Chapter 3 - Sumedh

Kaushambi, Capital of Vatsa

‘All rise! His gracious majesty King Devaditya, ruler of the kingdom of Vatsa is arriving’.

Devaditya alighted from his palanquin, looked around and smiled. The decorations were even grander than when he was crowned King. The public hall of the royal palace was filled to capacity and everyone was in a festive mood, for King Devaditya was passing on the crown to his son, Crown Prince Mahendra.

As he sat down, Devaditya looked at his son with pride. For a parent to objectively evaluate his child is fairly impossible, the emotional bond is too strong. But when the parent is the King, and the child is his successor, an objective evaluation is a must. A very vigorous training regimen and evaluation had therefore been devised by his council of ministers. With great self control, he had detached himself from his son during this period. But Mahendra had come out with flying colors and proved himself to be worthy for succession, or almost.

Mahendra’s skill in martial arts was exemplary. His prudence in economic affairs was also praise worthy. Philosophy and the study of scriptures have always been an area of deep introspection, but Mahendra had the humility to seek the counsel of learned men in this regard. The only area where he had always been rated as mediocre was in Political Science.

Devaditya couldn’t decide whether it was good or bad that in spite of being intelligent, Prince Mahendra couldn’t always understand the cunning that went behind politics. Still, this subject was not optional. Handling the day to day political turmoils was part and parcel of a King’s duties. He then turned his gaze to the man standing next to Prince Mahendra, his close friend and confidant, Sumedh, and Devaditya’s worries melted away.

The succession ceremony didn’t go on for long. Devaditya disliked long ceremonies and had instructed the priest to cut it down to the bare essentials. He watched with joy as Mahendra ascended the throne to the cries of

‘Long live King Mahendra, the new King of Vatsa’

The royal representatives from most of the neighboring kingdoms were present, but Devaditya’s practised eye noticed the absence of one representative - A representative of Magadha. He had heard disturbing reports about Magadha just this morning. It would be Prince Mahendra.. Umm.. King Mahendra’s first test, he thought.

‘And now for a special appointment’, announced the court officer.

‘I,King Mahendra,appoint my friend and advisor, Sumedh, as my Chief Political Advisor’ King Mahendra proclaimed, as he handed Sumedh the royal edict.

Devaditya smiled.

Sumedh was the son of Purumitra, the royal physician. Purumitra had trained Sumedh in medicine for several years, and though he was happy to see his son follow in his footsteps, he let him go when he realized that his son’s real strength lay elsewhere.

Devaditya recalled his first meeting with Sumedh, when Sumedh was just a youth of 18. He had been struck by Sumedh’s political acumen and courage for bold changes. But what made Sumedh outstanding was his integrity and dispassion toward material gain. Devaditya had immediately taken charge of Sumedh and had him trained alongside Prince Mahendra. And Sumedh had not disappointed, he impressed all the senior councillors and they had unanimously voted for him to be the Chief political advisor.

Next Morning

King Mahendra stood at the entrance of his private chamber. Soon a man appeared before him.

‘It is safe your highness, you may enter’

‘Thank you Shaivya’ Mahendra responded.

The other members invited to the meeting began to stand up but Mahendra waved them to their seats.

Mahendra sat down in the front and looked at the gathered group, these were his most trusted aides. To the left was Sumedh, in the center Vikarna, his Chief of Defence and to the right Daksha, the head of secret service. His practised eye caught a movement in the background and he looked up. As expected, Vikarna’s commandos were hovering in the back of the room.

‘Your highness, we have confirmed the news. No one from King Ashwapati’s family remains. I am sorry’ Daksha reported.

‘But this will not be the end of PriamRaja’s ambitions. Vatsa could be next’ Vikarna said in a heated tone.

‘Before their army has time to recover from the exhaustion of this battle, we should attack them. We could easily take…’ Vikarna continued.

‘No’ Sumedh said in a firm tone.

Everyone knew that King Mahendra held Sumedh in very high esteem. But what they failed to see was the absolute trust and close friendship they shared. Both Mahendra and Sumedh had experienced the light hearted friendships of youth, which though fun, invariably led to thoughtlessness. A word amiss, a careless gesture, was all it took to break such friendships. They valued each other too highly and were unwilling to let their relationship deteriorate. And hence, an implicit protocol had emerged between them - they always listened to each other with respect, there was never any sarcasm, and they never took each other for granted.

To an outsider it might seem that such a relationship was too much work, but they both believed that a friendship worth keeping was worth working for. This self-discipline was the offering of their grateful heart.

‘The price the innocent people of Magadha will have to pay will be too high.’ Sumedh stated.

Both King Mahendra and Sumedh had seen the atrocities of war and knew the devastation it brought, and they deplored it.

‘I agree’ King Mahendra said and looked at Sumedh.

They both hated war but when it came to defending their own kingdom, there was no ambiguity in their minds. PriamRaja’s ambitions were well known and they needed to be prepared. They shared a look and Sumedh nodded.

‘Prepare for defence’ King Mahendra ordered.

The discussion went on till noon until they had arrived at a defence strategy that all agreed would work. Only one gap remained - A spy inside the enemy palace, someone who had access to PriamRaja’s plans.

‘How about the Purohita?’ Sumedh suggested.

There were gasps of surprise. The Purohita, the Royal Chaplain, was among the highest ranked officials. To place a spy at that rank was to penetrate the very heart of PriamRaja’s inner circle.

