Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagara state, capital city - Hampi.

Vijay found himself in the study room of the palace when Admiral Gangadhar urgently relayed news from Akhil. A dangerous glint flickered in Vijay’s eyes as he absorbed the information about the flags spotted on Mauritius and Réunion islands which signified the presence of the British.

Clenching his fist in frustration, he muttered, "Is fate so unbending that Bharat still remains a target for British covetousness?"

Yet, his expression soon morphed into one of resolve as he steeled himself to confront the British head-on. Determined to stand strong, he contemplated his strategy. If the British dared to attack immediately, he would bide his time within the Empire.

While trade routes were severed, he would focus on vanquishing the Mughals and revitalizing the Navy from within the empire, utilizing its abundant lakes and rivers. Subsequently, he would seize a coastal port and gradually expand his influence.

Driven by a fervent desire to redress the humiliations suffered by his motherland, he envisioned sailing to the British Isles and unleashing destruction akin to Hanuman’s fiery vengeance upon Ravana’s kingdom.

"Your Majesty," Gangadhar called out, noticing Vijay’s uncharacteristic demeanour. Although he couldn’t comprehend why his Majesty’s mood would be affected by the capture of islands on the periphery of Madagascar by some European power, he felt compelled to rouse Vijay from his reverie, given the urgency of the situation.

With numerous naval battles to contend with, time was of the essence, and Vijay’s attention was needed to address the aftermath.

Vijay was eventually shaken out of his delusions and persecutory paranoia regarding the British, who had yet to make any hostile moves against the Empire. Despite this realization, lingering doubts about the British still nagged at him. Thus, he assigned Gangadhar another task.

"There’s a small island off the coast of Madagascar, near Somalia, let’s call it Seychelles," Vijay instructed. "I need you to organize another operation to capture this island. It could serve as a strategic checkpoint against the British and potentially act as our forward base when confronting the Ottoman fleet."

"Right away, Your Majesty," Gangadhar said as he left to arrange the additional operation with Commander Akhil.

Vijay, who was in the empty study room, let out a sigh as he felt like his mental state in the past few days was not right. He had to confront the fact that his ideal situation pertaining to the islands, where he expected a peaceful unification of these islands with the mainland, had turned out to be overly idealistic. Sadly, a lot of blood had to be shed in order for these islands to be captured.

The tribals in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were fighting their own battles, and his interference as a ’civilized person’ made him question whether he was doing the same thing the Europeans did throughout the world. If anyone were in Vijay’s place, they would also feel that they had enlightened the primitives, but Vijay knew that he essentially destroyed a budding civilization.

The tribal people who chose to join the empire exchanged their culture and identity for the peace and security of a generation. Whether it was fair was for their descendants to decide, but currently, Vijay’s mind was in turmoil. He didn’t know whether what he did was essentially what the Europeans did.

Kavya had noticed the unusual mood of Vijay since morning. When he said that he needed a few days for himself, Kavya knew that Vijay was dealing with something only he could come out of. She had experienced such things before, as her father was also the same sometimes when she was a child.

Although it changed as she grew up, she clearly remembered the distraught expression on her father’s face, which closely resembled Vijay’s expression now.

Vijay, who sat alone in the garden, tried to calm down his mind, which was shaken up by the ideals he had to break in order to capture the islands the empire needed, and due to the moves played by the British, which left him unable to make rational decisions. Right now, in this state, his vision had become very narrow, seeing things in a straight line.

If he were a soldier, this would be an ideal state, but as the emperor of one of the most powerful empires in the world, he had to look at things from a wider perspective, not a narrower one, as it could lead him to stumble and crash if he couldn’t see the punch coming from his narrow view.

So, in order to stabilize his mind, he tried various things, like doing many poses of yoga or just sitting still and closing his eyes, but nothing worked.

As a final recourse, Vijay turned to various scholarly books and religious texts in search of a solution to his inner turmoil. Blessed with a mind far more powerful than that of an ordinary human, his capacity for learning was equally remarkable. However, this heightened intellect also compounded his torment, as his mental struggles proved more difficult to overcome than those of the average person.

His brain, unable to simply forget anything, replayed scenarios involving the British and the islands incessantly, like a broken record.

