The Life And Times of Mr. and Mrs. Dongre.

Author's note: This is a work of pure fiction. Any resemblance to any person, place, or thing, is purely a matter of coincidence.

"The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place' or 'north slope') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place' or 'south slope') is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed. Yin is usually characterized as slow, soft, insubstantial, diffuse, cold, wet, and tranquil. It is generally associated with the feminine, birth and generation, and with the night. Yang, by contrast, is characterized as hard, fast, solid, dry, focused, hot, and aggressive. It is associated with masculinity and daytime.

Yin and yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, which constantly interact, never existing in absolute stasis.

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang

"It is to the Riddle of the Sphinx that I have devoted fifty years of professional life as an anthropologist. It is of first-class importance that our answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx should be in step with how we conduct our civilisation, and this should in turn be in step with the actual workings of living systems.

A major difficulty is that the answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx is partly a product of the answers that we already have given to the riddle in its various forms. Kurt Vonnegut gives us wary advice - that we should be careful what we pretend because we become what we pretend. And something like that, some sort of self-fulfilment, occurs in all organisations and human cultures. What people presume to be ‘human’ is what they will build in as premises of their social arrangements, and what they build in is sure to be learned, is sure to become a part of the character of those who participate.

Gregory Bateson - Innocence & Experience. 1987 - p.178

Friends,

I often teach my B.A. First Year Ancient Indian History Class, when we are studying the religious philosophies current in Ancient India, of about the 6th Century B.C.E., that I have always imagined India as a country of phenomenal philosophical diversity.

Necessarliy, having wandered round the country more than my students, I have found, for the purposes of explaining the issue of the sudden proliferation of over three hundred religious philosophies, in India, in the 6th Century B.C.E., that I find that in India as a country, there must be at least one religious philosophy per person. This is easy to understand at another level. There are so many local cults, tribal religions and such like the country over.

This page delves into the religious philosophy of Vatsa, Naraka and Naraki, Mr. and Mrs. Dongre, a 6th Century B.C.E. couple, as those of Nautanki, Swayambhu, Chanakya, Chadragupta Maurya, Manu, and several foreign visitors, and those others, to Ancient India in this period, even if they are a figment of my imagination.

Ajay, 2008.

Act I Scene I

The Setting:

The second urbanization is in progress. The later vedic society of about 500 B.C.E. is intensly involved in deep-iron-tipped-plough agriculture; business is booming; arts and crafts guilds are coming-up; some semblance of a state is emerging, and as its first act, it appoints officers to expropriate the surplus from agriculture, with which further armies would be raised and further townships would be built; the litteratti are going about writing the precepts of their religions in fat books; Chanakya is not born yet, however, the preconditions, for his manual for the kings, the Arthasastra are being arranged; Manu, Yajnavalkya, Narada, and all the other ancient law givers, of the Hindu tradition, are also waiting, on the periphery, for this centuiry to pass-on quickly.

Two good friends, and citizens of Magadha:

Vatsa says to Naraka, " Dear friend, where have you been?"

Naraka, " Dear Friend. I had been sleeping all day, tired from building my new house. What's with these new deadlines for finishing our houses?"

Vatsa, " Yes. Yes. I heard that one too. You see this new five-hundred-year plan suggests that we must expend our capital to urbanize quickly as the government has many sops to offer us, if we meet their targets".

Naraka, "Yes, indeed. the environmental conditions of 6th century b.c.e. are also favourable. we are well into the holocene. the river ganga has already carved out its course, the soils are fertile, just the recipe for a financial boom".

Vatsa, " Yes, dear friend Naraka, but agriculture isn't everything; culture is; or haven't you heard? Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira are up and about, preaching their gospels? Many Viharas, Universities and Buddhist, Jain and Ajivaka Cave Temples are also being carved-out of rock. The sculpture business is also booming thanks to these heterodox sects. So are the Ajivaka and there is yet another cult that preaches that everything that is morally wrong is infact right. I do not here wish to elaborate on the many other cults that have grown-up away from Magadha. I suppose we may thank the development of pali for that".

Naraka, "And quite heterodox too. they say that (when we are free from building our houses and raising revenues from agriculture) we may like to pay attention to matters of the soul. Nirvana is the best commodity of our age and as it is really important to register a steep rise in religious achievements of this age. That is easily done. A safe soul is one that dwells in a body that has a full-stomach".

Vatsa, "Dear Naraka, okay if it is government policy then there must be some rationale to it but I wonder why we must must pay attention to matters of the soul, when our forebears, in the vedic age, and earlier in the Harappan age, could barely define a relgion of any sort? Sure they were busy praying, I would admit that, I mean look at their seals and sealings; however, for them, praying to plants, animals, trees, the earth and the sun and the moon, and the bull was sufficient".

Naraka, "Yes, Yes, quite right. They did pray to inanimate objects and imbued them with a divineness and that was extremely beautiful and charming. I donnot at all like our contemporary rituals of any kind that suggest these very expensive and laborious rituals for finding nirvana. It is simply not cost-effective".

Vatsa, "Yes, Yes, Dear Naraka, expensive and laborious rituals tend to dampen the spirit. Its like filling-out so many forms for an appointment with God. That makes little sense at all. If the supreme being is all-seeing and all-present, then a simple household or anywhere sort of prayer is all that would seem to be needed...O Lord Almighty, Hear Ye My Prayer...sort of thing. The Vedic karmakanda is the blight of contemporary commemoration as it has developed at the end of the vedic age, and, I hear, that is the reason why so many new religions and cults have sprung-up to offer easier paths to propitiate gods and for nirvana. However, I cannot for, even a moment, agree that these other cults and religions did not always coexist with the dominant vedic tradition. After all there were people living in the bharatavarsha for millenia before the Harappan age or the advent of the aryans".

Act I Scene II.

The Setting:

Naraka and his wife Naraki converse at their abode, after Vatsa departs for the day.

Naraki, "Where on earth have you been allday? I keep cooking and cleaning, there is the house to finish, and you always come back, so late into the night? What do you expect me to say or do "Dear Lord of Magadha"? Am I a minion? I am sure you were with that good for nothing Vatsa discussing politics again. This is the limit!".

Narak, "Hold your horses, good woman of my house. Now then, there is such a pressure upon our household. A man must do what a man must do".

