The father of Chandragupta, Suryagupta Maurya was the ruler of the state of Pippalivana and Muradevi was the name of his mother, the queen. Suryagupta ruled the state carefully. The public life was reasonably peaceful and good. No one starved to death and the streets had few beggars. The people were proud of their state and the ruler.
Pippalivana was free of tyranny and oppression. Citizens could lead a dignified life with some self-styled discipline. The main occupation of the people was cultivation and hunting. That gave them healthy bodies. The folks were tall and well built. They dressed simply.
The happy state of Pippalivana was no good news for the Emperor Mahapadmananda of Magadha who was on the spree of annexing all small kingdoms around in his empire by force. His greedy eyes were now on Pippalivana. Being a small state with small population, its army too was small although the soldiers were brave and daredevils. Against the massive force of Magadha it could not hold ground for long if or when Mahapadmananda decided to strike.
One day Suryagupta had gone on a hunting trip along with his favourite ministers, courtiers and a small band of bodyguards. Suddenly, Magadha army units appeared on the scene moving fast. The Pippalivana royal palace came under their siege. Queen Muradevi saw the enemy soldiers surround her palace. In shock she watched.
The Commander of the Magadha cavalry force thundered an order, “Soldiers and guards of the palaces and court of Pippalivana! Hear carefully. You shall not interfere with anything Magadha soldiers do. Instead be helpful to them. Anyone disobeying my order shall be put to death!”
The Command of the Magadha commander was heard in silence. Only the neighing of the horses and hoof stamping echoed in the air. After a pause the commander issued declaration verbally, “Mighty Emperor of Magadha, Mahapadmananda has given an imperial order that Pippalivana is no longer an independent state but an integral part of Magadha Empire and its court will administer directly now on. That is all.”
The order and the declaration of the commander was heard by Muradevi and the soldiers of Pippalivana. It had come so suddenly that no one could react instantly. They needed a little time to assess the situation.
Then, the chief of the guards ran in and spoke in anxious voice, “I hail the Queen! The enemy has laid a siege to the palace.”
“I can see that, Balbhadra!” Muradevi said in a grave tone. “But I fail to understand why has Magadha sprung this sudden attack on our kingdom? Has some hot headed commander of Magadha acted on his own or our soldiers did something to provoke them?”
“There has been no provocation from our part, Queen Honourable! And it is no unilateral act of some commander. The empire is behind it. It is greedy for expansion. Emperor Nanda had his evil eye on our kingdom. We were like a thorn in his flesh. This attack is to remove the thorn.”
“Before invasion the Emperor could have sent an envoy to work out a solution by a peace deal,’’ Muradevi spoke in anguish and added, “This is against all norms and royal traditions. Very unfair.”
“Queen! Norms, traditions and fairness are alien words for Magadha Emperor,” Balbhadra said hatefully and urged,” Instead of judging the fairness of the enemy we must think how to deal with this adverse situation without wasting time.”
Muradevi sadly nodded her head. “Balbhadra! You know the king has gone for hunting. So are important ministers and advisors. In his absence how can I risk the lives of our soldiers by ordering battle?”
“Queen! There is no option. If you don’t order battle the enemy is going to butcher our soldiers anyway. Like dogs they will die. The battle will give them a chance to die in honour. They will show the courage and power of Pippalivana to the enemy.”
“Brave soldier! Admirable is your patriotism and loyalty to our king. But why invite death to our soldiers without any chance of a positive result?”
“Queen! True soldiers don’t do arithmatic of chances of the outcome of a battle. They follow just the rule of ‘do or die’. They only obey the commands of superiors. Don’t put yourself in dilemma. Issue the battle order and hope for the best.”
“Alright soldier,” Muradevi said looking at the hostile gestures of Magadha cavalry commander”. You are free to punish the enemy according to your capacity and power for its aggression.”
“As you command, Queen!” Balbhadra bowed to the queen and dashed out.
Balbhadra rallied his small band of guards and soldiers and launched an attack on the enemy cavalry soldiers. Magadha force was huge. Like tide it was moving. Casualities made little difference to them. Too many they were. The defenders were fast thinning out. Defeat was inevitable.
Balbhadra sent a soldier on a fast horse to the jungle to inform the king about the treacherous act of Magadha. The soldier bravely raced his horse through enemy. He went clear although he sustained sword and spear hits. He was bleeding but he kept the horse on the gallop. Inside the jungle he pulled his horse to stop for a breather. The horse stopped in its tracks.
The soldier stopped breathing and trained his ears to hear the tell-tale sounds of the hunters. He heard sounds of horse hoof falls coming from the right side. In that direction he turned his horse and dug his heels to get the horse going again. Only after a few minutes he caught sight of the king and his party coming towards him on horses. The satisfied look on their faces showed that they had bagged a lion or a tiger. They were talking in excited voices like hunters do when they bag a kill.
The soldier galloped his horse towards the royal party. From a close quarter he said, “I hail the king!”
The king and his companions stared at the dishevelled, bleeding and anguished soldier. “Soldier! What happened…,” Suryagupta examined his face,” …to you? Did someone attack you?”
“My Lord! No, but our kingdom is under attack!”
“What do you mean, my man?”
“Magadha army has come to take over!”
“Oh!” Suryagupta exclaimed. “That mad dog Mahapadmananda has finally put a bite on us.”
A minister cursed, the same treacherous act he played against Vaishali, Shakya, Bhaga, Mulla, Bulli and Koliya states. Now he is about to gobble up our Pippalivana.”
