Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

158  Dakshin Bharata Varsam Part: 1

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"What happened?" Kavya asked Vijay, who was giggling like a fool. He was eating just moments ago, but after a servant came and said something to him, he started giggling. Intrigued, Kavya inquired.

"It's nothing; the new Bharti language has completed its formation," he said with excitement.

"So much excitement for only the formation of a new language?" she asked, not understanding what was so special.

"You don't understand, wife. This is the language I am planning to use to unify the culture of our Empire. Also, since this new language is formulated, I can go ahead with my plan."

"What plan?" she asked with a naive and clueless expression on her face.

Vijay, looking at her cute expression, could not deny her the answer and replied with a smile on his face, "It's the establishment of a new Empire."

Kavya was taken aback, as her eyes bulged. Looking at her expression, Vijay could not resist as he attacked her and took a small peck. Before Kavya could recover from the sudden attack, Vijay ran away.

Looking at the retreating figure of her husband, her flushed and angry face soon turned into a smile as she loosened her fist.

Vijay quickly went to meet Tukaram and the other scholars as they had successfully completed the task. Meeting them, he expressed his most sincere gratitude and promised that he would reward them in the future. As he excitedly took over the dictionary, which he had requested to be written, he was delighted to see that, although, for the most part, most of the words were in Sanskrit, a lot of words from other languages around Bharat were also included.

Especially, the swear words were replaced with more impactful expressions. Sanskrit, being a very poetic language, transforms even scolding into an art. For example, calling someone a donkey could sound like praise, "Ay Vaishaka Nandan." Upon hearing this phrase, the person being scolded might even perceive it as a compliment. However, after incorporating many swear words from other languages, there's now a variety of rich and diverse words to convey your utmost emotions to someone. Initially, the scholars were reluctant, or perhaps they didn't even consider this task. However, it wasn't until Vijay issued the order that they proceeded. Naturally, he didn't communicate with them directly but dispatched his guard to deliver a letter to Raghavendra Bhatt. Raghavendra then engaged with the group of scholars, carrying a hint of annoyance in his tone, as most of the swear words the scholars came up with were directed at him for bringing up the idea in the first place. As for what is bothering Raghavendra, Vijay remains unaware.

Finally confirming that there was nothing wrong with the new language after going through it for a brief period of time, he called for a government meeting.

The next day, something happened in the Vijayanagara Empire that had not occurred in many months. All the ministries gathered together in the royal palace with His Majesty's order. Soon, Logananda Senapati, the Marshall and the minister of war of the Vijayanagar Empire; Raghavendra Bhat from the Ministry of Culture and Religion; Lokesh from the Ministry of Public Health; Arjun from the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Rajesh from the Ministry of Trade and commerce; Bhuvan from the ministry of judicial affairs; Narasimha from the ministry of agriculture; Nirmal from the ministry of transportation; Kumar from the ministry of communication. Finally, after everyone arrived, it was the old man Ravichandra Rao who entered. After Prime Minister Ravichandra Rao entered the room, everyone stood up and greeted him. He had made quite a name for himself, especially when Vijay was out of the kingdom during the war. Prime Minister Ravichandran Rao looked after the daily affairs of the Empire, earning respect among his fellow ministers. Finally, the entire government had gathered.

Everyone patiently waited for a few moments, and then Vijay also arrived. "Long live your majesty, Long live, Long live !"

"Everyone, sit down," he waved his hand as he took his own seat.

"Everyone must be wondering why I have initiated this meeting away from your busy schedules. Something important came up, so I had to call you all to fulfil my orders."

"Please let us know, your majesty. We are all your aids, and we will do whatever you ask of us."

"Good. First, let me tell you some good news. I just received the news that the new Bharti language has been completed in its formation, so it is possible to promote it on a large scale."

Hearing this, everyone was surprised and delighted, except for Raghavendra Bhatt, of course, as he had to endure a lot of scolding from the scholars.

"This is indeed good news, Your Majesty. It is worth celebrating," Logananda said.

