The Oath of the Vayuputras
Page 54

Bhagirath was forced to accept Kartik’s brutal but effective line of thought.
Chapter 23
Battle of Bal-Atibal Kund
The lead ship of the Magadhan navy passed the Bal-Atibal Kund. Kartik’s army had heard the low monotonous sounds of rowing and the drumbeats of the timekeepers long before they had sighted the Magadhan ships.
Kartik motioned for a signal to be relayed by hand over a line of men who had been positioned for this purpose, till the message reached the southern end of the camp, more than a kilometre away. A group of soldiers pulled a rope quietly, releasing a net that had been tightly cast over a flock of birds. The birds took off suddenly, startled by their unexpected freedom. Kartik detected some movement in the Magadhan ships. They had clearly heard the birds.
Kartik strained his eyes. The Magadhan soldiers had their eyes pinned towards the top of the main masts.
‘Shit!’ whispered Bhagirath, as he realised the implications.
A small wry smile of appreciation for a worthy enemy flickered on Kartik’s face. He turned to Divodas who stood right behind him. ‘Divodas, send messages to our tree-top soldiers that the Magadhans have lookouts stationed on their crow’s nests. Our soldiers should remain low to avoid detection.’
A crow’s nest is built on top of the main masthead of the ship, where sailors would be stationed as lookouts to survey far and wide so as to report to the captain below on deck. This was a common practice on sea-faring ships, but was rarely used in river ships. Surapadman was obviously a cautious man for he had built crow’s nests on his ships. Divodas left quietly to carry out Kartik’s orders.
‘The ships are pulling back their oars,’ said Bhagirath, pointing forward.
As they were sailing against the natural flow of the river current, the Magadhan ships slowed down quickly. The sails were re-adjusted to bring the ships to a halt. Their earlier speed was such though, that at least ten ships passed the area where Kartik stood before Surapadman’s fleet came to a standstill. The soldiers on the ships stared hard into the dense forests on the western banks.
‘Now we wait,’ said Kartik.
Bhagirath leaned over to Kartik. ‘Their scout is a short distance behind us, close to the water’s edge.’
Kartik stretched his arms in an exaggerated manner and then spoke to Divodas, loud enough for the Magadhan scout to hear. ‘Check if their ships have started moving up ahead.’
Divodas moved towards the river, making the scout fall back silently. He returned almost instantaneously. ‘Lord Kartik, their scout is swimming back to the ship.’
Kartik immediately rose and crept to the edge of the forest. He could see the Magadhan scout swimming noiselessly away.
‘I expect the attack soon,’ said Bhagirath. ‘We should fall back to our positions.’
‘Let’s wait a few moments,’ said Kartik. ‘I want to see which ship he boards. It’ll tell us where Surapadman is.’
‘It’s been almost half an hour,’ said Bhagirath. ‘What is he waiting for?’
Kartik and his army remained behind the forest line. They wanted to give Surapadman the impression that the Brangas did not wish to engage in a battle. They hoped he would be lulled into believing that he could launch a surprise attack.
Kartik suddenly exclaimed, ‘Son of a bitch!’
‘Lord Kartik?’ asked Divodas.
‘Send a message to our lookouts,’ said Kartik. ‘Tell them to communicate with those on the other side. I want to know what is happening there.’
Bhagirath slapped his forehead. ‘Oh my God! We’d asked our lookouts to stay low!’
Divodas rushed off and messages were soon relayed across the Sarayu using light signals. He was back in no time with worrying news. ‘They’re mobilising on the other side, hidden by their massive vessels. Row boats are being lowered quietly into the river and soldiers are boarding it even as we speak. It looks like they’re preparing to row downriver.’
‘That cunning son of a flea-bitten dog!’ said Bhagirath. ‘He intends to row downriver, hidden by his own ships, and attack us from the south.’
‘What do we do, Lord Kartik?’ asked Divodas.
‘Ask our lookouts if the Magadhans are disembarking from their tenth ship. That is where Surapadman is.’ Turning to Bhagirath, Kartik continued. ‘Prince Bhagirath, I suspect he will launch a two-pronged attack. There will be one at Bal-Atibal Kund. Surapadman would want to keep us busy here. In the meantime, another contingent of Magadhans would row down south, flank our southern side and aim to enter our camp from behind. We would be sandwiched between two sections of his army.’
‘Which means we need to break up,’ said Bhagirath. ‘One of us will stay here at the Bal-Atibal Kund, and the other will ride out to meet their southern force.’
‘Exactly,’ said Kartik.
Meanwhile, Divodas returned. ‘Lord Kartik, they are disembarking from Surapadman’s ship.’
‘Prince Bhagirath,’ said Kartik, ‘You will lead our main force here. We have to ensure the Magadhans don’t get past Bal-Atibal. I want this to be a death trap for them.’
‘It’ll be so, Kartik, I assure you. But do not leave too many from our forces with me. You will need a large number of soldiers to battle Surapadman in the south.’
‘No I won’t,’ said Kartik. ‘He’s rowing downriver. He will not have any horses. I will.’
Bhagirath understood immediately. A single mounted cavalry warrior was equal to ten foot soldiers. He had the advantage of height as well as his horse’s fearsome kicks. ‘All right.’
Kartik snapped orders to Divodas even as he rose. ‘Ride down south. Inform our forces to expect a Magadhan charge soon. You will be leading them. I’m going to ride out with two thousand cavalrymen in a giant arc from the west. I intend to attack Surapadman’s forces from behind. Between my horses and your troops, we will crush them.’
Divodas smiled. ‘That we will!’
‘You bet!’ said Kartik. ‘Har Har Mahadev!’
‘Har Har Mahadev!’ said Divodas.
Divodas ran to his horse, swung onto the saddle and rode away.
Kartik appeared to be running over the instructions in his mind, not wanting to miss out a single detail.
‘I have fought many battles, Kartik,’ said Bhagirath with an amused look. ‘Go fight yours. Let me take care of mine.’
Kartik smiled. ‘We’ll gift my father a famous victory.’
‘That we shall,’ said Bhagirath.
Kartik walked up to his horse, stretched up to put his left foot into the stirrup, for he was still quite short, and swung his right leg over to the other side, mounting his horse. Bhagirath, who had followed Kartik, saw the same steely look in the boy’s eyes that he had seen many times during the animal hunts. A familiar sense of fear and fascination entered Bhagirath’s heart. He smiled nervously and whispered, ‘God have mercy on Surapadman...’
Kartik heard the remark and chuckled softly. ‘He will have to be the one, for I won’t.’
The son of the Neelkanth turned his horse and galloped away into the dark.
The slender moon was now cloaked in clouds, its faint light hidden in the mist. Bhagirath could barely make out the lines of men in the wood beside him. He sensed them now by the sound of their breath rasping in the darkness. The metallic smell of sweat hung heavy in the air. Bhagirath could feel the perspiration beading on his upper lip, trickling into the corner of his mouth. Whispers came floating back to his ears from up and down the line – ‘Har Har Mahadev... Har Har Mahadev...’ – like a prayer as the men braced to face Surapadman’s army.