The Krishna Key Read Free Page A

Krishna’s cows!’
    ‘How?’ asked Priya.
    ‘The name Gautama is derived from two words gau —or cow—and uttama —or greatest. Combined, the two words mean the greatest cow or the ultimate cow. The word “gau” also referred to the white colour of cows, and hence Gautama was also the ultimate white light,’ said Saini smiling. Even the most sacred spot of the Buddhists is Bodh Gaya. Gaya is simply another word for cow. Gaya is mentioned in the Ramayana. In the epic, Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, visited a place called Gayapuri to makeofferings to the spirit of their father, Dasharath. This Gayapuri is modern-day Bodh Gaya. Now do you see why Hindus consider Buddha as the ninth avatar of Vishnu?’
    Priya was quiet as she digested the information. Saini continued breathlessly, ‘Virtually all of Krishna’s abundant names revolve around the cow— Gopala, Godharin, Gomateshwar, Gopa, Govardhana, Govinda, Gosvami. You’ll be even more surprised when I tell you that your last vacation spot had a name derived from Krishna’s cows!’
    Priya screwed her eyes. ‘My last vacation? You mean the trip that I took along with my father to Goa?’ she asked incredulously.
    Saini laughed. ‘The Mahabharata refers to the region that you now call Goa as Govarashtra —literally meaning a nation of cowherds. It is from this word Govarashtra that one derives the modern name of Goa,’ he explained, his eyes twinkling. ‘Everything has a connection to the cow. The ancient Greeks worshipped a primordial earth-goddess. Do you know what her name was? Gaia —or as we would say, Gaya!’
    ‘And speaking of the ancient Greeks, where is our ancient nuclear physicist? He has been gone for over thirty minutes,’ wondered Saini, looking at the digital clock on the dashboard of the car.

    Having defeated Kal Yavan on the eighteenth attack, I could have chosen to stay on in Mathura but it was turning out to be a costly proposition in terms of human life. Thousands of soldiers and citizens would die each time Jarasandha attacked. I called Vishwakarma, the divine architect, and asked him to build me a magnificent city in the middle of the sea. He bowed down before me and accepted the assignment. I then called the Sea God and asked him to give me some land in the ocean. The Sea God spat out some water from the ocean and created an island for me. This would be my new city for the Yadavas — the city of Dwaravati. Filled with palaces, temples, gardens and lakes, it would be the most magnificent city ever built. Surrounded by water on all sides, it would be impossible for Jarasandha to attack it. This single instance of retreat on my part earned me the title of Ranchordas — one who deserts the battlefield.
    Taarak had carefully watched the old scientist enter the gents’ restroom. He left some cash on the table for the waiter to settle his bill and briskly walked to the restroom, being careful to remain out of Saini’s line of sight. Once inside, he looked around. There was only one person using a urinal on the left side of the toilets. On the right was a row of doors leading to the WC cubicles. Taarak walked over to the washbasin and began washing his hands even though he didn’treally need to. He was simply waiting for the man using the urinal to leave.
    After a minute’s wait, the bathroom emptied out and Taarak walked over to the row of doors leading to the WC cubicles. Of the four doors, two were open and the other two were locked. Taarak bent down to look under the two closed cubicle doors, which ended almost a foot above the ground. Below one of the doors he could discern a bucket and mop. He realised that it was probably the maintenance crew cleaning up inside.
    Under the second door, he saw a pair of shoes with undone trousers lying bunched up over them. Evidently the old scientist was relieving himself. Taarak thought on his feet. This was a perfect opportunity to obtain the seal that was probably on Kurkude’s person