flanked by two soldiers who had long swords. Not that he needed them to protect him; but it was nice being in the protection of your own men. Vedanta could see how the plans from the ancient scriptures worked. Legendary strategists used this method and now he was using it too. Vedanta promised himself he would return to his kingdom and write long passages about his bravery and fight against injustice. “That Kali has been ravaging the land of Illavarti with his stupid and casteless outcasts! They think they can destroy the son of Indra,” he proclaimed to his soldiers proudly. “Son of Lord Indra?” One of the soldiers meekly asked. “Are we protecting a God’s son, your highness?” “Yes!” he frowned. “Where is he?” “Right in front of you!” “You are a son of God?” The same soldier blurted out. “Not literally! As in Lord Indra was spiritually my father, the one I worshipped.” “Oh all right.” The soldier was disappointed. “Shut your trap and worry about the battle,” he murmured. “No use in talking to illiterates like you.” The soldier kept his silence. Vedanta didn’t notice anything until his chariot rocked and finally halted. He stuck his head out of the chariot to see what was wrong, cursing the driver. “What is wrong?” “The army has stopped, my lord.” “Stopped?” Vedanta jumped from the carriage and his soldiers hurriedly followed him. He walked to his Senapati since he couldn’t see through the layers properly. “What’s with the hold up, eh?” The Senapati leapt down from his horse to the ground and handed Vedanta the spyglass. He swallowed a huge lump as he spoke, before Vedanta could look. “Kali is not playing fair.” He then instructed his army to make way and let Vedanta have a look at what was coming for them. Vedanta moved forward, even as he adjusted the spyglass. “Fair? Fair? He’s a bloody mess, that Mleccha! He’s no good. Why would you expect him to play fair? We are more in numbers. His men…” he continued until he paused to see through the spyglass, to look at the deranged sight of horror in front of him. “In the name of Lord Indra, what in seven heavens is that?” His feet were frozen to the dusty grounds. “Those, your highness, are the bulls.” “I can see that.” He looked away from the spyglass and to his general. “But why do th… they have fire on their heads?”

THREE

Kali, sitting astride his horse, leaned forward gleefully as he saw the huge number of bulls smash against the opponents’ shields, almost cracking them. Most ran in fear while others tried to attack, but the bulls just flung them apart. They all staggered and ran for their lives. It had worked, using oil-drenched cloth wrapped around the bulls’ heads. When the cloth was lit on fire, the bulls saw red. Kali whistled, and Koko and Vikoko appeared on either side of him. Behind them were the men given by Kuvera, all with rotten teeth and greasy hair. “Take the Yakshas and position them to hit long and high, right in the middle. Since the first layer is broken, we have a limited, but a greater degree of visibility,” he said. They both nodded. They rode further up in the clear horizon with the dirty, swine-like Yakshas moving at the back. They were short in size and extremely fat, but were excellent archers. And that’s what Kali needed right now. Kuvera was watching from the tent with Vasuki and Raktapa. He walked over to Kali, his robe trailing in the sand. “My men aren’t the most proficient when it comes to battles, so you should know that those are Raktapa’s men.” “Yes, but they have good eyes. And that’s what I need right now. Rakshasas, on the other hand, are good for close combat, but I promised you I wouldn’t lose a lot of men in this war and that’s what I plan to do right now.” “And what would that plan be exactly?” Kali winked at Kuvera. “Don’t worry about that. Just get the horses dressed up, will you?” “I don’t know if that plan would even work.” “Trust me.” His general with the Yakshas was stationed well afar. Right now the bulls had distracted Vedanta’s soldiers enough, making even the archers stop caring about what was about to hit them. Koko looked back when all the bows with their arrows were strung towards the sky. Koko gave a nod to Kali. And Kali nodded back. Koko yelled at that moment. Arrows flew like razors in the sky, pulsating in the air and then sharply bearing down upon and tearing into Vedanta’s army.