Naraki, "What must a man or a woman do? From where do you get this idea that our roles in society are defined? Prithee do tell me? Budhha is admitting women into the Samgha, so is Lord Mahavira. Since the early and later vedica ages too our status and role in indian society has been very good. Therefore why must I sit at home while you wander around? And don't take matters back into Harrappa and mophenjodaro, and prehistory before that. there are leading studies by leading universities on primitive tribes that argue that in prehistoric indian society and in protohistory women enojoyed a very dominant status. these societies were therefore called egalitarian societies. And I haven't even started talking about your other good friend Mr. Dongre as yet".

Narak, "Listen here you good lady of my house. Vatsa and i were simply talking about india in the 6th century b.c.e. Do not these discussion hold some merit? Agreed that women occupy today an equal place with men, how does that limit our speech, and discourse? Must men stop talking at all? Must we structure our conversations in line with the idioms most commonly used by women? finally do you not think that issues such as house building, religion and personal faiths occupy a centre-stage in contemporary life?"

Naraki, "No, my dear, I certainly do not think these to be very relevant issues anylonger!".

Act II Scene I

The setting: A hundred years have since passed and we are into the 5th century b.c.e.The wide expanse of the Ganga Plains. There is a village well into the river-plain of the Ganga, in the Magadhan area, close enough, for its people to be bathing in the river everyday; the fields, all very productive, on account of the gangetic alluvium enriched by annual flooding of the plains; the landscape dotted with syncretic shrines that Indians are forever praying in.

Mr. Dongre, another citizen of Magadha, to a villager, named as Nautanki, of a local village called Chaldi-Hapra. "Dear Good Sir, I certainly like the look of these country boats of yours that are stranded up here in these dry-season alluvial accretions...frankly they all look like the noah's arks. why does your life depend so much on the river?"

The villager of Chaldi-Hapra whose name is Nautanki, replies, "Dear Good Sir, these so called noah's arks each cost us about three lakhs panas each to build and they are very serviceable for many seasons. As to why they are here moored on the alluvium I may only say that our lives, and boats, are a subject to the rivers whims. These same arks would be swimming like ducks and swans when the Ganga Mai floods and her waters shall cover the ground upto here. We may then fish, ferry people accross, and lead a normal life."

Mr. Dongre to Nautanki, " Dear Good Sir, in that case, what do you do for a living, the rest of the year, when Ganga Mai is flowing at that remote distance?".

Says Nautanki to Mr. Dongre, " Dear Good Sir. Much of our village life therefore depends on our nature gods to whom we pray profusely. We have already spoken of the Ganga Mai. We do infact have a lot of other Mai and Baap Gods that we fall upon for subsistence purposes, in the lean season. There is the Bel Tree, The Mango Tree, The Jack Tree, The Tamarind Tree that give us ample fruit to sell in the market, to earn some money, with which we buy food-grains.

Dear Good Sir, here you must not forget, that when Ganga Mai, recedes the soil becomes very fertile. We sow our annual crops of wheat and other pulses, lentils, grams, peas and also cultivate vegetables of all orders. All these, we consume partly, and partly sell the surplus, for our subsistence."

Mr Dongre to Nautanki, "Ah Ha! But where are the gods in these things, that you just spoke of? God is a living thing so how can he live in a non-living thing? Does your god live in the trees and the soil? Ours do not. They live in temples and shrines."

Nautanki to Dongre, "Dear Good Sir. A god is one who may dwell anywhere as per his or her likes and dislikes. If He/She chooses, in your religion, to live and travel on a mouse, as Ganesha does, then why may our Mais and Baaps not live on this tree or that tree? Why may they not be inside the bel fruit and the watermelon? Indeed we alo do pray to your gods. See that Shiva Temple in the distance. However, Shivji is a very big God and we do not disturb him or Parvati or Hanuman for some small ills that may befall us. For that we have a slurry of small and very-small gods, like Chunni devi, Chirchiria baba etc. ."

Act II Scene II.

Another hundred years pass and we are now into the 4th century b.c.e.. Mrs. Dongre, wife of Mr. Dongre, and also a citizen of Magadha, who has been wandering around the wide expanse of the Gangetic village, Chaldi-Hapra, while Mr. Dongre has been engaged in a conversation with Mr. Nautanki, now bumps into a Greek Traveler Aristophanes, who is also wandering around Chaldi-Hapra.

Mrs. Dongre, "Dear Good Sir! Where is your name? Where are you from? What brings you to Pataliputra? Your clothes belie that you have come from afar!".

Aristophanes, "Dear Good Madam! My name is Aristophanes of Macedonia. Remember the play Medea, it is performed still with great aplomb at our ancient theatre of Phillippi in Macedonia.

I wear the clothes of Greece from which land I come. I am sorry that I have arrived very recently and there has not been the time to engage a tailor of Pataliputra to stitch me the garments peculiar to this area".

Mrs. Dongre, "Aha! I thought as much. Your robe is of course very Macedonian-Greek. Yet, how did you find your way to Pataliputra and then Chaldi-Hapra?"

Aristophanes, "Dear Good lady, actually my ancestors had already settled in Gandhara long before, for trading purposes, long before our King Alexander decided to launch his campaign of world conquest. My ancestors lived in the north-western parts of India and were called Bactrian-Greeks or Indian Greeks. they were mainly into trade and commrc with your people and even issued their own gold and silver coins.

Later Alexander, our King of Macedonia, decided to lead an army across West and Central Asia to Gandhara and then invade India, and was of the idea that some historians should accompany his entourage to record his exploits.

It is thus that I come to Pataliputra. After Alexander departed for Macedon, disillusioned with his Indian campaign; and Seleucus Nictor, a general of his erstwhile army, and the Satrap of Bactria, married his daughter to Chandra Gupta, your King, and send Megathanes as his ambassador to Chandragupta's court. I am a friend of Megasthanes and travelled from Gandhara to Pataliputra with him. There are six of us historians with Megasthanes. Today he is busy writing and has deputed me here, to survey the lands near Pataliputra, to learn the manners and customs of the people here, the geography, agriculture and other economic practices, arts and crafts, and of the flora and fauna of this gangetic area, so that he may write about it in his History."

Mrs. Dongre, " Aha. Did you know that the river Ganges has over ninety types of fish? These include Mrigal, Katla, Five types of Ilsha, Rehu, Catfish, Crowfish and numerous other types. The river also has Fresh Water Dolphins the locals call "Sos", but these are not eaten by humans. The Ilsha and Rehu actually migrate upstream from downstream Farrakka during their spawning season and this is when a great number of them are netted by the villagers and used partly for subsistence diets and partly for sale in Pataliputra."

