Krishna Udayasankar

It’s probably more of a 4.5.

This is a very common term that I use in my reviews - “as a self proclaimed Mahabharata fan” - but it is true because I love reading any versions of the epic I can get my hands on. One such reimagination that really captivated me was the Aryavarta Chronicles, so when I saw that the author was releasing a prequel featuring my favorite character from the trilogy, I knew I had to read it. It was disappointing to see that the book didn’t have a US release but the author was very sweet and sent me an eARC, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity.

Govinda Shauri was an absolute enigma in the original trilogy and I was completely in love with his character, and this book only cemented my love for him even more. The author doesn’t start off the story from his birth or from his parent’s imprisonment like most Krishna’s stories go - this describes only a few important incidents that lead to Govinda’s first trip to Mathura, and I thought it was a great choice by the author. This makes for a very fast paced plot, with life changing events happening at breakneck speed, keeping me totally hooked and unable to put the book down. And just like the trilogy, there are also a lot of political and philosophical arguments which I thoroughly enjoyed, and some of the themes related to oppression, the greed for power, the importance of building movements for and by the common people - these all touched a nerve, especially in the aftermath of the American election and all the shenanigans happening around.

Govinda as a character is hard not to love - he is charming, intelligent, has a way with words that can convince anyone, a strong conviction to defy the laws of the land put forth by the powerful and do something bigger for the welfare of the many - this sense of justice in his heart is so well articulated by the author in the dialogue that I felt mesmerized and kept wishing him to succeed in all his schemes. Balabhadra on the other hand may seem like he doesn’t like the person his brother is becoming, but their bond is unbreakable and I enjoyed watching them anticipate each other’s thoughts and act accordingly. There were quite a few other impactful side characters, but I particularly enjoyed the banter between Govinda and Yuyudhana, and how their relationship changed from being adversaries to one full of trust.

In conclusion, this is very engaging tale of how a common man came to be a master strategist and kingmaker within this world of Aryavarta, and it is full of memorable characters and intense situations, and even more unforgettable thought provoking discussions that feel very relevant to our real world. I really hope that the author has plans to continue this prequel into a series because I’m not ready to let it go yet.… (meer)

I’m mostly torn between a 3.5 or a 4, so I’ll round up.

Finally the saga comes to an end. I have to preface this review by saying that I’m not as much in awe of this finale as I was of the first book, but it’s still a good ending. It’s just that maybe I was expecting too much from it, so it left me a bit dissatisfied.

The writing of the author continues to be enchanting and thrilling, keeping me hooked to the story, never wanting to let go. Obviously as per the title of the finale, I was very interested to know how the author would describe the Kurukshetra war and while whatever was shown was magnificent and gritty and gory, I was also disappointed by what was left out. It’s not easy to condense eighteen days of this epic battle into one part of the book, but I didn’t particularly like that there was nothing of the first seven days at all. Some other important duels or deaths also happened off page, which was pretty shocking to me. In the original Mahabharata, the warriors on both sides fight with daivi astras, and while the point of this whole trilogy was to strip the epic of its divinity and attribute all the advancements to science and technology - I think it became a bit difficult to stick to that premise during the war sequences and some of the astras used felt unrealistic. And even though I can’t pinpoint exactly, there were some threads and plot points that were left open without any resolution and I didn’t expect that. But on the whole, I think the author did a formidable job bringing the war to life, and especially showing us the devastation and carnage it resulted in.

As this is the book where we would get some version of the Bhagavad Gita, I was very eagerly waiting for those chapters. I will not say I understood everything, but it was short and very compelling to hear the words of Govinda to Partha. There are also many many discussions about destiny, reason and compassion, and how these three are just different ways in which the world can run. However, the number of times these discussions took place was a lot in this book, and I can’t say it was all easy to grasp. I still completely bought into Govinda’s complete belief in humanity and its incessant capacity to use knowledge to prosper; and also his surety that a system that fails to protect those its meant to, deserves to be destroyed. But what left me a bit disconcerted towards the end was that I couldn’t really fathom if Govinda’s dream became a reality. And maybe that’s the main source of dissatisfaction with this finale.

