"So to summarize what you just said, you're basically the CEO or planner type, right?" Adi asked.
"Well… yeah," Hamsa replied. "I know what needs to be done and who might be able to do it best. But I can't do most of it myself. Without the right team, I'm useless."
Adi nodded.
"So what's your plan moving forward?"
Hamsa thought for a moment, looking up at the stars before answering.
"For now, I'll continue what I'm already doing. I still need to finish the Royal Guards' training and complete the development of their new equipment before we leave. I also need to finish Padmavathi's studies."
Adi listened quietly.
"After that, once I move to Taxila, things will start properly," Hamsa continued. "That's where I'll begin implementing the more radical ideas I've been holding back."
"I'll treat the region like a pilot project. Implement the systems I want, see what works, and fix what fails."
He leaned against the railing.
"I also want to start building some basic industries. Mass-produced paper and ink. Maybe even a printing press. If that works, knowledge will spread much faster."
"And the universities?" Adi asked.
"They'll need to become proper institutions," Hamsa said. "Closer to what they were in my old world—organized, structured, producing trained people even more than they already do. I'll train people there and then send them to other regions to repeat the process."
He paused.
"By the time I finally sit on the throne, most of the foundation should already be in place."
Then his expression hardened slightly.
"Though the biggest problem will be the old established scholars and gurus. They'll argue with me until they kill me with debates. And the nobility… they might—no, they will—rise in open rebellion. Even some of the ones currently in my camp."
Adi frowned.
"The way you said that makes it sound like the scholars will still be on your side. Just a headache."
"That's the assumption I'm working with," Hamsa said. "Because the culture here is almost a mirror image of Sanatana Dharma from my old world."
"You mean Hinduism," Adi said.
Hamsa shook his head.
"Not exactly."
Adi raised an eyebrow.
"Alright then. Explain."
Hamsa sighed. "Fine. But this is the short version."
He paused briefly to collect his thoughts, then began.
"People call it Hinduism, but that's already misleading. It's like calling chess 'a board game designed by some old king.' Technically correct, but it completely misses the point."
"So what is it then?" Adi asked.
"Think of Sanatana Dharma less as a religion and more as… a framework for living."
"A philosophy?"
"Closer," Hamsa said. "A way of life."
He leaned further against the railing.
"The whole idea revolves around a few concepts. One of them is Dharma."
"Duty?" Adi asked.
"Not quite. That translation causes a lot of confusion," Hamsa said. "Dharma is more like your personal code. The thing you're meant to do."
He gestured slightly.
"For a doctor, it's healing. For an artist, it's creating. For a teacher, it's teaching. For a warrior, it's to fight—even if that puts him on the wrong side of history or morality. It's about figuring out what you're naturally suited for and following that path."
Adi nodded slowly, then spoke again.
"And karma?"
"That one gets misunderstood even more," Hamsa said.
"People think it's some cosmic report card keeping track of good and bad behavior. But it's simpler than that."
He tapped the mana he had spread around them with a finger coated in concentrated mana, sending small ripples across the invisible barrier.
"It's basically cause and effect applied to human behavior. The energy you bring into the world shapes the results you get back."
"So if you're an asshole—"
"You tend to get treated like one," Hamsa finished.
Adi snorted.
"Fair."
"And the ultimate goal of the whole system isn't heaven," Hamsa continued.
"It's Moksha."
"Which means?"
"Freedom," Hamsa said.
"Freedom from the cycle of constantly chasing things. From the endless loop of wanting something, getting it, losing it, and wanting something else again."
Adi blinked.
"That's… surprisingly philosophical."
"Yeah," Hamsa said dryly. "Ancient philosophers had big and bright brains."
He paused.
"But the important part is this: there isn't just one path."
"You can approach it through knowledge. Through devotion. Through meditation. Or just by living responsibly."
"So there's no single prophet?" Adi asked.
"Exactly," Hamsa said. "And that's the key difference."
He straightened slightly.
"Most civilizations had one king, one god, one doctrine handed down from authority. But this system developed through debate."
"The Vedas are hymns. The Upanishads are basically students asking their teachers questions like: 'What is reality? What is the self? What happens after death?'"
Adi tilted his head.
"So the foundation of the whole thing is… questioning?"
"Exactly."
"And it gets even weirder," Hamsa continued. "There were entire philosophical schools that openly rejected the idea of gods or souls."
Adi blinked
"Seriously?"
"Yep. The Charvakas."
"They basically said: 'No gods, no karma, no afterlife. Only what we can observe is real.' And they were allowed to debate religious scholars publicly."
Adi looked genuinely surprised.
"Yeah… that probably wouldn't fly in most places."
"Yeah, though their would heads would probably fly," Hamsa said jokingly.
He paused as he and Adi laughed lightly, then he continued-
"That intellectual freedom is why I think the scholars here won't rebel against me."
"They'll argue. A lot." He rubbed his forehead.
"They'll debate every policy I introduce. Question every idea. Probably write long treatises explaining why I'm wrong. ....But they won't pick up swords."
"And the nobles will?"
"Oh, the nobles absolutely might," Hamsa said flatly. "They lose power if my system works. Scholars gain even more influence. Nobles lose it."
"Because the system I'm building will be a meritocracy."
"Guess who's more likely to start a war."
Adi nodded slowly.
Hamsa stretched slightly.
"So now you understand why I said the scholars will debate me to death instead of opposing me outright."
Adi exhaled.
"That was a lot of information. And why do you know all that."
"Well," Hamsa said with a faint smile, "I figured I might as well explain everything once so I don't have to repeat it again later. And as for why I know all this, I like reading about history and all."