Sagas have no beginning or conclusion! They begin long before we know and continue even after they have ended.
Mahishmati, a kingdom in ancient India, has witnessed the ugly face of ambition, power lust, manipulation, jealousy, crimes against humani...
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Thirteen long years have passed at the Malava islands. Having lost a great deal in her life, Annapoorna (Shodasi Devi) becomes extra-protective of her ward, Aparaajitha (Bhagiradhi). She never allows her to vanish from her sight. Her motherly affections blind her to the fact that her ward was born to achieve greater things than spend it in hiding and cooling her heels in exile. Aparaajitha wishes to be free of all bonds and restrictions. She wishes to recapture whatever they have lost to time and conniving enemies. But out of immense respect for her foster parent, she remains bound.
Annapoorna, to do her justice, has guided everyone in the islands during the dark days when even survival had seemed impossible. They had built their army strength with the help of Aslam Khan, an arms dealer, horse trader and close friend of Kattappa. With his help and assistance, they had set the diplomatic channels in motion.
The King of Persia, Emperor Sharyar had at last agreed to lend them several elite Persian army regiments in return for the fulfillment of an unspecified condition he would seek at a later date. Though they weren't happy being tied down to a condition the modalities of which they hardly knew until the time came, there was nothing any of them could do about it. They could probably refuse Emperor Sharyar's assistance but in view of their dire circumstances and their urgent need for strong and powerful allies, they were forced to accept his conditions.
The deposits of Gauri Kant on the Gauri Parvat were depleting very fast. The military expeditions of Subahu rendered it more and more vital for him to find more sources of Gauri Kant to arm his ever growing army. Things were no longer as easy for him on the military front. The other kings of the country had been consolidating their powers and reuniting against him. Earlier they had been fighting with each other. But now they had joined hands to fight against Subahu.
Subahu's popularity among his own men was waning. His armies were tired and battle scarred. They wanted to return to their homes and lead happy lives with their wives and children. The dream of world conquest and their race ruling over the whole world no longer seemed to inspire the same sort of spirit or conviction. A spirit of rebellion and mutiny was brewing from within. What kept them in check was their abject fear for Maharaj Subahu who had metamorphosed into a demon in human shape. Nothing seemed to move him or evoke the slightest bit of empathy in him.
With the Agni Prastham still many years off and the existing mines and deposits of Gauri Kant reducing to very minuscule and negligible amounts, Subahu became desperate to unearth the famed arsenal of Gauri Kant that had been hidden somewhere in Mahishmati during the reign of Maharaj Mahadeva. The whole of Mahishmati had been under his control and every small part of it had been throughly scoured. But he was unable to unearth where it was.
These were the circumstances when something surprising and unexpected resurfaced in the Malava islands, the famed arsenal of the Gauri Kant. Let us see in which direction this discovery will lead everyone to. What will the daughter of Mahishmati do in the current circumstances? Will she be permitted to do what she wants? Does this signal her return from exile to her motherland? - - - Author's Note: Thank you for supporting me and this story. The chapters of Book Seven will start coming from next week onwards.