The characters continue to be the strength of this series. It is so fascinating to see all these legendary people in a frail human light, with all their flaws. Especially Dharma, whose belief in destiny never wavered despite innumerable horrors happening around him, or the fact that it was the common people who were fighting for their rights on his side. At the end, I truly came to question if he deserved to be on the throne, even if it was as a representative of the people. Panchali and Govinda continue to be amazing and formidable beings they are, fighting the system and wanting a better future for humanity. Almost everything else played out as expected, but I can’t help but appreciate the author for giving Shikhandin such an important piece in this story. After everything that happened, I think he was the most admirable for me - the brave and consummate warrior who fought for the common people and what was right. Even though I was very upset during Abhimanyu’s horrifying death scene, it was actually the final scene between the closest friends Shikhandin and Asvatthama that brought tears to my eyes. I will always remember this trilogy for letting to me get to know these unlikely and forgotten heroes.

Towards the end, I have to say that reading this trilogy has been an experience that I won’t soon forget. It has wowed me and impressed me and brought tears and joy and so much more. It is not without its flaws, but a Mahabharata reimagining is an ambitious task and I commend the author for attempting it and doing a good job. As I’ve been saying since I began this journey, if you are okay with a riveting reimagination of the epic which digresses a lot from the canon but still manages to capture its core essence, then you should definitely give this trilogy a try.… (meer)

It’s been a while since I’ve felt invested and excited enough to binge read a fantasy trilogy, but that’s exactly what Govinda did to me. I couldn’t even imagine reading anything other than this sequel because I had to know what happens next. And I’m so happy that I did exactly that. This review might have some spoilers for the first book, so please be mindful of that before proceeding.

The magic that the author wove in Govinda is still present in this sequel, but she also manages to make this a bit more different in tone because of the ominous events that take place. While the first book had us moving across Aryavarta, the world here is expanded to include the desert lands of Matsya and I loved how it was described as a kingdom that strove to be prosperous despite its isolation from the empire for generations. The writing is as exciting as before, with so many more twists and turns and betrayals this time around and I just couldn’t put down the book. The story actually veers a lot more from the canon in this installment, but it’s very much organic to the author’s reimagining and I enjoyed these new turns. I guess the only disappointment was that there wasn’t much of action this time around, but I’m pretty sure we’ll get a lot more of that in the finale. There were also a lot more philosophical and existential discussions in the book, which were fascinating for the most part but could also jolt me out of the story if I wasn’t feeling them.

I particularly enjoyed how this book raises a lot of questions, that can even be relevant today if we give them deeper thought. There is a lot of discussion mainly on power, who gets to have the power and what responsibilities does it bring with it. What I found as a great parallel to our society is how the few who have had power for generations seem to consider it their right, and even the idea of power being redistributed across ordinary people is too much of a disruption and threat to their way of life. I also liked that the author included conversations on gender equality as well as class discrimination, a particular point hitting me hard - we should all be respected and should have the right to fairness and justice solely because we are human beings, and it should not be limited to only those who have a higher station in life. And I have to say, I’m very impressed that the author has setup the premise for the Kurukshetra war as a revolution against the system which has wronged the ordinary people and against the rulers who would do anything to preserve the status quo.

While the writing may have faltered a bit, the characters are as impressive as ever. I thought the shades of grey of both Dharma and Syoddhan are shown brilliantly. Dharma is particularly very infuriating because he believes in his self righteousness and destiny too much, and never actually takes blame for any of the wrongs that he commits. Syoddhan on the other hand is not a bad person, but is much more susceptible to the advice and ambitions of those around him, succumbing to their ideas despite probably knowing he is doing wrong. I really loved how the author flipped the script on these two major characters, showing them as utterly flawed human beings and not as black and white as popular fiction depicts. Shikhandin again gets a lot of depth and I admired him a lot for his bravery and convictions, even though he suffers a lot of personal tragedy, is never lauded for his courageous actions and branded as a traitor. Sanjaya is one who’s character is completely different from canon but it was fascinating to see him depicted as such a master manipulator, and he goes through so many emotions throughout the story and I found it interesting to watch him change and adapt.