Aristophanes, "I see. Then I might even try some of these varieties myself, or, how else could I tell Megasthenes about what they taste like? In Greece, however, we get mostly sea-fish, as we are surrounded by Seas on all sides."

Act III Scene I

Another hundred years pass and now we are properly into the age of the first and truly historical written primary sources - the first of which is the Arthasastra - said to have been written in the 4th century B.C.

The Mauryan Empire is of course flourishing, with Chandra Gupta at its helm. The city of pataliputra has a city-council called Pauda-Janapada which acts as a municipality of sorts and vested with the responsibility of keeping the city of Pataliputra well-organized. The city is surrounded by fortifications made of wood on account of the internecine warfare between the 16 great monarchies and republics of the age of Buddha. These city-states traded and fought with each other as well to gain more territory, no doubt to accommodate the increasing population since the Early Vedic age c. 1500 B.C.

Kautilya to Chandragupta, "Hello, Good Sir! And how are we today?".

Chandragupta, "Oh. Just the same Sire. Infact, I do have a blinding headache today!"

Kautilya, "Oh, is that so Good Sire? Then there must be something troubling you since last night? These are called nightmares and these are not half as serviceable as the real steeds that you have employed for your personal equestrianism and for the Magadhan Cavalry. Just the same do take the trouble of telling me your problem, there are many physicians, mendicants and mystics in our employ who would readily provide a curing remedy."

Chandragupta, "Matters of the state no doubt. I had a curious dream last night. I saw that I was sailing in a boat in the Ganges, and there were very large expanses of alluvial soils, by the margins of the river, dotted with villages, some country-boats moored like noah's arks, here and there; but nowhere is there any evidence of cultivation. Isn't that a horrifying vision? Imagine how much revenue we are losing that these lands should not be under intensive agriculture."

Kautilya, "Dear Good Sire. I did tell you that that was a nightmare. However, I have learnt from good authority that there are some village still on the periphery of Pataliputra where the cultivators are a bit indolent and they make their subsistence from natural products like fruit-trees and some small vegetables they may grow. For the rest, they make their remainder of the subsistence, living from the Gangetic fauna -that is the fish. You were very right that this was a very disturbing vision, as what we are primarily interested in, is agriculture from which the state may rightly raise a surplus and revenue to boot. What do we do with fish and fruits? That is scary!"

Chandragupta, "Not to worry. First give me a glass of tepid water with some lemon squeezed in and a touch of sugar and salts. That should take care of my headache. I really do not have the time this morning to answer all those weather, mood and diet related questions that our auyurvedic and other mendicants are perptually asking. I ask you, does the King have the time for these sorts of things or to worry mainly about revenue and expanding territories.

Surely, we could send-out our army this very morning and bludgeon these peansants into cultivating their lands properly and regualry on an intensive basis. I would leave to you the task of recovering the revenues.".

Kautilya, "No. No. Sire. We are still in the 4th century B.C.E and such haste would not look good at all. We are the Empire, and the Empire must take its own time. Let not these weaslas think that we are so taken-up with their indolence that we have sent out our army in a jiffy to deal with their half-horse ways and means. Give them a long-rope.".

Chandragupta, "Yes, Sire. Aesthetics are also something. On that note, how is the Didarganj Yakshi that I ordered coming-along. I thought we needed a good piece of sculpture that the posterity may remeber us by and that should adorn the palace-entrance. What of the crafts, and small-scale manufacture. Do apprise me."

Act III Scene II.

Chandraguta sits down to breakfast. A flurry of minions of all orders, cooks, watchmen, ministers (or amatyas), women of the house, pall-bearers, and of course Kautilya take their seat my him.

Chandragupta, "Aha. No flies this morning. I hate this summer. So many flies. Especially hateful is that big green one that very aggresively buzzes around my mango. I like the taste of the dhuska, though. what is it made of - maida? it goes very well with the ol ka chatni. the purees are also very nice, and so is the aloo ka bhujia. tell that cook not to serve me litti-chokha every morning. i know it is the very outstanding cuisine of our period, but it does get repetitive, to be eating, litti-chokha, every morning. Dear Kautilya, as I eat, kindly do tell me the state of our royal gardens in Pataliputra?".

Kautilya, "Very Good Sire. We have built about twenty of them around the city, the Pauda-Janapada Officers are entrusted with the task of looking after the Marigolds, Orchids, Chrysanthemums, the Money-Plants, and the range of Cactii that have reached the Royal Palace as gifts from Gandhara".

Chandragupta, "Tell me. Are there any fruit-trees in my orchards, as well? What fruits do they give?".

Kautilya, "Sire, they give mangoes, litchis, Bananas, Jackfruit, Bel, Tamarind, Jamuns, Guavas, and all else, that would grow successfully in the Gangetic climatic regime".

Chandragupta to a minion called Swayambhu, "You there. Will you stop staring at me. First of all you chaps from Chaldi-Hapra produce no revenues and thus become poor. Then I have to give you jobs, illiterate, as you are. That is how you enter palace-service...",

Swayambhu interrupts him (in his illiteracy), "Sire. Sire. Sire. Be calm. Be wise. We from Chaldi-Hapra are the very foundations with which your Empire is built!"

Chandragupta (bemused), "Ah. Now my minion is my Master!".

Swayambhu (further), "Sire. you see there would be no empire if there was no territory. At least that much is evident from Kautilya's conversations with you day in and day out."

Chandragupta (thinks), " Swayambhu! My man! yes, do go on...".

Swayambhu, (overjoyed, and now courteously), "Sire. In the context of what I have just said, then how may you remonstrate, even if our lands are unproductive, in your sense of the term? Needless to say I have learned such tarka in association with the royal palace itself.".

Chandragupta, now finishing his breakfast, disbands the gathering, and proceeds to conduct his royal court.

Act IV Scene I

It is conjectured that in the 4th century B.C.E. the city of Pataliputra was adorned with a Central Royal Palace, and several other public buildings, some of these halls for public assembly for matters concerning the public, and some were indeed Buddhist Viharas, well within city-limits. The city of Pataliputra was surrounded with a wooden perimeter wall. Chandragupta Maurya descends from his Royal Palace and makes his way in a chariot to the asembly hall to hold his court, dressed in finery that he has received as marriage gifts from Seleucos Nikator as he is wedded to his daughter.

