Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi Read Free Book Online Page A

did not know at the time of the great battle with Raavan that she was carrying Dashrath’s child in her womb. Vashishta was aware that Kaikeyi was a passionate, wilful woman. She was ambitious for herself and those she viewed as her own. She had not settled for the eldest queen, Kaushalya, being one up on her by choosing a great name for her son. Her son, then, was the namesake of the legendary Chandravanshi emperor, Bharat, who had ruled millennia ago.
    The ancient Emperor Bharat had united the warring Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis under one banner. Notwithstanding the occasional skirmishes, they had learnt to live in relative peace; a peace that held. It was exemplified today by the Emperor Dashrath, a Suryavanshi, having two queens who traced their lineage to Chandravanshi royalty, Kaushalya and Kaikeyi. Ashwapati, the father of Kaikeyi and the Chandravanshi king of Kekaya, was in fact the emperor’s closest advisor.
    One of the two names will surely serve my purpose.
    He looked at Lord Parshu Ram again, drawing strength from the image.
    I know they will think I’m wrong. They may even curse my soul. But you were the one who had said, My Lord, that a leader must love his country more than he loves his own soul.
    Vashishta reached for his scabbard, hidden within the folds of his angvastram . He pulled out the knife and beheld the name that had been inscribed on the hilt in an ancient script: Parshu Ram.

    Inhaling deeply, he shifted the knife to his left hand and pricked his forefinger, puncturing deep to draw out blood. He pressed the finger with his thumb, just under the drop of blood, and let some droplets drip into the canal.
    By this blood oath, I swear on all my knowledge, I will make my rebellion succeed, or I will die trying.
    Vashishta took one last look at Lord Parshu Ram, bowed his head as he brought his hands together in a respectful namaste, and softly whispered the cry of the followers of the great Vishnu. ‘Jai Parshu Ram!’
    Glory to Parshu Ram!

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Chapter 5
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    Kaushalya, the queen, was happy; Kaushalya, the mother, was not. She understood that Ram should leave the Ayodhya palace. Emperor Dashrath had blamed him for the horrific defeat he’d suffered at the hands of Raavan, on the day that Ram was born. Till that fateful day, he had never lost a battle; in fact, he’d been the only unbeaten ruler in all of India. Dashrath was convinced that Ram was born with bad karma and his birth was the undoing of the noble lineage of Raghu. There was little the powerless Kaushalya could do to change this.
    Kaikeyi had always been the favourite wife, and saving the emperor’s life in the Battle of Karachapa had only made her hold over Dashrath absolute. Kaikeyi and her coterie had speedily let it be known that Dashrath believed Ram’s birth was inauspicious. Soon the city of Ayodhya shared its emperor’s belief. It was widely held that all the good deeds of Ram’s life would not succeed in washing away the ‘taint of 7,032’, the year that, according to the calendar of Lord Manu, Dashrath was defeated and Ram was born.
    It would be best if Ram left the palace with Raj Guru Vashishta, Kaushalya knew. He would be away from the Ayodhya nobility, which had never accepted him anyway. Furthermore, he would stand to gain from the education he’d receive at Vashishta’s gurukul. Gurukul meant the guru’s family, but in practice it was the residential school of gurus. He would learn philosophy, science, mathematics, ethics, warfare and the arts. He would return, years later, a man in charge of his destiny.
    The queen understood this, but the doting mother was unable to let go. She held on to her child and wept. Ram stood stoic as he held his mother, who hugged and smothered him with kisses; even at this tender age, he was an unusually calm boy.
    Bharat, unlike Ram, was crying hysterically, refusing to let his mother go. Kaikeyi glared at her son with exasperation. ‘You are my son! Don’t