Kaustubha

श्री

Thud.
A clash of the two guards' spears was heard before the door was shut, which was perhaps the last sound before some minutes of total silence, except the sound of the six torches burning in the edges of the chamber, and the vigorous sounds of the thunderstorm brewing in the sky at dusk. At the edge of the rectangular table was seated minister Tirukapilar (thi-ru-ka-pi-laar), at the longer edge were king Dvinadbhujaya (Dvi-naaD-bhu-ja-ya) and queen Vagishwari (vaa-gii-Swa-ri), at the other longer edge were two royal priests chanting prayers in a whispery tone, and on the copper-laden seat at the other short corner was a fierce idol of Nataraja, whose conscience was believed to be the final say. The clank of the heavy rings on Tirukapilar's right hand disturbed the silence again as he spread one of the hundred scrolls hanging on the walls, on the table.

"This is being called a backstab." Tirukapilar smirked, "But who has to be blamed for offering their back?"
"We led them," The king looked downwards with a frown, "unaware of how they would exploit us."
"We flourished as yet. Needless to say, that attracts many envious enemies." Tirukapilar raised his eyebrows.
"How inhumane! Do not they have a hint of acknowledgement? Do not the subjects hold humanity when the ruler does not?" The queen glared.
"I think I do not have to say that humanity is something that can never be expected from humans, who are known very well to fall prey for gluttony." Tirukapilar smirked.

"Before discussing the issue further, will be elucidated the already-known situation, as the rituals usually go." One of the two main priests took a deep breath. The second priest cleared his throat and began, "Three decades ago, when our already-glorious rule was becoming more glorious, the neighbouring lands of Veppamandalam(vep-pa-man-da-lam) were dead of droughts under the rule of the Suvaruthas(su-va-ru-Ta). His Majesty Dvinadbhujaya remained the generous king he always was, when he gave the then-fructuous Yaanaimandalam(yaa-nai-man-da-lam) away to the Suvaruthas. It was not known hitherto that the nefarious Suvaruthas had an alliance with all of the hill tribes, which were untouched when in our rule."

As the priest paused, the queen scowled, "Now it shall be said what our scouts revealed about their wicked deeds".
The first priest said, "After two years of spying, the twenty-three scouts have said that the Suvaruthas are invading the region of Purvaseemai(puur-va-sii-mai), one state by one. The region has internal conflicts between the rulers, making it fragile enough to be occupied without any battle. The part where we face peril is, that their covetous eyes are now cast on us. We will not be firm enough, lest they incorporate all of Purvaseemai."

Tirukapilar smirked, "And our soldiery will be hardly a fifth of theirs. You know, there is no separate fighting class for the hill tribes. They say, even their cattle can fight."
"We are backstabbed!" The king mumbled worriedly, "My beloved subjects! Why do they favour an invader when I did to them whatever a generous king has to do? They too are-"
"You cannot blame the subjects for not being powerful enough to overthrow the massive Suvarutha hordes, which are now feared all over the neighbouring dominions." Tirukapilar said.
The king shook his head and frowned, "Will a pact with the Ibhyaghans(ibh-ya-ghaN) be ideal in a case where they attack?"
Tirukapilar said, "That can be the last recourse. A serious pact made is an internal warfare impended. Once we saw it happen with Purvaseemai. Always holds true."
The queen scowled, "Last recourse. Does it seem there will be enough time to make several tries? What we take on now will be the last."
"They will not attack us at least until five years. Until all of Purvaseemai has to bow to them."
Again, there was a minute of silence. It did not seem convincing to the king that the enemies will not attack till five years, but he confided in his minister, whose words were known to hold true always.

"I mean, why cannot we unite all the Purvaseemai chieftains by luring them that they will survive the Suvarutha hordes?" The king asked.
"If so, ours will be one of the many vain attempts. Nobody could make all the state call themselves one single kingdom." Tirukapilar shook his head, "We can thus conclude this meeting by accepting it that our hitherto triumphant empire of Kaustubha has to end, but we can save all of our peoples."
For one more minute, there was silence, which was interrupted by the king's dismal sniffs.
"No, we have ruled it for five centuries. We remained the highest cherished empire from the beginning. How can we let a raid mark our end? By no means." The flickering light of the lamps on the table and the torches in the room intensified the teary scowl in the king's eyes.
"Does the line have to be mentioned again? na kanchiT SaSwaTam. Nothing is permanent. Even the greatest of empires cannot avoid seeing its end. So, let us think of saving our peoples, so that we can make the ending days of Kaustubha as great as any other days."

Thick roaring clouds further darkened the night sky, obscuring any sight of the half moon.
The queen said, "Yes, Mantri varya. We are to save our people. That will mean that it will be just a pause, but never the end."
The king was left downcast for a few moments.
Tirukapilar said, "What we are to do is to evacuate as many people as possible from here and make a place for us all to live in any of the kingdoms in the northwest. It makes a good temporary abode. But for at least five years, we are free as they will not raid."
The king's eyes flickered, "You mean, all the people of our lands have to move?"
"As many as possible. We cannot make the lands we inhabit more crowded."
The queen asked, "If they are not strong enough to attack, why cannot we destroy them first?"
"They are strong enough to defend. We will end up losing half of our troops." Tirukapilar shrugged.

The king cleared his throat, wiped his wetting eyes and said in the last stage of the meeting, "No, there is still hope. I am not the last of the dynasty. I am going to be succeeded."
The queen said, "Of course. We have to just resist a short fall to see a big rise. The Sun has to set if he has to rise again. We are doing the same."
The king frowned, "No. We are not setting anytime. We are still seeing our noon! I know what our successors are. They will save the empire from threat! They will!"
Tirukapilar frowned too, "I agree that they are skilled, but it will be just an overstatement to think they can save us from such a big threat."
"Ok," The king clenched his fist, "I will ask you now, Mantri varya. Are not my children capable of saving the kingdom from the approaching threat?"
"I told. They are highly skilled, but not skilled enough to protect the empire from a raid by an enemy twice as strong as we are."
The king felt the sadness of a king who sees his kingdom in peril.

"The meeting is thus concluded and summarized." The first priest said, "There is a dangerous threat that we might be raided by the Suvaruthas. So as we have to be prepared for a case where that happens, we have to save our people. The best way to do so is to move as many people as we can to the northwestern domains. As the minister states, they will not raid anytime soon, and it will be at least five years till they raid. om TaT saT."

The king and the queen were in complete perturbation. The minister grinned it away. The priests were confused. The empire was asleep, unaware of the upcoming threat. The people knew so far what splendour was, and now they might see what ruination will be.