Chandragupta, "Dear residents of Pataliputra, and those who have come from afar, in my dominions. I am indeed of very good disposition today and hence would like to divulge that I am contemplating travelling to Videsha that means a foreign country soon. You are already away that in this period sanskrit inscriptions are found as far away in Vietnam and Cambodia through which our presence is already acknowledged there. The point is for me to visit there to strengthen our ties insofaras our trade and commerce, art and architecture, crafts and all else are concerned? What do you think?

The courtiers replied en masse, "Hail be the King. We are very glad to hear such good tidings. May the King depart soon, sail the seas safely, and by the will of the gods return safely and soon".

Hearing this Chandragupta Maurya (casts a jaundiced eye around the assembly) and says, "Dear courties, thank you for your agreement and good wishes. I hear, however, that travelling to videsha, is not very easy, much as it would serve the common cause in this century, jealousies are very rife. I do not wish that any of our minor feudatories, seized with jealousy, invade my empire, when I am away. This is just one of the problems".

Hearing this (the compromise of their Raja) the courtiers reply as follows, "Hail be the King. You are lord and master of our dominions. Who are those who obstruct your path?".

Chandragupta, "Dear friends, It is not that I want to divulge any names, that would precipiate a war sooner than the news of my proposed travel to Videsha. That is not our purpose here. I just wanted to bring to your notice such matters of the state that besiege a King and for which he must think comprehensively about each issue".

The courtiers, not satisfied with such an evasive answer, "Prithee, then our counsel has been in vain, as you seem not to have reached a decision?".

Chandraguta, "Then so be it".

However, it happens perchance, that Mr. and Mrs. Dongre are also amongst the courtiers this morning, and they see a very good opportunity to speak-up.

Mr. Dongre, "Sire. These are not good tidings. A king is a king, and he must do what he must do, irrespective of the impediments. Let me tell you that I have been up and about in your kingdom surveying the lands and its people. I am most impressed with the latitude people here have to pray as they like and speak as they like. This is not what, in this century, we may say about the other petty rajas of Bharata and their principalities. These latter ones have not even a modicum of democracy in them. So I would advise you to undertake your travel and the Magadhan army is always there to quell any revolts".

Says Mrs. Dongre, "Yes, Sire. Like my husband, I too have been up and about your very pleasant kingdom and have met a variety of individuals, some indeed greek by origin. I am most impressed with the cosmopolitan nature of Magadha and particularly the city of Pataliputra. Look at the varieties of fishes in the sone, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Ghaggar, Punpun, Koilver, Kosi and Ganga rivers of Magadha. The agricultural outputs are also very diverse and plentiful. It is just that the dasa pratha (slavery) that is currently prevailing in Magadha leaves a lot to be desired. Surely this is anti-democratic. If the king were to alleviate the lot of the common cultivator then he would surely have my support too for his proposed travel to Videsha".

Swayambhu, who has so far been lurking in the background, in this public assembly, finds a chance, to get his tuppeny's worth in.

Swayambhu to Chandragupta, "Dear Dear Sire. The Dongre's had visited my own village Chaldi-Hapra, and report on what they saw over there. However, I am not an occassional visitor like them, indeed I have lived my whole life there, and may be able to put before you in better and greater detail what ills befall the people there.".

Chandragupta, now properly bemused, beckons to Swayambhu, that he may speak.

Swayambhu, "Sire. By the diktats of Kautilya, all lands in the kingdom now belongs to Sire. The lands that the Sire keeps an eye on and of which the total produce goes into the royal treasury is called Sita Land. Such lands are a major part of the total lands of Magadha. However, Kautilya thought it fit to lease out the remainder of the lands to the various poor peasantry, that had been inhabiting these lands from the time of Mahapadma Nanda, and these are the lands from which Sire realizes tithes upto 1/6th of the produce.

Lately, in the wake of the many wars that the Sire fought, to expand the kingdom of the Magadha, Sire has taken many prisoners of war, who were brought to Magadha, and they are the labour that raises crops on the Sita land. It is this system of labour, that has little recompense, that Madam Dongre has referred to as Dasa Pratha (or slavery).".

Chandragupta (beaming with pleasure that the matter has been explained him with such clarity by Swayambhu, a thing that the more learned of the courtiers could not do), "Swayambhu, My Man. And yet again you prove, how valuable an advisor you are to me. I get the point now.".

Swayambhu, "Sire. Sire. Are you sure you have understood fully this issue of slavery?".

Chandragupta, "Indeed, yes. Swayambhu, now you may sit down, and let me speak".

Chandragupta looks around the asembly hall with another jaundiced eye and speaks thus," So there are some discontenteds in my court. This is revelation no less. I thought the people of Pataliputra support whole-hog my policies of expansionism. From whence this murmur of slavery and such like?".

The Dongres speak together, "Sire, we are, but travellers, from Kutch region near the Arabian sea, and as we have a fully democratic nature of governance in our own lands, we have raised this issue, in the hope, that Sire may find it useful in his system of governance here in Pataliputra.".

Chandragupta, " I see I see. Governance, Democracy, Prisoners of war, Land revenue. These are all very vexing issues, and, in this century, since I am taken-up mostly with the expansion of the limits of the Empire, I shall let Kautilya speak on my behalf".

Kautilya, "Dear assembled towsnmen and nobles of the court. Your questions to our noble king belie that you haven't the faintest of clues as to how an empire has its origin, how its limits are extended, and how indeed are the finances to be raised for its administration, safety, and further expansion. Yes, I have been the main advisor to the king, in matters of finance, and it seems to me that our land administration policy is already being hailed as the most promising so far in the Indian context".

Chandragupta, "Dear Kautilya, just cut the long-story short by a bit. Speak economics only for awahile, as I have other matters to attend to today.".

Kautilya, " It seems to me that it is illiteracy that is our major drawback, for resolving court matters, in a jiffy. I have already penned several volumes on how a state is to raise its finance, that if the Dongres had consulted them then such convoluted questions would never have arisen. Thus I shall accept that it is to the fact that many people have not read the arthasastra that they fail to follow that a state can and must raise revenues, every cent of it, from whereever, even a cent is available. Indeed in this book I have recommended that such people as bards and musicians should be prevented from entering villages since the revelry or the musings they create reduces, even by that much time, the entire productive effort. I have also recommended many punishments for tax-defaultesr of various kinds, and for defaulters of other kinds, from whom we may realize other revenues by way of punshment taxes. Every penny counts as they say a penny saved is a penny earned, by the royal treasury. Thus it is that our prisoners of war have to be taxed one hundred percent to pay for the war that they engaged us is. it is not therefore slavery, it is called complete taxation. Indeed I have spared not even the madmen in our country as i have recommended that the state should use their services as spies which role they would fit perfectly as nobody would suspect their role. i feel sure that no body would recommend that we need pay them a salary?".

