₹ 1.25

INDICA   TIMES

7 October 2026
Lore · Wit · Respect
Issue 4

Sudas Shatters North-Western Alliance

Secures eastern plains

News Desk · Rig Veda

Sudas Paijavan, king of the Bharatas, has defeated a coalition of tribes in a battle near the Parushni river. He now controls the land stretching from the region between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers to the outer reaches of the Parushni. He has repulsed an invasion from the west, crushing the Purus, Anus, Turvasus, Druhyus, Yadus, and their allies. The allied confederation is said to be have been guided by Vishwamitra Gathin, the former chief priest of Sudas. Sources within the royal council declined to comment on the exact role of the new priest, Vashishth Maitravaruni, in this war. The council has released a press note that hails Parushni's timely intervention in dispersing a numerically superior army bent on cattle-raiding and plunder.

Talking to Indica Times, Samsthanak, a Druhyu soldier attached to the confederation's raiding force, recalled how the confederation had been building a dam to divert the waters of Parushni towards the Bharata army of Sudas and how, instead, the embankment failed catastrophically, sending the waters thundering back upon their own troops. Indica Times has independently learnt that a senior Druhyu commander is believed to be among those lost in the flooding, even though his identity remains unconfirmed, and that Kavash, a leading Druhyu figure whom eyewitnesses place at the centre of the flooding, is feared drowned.

"My entire unit is dead," said Samsthanak. "I am alive because I was sent with a message to the hydraulic engineer there," he added, gesturing towards a mudbank perpendicular to the river. His distress at not being around to save his comrades was evident. He said little about the loss of his possessions to the Bharatas, but appeared more concerned with getting home. He seemed open to the prospect of going further west in search of fortune.

According to Charudatta, a geopolitical analyst speaking to Indica Times, the defeat of the confederation could fundamentally alter the balance of power and trade in Sapta Sindhu. 1

Your Warrior Profile This Week

You carry a bow of beautiful shape, adorned with images of Indragopakas 4, and a sword of strong blade cased in a sheath of goat-skin 5.

Your chariot is drawn by ivory horses with black manes 6, and its banner is Ashwin 7.

Your chariot is stocked with 693 flaming brands; 9 forked lances; 35 tridents; 1775 short-pointed clubs of wood; and 7 catapults.

Armour up; win glories!

Hymn of the Week

आतपी मण्डली मृत्युः पिङ्गलः सर्वतापनः। कविर्विश्वो महातेजाः रक्तः सर्वभवोद्भवः॥

नक्षत्रग्रहताराणामधिपो विश्वभावनः। तेजसामपि तेजस्वी द्वादशात्मन् नमोऽस्तु ते॥ 8

"Round, golden, ablaze, scorching the whole world, you are Death himself. Sage, ember-red, all-pervading, you are the splendour from which all things rise. O lord of stars, planets, and constellations, shaper of the entire universe, O you most radiant amongst the radiant, to you of twelve forms do I offer my deepest homage."

Indica Helpline

Your ritual is important to us.

Please select the nature of your complaint.

  • Press ① if you have accidentally sacrificed the wrong thing. Backlog
  • Press ② if the fire refuses to cooperate. OPEN
  • Press ③ if you have forgotten which god you were addressing. Backlog
  • Press ④ if the god has not responded to your offering. Backlog
  • Press ⑤ if your soma has gone missing. Backlog
  • Press ⑥ if your priests have started arguing about grammar. Backlog
  • Press ⑦ if you are a poet and want to lodge a complaint about your patron. Backlog
  • Press ⑧ if you have been offered a bribe. Backlog
  • Press ⑨ to hear these options again.

Estimated wait time: 3 muhurt 10. We apologise for the delay.

Notes

  1. Inspired by the Ten Kings' War narrated in Rig Veda 7.18. The verses are by Vashishth Maitravaruni in the Trishtup meter. Read the hymn. ↩

  2. From the Mahabharat. See Karna Parva. ↩

  3. From the Mahabharat. See Khandavdaha Parva.
    Palash is Butea monosperma, Khadir is Acacia catechu, Ashwattha is Ficus religiosa, Udumbar is Ficus racemosa, and Bilva is Aegle marmelos.
    King Shwetaki performed a prolonged sacrifice requiring the continuous offering of ghee into the ritual fire. When his priests developed eye trouble and refused to continue, he undertook penance to secure divine intervention and obtain a new set of priests. The prolonged offerings of ghee eventually caused Agni, the god of fire, to suffer from indigestion. ↩

  4. From the Mahabharat. Yudhishthir's bow. ↩

  5. From the Mahabharat. Nakul's sword. ↩

  6. From the Mahabharat. Yudhishthir's horses. ↩

  7. From the Mahabharat. Satanik's banner. ↩

  8. Adityahridayam stotra, a hymn from the Yuddha Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayan directed at the brilliant sun as the source of strength and confidence. Read the hymn and its English translation. ↩

  9. shalmali (शल्मलि): silk cotton tree (Salmalia malabarica); the chariot of the bridal procession is made of its wood. ↩

  10. muhurt (मुहूर्त): a division of time, one-thirtieth of a day or forty-eight minutes. ↩