The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Ayodhya is
synonymous with Rama, which is why it is a pleasure to read a book about Ayodhya,
where there is no Ram. The events of “Warlord of Ayodhya” occur in the city,
when Rama is in exile. It is Bharat who is at the centre of this story, an unwilling
character forced to play the lead. While he rules the kingdom with his brother’s
sandals on the throne’s footrest, and remembers his brother’s words of advice
to him, it is his father he seeks to emulate as king. After all, it is his
father who has ruled the kingdom all those years. While Rama is the prince, the
rightful heir, it is still Dashrath who is the ideal king in Bharat’s eyes. It is
these subtleties that make Shatrujeet Nath’s newest book a riveting read.
While centered
around Ayodhya, the book does not limit itself to the city. The author
skillfully puts Ayodhya in the context of the larger subcontinent – of the River
Kingdoms and Gandhara, of Madhupura and the trade routes, and the much farther
Lanka looming ominously in the shadows.
The narrative also follows not only the kings, but also the servants in and out of the palace, the traders, the soldiers, those with and without power. There is intrigue, and the author skillfully holds a lot of separate threads in his hands as he weaves the story together. If his previous books are any indication, we can look forward to all the separate threads coming together to form an intricate story that holds together beautifully as the series progresses.
As with his
Vikramaditya Veergatha series, the story brings together mythology and fantasy.
While there are no superheroes in this series, there is magic. And the author’s
conception of magic is just as intriguing as his conception of the superpowers
of his heroes in the previous series. As with his other books, this one too is
fast paced. The characters are all conceptualized in great detail, and each one
begins to take shape in our mind as we read about them. however, that’s where
the similarities end. There are no gods here so far, though the rakshashas have
already made their appearance. And the story revolves as much around the internal
problems faced by the city as the external threats. Above all, so far it feels like
the coming-of-age story of a king. How the author takes Bharat’s story forward
and how he handles the hand-over of the throne to Rama eventually already
intrigues me, and makes me wait impatiently for the next books in the series.
The only thing I’m not a fan of, in the book, is its cover. I much preferred the cover art of the Vikramaditya Veergatha series, especially the first three books. However, as they say, “Never judge a book by its cover”, so that hardly matters.
Please
note: The book was sent to me for review by the author. However, the views expressed
are all my own.
Nice book..hope so i will read within a short time...after read your review.
ReplyDeleteThis review is very nice.
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