The nobles and coutiers of all ilk shift a little this side and a little that wondering what this discussion of slavey would ultimately lead to, and above all else, they are hungry and want to get to the royal feast that awaits them after the sessions court. Thus some of them signal Swayambhu, known ever so well, to have a way-out of tricky situations like this, to take the lead and bring reprieve to the chastened, hastened and a very hungry gathering.

Swayambhu, " Sire. I see Mr. Megathanes is with us today. Surely the learned man from Greece would have something to add here?"

Megasthenes, " Sire. I am a man of letters and wish to remain as such as I am writing my history. However, it does behove me to say that the Sire does what every King, including our own Alexander of Macedon, has done in this age. We wage war and take prisoners from the defeated side and then do with them as we wish. It is thus that Aleander has become unpopular in central asia. But what is the recourse?

Thus it my recomendation to Sire that he should do as he wishes. Slavery is a term developed in Europe and best fits what they do there. The Sire is wise, of good intellect and we have nothing against him on our records, thus this sugust assembly in my view must approve his travels to Vietnam and Cambodia. That is to strengthen our relationship with those countries. This is important. And then the Magadhan Army is still supplied with good horses, elephants and such like to fend-off any attack on our state. This is what I wish to say".

The assembled court then thump their approval on their desks the assembly is adjounred and every one makes a beeline to the cafeteria.

Act V. Scene I

This is the very first trip abroad for young Chandragupta and he is very nonplussed what must be done even if he as an escort. He has arrived at Googly, the port city, from where they are to sail for Videsha. He is accompanied by all the characters in the play, Vatsa, Narak, Naraki, Kautilya, Swayambhu, Aristophanes, Mr. and Mrs. Dongre, Nautanki, Megasthanes and Arrian and some other courtiers.

Chandragupta, " Dear Kautilya, Dear Swayambhu. Can we,in this century, get some tea around the Googly?"

Kautilya, " I shall see Sire. They do say that the Chworah area is full of tea-shops. Actually sanskrit inscriptions are also there in china, and they have gifted us some plants of tea, hence it is that Googly is the only area where tea is freely available in this century. The Boston tea-Party takes place much later, Sire, if you were think about that".

Swayambhu, " Sire, I shall run and get some tea, as I think Kautilya is about to wite another book further to his series of eight already".

Presently Swayambhu fetches good hot tea and the entire retinue sits and everyone help themselves to this delightful new drink. The conversations rolls on.

Swayambhu, " Sire. Do kindly tell us why we are headed where we are?"

Chandragupta, "Swaymbhu my boy. My father use to tell me the overseas travel tends to open one's eyes to the world we live in".

Swayambhu, "how do you mean open one's eyes? And why in this respect? For me my village and your palace is everwhere I would ever wish to travel".

Chandragupta, "Yes, that may be so in the short-run, but you are not King. Am I right?"

Swayambhu, "Yes. Yes, Sire, I see the point now. I am definitely not the King. You are the King. Now prithee tell me why does a King need to travel thus?".

Chadragupta, to the gathering at large, "Well, Swayambhu, you see, and since you ask, thus, I shall have to take you into a bit of histry. Mega sthenes, please you don't mind my meandering with your subject. Drink your tea that you are not likely to get in Greece in this century.

Swayambhu, you see, If an empire is not made in a night, so is not a king. Kautilya and I have travelled and seated ourselves to a limb, going fro Taxila to Parvat raising the army that beat the nandas, from whence our own empire took its origin. That was not easy and it did undertake some travel. we fought the greeks, who had, however, seen many worlds different from theirs as by when they arrived on the borders of bharata, they had already crossed the very many cultures that inhabit the region from Greece to Bharata. Plutarch, Justin and now Megathanes and then Arrian and god knows how many more foreigners are on our soil doing what they do. Have you ever ever stopped to wionder what brings them here and why they busy themselves writing our histories. Why don't we ourselves, for instances, busy ourselves writing our own histories? Since I know you, and probably, partly, your mind, I daresay, you may think that we do so as a matter of convenience that it is best to let the foreigners write our history, since that is one task less for us.

That is all very well. However, if the king does not travel, and by that means does not make new history, then what are these historians going to write about?

Swayambhu, "Yes, Sire."

Chandragupta, "Well, Then?".

Kautilya, "Master. I hear that our ship for the purpose of taking us to Kampuchea is here. Let us not tarry."

That news sends a ripple through the crowd and all of them get-up and start collecting their belongings to embark.

The ship is a fine masted sail=boat that could see the strong waves of the Indian Ocean, it is laden with food drink and all essentials necessary for the journey.

Chandragupta and his entourage move onto the ship and the ship reels in its anchor and sets sail.

Act VI Scene I.

The issue of how Indian religions like Hinduism and Buddhism and those others that we do not know so well about struck roots in the distant climes of China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia is far from fully settled. The material evidence like the Angkor Wat in Kampuchea, and Sanskrit Inscription in Vietnam and folk performance of the Ramayana in Laos all suggest that some diffusion of these ideas did probably take place through people to people contact. Buddhism, similarly, also enjoyed a terrific and widespread popularity originating from India and spreading with the travels and journeys of Indians to countries of the South-East Asia and the Far-East.

Chandragupta, "Dear Kautilya, may I ask how many leagues is Kampuchea from Googly?".

Kautilya, "Oh Sire about a million Yojans. And then the difference in wind conditions would also either lengthen or shorten our travels".

Swayambhu, "Oh, Sire. Do not worry. We have plenty to eat and drink along the way. If sire grows tired then he may like to recline in his special cabin that is also complete with a library. Before embarking I had instructed the Pustakadhyaksha to stock the library with the Vedas, Puranas, that is with all the Smriti, Shruti and Itihaasa volumes, as well as the Pitakas - Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma, and the more new fangled writings such as those of our own Kautilya, and even those of Manu, Narada and Brihaspati. If sire would like a change from reading then we have with us the best of of court musicians who would play beautiful Magadhan melodies. Consider their current rage". Here Swayambhu sings, "Dil Jalta Hai to Jalne De, Aansu Na Baha, Fariyaad Na Kar, Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De".

Chadragupta interrupts Swayambhu, "Yes, I get it. It's the Dil Dhoondhta Hai Phir Wahi sort of melody. I was looking for something more ethnic. I do not mind that it would be a folk melody since in this century high art seems to be getting the pride of place."

