The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi Read Free Book Online

status of the seals and those who had them:
    Varshney: Had four seals — was supposed to send them to four friends — three were passed on but Bhojaraj’s never reached him. Varshney was killed with a discus symbol imprinted on his forehead.
    Bhojaraj: Was supposed to receive one seal, but didn’t get it. Killed nonetheless, with a lotus symbol imprinted on his forehead.
    Kurkude: Received one seal but it was lost or stolen during the car journey.
    Saini: Received one of the seals directly from Varshney but it was taken away by the police when his residence was searched.
    Chhedi: Received one of the seals and claims that it is still with him.
    Saini looked at the bulleted points once again. Then his face drained of all colour. He looked at the names written down once again just to be sure that his mind was not playing tricks on him. It wasn’t.
    Varshney — Bhojaraj — Kurkude — Saini — Chhedi.
    Krishna had been a Yadava, but the Yadavas had been composed of eighteen different clans, some of whom had fought on the Pandava’s side and others on the Kaurava’s. Some of the clans that had helped Krishna build the magnificent city of Dwarka were the Vrishnis, the Bhojas, the Kukuras, the Shainyas and the Chedis. Saini mentally struggled with the similarities as he made notes with a trembling hand:
    Varshney— Vrishni
    Bhojaraj— Bhoja
    Kurkude,’ replied Sir Khanvi sai— Kukura
    Saini— Shainya
    Chhedi— Chedi

    Duryodhana, who was still seething with envy, returned to Hastinapur and decided that the time was ripe for revenge. Upon the advice of his maternal uncle Shakuni, he invited Yudhistira — who was addicted to gambling — to a game of dice. Unknown to Yudhistira, the dice were magical and Shakuni could make them fall any way that he wanted. As the game commenced and it looked like luck was not on his side, Yudhistira’s kin pleaded with him to withdraw but he refused, believing that he would win back everything during successive wagers. I wish I had been there to take matters into control. Unfortunately, Yudhistira lost everything—first his chariots, then the jewels in his treasury, then the slave girls of his palace, his elephants, his horses, his cattle, his kingdom, his brothers, himself and finally, even his wife, Draupadi.
    Priya had noticed the look of panic on Saini’s face. ‘What’s the matter? Tell me,’ she urged. They made Taarak stop the car once again and got out along with Kurkude, so as to be out of Taarak’s earshot.
    ‘Krishna was a descendant of Yadu. The all-encompassing term “Yadava” was used to describe Yadu’s descendants,’ began Saini. ‘But the Yadavas were composed of several clans—eighteen in number. Amongst the Yadava clans mentioned in ancient Indian literature are the Haihayas, Chedis, Vidarbhas,Satvatas, Andhakas, Kukuras, Bhojas, Vrishnis, Shainyas, Dasarhas, Madhus and Arbudas. Now, when I see the names of the five people who have had the seals in their possession, I find it spooky that all five surnames have ancient Yadava connections!’
    ‘Ancient Yadava connections? How so?’ asked Priya.
    ‘Krishna’s grandfather was Shurasena, and some of his tribe came to be known as the Shainyas. Over several generations, the Shainyas eventually settled in the Punjab and came to be known as Sainis. That’s my surname!’ exclaimed Saini.
    ‘Fine, but what about the others? How are they connected?’ asked Priya.
    ‘Another clan was established by a son of Satvata—also a descendant of Yadu,’ said Saini. ‘His name was Vrishni and that’s the name by which his clan came to be known. They first settled in an area called Barsana in Uttar Pradesh and as they migrated to other parts of India they came to be known by various family names such as Varshnei, Varshnai, Varshnaya, Warshne, Varshni, Vrishni, Vrushni—or like my late friend Anil— Varshney.’
    ‘Hmm. What about Nikhil Bhojaraj? That name sounds more Dravidian than north Indian,’ said