Years ago, Vāsudeva had argued with Saṃkarṣaṇa about the nature of the order he had instituted – argued that he was bureaucratizing the problem rather than solving it; that they could simply assassinate Ajātaśatru rather than create an organization to fight the Magadhas for generations. It was not Saṃkarṣaṇa who had humbled Vāsudeva, but Ajātaśatru himself: for each plot of Vāsudeva’s was matched by an diabolical counter-play by Ajātaśatru, and that had made him quite less fond of the simplistic solutions he had thought of earlier.
So when Ajātaśatru had invited him to a private audience with him in a barren tract, Vāsudeva had immediately identified that the purpose of the meeting was to have the other assassinated, and demanded that the battle be a game of wits: neither party would be allowed to bring weapons, and each would be surrounded by their most trusted friends, to avoid frivolous and obvious games like replacing one’s opponent’s guards with traitors or bribing such guards to do one’s bidding.
Ajātaśatru’s interest had been piqued, and he had brought along with himself his son and some wicked ministers who shared his goals.
Vāsudeva had brought with himself some trusted advisors and classmates who shared his goals.
“So you are the famed Krishna,” Ajātaśatru commented, “Vāsudeva Krishna. I must say I am impressed by how you have fought against me. We are very similar minds, you and I – are we not?”
“A mind is defined not only by its intellect,” said Vāsudeva, “But also by its morality.”
Ajātaśatru was fully naked, and his chest hair was dry and sticky, stained brown with blood, but nothing that posed a security threat – he had earlier excused his appearance by stating that he had just mauled a palm-reader who had foolishly approached him and insulted his intelligence by requesting royal funding.
“Morality, religion … I expected better of you, Krishna. You must know that I have very little respect for such ideas.”
When Vāsudeva did not respond, Ajātaśatru continued:
“Years ago, in the midst of my war against the Licchavis, when I had conquered only part of their country, I was approached by a band of celebrating monks, who told me they were very pleased with the outcomes of my conquest. Ordinarily, I would have beheaded them on the spot for the pathetic attempt at flattery, but I did not have my sword with me at the time – for I had been too occupied blinding a child after I had just violated his mother before his eyes – and so I entertained them.
“They told me that they were celebrating, because their master had predicted my victory – for I was more righteous than the Licchavi king was, and I surrounded myself with better and wiser company than he did. Ordinarily, I would have not cared more than to remind my minister to execute this master and all his disciples. But I was bored, for the Licchavis were not worthy opponents as you have been, and decided to pay this master a visit.
“And I told him: O Wise One, I have lost the war against the Licchavis. What do you recommend I do? And he replied: Indeed, this is just as I predicted – for the Licchavi king is more righteous than you, and he surrounds himself with better and wiser company than you do.
“So I told him: my life has descended into tragedy, O Wise One! My kingdom is running out of wealth, my wife has left me as a result of my wicked ways, I am no longer able to find my daily quota of idiots for hunting. And he replied: embrace my religion, and all your problems will be solved.
“I told him: I lied. My kingdom will never run out of wealth, as I can seize as much as I want from those I vanquish in battle, my wives cannot leave me as they are imprisoned, and I will never run out of idiots to murder, there are far too many of them. And I was enraged – I am always enraged when I am lied to – and so instead of murdering him, I beat him senseless until he could not speak complete sentences, then locked him with a parrot that had only been exposed to damaged lunatics; and then after a year of him re-learning language from this parrot, I returned him to his disciples.
“He had been driven so insane, he blabbered such utterly meaningless words to his disciples – I thought there was no means by which he would ever be taken seriously again. I was interested to find if the disciples would abandon him or continue to care for him for what he had once been, if they would dismiss and ostracize their former master or if they would curse me for subjecting him to such a state. Imagine my shock: when the disciples immediately started worshipping him as their master again – referring to him still as the Wise One – described his change in manner while in Magadha not as insanity, but as enlightenment!
“He said such idiotic things as: desire is the cause of all suffering! That life is suffering! Why, for them, it ought to be! And they created fabulous tales of his miracles – and when these tales reached the people, they went to him requesting that he perform for miracles for them – and when he was unable to perform them, his disciples shamed those who had pleaded his help, and created fabulous rationalizations for his inability to help them! And that was when I knew – how depraved the religious truly are – for they will believe and worship any man who dons a simple attire and lives as a hermit. I ask: how am I more wicked than this master? For I murdered my wife, while he left his to rot; I laughed at funerals, while he told people to not mourn. Not cursed – I am celebrated by his followers now as a hero for my role in helping their master reach enlightenment!