Vijay shook his head and replied, "No, this is not why I called you all here. The reason for this meeting is another important matter altogether."

"What is it, your highness?" Ravichandra, the old butler, asked.

"Before I reveal the answer, let me ask you this: What concept unites our rich and diverse land of thousands of cultures, kingdoms, and empires together? What is the connecting factor among us that makes a Tamilian no different from, let's say, a person from Gujarat?"

Everyone fell into contemplation, but none dared to answer the question. The idea lingered in their minds: Is there truly such a thing? They asked themselves.

"Let me tell you. It is our way of life and what we believe in, that is essentially no different throughout the subcontinent. So, what I want to do is give the people two more things to unite us all and make us more cohesive."

23:34

"I am going to establish a new Empire. Vijayanagar Empire will be no more."

*Gasp*

What is His Majesty talking about? That's the thought in everyone's mind, particularly in Ravichandra Rao's mind. He did not know what the young master who grew up under his care was thinking, and he was the first to question.

"Your Majesty, do you understand what you're talking about?, Kindly take back your sentence. How can you dismantle the foundation of the Empire that your forefathers painstakingly built just like that?"

Vijay, listening to Ravichandra Rao's rebuke, although a bit harsh, did not take any offence. He knew that the old man was just trying to look out for him, as he was worried about what would happen if the empire was destroyed in his hands because of his meddling. It was kind of like changing the brand name of a multinational company—like going from KFC to something else. Such drastic changes could potentially lead to the collapse of that company. The same thing could potentially happen to the Vijayanagara Empire. But Vijay is not worried, as he believes he has found a better brand. His current jump is from a strong and durable Mahindra brand to a world-class brand like Hummer.

"Old man, my decision will not change. Consider this: the newly occupied territories – Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Sri Lanka – all had their own prosperous kingdoms and empires. Will they be subservient to an empire with the name of Vijayanagar Empire, which is no different than their own in seniority? Currently, due to the growth of the empire and the strength of the army, no internal strife has broken out. But what about the future? If I keep worrying about internal strife, how can we expand the empire? Even the Tamilians, who had the glorious Chola dynasty, were so hard to tame at the beginning. Can you imagine how difficult it will be to tame the rest of the territories?"

The old man relented a little but still was not convinced, as the concepts he formed throughout his life were not so easy to overcome. According to him, no king has ever destroyed his own foundation and formed a totally new empire. This is the first time he has heard or witnessed it. However, seeing the determination in Vijay's eyes, he let out an audible *sigh* as he had to go along with the plan. "Then what is the name of the Empire, Your Majesty?" Arjun asked to cut through the tension.

Hearing the question, Vijay straightened his back and recited a sloka from Vishnu Purana:

"उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।

वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।

Uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam varṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ.

The country (Varsam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bharatam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."

Listening to this sloka, everyone quickly understood what his majesty wanted to name the Empire, and they couldn't help but applaud the name selected. With the name, they also got to know the extent of his majesty's huge ambition to be the supreme king of the Bharatiya subcontinent, a feat achieved by only a few great monarchs.

"The name of our new Empire will be Dakshina Bharat Varsham (The South Indian Empire). The word Bharat inherently connects all the faiths, cultures, and people together. I bet you are more confident in the establishment of this new Empire now that you know the name. This is the blessing and will of Lord Vishnu," Vijay said as he folded his hands and prayed silently.

Everyone else in the room also did the same.

"Roshan, spread the news around the empire. See how the people react."

"Yes, Your Highness," Roshan said.

"Your majesty, then what is the second thing that you mentioned to unify the minds of all the people?" Arjun asked.

"Well, that is another thing to which we are already connected. But I just came up with an ideology that can further put aside our differences. As for when this ideology should be implemented, it will be after the empire is established. I will tell you at that time."

The meeting ended as all the ministers left, except for the prime minister Ravichandra Rao and the minister of war, Logananda Senapati.

Intrigued, Vijay asked them both what the problem was, but the words that left their mouths stunned him.

"Your Highness, please let us retire."

To Be Continued...

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