After returning from the Academy, Prince Varchaswa had lunch with his two apprentices. Later he went to the Royal Ganapati Temple to consult with the Pandits. In the evening he went to meet his mother.
"How have you been, mother?", Prince Varchaswa asked.
"So you still have time for me. I thought that after becoming the Principal of the National Academy, you might be too busy to meet your mother.", replied Queen Subhadhraa with a smile.
"Surely you jest mother. By that logic, you would be too busy to meet me, since your responsibilities as the Queen are more." Prince Varchaswa replied with a grin.
"You seem to have matured quite a bit since your awakening. So how was your first day as the Principal?"
"Ok, I guess. There was nothing much to do on the first day.", Prince Varchaswa answered.
He then explained in brief about the recent events and spent some family time with his mother before returning.
When Prince Varchaswa entered his study room, Princess Khyaati and Princess Vaibhavee were waiting for him. They had agreed that their evening time will be devoted to researching the ancient texts.
The two princesses greeted him and then proceeded to take their respective place. It was after all an interaction between a Legendary Awakened Mage and his disciples.
"As discussed, we will be spending this time on researching and studying the ancient texts. However, since this a completely new are for the both of you, for the first few days I will guide you a bit. Later, you will have to do self-study in the areas that interest you.", Prince Varchaswa briefly expressed his thoughts.
He then began to chant Mantras related to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Sarasvatee. Shortly after, he started to teach the two Princesses about the contents of the Ancient Texts.
"Our folk songs and stories describe the events and learnings of the Ancient Texts. By truly understanding them, we can develop our nation to a higher level."
"You mean the folk songs and stories are all true?", a curious Princess Khyaati asked.
"Well, not all of them. Some have been distorted, others fabricated. But most of them have been derived from the Ancient Texts. Unfortunately, the real knowledge of the Ancient Texts has been almost lost."
"That is sad to know. But how do we distinguish the real from the fake?" asked Princess Vaibhavee.
"For that very purpose, we will be researching together. I will tell you what I have learnt from Prime-Minister Vidura, the Royal Temple Pandits and the research of my own.
You need to understand that this is my interpretation based on my current understanding. As we delve deeper, we may have to discard some previously established theories and notions." Prince Varchaswa explained.
Both the Princesses silently nodded at his response.
He then continued, "The Ancient Texts are classified into 6 types by the scholars. They are Shruti, Smriti, Puraana, Ithihaasa, Aagama and Sidhdhhaanta. Some scholars consider the 7th type Neeti as well.
As I told you earlier, these manuscripts of these texts are found to be written in the Deva-Vaanee language of the Devanagaree Script. The language was originally called Samskrita, but later misspelt as Sanskrita.
I will talk about the details of these 6 types some other day. After all, the discussion today is just meant for an introduction.
Additionally, to prepare for the Mock Battle against the Ayodhyaa Kingdom, we need the knowledge of ancient warfare as described in the Ancient Texts."
"Hmm. Though I am curious about the scriptures, I can wait a few more days.", thought Khyaati, the younger sister of Prince Varchaswa.
"I thought that the Ancient Texts, just like the folk songs and stories are all about describing the events of the past. Do they contain the knowledge of warfare strategies?", a bewildered Princess Vaibhavee asked.
Varchaswa continued, "Not just Warfare strategies, the ancient texts describe various sciences like Astronomy, Astrophysics, Mathematics, Medicine etc.
Some of them were created specifically for passing down the knowledge of warfare, formations, strategies and ancient weapons. It is just that people only remembered the stories and forget the real information.
Rig Veda considered to be the oldest surviving text, describes the fight between the Sura King Indra and the Asura Vrtra, in which Indra uses 'Vajra' a Divine Weapon to defeat Vrtra. To my knowledge, this was the first mention of a Divine Weapon with its Origin described in detail.
However, for the time being, we will only focus on Dhanurveda one of the 4 Upvedas, Aagneya Purana sometimes called as Agni Purana and the two Ithihaasa – Raamaayana and Mahaabhaarata.
It is to be noted that the word 'Ithihaasa' is obtained by combining the two-letter and one-letter words 'Ithi Haa Sa', which literally mean 'As it Happened'.
Hence these two ancient texts are the two historical records of Tretaa-Yuga and Dwaapara-Yuga respectively. These four ancient Texts describe the ancient art of Warfare in complete detail – formatting of army units, theory of war ethics, creation and usage of weapons etc.
For example, they even describe the body posture including how to sit and hold the arrows including the one used by the ancient archer Arjuna to aim at the eye of the revolving fish by looking at its reflection in the water.
Similarly, they describe in detail, the formation of the Army unit led by Raama, which destroyed the Southern Wall of Lankan Army."
"It's amazing and sad at the same time that people remember the stories but never learnt the science and art these ancient texts have.", Vaibhavee mumbled.
"Due to the decline in the number of scholars of Samskrita, the real information could not reach the masses. But there have been people who learnt it even in foreign nations.
Away from our Maanasa Continent, towards West lies the Huma Continent. Like our Maanasa continent, there are several Kingdoms and a few Empires there. One of them is called the Dutch Kingdom. One of their expert Archers, Mars Anderson learnt and replicated the methods mentioned in the Ancient Texts and shared his opinions."
"Even foreigners outside Bhaarata continent have learnt it?" a surprised Khyaati asked.
"A lot of foreign Universities have done research on our Ancient Texts, so it is natural that some have tried. However, their understanding is partial, and they lack certain crucial information hence they cannot do it effectively.
For example, the texts describe the techniques to create and use the Ancient Divine Weapons, but you need a certain level of Yogic Power and understanding of the Sidhdhaantas, the natural principles of the World."
"So not just anyone can use it, even if they have the basic knowledge?"
"Of course, can you build a castle or create a dress just by reading about its creation process once? You need training and practice for a certain period of time.
Also, can you learn about the Science of another Kingdom with partial knowledge of their Language? Translations are not the real thing as many important information is lost."
"True. But then how can we learn that Knowledge?" Khyaati asked.
Varchaswa smiled and said, "You do not need to worry about it. I will tell you. As I said, the ancient texts clearly mention the Science, including Mantra, Tantra and Yantra required for creating and operating the Ancient Divine Weapons. I am telling you about those because I want you to be able to use them against the Demons."
Both Khyaati and Vaibhavee were excited at the prospect of wielding the divine weapons.
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Chapter End.