“Never mind, Saurav,” Suryagupta declared, “We have our self-respect of martial race to defend. We are not going to capitulate without a good fight. Our defeat is inevitable but we shall fight nevertheless for our pride.”
The messenger soldier pleaded, “My king! Please act fast. Our palace is under siege. There is grave danger to the life of our Queen.”
Suryagupta nodded his head understandingly. He tightened his hold on the reins and spurred his horse. The horse shot forward. Others of the party followed him without falling back.
From a distance Suryagupta could see the enemy army swarming like locusts. He attacked the enemy with his small band of soldiers in do-or-die spirit. His initial charge unsettled the enemy. Magadha soldiers fell back. Another wave of enemy attacked from a flank. The soldiers falling back were again being pushed forward by the soldier wave behind. They fell to Suryagupta and his soldiers.
But this was a temporary gain. The enemy was coming at the defenders from three sides. The defenders were gradually falling and showing signs of tiredness. In a short period of time only few of the defending soldiers remained along with their king. The enemy overpowered them. Suryagupta was taken prisoner alongwith a few of his soldiers who still survived.
Vanquished Suryagupta saw the flag of Magadha going up on his palace which included his royal court. He could do little about it. His heart wrenched and he felt mortified.
Suryagupta was taken to Magadha capital and put in a blind dungeon at the order of Mahapadmananda. Queen Muradevi was sent to Nanda palace to serve as a maid in inner sanctum. Before getting thrown in dungeon Suryagupta was allowed to meet his wife Muradevi.
Even as a palace maid Muradevi had lost none of her regal grace and dignity. Her face reflected serene peace and composure.
But the sight of her master in shackles pained her. For once she looked overtaken by emotions. With tears in her eyes she ran to Suryagupta. Close to him she stopped at seeing grimly determined face of her master. It did not betray any fear or sorrow at his fate. Muradevi froze.
“Why did you stop, Queen?” Suryagupta tried to extend his hands towards her.
“Master!” Muradevi drew closer to her husband and spoke, “I am no more a queen but a maid of the inner sanctum of Nanda palace.”
“The ironies of fate may change the physical state of a person, my dear, but the basic nature can not change.” After a pause he said, “A lion may die of hunger but it won’t accept grass. His ‘king of jungle’ mindset does not change. You may call him rat, rabbit, mouse or jackal but he will continue to behave like the lord of jungle.”
Muradevi sighed, “That is true, my master. How can I reconcile with myself? Our basic relationship is that of man and woman which overshadows all other factors. I can’t accept your and my tragedy.”
“The irony of fate must be accepted, my dear,” Suryagupta said, “With fortitude we must bear with it. The fate can not be challenged. But patience and discipline should be used in adverse times. At the same time effort be kept on to create favourable situation.”
Muradevi sobbed and put her head against the chest of the shackled Suryagupta. Between sobs she spoke in murmurs, “M…Master… what effort may I make…to…s….shatter these shackles of misfortune?”
“First, keep patient, my dear. Keep trust in the wisdom that every puzzle has a solution hidden within. Every adverse situation contains the mystery of favourable tiding. The darkest night is the harbinger of ascending moon phase.”
“Master, I don’t see my ray of hope in our misfortune. My only hope is going to be swallowed by the darkness of the blind dungeon. Where is the solution in our tragic puzzle? I am mentally becoming a dark hole of hopelessness. You are going to become a tragedy of a blind dungeon. From where the favourable tiding come?”
Suryagupta spoke, “I may get lost in the darkness of the blind dungeon but I leave behind with you a source of the ray of hope and the favourable tiding. No one, and even Mahapadmananda won’t be able to take it away from you.”
“What source are you talking about, master?” the queen asked greatly puzzled.
Suryagupta furtively pointed to her the little bulge of her belly and whispered, “My dear Murray! That source of our hope is seeded in your womb. That is our secret common treasure. He will light up our dark dungeon and the dark hole of hopelessness.”
“Oh!” Muradevi gripped the hands of her master emotionally overwhelmed. She had forgotton all about their six week old child she was carrying in her womb due to the turmoil. “Master! You reminded me of something I would like to stay alive for one hundred lives. But what future can a child of a palace maid can have?”
“Don’t worry about it, Murray. I am sure it will be a male child. Instil in him the royal spirit and never let him feel a son of maid. It is all in the mind. If you bring him up in the spirit of a prince he will grow up in the same mindset. For a child nothing else matters but what its mother tells it. The spirit of upbringing matters and not the external situations.”
“I will do it. I will follow your suggestion as your last sacred command to me. I will consider myself as not your queen but a loyal soldier.”
Suryagupta looked pleased. He said, “I have full faith in you, my dear. I knew you would understand.”
“Trust me, master. I wan’t fail you. Our son will surely redeem us,” Muradevi promised.
“My dear, I have already thought of a name for him. Do name him ‘Chandragupta Maurya’. He will be the bright moon of the darkness of our tragic fate,” spoke Suryagupta dreamily.
Suddenly, the sentries of the Magadha empire rattled their spears signalling that the meeting was over for the ex-king and queen of Pippalivana. The sentries were eyeing with amusement the emotional outburst of the ex-royals. The soldiers separated Suryagupta from his wife and led him away.
Muradevi watched them go tearfully. She cried. Something inside her felt that they were not going to meet again in this life. It would be their last meeting. She clutched her belly to find solace in the fact that the seed of her husband was taking roots in her womb. In the child she would meet her dear Suryagupta.
