Amish Tripathi by 02 The Secret of the Nagas

Author:02 The Secret of the Nagas [Nagas, 02 The Secret of the]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: ePub Bud (www.epubbud.com)
Published: 2012-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

The Queen bit her lip. Karkotak looked at her intensely. He knew his Queen hated this defeatist attitude. But he also knew what Astik said was the majority opinion.

‘I agree,’ said Iravat, before looking at Suparna. ‘And I wouldn’t expect the people of Garuda to understand that. They are hungry for war all the time.’

That comment hurt. The people of Garuda, or Nagas with the face of birds, had been the enemies of the rest of the Nagas for long. They used to live in the fabled city of Nagapur, far to the east of Panchavati, but still within the Dandak forest. The great Lord of the People had brokered peace many years back and Suparna, their present leader, had joined the Rajya Sabha as a trusted aide of the Queen. Her people now lived in Panchavati.

The Queen spoke firmly. ‘That is uncalled for, Lord Iravat. Please don’t forget Lady

Suparna has brought the people of Garuda into the joint Naga family. We are all siblings now. Anyone who insults Lady Suparna shall incur my wrath.’

Iravat immediately backtracked. The Queen’s anger was legendary.

Karkotak looked around with concern. Iravat had withdrawn but the discussion was

going nowhere. Would they be able to continue sending the medicines to the Brangas as the Queen had promised? He looked at the Lord of the People, who rose to speak.

‘Lords and Ladies of the Sabha, please excuse me for the impertinence of speaking amongst you.’

Everybody turned to the Lord of the People. While he was the youngest member of the Rajya Sabha, he was also the most respected.

‘We are looking at this the wrong way. This is not about the war or our allies. This is about being true to the principles of Bhoomidevi.’

Everybody frowned. Bhoomidevi, a mysterious non-Naga lady who had come from the North in the ancient past and established

the present way of life of the Nagas, was

respected

and honoured as a goddess.

To question Bhoomidevi’s

principles was

sacrilegious.

‘One of her clear guidelines was that a Naga must repay in turn for everything that he receives. This is the only way to clear our karma of sins.’

Most Rajya Sabha members frowned. They didn’t understand where the Lord of the

People was going with this. The Queen, Karkotak and Suparna, however, smiled softly.

‘I would encourage

you to look inside your pouches and see how many gold coins in there have the stamp of King Chandraketu.

At least three quarters of the gold in our

kingdom has come from Branga.

They have sent it as allied support. But let us recognise it for what it really is: Advance payment for the medicine.’

The Queen smiled at her nephew. It was his idea to tell King Chandraketu not to send plain gold ingots but coins bearing his stamp, to remind the Nagas of what they received from the Brangas.

‘By my simple calculations,

we have received enough gold to supply medicines for the next thirty years. If we are to honour Bhoomidevi’s principles, I say we have no choice but to keep supplying the medicines to them.’

The Rajya Sabha had no choice.

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