Swayambhu, "Sire, I shall enquire with the choir and get back to thee." Swayambhu exits.

Nautanki enters.

Nautanki, " Sire. I came to thank you. This is my very first journey to videsha. I am really thrilled to seee this wide-open sea. The waters of Holy Ganga at Chaldi-Hapra were never so wide nor so blue nor indeed would thunder thus. I hope our boat would take the journey."

Kautilya, "Dear Nautanki. The wonders of the sea are many. It is not apparant that the sea also has many living things in it. First of all the sea-fish are much bigger and more varied than the river-fishes. They come in all types, shapes and sizes. Up above nearer the surface they are some of the edible types and very far below they are of a kind that seldom surface and their shapes and sizes are even more umimaginable to those who have seen only river-fish. Do not worry about the journey. The boat can take it. After-all this is not the first boat that we have sent accross from our shores to Kampuchea. It is the same sea-farers who have told me about the properties of the ocean"

Aristophanes, "Sire Kautilya, I have visited Nautanki Ji's village, seen something of the environs their, and we even heard a longish discourse from him regarding the gods of the forests trees and such like. In Greece, in our part of the world, there is the Aegean Sea whihc is very shallow, sky blue and is dotted with hundreds of islands that are all inhabited. We grow fings, olives, grapes and numerous other fruits and vegetables that are in great demand from other civilizations. But this Indian Ocean is very different. The winds in this season are very strong which may make for good-sailing, but to a Greek they are also very threatening as our sea, for most of the year, is very placid."

Kautilya, "Dear Aristophanes. Are you bothered by sea-sickness or some such thing or is it plain nervousness? The King's library is open to our distiguished foreign guests. As you have seen a sea before, and are bothered by this one, although I would comfort you by saying that our Magadhan boats are very sturdy and have navigated all the oceans of the world; I would thus advise you to retire to the library in this boat and catch up your Vedic reading. I have seen Homer's Illiad and Odyssey that mentions a lot of Greek seafaring and read with much interest the number of different types of boats you have, your gods and monsters of the sea and the land, your ritual procedures for dispelling these, the way you have waged wars on humans, your notions of chivalry..."

Aristophanes who is obviously too ill, "Sire, I would take your advise to retire to the library... are there any couches there?" And thus Aristophanes exits. But not before Kautilya's final question to him, "Tell me good sir. Where is our ambassador Megasthanes?".

Aristphanes, "Sire, the last I saw of him he was enjoying a basket full of mangoes at the helm of the boat. I have not travelled half as much as him, as I tended to stay put in Athens and write my comedies. He is a much travelled man, certainly more than me.

Act Vii Scene I

Even as the humdrum of the sea-voyage is taking place and all the inmates of the boat are settling-down to a journey that would, even with the help of strong-winds, take at least a week to be completed, an enormous monster of the sea Varga shakes the boat violently. Chandragupta is woken up violently from his sleep and Megathanes loses some of his mangoes to the sea. All are shocked. Varga rears its scary head and looks the boatmen in the eye.

Kautilya, "Who art thou and why do you thus trouble us?"

Varga, "I am an ancient occupant of this sea and you travel in my area without my permission. Who are you?".

Kautilya froths at the mouth that there should be any in the Magadhan realms that should not know who he is so Nautanki comes to the fore.

Nautanki to Varga, "Prased be the Gods that you Varga should show yourself to us. I have heard about you from my Grandmother who travelled once in the ocean. You are truly Great.".

Varga to Nautanki, "You have a very likeable countenance and speak very well of me. Tell me, who are these people?".

Nautanki, "Good Varga, Lordess of the Indian Ocean, it is no less than Chandragupta, The Supreme King of Magadha who sails this boat. Alongwith are his ministers, courtiers and noblemen of different descriptions, and we sail for the distant lands of Kampuchea to conduct affairs of the State".

Varga, "I see. So this is a State-Visit, and all this without my permission. Look here noble Nautanki, the King and the Commoner, are both equal before me, I may destroy your boat and all of you would perish as soon as it takes the waters that are at my command to swallow you all up. Who speaks to alleviate your lot?''

"I, Vatsa, do", replies Vatsa and thus speaks further, "Noble Varga, mistress of the Indian Ocean, and imbued with such divine powers to create and destroy, that Varuna has bestowed upon thee.

We are but sailsmen who are ploughing the seas with our boats that we may reach the foreign lands of Kampuchea to promote India Trade and Commerce and build a goodwill between the two peoples. We do not carry any animosity with us although there is always a possibility that discord may arise between peoples of two cultures, such as Bharata and Kampuchea, since our language, manners and customs are so different. It is thissame intersubjectivity that puts you at logger-heads with us. We did not intend to transgress your domains at all. But unless we do how do we sail further and reach the land that is our destination? at Googly we remained too preoccpied with this new drink called tea or chai and all but forgot to have our priest Kautilya invoke you and offer oblations and mantras to appease you before we set sail? I humbly beseech you on behalf of our King and countrymen to let us pass.".

Hearing this Varga's temper cooled-down a bit and She speaks thus, "O, Vatsa, you too have a pleasant countenance and speak well for your King and countrymen. However, you should understand that the laws governing land are made by the King however, the laws of the forests and the oceans are made by such creatures as me. If we were not to scare the humans from time to time then you would plunder all the wealth of the forests and the oceans much the same as you have deprived the lands you govern of many things of extreme beauty, plenitude and joy. This course of human history is most repugnant and therefore we are commanded by our own gods to restrict the activity of the humans on this earth.".

Swayambhu is in the meanwhile back from the Magadhan choir and seeing the spectacle of his boat held to ransom by the sea-monster Varga speaks thus, "Oh, noble Varga, our Magadhan choir is on-board with us and I shall ask them to sing a tune that would appease your soul such that you may let us pass unmolested".

The Magadhan choir then assembles quickly and with all the instruments, cymbals and drums and flutes and stringed instruments sing Rang Barse, Beege Chunar Wali Rang Barse".

Hearing this lilting melody sung by the finest of Magadhan singers, Varga lowers her ferocious hood and disappears beneath the blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

Act VIII Scene I

With Varga out of the way the Magadhan Sailboat makes good speed towards the distant shores of Kampuchea. Further events and discussions occupy the inmates of the boat now. As a first act after recovering from the destruction that was well-nigh, the King Chandragupta summons the Captain of the boat Kumarmangal and speaks thus:

Chandragupta to Kumarmangala, "Good Sir, it was lucky of us that Varga let us pass unmolested. I am myself in great shock. You, of all people should have known that such a contingency may have arisen and warned us suitably when we were in Googly to perform the necessary pujas. Anyway, let bygones be bygones. Do tell me of the way ahead to Kampuchea.".

