Govinda (The Aryavarta Chronicles) by Krishna Udayasankar Read Free Book Online Page A

Pradymna here is an absolute blockhead, there’s no
     need to tell us what we’ve known since we learnt to crawl … I want to hear about the Firewrights, about Ghora’s line.’
    ‘That’s Acharya Ghora to you, young man,’ Yuyudhana corrected Samva. ‘He was a teacher – show him that respect!’
    Pradymna grinned, enjoying watching his brother get rebuked. Samva made a show of ignoring them all, and waited with a look
     of polite anticipation for Yuyudhana to resume his tale.
    ‘It’s kind of simple if you know your history,’ Yuyudhana complied with shake of his head. ‘A long time ago, the Firewrightswere well-respected, revered even. In fact, it was their skill at weapon-making and metalcraft that kept Aryavarta safe from
     many invasions and led to the evolution of an empire – a reasonably cohesive region, set off from the rest of the world by
     the seas and the Great White Mountains. At the same time, the Firstborn concerned themselves with temporal and spiritual affairs.
     I suppose we could even say that the Firstborn and the Firewrights complemented each other in their own ways. But you know
     the old saying – you can’t have two swords in one scabbard.’
    ‘But wasn’t whoever held the title of Vyasa considered the most powerful?’ Samva asked.
    ‘No. That happened over time. As the empire grew, so did its knowledge. Some generations ago, the Firstborn began gathering
     and managing the collective knowledge of Aryavarta, creating an intricate system of scriptures and rituals. That’s when the
     head of the Firstborn order took the title of Vyasa, or Record Keeper. The Vyasa, however, was more than that. Since he controlled
     the scriptures, the rules of life handed down to us by the gods, he became the man who determined what was right and wrong,
     moral and immoral.’
    ‘And the Wrights?’ Pradymna chipped in, intrigued despite himself.
    ‘They assumed that their knowledge of warfare made them indispensable, that the kings of Aryavarta – the Solar and Lunar dynasties
     – would take their side. But, at the same time, the kings were completely dependent on the Firstborn to legitimize their rule,
     to keep them in power. Chaos was inevitable, as was war – not just between the two orders, but also the different kingdoms
     that supported each of them.’
    A short silence followed as Pradymna and Samva thought over what they had just learnt. Hesitantly, Pradymna began, ‘What about
     us, our people? Whose side were we on?’
    ‘Us …? I’ll leave it to you to decide whose side we are on. And whose side we
should
be on. But our people, the Yadus, have never really had the same kind of hatred for the Wrights that some ofthe central kingdoms do. Perhaps because our clans were too busy fighting each other we somehow stayed relatively neutral
     when it came to others’ squabbles. In fact, one of the largest Firewright settlements used to be near Mathura …’
    ‘And that’s where Ghora … I mean, Acharya Ghora used to live,’ an excited Samva said.
    ‘Yes. But the settlement was abandoned almost two decades ago. Ghora Angirasa, then the leader of Firewrights, or Secret Keeper,
     as they called their head, went into hiding. He wasn’t seen again in Aryavarta till the day of his death. Many believe he
     was the last of their order.’
    Pradymna was surprisingly mournful. ‘Then it’s over? The Wrights are really gone?’
    Yuyudhana glanced at Govinda, who lay still, his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and let it out. ‘We don’t know. Yes, spurred
     on by the Firstborn, many other nations heartily joined in the scourge, hunting down and killing the Firewrights one by one.
     For a while it seemed the Wrights might rise again when Jarasandha tried to rally them to his side. When that didn’t work
     the way he expected, the Emperor simply found it more expedient to wipe them out and ally with the Firstborn instead. Rumour
     goes that the few Wrights who swore loyalty to the