The Mines of Magadha

There was once an austere bard named Abdhisayana. He lived in a small hut on the fertile lands of the kingdom of Magadha with his wife Kadambini. His job was to recite tales every fortnight to the people of his village. They flocked in hundreds to listen to his tales of adventure about foreign lands filled with monkeys, demons and talking birds.

When the king of Magadha, Ratnakara, came to know of Abdhisayana, he immediately invited him to his court. After paying due respects, the king spoke with reverence, “O great bard! My queen is very fond of hearing stories. I beseech you to please her with a recital of your wonderful tales.”

Abdhisayana bowed before the king and began narrating an epic tale. The queen listened mesmerized by the magical words that flowed out of the bard’s mouth like the mighty river Ganga. For seven days, the story went on. People left all their work and gathered outside the court to hear bits and pieces of the miraculous tale.

At the end of it, King Ratnakara rose from his throne, ran to the bard and hugged him.

“Abdhisayana, I have never seen the queen so happy! I am pleased. I shall give you five measures of land and one thousand gold coins!”

Abdhisayana bowed humbly and accepted the honour.

“The gold you give me are nothing when compared to your heart, O patron of the arts! Your heart is a mine of priceless jewels and I vow to sing its praises forever!”

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Some time later. Just outside the court.

Ignorant man 1 : “The story’s over?”

Ignorant man 2 : “Yes. And the king seemed pleased.”

Ignorant man 1 : “Abdhisayana is a genius! Wonder what he got as the prize!”

Random stranger : “The king has given the bard a mine full of priceless jewels!”

Ignorant man 2 : “A mine of jewels? How do you know?”

Random stranger : “From where I was standing, there were only a couple of guards between me and the king. And I heard the bard say he is grateful to the king for giving him a mine of jewels.”

Ignorant man 1 : “But there is no mine in our kingdom”

Random stranger : “How would you know? Have you even crossed the banyan tree over there? Do you know how big our kingdom is?”

Ignorant man 2 : “He is right you know. Probably there is a mine somewhere.”

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A few days later, far, far away, in the court of King Gaganaghosa.

“Victory to the king!”

“What news have you brought, my dear messenger?” asked King Gaganaghosa, with a pleasant smile (the after-effects of a sumptuous meal prepared and served by his two wives)

“Maharaj! We have news that several mines filled with priceless jewels have been found in Magadha", reported the messenger, "In fact, they are so many in number that the king is giving away some of them as prizes to singing bards.”

“Time to wake up our army”, spoke the king, patting his tummy, “I want those jewels!”

The wise minister with grey beard stood up. “But Maharaj, it is not right to…”

“Shut up you old fool!” thundered Gaganaghosa, “You wise men have no life and I have no ears for you!”

And Gaganaghosa stood up and announced.

“Battle tomorrow morning! Get ready folks!”

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“But why? I don’t understand”, spoke King Ratnakara. His forehead was creased with lines of anxiety.

“Our spies are working overtime on it, Maharaj!” reported the Minister,  “Once we come to know his purpose, we could probably negotiate!”

“I shall not be able to see my men die”, said the king and leaned back in his throne dejectedly. After some thought, he proclaimed to his minister, “I need wise counsel. Summon Guru Mahamati.”

“Sacrifice, Maharaj! That is the only solution”, spoke Guru Mahamati, “The Shastras say, that if we sacrifice a virgin buffalo on the night of a full-moon, the gods shall be pleased and shall help us win!”

“But the next full moon is thirteen days away. Do we have a more instant solution?” asked the minister.

The wise Guruji glared angrily at the minister, “The Shastras are not meant to give you what you demand, but give you what is right!”

“But I do not want victory Guruji. I just want peace”, expressed the worried King Ratnakara.

“Peace is something you’ll have to fight for, Maharaj! I advise you to enter the battlefield. Fight for Magadha’s honour! Fight for righteousness! It is your karma! May God bless you with victory!”

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“And so your honour, the Battle of Rajagriha, which is well-documented by early historians was fought for the mines in the ancient kingdom of Magadha. Later historians have also marked out the location of these mines, which falls exactly under the area where the Sholepur Mosque is currently located. Hence, it is convincingly established that the mosque is not built on land that originally belonged to the Muslims”, concluded Lawyer Kishan Das.

“Objection, my lord!” stood up the defence lawyer, “Scientists have questioned the existence of mines in ancient Magadha based on lack of geological evidence.”

“What do they not question?!” asked Lawyer Kishan Das, sarcastically, “If you let them, they will even question the existence of Krishna!”

The few people in court sniggered along with Kishan Das, highly amused by the ignorance of those who question the obvious truth.

Ignoring the chuckles, the defence lawyer went on, “My lord, mines in Magadha are purely a myth. The historical documents that mark out the location of the mines, were written 300 years after King Ratnakara’s rule, and were merely speculative in nature. This is proved by language analysis experts whose reports you can find on your table.”

“What does that prove?” asked Lawyer Kishan Das in an irritated tone.

“It proves that there is sufficient doubt regarding the existence of the mines on which you claim the mosque was built”, retorted the defence lawyer.

“Sufficient doubt?!” questioned Kishan Das, “You can go on and on, doubting anything and everything in this world. You will get nowhere.”

“Atleast, I won’t pull down a mosque”, said the defence lawyer, “That’s it, your honour!”

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