p17pkfvna4dvo1rk218351008red4.pdf
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
they don’t even realise how many sins they are inviting on their own souls!’<br />
Shiva frowned. During the attack, it hadn’t appeared that the Naga was being used by the<br />
small platoon of soldiers. In fact, it looked to him like the Naga was the leader.<br />
It took another week for them to reach Devagiri. The capital city of the Meluhans stood on<br />
the west bank of the Saraswati, which emerged at the confluence of the Sudej and Yamuna<br />
rivers. Sadly, the Saraswati’s flow was severely reduced compared to her once mighty size.<br />
But even in her abbreviated state, she was still massive and awe-inspiring. Unlike many of the<br />
tempestuous rivers of the Punjab, the Saraswati was achingly calm. The river seemed to sense<br />
that her days were coming to an end. Yet, she did not fight aggressively to thrust her way<br />
through and survive. Instead, she unselfishly gave her all to those who came to seek her<br />
treasures.<br />
The soaring Devagiri though, was in complete contrast to the mellow Saraswati. Like all<br />
Meluhan cities, Devagiri too was built on giant platforms, an effective protection against floods<br />
and a sturdy defence against enemies. However, where Devagiri was different from other<br />
Meluhan cities was in its sheer size. The city sprawled over three giant platforms, each of them<br />
spreading over three hundred and fifty hectares, significantly larger than other cities. The<br />
platforms were nearly eight metres high and were bastioned with giant blocks of cut stone<br />
interspaced with baked bricks. Two of the platforms, named Tamra and Rajat, literally, bronze<br />
and silver, were for the common man, whereas the platform named Svarna or gold was the<br />
royal citadel. The platforms were connected to each other by tall bridges, made of stones and<br />
baked bricks, which rose above the flood plains below.<br />
Along the periphery of each enormous platform were towering city walls, with giant spikes<br />
facing outwards. There were turrets at regular intervals along the city walls from where<br />
approaching enemies could be repelled. This spectacle was beyond anything that Shiva had<br />
ever seen. In his mind, the construction of a city like this must truly be man’s greatest<br />
achievement.<br />
Shiva’s entourage rode up to the drawbridge across the field of spikes to the Tamra<br />
platform. The drawbridge had been reinforced with metal bars at the bottom and had<br />
roughened baked bricks laid out on top so that horses and chariots would not slip. There was<br />
something about the bricks he had seen across the empire that had intrigued Shiva. Turning to<br />
Nandi he asked, Are these bricks made as per some standard process?’<br />
‘Yes my Lord,’ replied a surprised Nandi. All the bricks in Meluha are made as per<br />
specifications and guidelines given by the Chief Architect of the empire. But how did you<br />
guess?’<br />
‘They are all exactly the same dimension.’<br />
Nandi beamed in pride at his empire’s efficiency and his Lord’s power of observation. The<br />
platform rose at the end of the drawbridge, with a road spiralling up to the summit in one gende<br />
turn, facilitating the passage of horses and chariots. In addition, there was a broad flight of<br />
stairs leading straight up the incline for pedestrians. The city walls and the platform extended<br />
steeply onto the sides around this slope, making it a valley of death for any enemy foolish<br />
enough to attack the platform from this area.