Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Amshavatars - 4

                                                                    Chapter - 4


The king of Magadha was in a dilemma. He was known throughout his kingdom as a just and wise king and these were qualities of which the king was proud of. His subjects sang praises of how well he handled each dispute that was brought to his court. There were some that were not as easy as the others and some which were first thought to be trivial that were later found to be a bit perplexing. But still King Chandragupta had managed to find solutions that even both the sides agreed was fair. The task at hand was unlike anything he had ever handled. Probably no one could have imagined that such a situation would have ever presented itself.

Vali had come to the king with her plea. The king heard her case and was troubled to know of her stand as well as Samudragupta's side of the story. It seemed pointless, but the king sent for Samudragupta to present his side. Samudragupta made his way to the palace and came before the king. The king was taken aback by Samudragupta's grace and stature. With each moment spent with him, the king's respect for the learned brahmin grew greater and greater. Yet, justice takes no sides. Both sides had arguments that were equally valid. Chandragupta knew the solution would take some time to be found; if ever there was a solution.

"Be present at the court tomorrow evening.", said the king. "I will need to discuss this matter over. Meanwhile, you both can stay at the palace. My servants will make due arrangements."

It was the right thing to do. And, king Chandragupta knew that it was perhaps the only thing he could do right then - buy time. Even as he got one day, the king knew this case would last forty-one days. That is the longest that he would ever go. A solution had to be found by then, however impossible it was. Judging a case maybe difficult. It may require some amount of time to weigh out every aspect involved. But justice has to swift, else it is not justice at all. The Mauryan emperors had long set aside forty-one days as the maximum time to deliver a verdict for any case. Forty-one was regarded as an auspicious number and any event that took place in forty-one days was thought to have been the will of the gods.

 That evening, the king was in a closed chamber with his prime minister and the royal high priest. The point of discussion was the case between Vali and Samudragupta.

"She cannot marry him.", said the Priest. "I mean, he cannot marry her. A brahmin is a brahmin. He cannot marry a shudra. That is out of the question."

The king and his prime minister knew what the priest was talking about. Everybody in ancient India followed the tradition of the castes from birth to death. Every man born on earth belongs to one of the four castes - the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaisyas and the Shudras. The Brahmins were considered the highest among all the castes. They were considered to learned men and sought occupations such as priests, advisers, teachers and doctors. The Kshatriyas were below the Brahmins and above the rest. These were men of valor and courage. The kings, soldiers and warriors belonged to this caste. Next to them came the Vaisyas. They were considered to be skilled in the art of trading and negotiations. Hence, most men in their caste took up livelihoods as traders and moneylenders. Finally, came the Shudras -the lowest among the castes who took up professions such as farming, artistry and masonry. Among the rules the abide among the all people was one should only marry someone belonging to one's same caste. This rule had even at times gone to level of being implied to one's subcaste as well. To break the laws of the caste system would mean to displease the sentiments of the people and their beliefs. Not to mention incurring the wrath of the gods.

"We all know the rules, Acharya", said the minister. "But, what are we to do with Vali? You heard her case. How can we argue against it?"

The king sat silently eyeing his minister and then the priest. The other two fell silent as well. It seemed as though there were not even any arguments left to discuss.

"Marry him to my daughter.", said the priest.

The other two were too stunned to reply. They had just heard something, but it seemed absurd to be true.

"Let him marry my daughter.", the priest restated.

"Acharya, are you insane?", said the king. "We are here discussing the marriage between Vali and Samudragupta and you are proposing that he marries your daughter?"

"Yes.", said the priest."Just think about it. He is a brahmin. So is my daughter. He is well learned and of high stature. I am the high priest of the palace. The alliance is perfect."

"Agreed, but that has nothing to do with what we are discussing.", said the minister. "We are discussing whether we should support or oppose the marriage between Vali and Samudragupta. Not who else we can get Samudragupta to marry."

The chamber was silent again.

"I need more time.", said the priest, looking at the others. "I can find a solution if I have more time. I will go through the scriptures. Some solution will be there in them. I just need to go through the scriptures and discuss with the other priests."

The king heard the priest and then got up from his seat. Silently he went and opened the chamber door. He turned and, looking at the priest, said, "You have forty more days."

Then the king was gone.