When Manthara goes to the palace to bring them food, Dasaratha and Kaikeyi continue to work in the practice arena. Dasaratha triggers a hinge in the chariot to make the vehicle do a smooth 180° flip. When he sees Manthara come out with a tray of snacks, he lands the chariot before her.
Manthara: You can continue with the story, as you eat.
Dasaratha: So, Brahma wanted to save Indra from Shambara and was looking for someone with special skills.
Kaikeyi: Didn’t anyone else have those skills?
Dasaratha: Many people have talents but you have to keep doing something to reach the right people. I kept exhibiting my skills so that others knew about it.
Manthara: But isn’t it risky to fight the asuras? You are a king. What if something had happened to you? Who would have looked after the kingdom?
Dasaratha: Manthara, to move to the next level, sometimes one has to take risks. Anyway, I took my powerful bow, hollow arrows and tons of sugar and potassium nitrate and flew up into the sky. When I reached the ozone layer, it was under attack by Shambara who was using CFCs.
Manthara: What are CFCs?
Dasaratha: Okay let me explain. To protect the Earth from Surya’s harmful radiation, we have the ozone layer, which is filled with O3 molecules. However, these molecules can be destroyed by chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). So Shambara began to attack Indra from all sides with CFCs and that began to weaken the king of gods.
Kaikeyi: Very smart of him!
Dasaratha: Not really. Shambara wanted to target only Indra but, by attacking the ozone layer with CFCs, he could have killed all life on Earth. Indra did not know how to cope. That is why Brahma called me in.
Manthara: There is one thing I don’t understand. Why did you carry sugar with you?
Dasaratha: Well, sugar is a fuel. It is used in solid propellant rockets. The potassium nitrate acts as an oxidiser. You need to mix it in a specific ratio. So, for 100gm of propellant, you need 35% sugar and 65% potassium nitrate.
Dasaratha shows Manthara and Kaikeyi how the two ingredients burn vigorously when mixed.
Manthara (astonished): I never knew that sugar could be used in warfare!
Dasaratha: I use this to propel my arrows at very high speed and also to move my chariot in all directions. So, to continue my story, I reached the ozone layer and cleared all the asuras surrounding Indra’s palace very easily. But Shambara was powerful and faster than I expected. When he began attacking me from all directions at supersonic speed, my brave, beautiful and talented charioteer saved my life.
Kaikeyi blushes while Manthara looks confused.
Manthara: Who was your charioteer?
Kaikeyi: It was I. I created an iron dome as a shield and also gave him healing potions. He was very angry and destroyed Shambara with his hypersonic arrows. That is when Brahma was impressed and bestowed on him the title ‘Dasaratha’.
Manthara: Wait! You went with him to fight an asura? How come I did not know?
Kaikeyi: If you had known, you would have never allowed me to go. So, in return for my help, Dasaratha gave me two boons.
Manthara: You never told me all this. I do so much for you and you hide things from me. So, what did you ask for?
Dasaratha: She is yet to ask for them. She probably wanted to consult you about what to ask for.
Manthara smiles and hugs Kaikeyi. Suddenly, four arrows fly in towards Manthara’s legs. Kaikeyi pulls her to safety and turns angrily to see where the arrows came from.
The writer is the founder and CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace, an IIT-Madras incubated ed-tech startup that offers Air Science workshops for children between five and 14 years.