Obviously the larger part of the story still revolves around Govinda and Panchali and I just loved the exploration of their relationship even more. They are two halves of a whole, like Narayana and Sri themselves, and there were so few scenes of them together but I just cherished reading them. Panchali suffers a lot throughout this book and while she almost wants to give up, she ultimately doesn’t because she is strong and fierce and will never stop standing up for herself and demanding justice. Govinda on the other hand is devastated seeing what happens to her, and the way his despair and complete hopelessness is described brought tears to my eyes. This is not how Lord Krishna is usually depicted - a person who gives up everything dear to him for the dream of a prosperous empire and when it all collapses, the person who is supposed to be the hope of all people becomes hopeless himself - I’ve never seen him shown this way before and I thought it was a brave and well done attempt by the author. But towards the end, the story brings these two formidable characters together again and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

While I may not have felt as in awe of this book as it’s predecessor, the characters are what make this series so amazing and I tip my hat off to the author’s extensive imagination. As I’ve said before, if you are interested in reading reinterpretations of the Mahabharata where there are no divine elements and are open to view the characters in new light, then you should definitely give this trilogy a try. You might just end up finding a new fantasy series and author.… (meer)

While I was wowed by the author Krishna’s short story in Magical Women and have been waiting to read her latest Beast (which my trusted friends really swear by), it didn’t occur to me that I already owned her debut trilogy and never actually read it. Thankfully I realized my folly and picked up this first book for the IndianLitReadathon and it was definitely an awesome decision *pats my back*...

Mahabharata is my favorite book in the world and nothing will ever change that. It’s had the most influence on my life, so it’s not surprising that I tend to turn unwittingly to reading the epic when I’m in need of comfort. In the recent years, I have also been able to read a few reimaginations and reinterpretations of this story by modern authors, and I’m always mesmerized by how many different ways this story could be told. In this same vein comes the author Krishna, and I’m wowed by her courage to have taken up this task right in her debut novel. The author has decided to strip the divinity from the epic and retell it as a socio-political saga of the kingdoms of Aryavarta, and I think she succeeds at it very well. The central conflict around which the story revolves here is something new, and that definitely makes it feel like a refreshing tale. The world building is done excellently, slowly revealing bits and pieces, so that it never feels info dumpy. I loved the descriptions of the kingdoms and the palaces and the terrain in general, my particular favorite being the absolutely stunning depiction of Dwaraka - I could actually feel the sun and the waves and the total awe that Partha feels when he arrives at its gates. The author also makes the characters here utterly human, with all their complicated motivations and moral dilemmas and I loved seeing them in a new light. There are lots of mysteries that are unraveled as the story progresses, but the particular reveals at the end surprised me and I’m just so excited to dive into the sequel immediately. The story is also just close enough to the canon that you might guess what could happen next, but different enough that you’ll be surprised by how the events unfold. The author manages to accentuate this feeling by giving some of the characters their not so popular names, so it never feels like you are just reading the Mahabharata.

The story follows multiple POV characters, so we get to know what everyone is thinking and the political plans they are weaving. The major perspectives we get are Govinda and Panchali, and I was just utterly fascinated by their relationship. Govinda loves his people and dedicates his whole life to be able to create a lasting empire, but he is also very dispassionate and almost emotionless in the way he manipulates everyone, which makes him pretty unlikable to everyone and also very difficult to get to know him closely. Panchali on the other hand is fiery, very intelligent and capable and is appalled at the way women are discriminated against and prevented from being in ruling positions. However, she is also pragmatic and uses her smarts to run her kingdom as well as understand the long term implications of everything happening around across the empire. Vyasa, Sanjaya, Asvathama and Shikhandin also play very important roles and it was fascinating to see them as much more developed characters. Dharma is probably the one Pandava whose depiction really surprised me, and I never knew it was possible to show him in such a morally grey light. He is such a follower and almost too much of a believer of destiny and righteousness, without actually doing any work for creating an empire - I can almost see how this will lead to his downfall and can’t wait to explore it all in the next book.

If you love Mahabharata reinterpretations, I would definitely recommend this book to you. If you are okay with stories that don’t necessarily stick to the canon and remove the mysticism of the epic in favor a socio-political fantasy saga, then you’ll enjoy this a lot. The world building is impressive, the characters very very refreshing and fascinating and the reveals totally captivating, that’ll keep you guessing as to what might happen next. Kaurava.... here I come !!!… (meer)