“I have heard: the worshippers of Brahma are unable to obtain knowledge, the worshippers of Viṣṇu are unable to obtain wealth, and the worshippers of Shiva are unable to obtain strength – should I then simply choose not to worship any of these gods, if they are only hurdles in my path – should it not be my responsibility to overthrow such gods and seize the universe for myself? O, what a wolf can do, in a world of sheep!”
But Vāsudeva cut off his long-time rival, nearly ignoring the entire monologue:
“I suspect that you are intelligent enough to simulate in your head my argument against you – just as I am intelligent enough to simulate yours in mine. But that is not why we are here – no, not to debate religion.”
“Indeed,” said Ajātaśatru. “We should cut out the pretences: we are here to assassinate each other with our wits.”
“Not quite,” said Vāsudeva.
“No?”
“If that were the objective, neither of us would have had cause to meet in person and risk mutual destruction. No – do make another guess at my objective. If we are truly of alike mind, then you should be able to discover it.”
Ajātaśatru pondered this challenge.
“If you are of like mind to me,” he said at last, “Then you will bring a proposal that you believe to benefit both our goals. I cannot think of such a proposal.”
“Your goal is the demonstration of what a wolf can do in a world of sheep,” said Vāsudeva, “What is my goal?”
“Some religious insanity.”
“The propagation of the light of the Vedas and the prosperous civilization that it has created. Do you see any contradiction between these goals?”
Ajātaśatru hummed, thinking.
“There isn’t,” said Vāsudeva simply. “I see you. Every instinct in your body tells you to behead me on the spot – but you have no sword. You fume – but it is because you know I am right.”
“Do you truly think that conforming to the words of some dead old Brāhmaṇas is a wolf’s behaviour?”
“O, what a wolf can do in a world of sheep,” Vāsudeva mimicked, “What, Great King? What can a wolf do in a world of sheep? A great deal of wicked – or a great deal of good—”
“What’s the difference?”
“If there is truly no difference, then why have you consistently chosen wicked over good? It can be no coincidence.”
It was not common for Ajātaśatru to be silenced – he was much too intelligent to be defeated in argument, and it was a great blow to his ego to have this done in the presence of all those closest to him – but whatever shred of sanity was left in him, that hadn’t disappeared over the course of his chaotic reign, managed to surface to acknowledge Krishna as his intellectual equal, as someone worthy of arguing against – at least so long as he did not engage in any specific moralizing.
“So many of your actions,” Vāsudeva continued, “So much of your personality does not follow from your professed goal, even though you pretend it is. What goal does it follow from? Not demonstrating what a wolf can do in a world of sheep – no – but demonstrating that you ARE a wolf in a world of sheep.”
“Are you calling me a pretender?”
“It is not a wolf’s behaviour to conform for the purpose of conforming – and it is not a wolf’s behaviour to rebel for the purpose of rebelling – for in making an explicit effort to act in a way contrary to the words of these dead old Brāhmaṇas you speak of, you have made yourself a slave to their word, for every action you take you must first recall their word, and ensure that it is contrary to it.”
“Very well. I will do what I want. I still do not see what your proposal is.”
“I propose that you make me the heir to the throne of Pāṭaliputra.”
“ … ”
“Father,” said Udayin, “You are not truly considering this proposal, are you?”
“ … ”
“ … Father?”
“ … ”
“ … ”
“ … ”
Udayin stood over his father’s lifeless body – his right hand grasping onto the needle that his most trusted attendant had advised him to tie into his hair during the meeting with Krishna.
“O,” he drawled, “What a wolf can accomplish, in a world of sheep.”
For once, he understood exactly what Krishna’s play had been – in demanding that they both attend surrounded by their most trusted associates, he had created an advantage for himself, for that was simply the level of trust his associates enjoyed in him – unlike Father’s associates ever had.
“I believe,” Vāsudeva said almost inaudibly, as an eagle circled in the sky far high above, “That it is now truly a world of only sheep.”