Yet, as scholars often assert, every gift comes with a price, and perhaps this was Vijay’s burden to bear. After delving into numerous texts, he eventually found solace in the pages of the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita—the timeless epics depicting the legendary battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As he read along, his eyes suddenly lit up because Arjuna, who had to fight a war, had the same ideological difficulties as himself.

"I do not see how any good can come from killing my own kinsmen in this battle, nor can I, my dear Krishna, desire any subsequent victory, kingdom, or happiness," Arjuna said as he saw his family who were now standing opposite to him on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Disturbed by the circumstances, Arjuna further asked this question to Krishna, "O Govinda, of what avail to us are a kingdom, happiness, or even life itself when all those for whom we may desire them are now arrayed on this battlefield?

O Madhusudana, when teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, maternal uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and other relatives are ready to give up their lives and properties and are standing before me, why should I wish to kill them, even though they might otherwise kill me?

O maintainer of all living entities, I am not prepared to fight with them even in exchange for the three worlds, let alone this earth. What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhrtarastra?"

After immersing himself in Arjuna’s plea, which mirrored his own inner struggles in a heightened manner, Vijay eagerly awaited Lord Krishna’s response. Though the previous occupant of his body had perused these texts, Vijay found that reading them himself invoked a different sensation—a deeper connection to the story.

As he delved into the Bhagavad Gita, Vijay felt a profound sense of enlightenment wash over him.

"BG 2.38: Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin."

Vijay’s mind opened up as he felt enlightened. He finally felt at ease as he read how Krishna convinced Arjuna to fight by imparting teachings. Krishna begins by explaining the eternal nature of the soul and then provides guidance on how to attain self-realization. He continues by explaining how to attain God-Realization and gives Arjuna the Divine image of Himself—the Vishwaroopa Darshan.

Krishna explains that one must continually fight against evil in the world and within oneself, always have faith in God, and recognize that everything changes except the soul. Throughout the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna slowly surrenders to Krishna and ultimately understands that the only proper course of action is to fight.

As Vijay absorbed these teachings, a realization dawned upon him. He understood that his duty as Emperor was to prioritize the Empire’s future, devoid of any malevolent intentions or selfish desires. With a mirror in his heart reflecting his intentions, Vijay resolved to act for the greater good, even if it meant making difficult decisions and bearing the weight of his actions.

As the custodian of a nation and civilization, it was his Dharma to forge ahead, unyielding in the face of his own mental burdens.

With the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita serving as guiding lights, Vijay felt a profound lightness in his heart and mind. His mental equilibrium strengthened, rendering him less susceptible to wavering in the face of adversity.

"Jai Shri Krishna," he chanted as he thanked Lord Krishna for his blessing. In his previous life and even in the current one, despite being Hindu, he was actually a follower of Charvaka, the ancient school of materialism in the Hindu tradition, which rejected all religious texts, rituals, karma, and reincarnation, and only believed in materialistic things of the world.

So basically, Charvaka is atheism for Hindus, but unlike Western atheists in the 21st century who may harbour disdain for religion, Charvakas did not hate religion; they just didn’t believe in it, as the culture in which they lived had tolerance for atheists to exist in society.

However, Vijay felt like his opinion had changed after his current experience. He felt that if the words of Krishna had so much influence on him that they could calm him down when he was emotionally worked up just hours ago, then doesn’t that mean there is some form of divinity in the world since it can affect the mind, which is very much both material and spiritual in nature?

Thus, Vijay finally came to a realization that there may really be a God, Though not in a traditional sense. He came to the realization that gods are a conglomeration of the beliefs of millions of human beings, which leads to the creation of a mental image of the divine in one’s subconscious.

And when in troubled times, if one calls upon the divine, the divine, whose mental image is embedded in each and every person of the civilization, would help alleviate mental burdens, as most people subconsciously attribute their troubles to the divine.

So although Vijay now believes in God, he is still viewing God from a scientific perspective. Well, it does no harm, as his mental stability has greatly increased, and he has Lord Krishna to thank for that.

He finally got up from his long-confined contemplation. He had a smile on his face as he met with Kavya for dinner.

Kavya was delighted to see Vijay already in a better mood. She, who was used to serving food to Vijay herself, put two extra scoops of rice, for which Vijay felt pained, but he did not say anything and reluctantly ate it.

P.S. Wanted to make this mental shift arc only a few paragraphs but In the end, it became like this.

P.S. Today is the first day of me studying module one maths for the exam.