Emperor Samprati sat in deep thought in his royal pavilion. In his hand, he held Kharavela's dagger.
He repeatedly raised the dagger high in his hand, twirling it round and round, looking all around. It was unclear how long he had been sitting there. He might still have been sitting there if Brihadratha and Pushyamitra had not arrived...
"Father! Please come to the royal palace of Pataliputra. It is not befitting for you... the Emperor
of Magadha... the Chakravarti of Bharatvarsha, to sit here in the pavilion." Brihadratha began flattering him as soon as he arrived.
Samprati looked; there was a peculiar kind of sparkle in his eyes. There is a strange negative allure in the personality of a person with a criminal mindset. They can suppress ordinary people under their influence and make them do their bidding, but this has no effect on people with distinct and influential personalities. Great individuals remain unaffected.
"Brihadratha! The unknown man who fearlessly shot an arrow at me, the Emperor of Magadha, the Chakravarti of Bharatvarsha, remains unknown. Someone killed him to keep his identityhidden..." the Emperor said, gazing into Brihadratha's eyes. Brihadratha shivered internally, but
managed to maintain a composed appearance with great effort.
"But was any information found about the arrow? It wasn’t from anyone residing in the royal palace of Pataliputra, was it?"
"No, Emperor! That is impossible," Pushyamitra interjected. He was ready to give his life for the Emperor. The Emperor laughed. He spoke to himself, "Look, the general is willing to give his life for mine, while his king is ready to take my life for his own."
The Emperor did not respond. He continued inspecting Kalingakumar's dagger in his hand. "Do not worry about that Kalinga, Emperor. We can crush him in an instant," Brihadratha flattered again, trying to change the subject.
"I do not care about this Kalinga’s dagger, Maharaj!" the Emperor replied. "I am concerned about Magadha's arrow because, although this dagger belongs to the enemy, it is in my hand.
And the arrow belongs to a hidden enemy who appears sweet on the surface but hides a weapon within. That arrow is beyond my reach, Maharaj."
"Emperor! We deeply regret that such a deadly conspiracy was hatched against you in the royal palace of Pataliputra. I must inform you that, following this incident, I had forty suspicious individuals beheaded."
" Whom did you ask before committing this violence, Maharaj!" The emperor was distressed and got furious. "Even after committing a thousand crimes, a lie cannot be hidden. Find the one who is really the enemy and if you care so much about the safety of the emperor, then kill him, Brihadrath! Why are you staining the royal palace of Pataliputra with blood by taking the lives of
these innocent people? Maharaj! Answer me, your emperor..." The emperor was shocked.
"Forgive me, emperor! Forgive me..." Brihadrath jumped straight from his place and fell at the emperor's feet. This ruler of Magadha has failed to protect you, emperor! Whatever punishment you have to give me for this, give it to me, emperor! Your weapon and the head of this servant.
When he was enacting this drama, Pushyamitra's conscience was calling out - "Emperor! If you order me right now, I will behead this wicked and wicked man." His hands were very eager to hold the sword and he was getting restless. But nothing happened as he had thought. Instead... "Stand up, dear Brihadratha."
Hearing the term "dear," a victorious smile once again appeared
on Brihadratha's face. He winked at Pushyamitra, who looked down.
"No, Emperor! If you are angry with me, I have no interest in living. Make me a guest of the afterlife with your weapon right now." Tears appeared in the Maharaja's eyes, which were completely fake.
"No, dear! An Emperor cannot behave as he wishes. He cannot say everything he knows, nor can he do everything he thinks is right." The Emperor’s profound words did not make sense to Brihadratha, but Pushyamitra understood the hint.
"Enough! What was to happen has happened. But I must keep my empire intact. I must not let Emperor Ashoka's unified empire break apart. Therefore, I will not do anything that might harm this empire."
"And now, how many more years will Emperor Samprati live? He has done much and accomplished much. He has no complaints about life; it is a blessing from the Arihant. True religious influence has spread, bringing joy and approval. Why should the Emperor do anything that might cause a rift in the unbroken empire or expose an existing one?"
"So, you are coming to the palace, Emperor!"
"No, I have renounced the royal palace now, dear!"
"I do not understand!"
"The news of this arrow and dagger has awakened the dormant soul within me, Maharaj! I will not stay in the royal palace anymore. I will either live in a religious place with Guru Aryasuhasti Suriji or in such a pavilion."
"But Emperor! You cannot stay out in the open like this. What about your safety here?"
Brihadratha said, and the Emperor's eyes fell on his face. They were reading him. After a while, he smiled. The Emperor had never laughed with such sorrow and melancholy before today.
"My religion is protecting me, Brihadratha! As long as my righteousness is with me, no arrow can harm me. That is certain." The Emperor pronounced a divine statement, and Brihadratha was agitated.
The Emperor raised the dagger again. Inspecting it briefly, he said, "Magadha is mine, and Kalinga is foreign. And look! Today, the foreigner protected me, while my own gave me wounds in my heart..."
"Pushyamitra! This Kalinga’s dagger is very formidable. It is full of zeal, passion, and courage.
Be cautious of it. Do you know that no arrow from Magadha has ever broken a dagger?
General! This is a message for the future. Be careful, or Kalinga will break Magadha."
"While you live, this is impossible, Emperor!"
"Yes, that is true. But my life is not very long now. I am obstructing many people, and before they remove me, I will peacefully depart."
"But King and General, listen carefully. This Kalinga’s dagger is very powerful. Be cautious of it.
"It has not only strength but also a strong reason and purpose for war. Morality is the foremost and strongest force, Brihadratha! Even with less military strength, a war can be won if morality is strong. And after the fall of morality, even weapons and armies become worthless."
"Pushyamitra! I do not know why, but I see visions of the future in this prince’s words. No great empire is eternal, General! Emperors come and go. Empires rise and fall. We have become detached from all this, Maharaj! We will hand over everything to the future generation of the Mauryas and depart. But that future generation must be so careful that where there is morality,
there is victory. The main cause of the fall of empires is hidden immorality. A person who becomes unethical himself becomes the root cause of his own downfall. So, be cautious!"
The Emperor’s words filled the King and the General with fear.
"It is very late, Maharaj! It will not be suitable for you to sleep here. I can manage to sleep on this rough ground with some grass bedding. It will be uncomfortable for you. Please go to the royal palace of Pataliputra. Do not insist further. I have chosen a life of renunciation, and this is my firm and final decision." The Emperor concluded his sentence. Brihadratha and Pushyamitra
returned. In the empty section, the Mauryan Emperor Samprati raised the dagger again, twirled it in the light of the lamp, and repeatedly read the inscription - "Kalinga Jinasya Jayao Hoo.”
"Kharavela!" the Emperor thought. "Friend! You are just like your dagger. Sharp, protective, and with a blade that pierces through! Not your dagger, but you have lodged in my heart, friend!”
(To be continued)
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