All those present were in awe, not only because the scheme was bold, but because of the cunning.

A Purohita had considerable personal influence over the ruler because of his knowledge of religion, ritual and politics, and because he was presumed to give objective advice. The ancient texts emphasized the special position of the Purohita by enjoining that even if he commits a grave offence like treason, he shall not be killed but only imprisoned or exiled. A Purohita was venerated, and hence among all the positions that they could place a spy in, a Purohita would be the safest bet.With this last piece in place, the meeting concluded. Daksha and Vikarna and his men left.

King Mahendra sat back with a sigh, a pained expression on his face.

‘I am sorry’ Sumedh said.

‘What will I tell her?’ Mahendra said in anguish.

‘Princess Rohini will understand. Our armies were at the western frontier and their plea for help reached us very late. There was nothing we could have done.’ Sumedh comforted his friend.

‘If only, if only they hadn’t killed the royal family…. If only they had been exiled, we could still have proceeded with the alliance..’ King Mahendra trailed off.

‘She mustn’t hear the news from a stranger’. Mahendra said in a more controlled voice.

‘But I am scheduled for a public audience..’

There was a brief silence.

‘I will do it.’ Sumedh said reluctantly.

*************

Sumedh was sitting in the parlor of Princess Rohini’s palace. Conveying grim news was always unpleasant, but to someone as kind as the princess made Sumedh feel even worse. She had received him warmly, as always, and bore the news of the death of her fiance, Prince Chirag, stoically. Her well-schooled features didn’t even flinch, but this was expected from the royals, they weren’t allowed to show weakness.

Princess Rohini looked up at Sumedh’s face. He was clearly uncomfortable. She wondered what he would think if he knew that she felt relieved. She had never met Prince Chirag and by all reports he sounded like a fairly ordinary individual. There was no bond between them, only a political alliance. She had been unemotional when the engagement had been announced and she was unemotional now at the news of his death, maybe because someone else was the object of her affections.

Rohini had been 8 when Sumedh entered the palace to train beside her brother, King Mahendra. She had been struck by him then and had been in awe ever since. She had modeled herself after him and even took interest in political affairs. At one point she had even hoped that he would pay her the attention she sought. Was she now free to seek his attention? She wondered.

‘I hear you are attending a political conference in the western province.’ she asked hurriedly when he made a move to leave.

‘Ah yes, yes. Next month’.

‘Would her highness like to join’ he offered, clearly unaware of her thoughts.

‘Yes, if it isn’t inconvenient’ she answered, hiding her excitement.

‘Oh it’s nothing, I will make all the necessary arrangements’.

With this promise he took her leave.

Sumedh was pleased that he hadn’t left Princess Rohini on an unhappy note. There was even a bounce in his step as he proceeded to his next port of call - The Purohita.

*******

Atri, the Purohita, was eyeing Sumedh warily. He had hurt his wrist and Sumedh was bandaging it for him. It should have been a quick job for a skilled physician like Sumedh, but he had been at it for a while now.

‘Out with it, what scheme have you in that wicked brain of yours’ Atri demanded.

Sumedh looked up with an innocent expression and quietly handed back Atri’s well-bandaged wrist.

‘I haven’t greyed my hair in vain. I know better than to fall for that look’ Atri said.

Sumedh had the grace to look sheepish. The usual image people had when they thought of a Purohita was that of a calm sage, but Atriji was the antithesis of that. But it was his aggressive personality that made him an ideal candidate for the assignment.

‘We need a spy in Magadha. We suspect that PriamRaja will plan an attack on Vatsa very soon’ Sumedh finally said.

‘And you want me to be that spy?’ Atri gaped.

Sumedh braced himself for a tirade. Atriji didn’t disappoint. In fact the response was even more colorful than he had anticipated.

‘And at this age, when I should be resting my old bones, YOU WANT, ...you want… ‘Atriji was on a roll.

Sumedh remained silent, he was adept at such negotiations.

As expected, Atriji calmed down after a while.

‘All right, all right.. Have it your way’ Atri conceded.

Atriji might seem emotional but that was only among people he loved. Both Sumedh and he had developed a great camaraderie in their years at the palace. Atriji was only having his fun, Sumedh knew that he would soon get down to business. And sure enough,

‘How about Kalinga ?’ queried Atriji.

Sumedh immediately caught on with Atriji’s line of thought. It was late in the night when they had finalized the modus operandi. It was to be executed as early as next week, they both agreed that there was no time to lose.

It was midnight by the time Sumedh left Atri’s residence. He knew that he should go home, but he felt restless.

‘Take me to the temple’ he instructed Bahu, his carriage driver.

The temple was obviously closed at this hour, so he just sat on the stone bench under the nearby Pipal tree. The familiar calming peace descended on him after a while and he sat in contemplation. He knew why he had chosen to be a political advisor, he had known the tough choices he would have to make, but still his heart ached.

The texts on war taught that

‘An archer letting off an arrow may or may not kill a single man, but a wise man using his intellect can kill even reaching unto the very womb’.

Atriji was a man of courage and great shrewdness. Sumedh was sure he would survive. And perhaps this is the price that the strong must pay - carry an extra burden and sacrifice themselves for the larger good, he thought.

One day, he hoped, there would be someone whose love for justice and for the people would be equal to his. Sumedh would gladly hand over his job to such a one, but until then, it was his duty to make the tough decisions.