Kumarmangala, "Sire. There is no sea that leads us directly to Kampuchea. The Kingdom of Thai lies in the way. Thus we must sail directly to Thai and take our boat down the Tenashri River of the Thais and emabrk there. The journey from there to Kampuchea may be by another boat or by Land, whichever the Noble Sire thinks fit."

Chandragupta, "By Land! No that I do not prefer. Besides Narak, Naraki, Nautanki, Vatsa, Kautilya, Mr. and Mrs. Dongre, Aristophanes and Megathanes and Swayambhu have all asked me to take them on a sea-voyage. So the sea-route it shall be.".

Kumaramangala, "So it shall be Sire."

Scene II.

The Magadhan boat is now well accross the Indian Ocean and nearing the coast of Thai and the river Tenashri. There is a marginal change in the properties of the sea, the rocky islands, the wind conditions. The inamtes of the boat are now in some apprehension as to how they would be received in the kingdom of Thai, as they are, except forthe King and Kautilya, all veritable strangers there.

Chandragupta orders Kautilya to summon Vatsa, Narak, Nautanki and Swayambhu. This order is promptly carried-out by Kautilya. A special meeting is convened in the library and Candragupta speaks thus:

Chandragupta, "My good noble Magadhans. You may be impervious of the king and not entirely uptodate with what information he possesses of his citizens. With the help of Kautilya here I am well-informed of all your musings and speculations about Dharma, Karma, Artha and Moksha, as indeed I am of your views about my five-hundred year plans. In these musings you Vatsa and you Narak have displayed tremendously developed powers of thought, so it is to you, assisted by Nautanki and Swayambhu, that I enturst the most crucial task ahead. As our boat arrives at the banks of Tenashri, you are to disembark, and would proceed as my special emissaries to the King at Ayutthaya Maalikaadityavarman. However you are also to visit the cities of Si Satchanalai and Sukhothai. You are to carry as presents copies of several of our books dealing with religion, logic, grammar, state and domestic affairs and philosophy and a few of our sanskrit inscriptions from this century in which I have expressed my goodwill towards King Maalikaadityavarman and in which I have expressed happiness that Hindusim and Buddhism have both been accepted and promoted by Maalik and in which I further wish for a continuing relatioship of peace, harmony and goodwill between our respective kingdoms. Naturally, as Kautilya would readily espouse, nothing moves without trade and commerce, therefore, these inscriptions also enjoin the trading communities of Thai to entertain no fears in treading our waters, and our traders in treading theirs, for the purposes in trading legitimate items of benefit to the peoples of these two countries. You would be assisted by a fine team of our soldiers on-board and would be supplied good steeds that you may accomplish this jourbey, both ways, with great alacrity. Return, at onace, as soon as your mission is over. Also inform the King that I have harboured at his port and shall be moving ahead, without meeting him, to O Dong, in Kampuchea. However, on the return journey, I shall make my very best attempt to alight at a suitable port and try to meet him in person.

Scene III.

Hearing this Vatsa and Naraka are both delighted and overjoyed that they would get to see something of the Kingdom of Thai. The sea journey of even a week has tired them a bit so they speak thus:

Naraka, "Sire, I am much given to reading about the Kingdoms east of Magadha, and it has been my desire for a long time now to see something of these distant lands. I am therefore very grateful to you for, among others, having chosen me to represent you thus. Thank you indeed."

Vatsa, "Sire. I am given to religious thoughts and philosophy of all religions of all the countries. Lately, and due to the housing-boom, that you are aware of, by your own accounts, I have beem immersed rather too much in material thoughts, and have not had much time to travel or read. Needless, to say, this opportunity that you have given us, to travel by land, in the Kingdom of Thai, would allow me to update myself with the religious philosophy of the Kingdom of Thai. I, sire, thank you very much."

Having thus discoursed with their King and countrymen this squad of Magadhans disembark and helped with sturdy steeds they hasten towards their assigned location Ayutthaya, Si Satchanalai and Sukhothai. Here is their conversation en route.

Naraka, "Dear friend Vatsa. What a relief to be able to leave the ship! I had been getting very sick indeed. Water water everywhere and not a single drop to drink?".

Vatsa, "Quite right, dear friend, and I was really scared when that monster Varga reared her head. I do look ahead to discuss a lot with you and to see a bit of the Kingdom of Thai. The country here, I may note at the very outset, looks very similar to ours. The soil is brown and very fertile, there are plenty of mangroves in the coastal area, and I expect that there would be rivers and mountains and forests very much like ours when we get more inland."

Gradually they inch forward from the area of the tenashri river towards auttaya. the roads are lined with buddhist and hindu temples and the markets teeming with art objects like paintings of gods and goddesses, and metal images in gold and silver.

Swayambhu to Nautanki, "Dear Nautanki, how do you feel in this market-place? Do these alien gods and goddesses scare you? Do they make you happy? What?"

Nautanki, "Dear Friend Syawam. Gods and goddesses, of any kind, ought not to scare, god has given us monsters for that purpose. Gods of any religion, after-all, are meant to be benign. So I expect that these rather flat-faced gods and goddessses, despite their facial and other features should also be benign. Why should I be scared of them?"

Swayambhu, "Well since this is your first journey aborad and so far you have been praying only to gods of the trees and forests, therefore I thought this question was appropriate."

Nautanki, "that is quite alright dear frined. now my suggestion to you, even as our nobles vatsa and naraka are resting isthat we do a survey of thismarket place to see if there are any further new drinks available?"

Swayambu, "yes, that is a jolly good idea."

Scene IV

Vatsa and Naraka are suitably rested and Swayambhu and Nautanki come to gradually the following morning in the glorious sunrise that spreads a riot of colours into the Ayuttaya countryside.

Vatsa, "Dear friend Naraka. About time we went calling on King Maalikadityavarman. The King has allowed us a very short period of time."

Naraka,"Yes good friend. He awaits us eagerly at the ship with such news as we may carry. Let us hasten on our journey. The road to Ayuttaya is but not far. We should be there in a few hours if we hasten"

Vatsa, "Swayambhu, Nautanki. Wake up and let us all saddle-up.We should be departing to meet the King of Ayuttaya"

Nautanki, "Master. We are already up and ready and so are the horses. Let us ride".

