Contrary to the belief that the Indus Valley Culture ended around 1200 BC, this book, through archeological as well as other such evidences, mainly the deciphering of the language and ignoring the mythological bases for historical conclusions, examines the events that occur in the region of Sapta-Sindhu; consisting of the three city assemblies of Harappa, Moheauzeddrro and Chahunjor kot and one neutral city of Lohuzedrro and numerous villages spread across the mountain ranges of Suleiman, Kirthar and Kaimar as well as the plains of the River Helmand. The Vedic time is set around the time when Manadala 5 and Manadala 6 (Chapter 5 and 6) of Rig Veda was being written under the guidance of Rishi Angiras. (The Christian era would have the year 950b.c.) The Sapta-Sindhu is being ruled by the Confederacy of the three major cities, in which there is autonomy for them in day to day administration, but in major areas of trade, immigration, internal security and defense of the Confederacy, a common government is run under the stewardship of Yatravalkya, who is the Chief advisor of the Confederacy. The novel proceeds to tell the story of the valor of the people of Sapta-Sindhu in meeting the challenges of running the Confederacy during the time of great upheaval. Apart from the prophesy of the Great floods and major earthquake which would wipe out the entire civilization of the Sapta-Sindhu region, there is a constant fear of the attack from the Greek Queen of South-West Arianna(Iran), whose grandfather was driven from the Sparta region of Greece by the Sea people or the Dorians who had come from Anatolia region and defeated the local population whom they called Helots. Queen Kassandrra’s grandfather with his two sons seeks asylum from the kings of Medes tribe in Arianna, who grant them a piece of land around the Dasht-I- Kaver, a desert. His son Castor was ambitious and with the help of Greek colonies in the Mediterranean region tries to expand his area of influence. This is resented by the Medes King of Arianna Kara Indash, who attacks his small state and kills him. His daughter Kassandrra is taken as a concubine-in-waiting. Her seven brothers are young and she accepts the Kings proposal, on a condition that he would marry her sometimes in future. The king however falls for the charms of his Commander’s daughter Leila and marries her. When Kassandrra comes to know of this she uses her contacts with the Guietan tribes who are shamans and through black magic kills the emperor Kara-Indash. Some of the local Medes tribe joins her and the Spartans send an army contingent enabling her to capture power and sends her brothers to kill the Queen Leila who is carrying the child of Kara Indash, an heir to the throne of south west Ariannan kingdom. The Queen now plans to attack the Spata-Sindhu region for her riches and thinks of plundering it. She comes to know that the Queen Leila had survived the fire which was supposed to have killed her and had given birth to a boy who is the real heir to the throne. The Commander, who was loyal to the Emperor Kara-indash had stolen the holy book Avesta, through which the Emperors of Arianna are legitimized. The Captain escapes to Sapta-Sindhu where his friend Yatravalkaya gives him asylum. On way to Melhua, as the people of Mesopotamia call SaptaSindhu, he finds a boy who is on death bed. He revives him and finds an amulet in his possession which he had given to his daughter, the Queen Leila. He takes the boy along with him to the lands of Sapta-Sindhu, thinking of him as his grandson and the rightful heir to the throne of Arianna. Now the Queen Kassandrra’s resolve to attack Sapta-Sindhu increases and she prepares for the war. There is no army of Sapta-Sindhu and they are weak people as they are busy with their trade activities. It is then decided to search for the magic herb Sanjivini which can make the Sapta –Sindhu people strong. A team under Charakachary is send to Himalayas in a vimana which is constructed at the College for Art run by Kalarth, where the Commander admits the boy, Sushyo, whom he saves fom near death, as he lay in the deserts, after his mother dies in an explosion along with his father. He grieves for her mother. The Captain saves him and learns that he is the son of Queen Liela, his daughter. The boy wants to learn toy-making and the Captain gets him admitted to the Art College of Kalarth, his friend in the land of Sapta-Sindhu. The daughter of Yatravalkaya, Yatrayamini, who has been declared the thirty-first avatar of Shakti, and is a student at the Kalarth’s school, accompanies the search party for Sanjivini and becomes the cause for finding Sanjivini and discovering the Snow Linga of Rudraeeshwar, somewhere in the Himalayas. Meanwhile Dhumbi, a Dravid leader and a fierce opponent of Yatravlakaya is sentenced to a seven year Banbas in the Kirthar ranges, he escapes and joins forces with the URI- Council a seven tribe confederacy and instigates them against the Sapta-Sindhu. The book narrates the valor of the simple People of Sapta-Sindhu who turn heroes when faced with imminent war and natural disaster and how a young boy of Seventeen, Sushyont, actually leads them to a war against the Queen Kassandrra in the battle of Helmand plains. Will the people of Sapta-Sindhu stave off the challenge of the Greek Queen? Will Sushyo, the young boy who wants to be a toy-maker, rise to lead the Kingdom of Arianna? What would come of Yatrayamini, the Avatar of Shakti? Will, Dhumbi, the Dravid guru who is writing the Yuddh-Sashtra share his knowledge with the people of Sapt-Sindhu or join forces with the Greek Queen? Will the tribal Council side with The Confederacy forces? Will the holy book of Avesta, would be stolen from the golden chest of seven locks? Will Dhumbi be able to force certain amendments into the Rig Veda? Will Arjjan, a warrior and winner of the archery tournament at the Olympiad pick up arms for the cause of Sapta-Sindhu?. Through twists and turns the novel moves to its climax at the battle of Zahaden, Zaranj and Zabol on the Afghanistan/ Iran border. The novel, examines the countries which even now are at the centre of war and violence, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran. It concludes that once upon a time these areas were the centre of or the cradle of civilization where all the major religions, namely Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrian grew up and evolved. The novel does not talk about any religion because there was none at that time. The novel sheds light on the highly evolved systems of governance of the people of Sapta-Sindhu as well as their hold on Science and Philosophy. Current researches show that these people had mastered the art of flying and even taken steps towards developing a Missile defense system!! Excavations have proved that they were keen to establish a communication with the aliens, too!! Much before science evolved there was already in existence a system which was close to, if not greater, evolved then the system we have at present. Through meticulous research and fabrication of a story around the historical events, the novel sheds light on the cultural, intellectual and religio/philosophical nature of the people of Sapta-Sindhu. It does not follow the oft-beaten path of taking recourse to mythological characters for describing the historical nature of a society but through a scientific analysis tells about the story of the Spata-Sindhu civilization. Of course it is a work of fiction and the author attempts to tell a tale in a simple, lucid manner, creating events, characters and geographical landmarks, sometimes using the present day names of some towns or cities to give a geo-political setting to this novel.
