Aryaman watched as the guards assembled on the grounds for his address. He could see them line them up in perfect straight lines. He waited for a couple of minutes before he came forward onto the raised platform. General Pushya usually addressed the soldiers from the parapet of the military training fortress. General Pushya liked to keep distance between himself, particularly vertical distance between himself and his soldiers. Soldiers were supposed to look up to him at all times. The distance would instill in them, awe and fear. Without them, soldiers would not be able to maintain continuous levels of discipline. Without discipline, an army is useless.

Aryaman agreed that discipline was important for an army to succeed but he did not separate himself from his soldiers. In his mind, he was one among them. A brother in arms. Someone who would lead his fellow soldiers from the front and keep their backs safe when needed. To cultivate loyalty and discipline, according to Aryaman, one must actively show loyalty and discipline first. What the leader is in person, the soldier would try to emulate him in nature.

The chief of royal guards stood behind the prince and tried to hide his anxiety. Lord! Please save us! This shouldn’t end up being a costly mistake.

“Brothers!” Aryaman’s loud and clear voice silenced the crowd. “We are gathered today to resolve an immediate crisis.” The soldiers were in attention with solemn faces as Aryaman proceeded to briefly explain the Kapala Army threat and proceeded to elaborate on the vyuhas and logistics issues. The soldiers were divided into three groups and each group was assigned a different battle formation. By the end, each soldier felt confident about what they were individually supposed to do.

“The key to our victory would be in speed,” reiterated the prince. “The quicker we can take out the Kapala Army, the lesser would be our casualties and the better our chances of victory.”

“That’s how we are going to win,” ended Aryaman in a calm voice. “Long live Dayita!”

“Long live Dayita! Long live Dayita!” echoed the soldiers in unison raising their right arms upwards.

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Aryaman was composed on the outside but the spectacle in front of him moved him. He felt a momentary rush of adrenaline, pumping him up. He would win and show his style of leadership to his father. However, he immediately sobered up. The warriors in front of him were his responsibility. Their lives and fates were now in his hands. He took a deep breath. I will keep you brothers safe, he thought to himself.

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General Pushya bent on one knee such that he could see the old man eye-to-eye. He was sober now, having reigned his anger, he saw the futility of threatening an intractable old man.

“What?” said the old man, raising his eyebrows and pulling his tired self together.

“If I’m not worthy, King Nahusha,” repeated the General. “Tell me, who is worthy of its possession.”

“Why?” said the old man.

“I’ll help you give it to that person,” said the General.

“Why would you do that?” said the old man. “And why should I trust you?”

The general smiled. He was in a happy mood.

“I’m glad you asked,” he said getting up. He needed to stand before he made this proposition. He traced back a few steps so that he could see the old man properly and tied his hands to his back.

“I do see the merit of win-win situations,” said the General. “But I’m not opposed to lose-lose conditions as well.”

“If you tell me who is worthy, I will make sure, you personally give it to that person,” said the General. “In which case, your obligation to it would end and you can lead your life peacefully with the knowledge that the gem is with the right person.”

“You would then take it from this person whoever it is?” said the old man.

“Well, let’s consider this case, if the person is indeed worthy, I wouldn’t be able to take it from them. Would I?” asked the General. “You would win.”

The old man thought this over.

“If I can gain the gem from that person, wouldn’t that imply my worthiness of its possession?” said the General. “Even in this case, you win.”

The old man was silent.

“Say, you wouldn’t even let the worthy person have it in fear of me,” said the General. “The outcomes are predictable – either I kill you or you would kill yourself to escape me. I may not get the gem and you will not have entrusted it to its worthy master. I would lose, yes. But, you would also lose equally.”

The old man did not have a counter to this.

“See the beauty of it all – we can cooperate while maintaining our mutual distrust and antipathy,” said the General. He smiled wryly and ended his little speech with rhetoric:

“Why lose when you can win?“

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vyuhas – battle formations