A conspiracy brewed in the capital of Magadh, the vast and beautiful city known across all of Bharata-Varsha as Pataliputra. The Mauryan Dynasty, founded by the great and mighty Chandragupta Maurya, paved the path for the unification of smaller kingdoms into a larger, more formidable empire. Once peaceful and prosperous, greedy eyes filled with temptations far beyond the welfare of the country set their eyes on the precious throne of Magadh. There existed one problem - the man with the staff.
The sun rose above the horizon, slowing changing the beautiful black sky to a soft orange-pink color mixed with random spaces of light blue. It emerged like a single flame in a dark room, touching everything with its warm rays and bringing light into the world. The once white puffs of cotton-like clouds had turned a salmon color as the bright rays of the sun appeared to pierce them from beneath.
"Aum Suryaya Namaha." The voice was deep yet compassionate, calm yet powerful. An old man, around his mid sixties, stood in the middle of the majestic Ganges river clad only in a white dhoti. He had his hands cupped together with water, lifted above his head, with a small trickle being released from the tips of his fingers as he uttered various mantras in praise of the Sun God.
In the distance, on the bank of the river, stood another man, much younger in age, clad in a similar white dhoti. Like the elder man, the younger man too was bald save for the small shikha on the back of his head. He smiled as he watched his preceptor do the Surya Pranam. It was a daily ritual for them both - his guru would perform the puja, while he would watch and admire. He had a deep amount of respect for his guru; his guru was like a father to him.
The guru folded his palms together and uttered one last "Aum Suryaya Namaha," while bowing his head to bright ball of fiery light in the sky. He took some water in his hands once more and offered his respects to the river mother Ganga, and then he turned around and walked towards the shore where his disciple awaited him with his shawl and old upper garment. Taking the old upper garment, the elderly person patted his upper body dry and then wrapped the shawl around himself. Grabbing the staff that he had placed on a large boulder, he immediately started walking, his disciple following right beside him.
"Acharya." It was the first word the disciple spoke each morning. He had a special type of vow of silence where the first word uttered of each new day would be "Acharya", and only to his guru. There were days where the disciple wouldn't speak because the Acharya had gone out of town on important business, but being second in charge, he had his own way of making sure his vow would remain intact. On the days where the Acharya was not present, he would have his subordinates interpret what he was saying; but if the situation was such that he had to step in, he would sent a quick message via a soldier to the Acharya. Even though the message until much later, it gave him some peace, especially since his guru had provided this solution.
"Yes Radhagupta." the Acharya said, looking towards Radhagupta.
"Acharya, the recent political imbalance seems to suggest a conspiracy going on. I'm sure you've noticed that a variety of insiders as well as outsiders who accepted relations with us all tried to betray Magadh."
The Acharya didn't say anything, but continue to walk and look ahead in silence, absorbing each and every word his disciple was saying.
"There was Rajaji, Justin, Mir, Niharika, and now Noor. Two Ujjainis, two Khurasanis, and one mix of Unnani and Mauryan. Strangely, I'm still not able to grasp Helena's decision to kill Justin. She did so out of respect for her duty as Rajmata, at least that's what she made it look like, but Justin never seemed to care for the throne"
"Radhagupta." the Acharya said sternly, looking out into the distance. "Look over there, near the place where the road separates into two diagonal paths. We are standing on a path near, thus we can see the path diverge. But imagine yourself away from this area on either one of these three paths." He looked over to his disciple. "Would you be able to say that the road splits or joins?"
Radhagupta stared at the paths for a moment. "If a person knows the path, he would be able to say so."
"And if the person doesn't know the path?" Acharya smiled.
"Then it's anyone's guess."
"This is the position of everyone in Patliputra." The Acharya nodded. "We are all
some distance away, so we cannot tell right from wrong. We can make assumptions over who is moral and who is immoral, but unless we properly know the person, we cannot and we should not make inferences."
"So Justin may have actually wanted the throne?"
"Greed is such an evil that it can easily bewilder the minds of the pure."
Radhagupta hesitated for a second, and then spoke up. "Acharya," he paused, still hesitating.
"Speak your mind Radhagupta." His eyes were closed as if resting. They had stopped walking and just stood still as the cool wind blew through them.
"Acharya, what did you see in Ashok then to decide that he will be Magadh's future?"
"In Ashok, I saw Samrat Chandragupta Maurya." The Acharya opened his eyes. "In
Ashok, I saw justice. In Ashok, I saw someone who would safeguard the principles of the dynasty with utmost care and respect. Ashok Maurya, son of Bindusar and Dharma, will be a greater leader than his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya. Radhagupta, I saw the brilliance of the Magadh and Pataliputra in that boy."
He paused, took a deep breath, and started walking. Radhagupta stood behind for a moment. His guru did have a particularly good taste in leaders. He had chosen Chandragupta Maurya to free the country of the Greek invaders and unify the nation. He had also chosen Bindusar Maurya to lead the country rather than give it to the half-Greek son of Chandragupta, Justin. And now with Bindusar's four sons, only Ashok possessed the qualities to be a fair and just leader. Drupad was too young, Siamak had deep affiliations with traitors, and Sushim was to stubborn and hot-headed. The young brahmachari smiled to himself as he watched his guru walk with his back straight, his shikha swaying, and his staff pounding the earth.
He smiled to himself and said, "There will never be another Acharya like our Chanakya."
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