Free Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi Page A

gurukul at the fifth hour of the first prahar , to the chirping of birds. Even as the nocturnal forest creatures returned to their daytime shelters, others emerged to face the rigours of another day. The four Ayodhyan princes though, had been up and about for a while. Having swept the gurukul , they had bathed, cooked and completed their morning prayers. Hands folded in respect, they sat composed and cross-legged in a semi-circle around Guru Vashishta. The teacher himself sat in padmaasan , the lotus position , on a raised platform under a large banyan tree.
    In keeping with tradition, they were reciting the Guru Stotram , the hymn in praise of the teacher, before the class commenced.
    As the hymn ended, the students rose and ceremoniously touched the feet of their guru, Vashishta. He gave them all the same blessing: ‘May my knowledge grow within you, and may you, one day, become my teacher.’
    Ram, Bharat, Lakshman and Shatrughan took their allotted seats. Thirteen years had passed since the terrible battle with Raavan. Ram was thirteen years old, and both Bharat and he were showing signs of adolescence. Their voices had begun to break and drop in pitch. Faint signs of moustaches had made an appearance on their upper lips. They’d suddenly shot up in height, even as their boyish bodies had begun to develop lean muscle.
    Lakshman and Shatrughan had now begun combat practice, though their pre-adolescent bodies made fighting a little difficult for them. They’d all learnt the basics of philosophy, science and mathematics. They had mastered the divine language, Sanskrit. The ground work had been done. The guru knew it was time to sow the seed.
    ‘Do you know the origins of our civilisation?’ asked Vashishta.
    Lakshman, always eager to answer but not well read, raised his hand and began to speak. ‘The universe itself began with—’
    ‘No, Paurav,’ said Vashishta, using Lakshman’s gurukul name. ‘My question was not about the universe but about us, the Vedic people of this yug .’
    Ram and Bharat turned to Shatrughan in unison.
    ‘Guru ji ,’ began Shatrughan, ‘it goes back to Lord Manu, a prince of the Pandya dynasty, thousands of years ago.’
    ‘Teacher’s pet,’ whispered Bharat, indulgently. While he teased Shatrughan mercilessly for his bookish ways, he appreciated the fearsome intellect of his youngest brother.
    Vashishta looked at Bharat. ‘Do you have something to add?’
    ‘No, Guru ji ,’ said Bharat, immediately contrite.
    ‘Yes, Nalatardak,’ said Vashishta, turning his attention back to Shatrughan and using his gurukul name. ‘Please continue.’
    ‘It is believed that thousands of years ago, swathes of land were covered in great sheets of ice. Since large quantities of water were frozen in solid form, sea levels were a lot lower than they are today.’
    ‘You are correct,’ said Vashishta, ‘except for one point. It is not a belief, Nalatardak. The “Ice Age” is not a theory. It is fact.’
    ‘Yes, Guru ji ,’ said Shatrughan. ‘Since sea levels were a lot lower, the Indian landmass extended a lot farther into the sea. The island of Lanka, the demon-king Raavan’s kingdom, was joined to the Indian landmass. Gujarat and Konkan also reached out into the sea.’
    ‘And?’
    ‘And, I believe, there were—’
    Shatrughan stopped short as Vashishta cast him a stern look. He smiled and folded his hands into a namaste. ‘My apologies, Guru ji . Not belief, but fact.’
    Vashishta smiled.
    ‘Two great civilisations existed in India during the Ice Age. One in south-eastern India called the Sangamtamil, which included a small portion of the Lankan landmass, along with large tracts of land that are now underwater. The course of the river Kaveri was much broader and longer at the time. This rich and powerful empire was ruled by the Pandya dynasty.’
    ‘And?’
    ‘The other civilisation, Dwarka, spread across large parts of the landmass, off the coast of modern Gujarat and Konkan.