Scene V.

The entourage led by Vatsa speeds through the valleys and mountains and finally enters the precincts of the Royal Palace. The guards question them and they are allowed entry into the city to seek counsel with the king.

Maalikaditya, "Good Sirs. I am told that a Magadhan ship is moored at Tenashri and Candragupta no less is aboard alongwith some greeks and most importantly the Noble Kautilya. I have greatly admired his Arthasastra. A thing of beauty is joy forever. Recently we have initiated mining activities in Kampuchea purely from the caveats of the Arthasastras that recommends this as the best means to shore-up the royal treasury. However, we have not as yet perfected fully the mettalurgical part of metal-manufacture and we hope that Magadha could help us with this. Do you think we may send our tin, copper and iron-ore to India fro metallurgical processing and conversion into household, agricultural products?"

Vatsa, "Sire. That decision would be upto King and Kautilya, yet I may say that Pataliputra is well-suited to such conversions. However, we bring for you several presents from Candragupta. These are our expressions of goodwill."

Maalikaditya, "These are accepted. You may now rest for the day and night, and carry my message to Candragupta."

Scene VI.

These events over the emmissaries of Candragupta return to mother-ship dcked at Tenshri river.

Mr. Dongre to Candragupta, "Sire, I have not spoken with you before either at Pataliputra or in the week-long voyage that this has been. Now I am really curious as to what your emissaries have to say of the Kingdom of Thai and their meeting with King Maalikadityavarman and of the lands and people of Thai."

Mrs. Dongre to Candragupta, "Sire, Me too. I too have some similar questions of Sire. What is the Thai cuisine like? what sorts of people are they? what do they wear, their folk customs, and local manners?"

Candragupta to Naraka, "You have travelled for three-days in the kingdom of Thai. Let our boat-people know about you journeys."

Act IX Scene I

Megasthanes, Aristophanes, Kautilya and the other boat-people are assembled in the royal library where vatsa and naraka are to relate their travels. The ship has unmoored from Tenashri and is asail to Kampuchea.

Naraka, "Varga was foremost in our minds, Sire, as Vatsa and I assissted ably were on our way to Ayuttaya. We were very worried lest we encounter some land monsters also. We passed many a grove, swamp and plain land, but nary a monster came forward to challenge us. Surely this is due to your kind compensation and those of our gods."

Vatsa, "The people of Thai are very good-natured and merry. They eat, drink and dance like us. Even their language and songs resemble that of Pataliputra. They have assembled very large temples to commemorate the Buddha and this made us feel very much at home."

Swaymbhu, "Sire, the common people there live in villages like our own Chaldi-Hapra and eat a lot of fish."

Nautanki, "Their sense of the divine is very much like ours. They have big gods and small ones - gods of trees and forests, and goddesses of lakes, ponds, rivers and the seas. They were all very nice to us and very courteous."

Vatsa, "Sire, we have communicated to King Maalikadityavarman your presents and good wishes. He wishes to trade with us. He would like the unrefined ores of Iron and others types of ores to be shipped to Pataliputra where they would be purified and converted into metal objects."

Candragupta, "Well then that is a job well-done. As per Kautilya's suggestion it is trade that binds nations together, so we have succeeded in building economic and cultural contracts with the kingdom of Thai."

Candragupta to Kumaramangala, " Let us now sail on to the Kingdom of Kampuchea."

Kumaramangala, "Sire that would take another week as we would have to take a detour around the southern coast of the Kingdom of Thai and only then the seas allow us access to the harbour of Kampuchea."

Candragupta, "Thank you Kumara. That would give us more time to learn from our emissaries about the habits of the Kingdom of Thai. That is good."

so the magadhan shipsets sail for kampuchea and arrvies there shortly, and the affairs of thailand are discussed amongst the ship's inmates adequately by then, the salient point here being the diffusion of buddhism to thailand. on arrival at kampuchea chandragupta orders his embassy consisting of vatsa and narak, megathenes and aristophanes, mr.and mrs.dongre, to be accompanied by a suitable detachment of Magadhan toops to at once set out for angkor where as per kautilya's information the King Vilasadeva III is presently encamped.

Vatsa,"Dear King Vilasadeva. We come in friendship and in harmony and wish to build maritime trade contacts with your kingdom. Magadha is very rich in all types of mettalic ores and we have just concluded a major treaty with your neighbour, the Kingdom of Thai, in this same regard. Our King, Chandragupta Maurya, King of Magadha, which is across, the Indian Ocean, from you, wishes, that we give you these gifts, and hear what you have to say in this regard. This is our purpose in coming to you here!"

Vilasadeva III, "Dear Ambassador. It is not for nothing that our Khmer ancestors thought it fit to adopt both Buddhism and Hinduism. Our finest temples bear evidence that religions from your country are very popular here. It is not as if we do not have our own cults and belief systems. However, as you say, a relatioship of goodwill between us, compacted through trade, is the genuine need of the hour. I undersatnd that your sailing ship, Kusumlata, is very able bodied, and that after Kampuchea, your King and embassy, is planning to compact further such agreements, between the Kingdoms of the Viet, Laose, Indones, Malayese, Jappone, Chine, SauvyaShri, and Siam..."

Vatsa, "Dear Lord Vilasadeva III. Yes that is true. This is the fourth century bce and we are, in india, in the midst of what our historians call the "second urbanization". They, suggest, themselves, that it is the economic growth that would fuel urban growth and expansion...as each of us, is, in our actions, compelled, by the models and paradigms, concurrent, therefore it is our fate, as you have very correctly stated, to venture further to compact trade and commerce oriented treaties, with such nations, as you have described".

Vilasadeva III, "Then your gods be with you."

Here both the sides exchange gifts and fineries and the Indian Embassy gifts many inscriptions in sanskrit to the Kampuchean King that record the agreement and text of their treaty, and then Vatsa, and his entourage, take courteous, leave, of Vilasadeva III, and prepapre to return to ship. He Narak intervenes and explains to Vatsa that the Indian Embassy could, equallywell, tour, both Laos and Vietnam, using the land-route from Kampuchea. This is agreed. Kautilya orders a detachment of Magadhan troops to head back to the ship for its defence and to let Emperor Chandragupta know of their new plans. That done Kautilya, accompanied by the Indian Embassy, mounts a suitable steed, and the posse of riders embark for Laos,by land,from Kampuchea.

Ajay, 2009.