Pradyumna – Son of Krishna – Usha Narayanan – Book Review

Goodreads blurb: ‘I see a dark future that makes me quake,’ Devarishi Narada said. ‘One of these newborns will ravage the world and erase the name of Krishna from the face of the earth.’

As the world trembles on the threshold of Kali Yuga—4,32,000 years of unprecedented evil—it waits for a savior to rise.

Meanwhile, in the dark netherland of the asuras, the meek Vama shudders as he learns that he is actually Pradyumna, the son of Krishna. And that his journey has just begun.

From the asura kingdom to Dwaraka and then Kurukshetra, destiny forces him to battle monsters, angry gods and blazing weapons, and overpower his own weaknesses. Will he be able to rise to the challenge in time to save the world? Or is he the destroyer prophesied by Narada?

Pradyumna is the gripping saga of the rise of this mighty, swashbuckling hero whom all of humanity awaits.

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Given my interest in mythology and its various retellings it must not come as a surprise to regular readers of my blog that I picked up this book and ended up reading and reviewing it. And true to its pre and post release hype around Pradyumna – Son of Krishna by Usha Narayanan, the book is quite well plotted and narrated. Relying mostly on relatively authentic sources from the original Sanskrit texts, this book, the first in a series narrates the events around the birth of Pradyumna, his separation from his parents, his subsequent reunion with them after fulfilling a part of the prophecy surrounding his birth and the events that occur thereafter.

What I liked the most about this book was the fact that the author does not take too much liberty from the original Sanskrit texts from where the core material has been sourced. Yes, while a few liberties might have been taken in terms of the sequencing of events and ‘shading’ the characters in various hues of ‘grey’, it is quite clear that by and large the book stays close to its original mythological roots.

While the first half of the book deals with the story behind Kama’s incarnation as Pradyumna, his birth as a mortal on earth, his separation from his parents Krishna and Rukmini, his teenage years as Vama and his subsequent fulfillment of a prophecy, the second half takes a more serious turn and focuses more on Pradyumna’s heroic exploits on the battlefield fighting away various enemies, battling monsters, and helping out people in distress.

Never too far away from his bete noire, Pradyumna’s brother, Samba, Krishna’s son from Jambavati follows his brother’s exploits closely, all the while seething in anger and looking for some way or the other not only to outdo him but even kill him. Samba’s character is like an overpowering presence on almost the entire proceedings of the second half of the book and readers cannot help but wonder how and what he will do next. In fact I will stick my neck out and make a prediction that Samba will have a more prominent and decisive role to play in the proceedings of the second book in this series.

The only grouse I had with the book were the last few chapters where Pradyumna decides not to participate in the greatest battle of his era, the Kurukshetra war and instead goes on to battle Vajranabha. While this may very well be how things unfolded in the original Sanskrit texts, this last portion of the book felt a little contrived to me and would probably have been better off as the beginning of Book Two of the series. But then, I am guessing the author knew perfectly well what she was doing and chose to slot this episode at the end of Book One.

This grouse aside I will surely pick up the second book in the series, if not for anything else, to enjoy the saga of this wonderful but overlooked character from Indian mythology and the sheer easygoing way in which the author has narrated his story to us.

My Gita – Devdutt Pattanaik – Book Review

Goodreads blurb: In My Gita, acclaimed mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik demystifies The Bhagavad Gita for the contemporary reader. His unique approach—thematic rather than verse-by-verse—makes the ancient treatise eminently accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations and simple diagrams.

In a world that seems spellbound by argument over dialogue, vi-vaad over sam-vaad, Devdutt highlights how Krishna nudges Arjuna to understand rather than judge his relationships. This becomes relevant today when we are increasingly indulging and isolating the self (self-improvement, self-actualization, self-realization—even selfies!).We forget that we live in an ecosystem of others, where we can nourish each other with food, love and meaning, even when we fight.

So let My Gita inform your Gita.

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Despite reading a fair bit of Indian mythological tales and assorted articles on the same, the Bhagvad Gita remained one of those formidable tomes which I was even scared to touch with a barge pole. However, numerous conversations with my wife on various aspects discussed in the Gita and the fact that my all time favorite mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik (www.devdutt.com) wrote a book on the same, My Gita meant that it was finally time to put aside all misgivings and doubts about my ability to assimilate the vast volumes of learning from the Gita and get myself introduced to it formally. And believe me when I say this, it has probably turned out to be one of the wisest decisions I have taken in recent times.

In his own inimitable style, Dr Pattanaik takes on a subject (which in his own words has been dealt with in greater detail and better style by people more knowledgeable than him) as complicated as the Gita and goes ahead and makes it ‘his own’, quite literally given that the book is called My Gita and not The Gita. As the title suggests, the author is of the opinion that the Gita is not thematic, it is not subjective and it is not obsessed with the self. He feels that everybody reading this verse, this rhyme, this song, will do so and end up taking learnings from it which might just go on to be entirely different for the next person in line reading and studying it. Simply put, that is how powerful and life-changing this subject is.

Breaking away from the usual norm of translating the verse from Sanskrit in which it is originally written and providing his interpretation of the words and the flow of the verse, the wise Dr Pattanaik takes an entirely different approach to the Gita. He goes on and makes the book his own take on this immortal song. Instead of approaching it by chapter by chapter in a linear manner, he divides the book into various sub-themes under the overarching three main themes, viz, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga and Gyaana Yoga.

Peppered with various insights into his vast pool of knowledge in Indian and Abrahamic mythologies, the author manages to draw various parallels and analogies between various verses in the Gita and makes things extremely easy to understand, more so for first time readers of the Gita like myself. And I am more than sure that even people who have read and studied the Gita more than I have will surely find this book a worthy read and will enjoy the entirely different style in which Dr Pattanaik has presented this immortal song sung by Krishna to Arjuna.

While I could go on and on about how wonderfully well presented this book is, especially the various small little diagrams which are present on almost every page to explain and elucidate the various concepts, the fact remains that this is one book which needs to be read in its entirety to be enjoyed, rather than trying to understand the same through this small review of the same. As is the norm with all his books, Dr Pattanaik’s illustrations also enhance the overall book reading experience more than quite a bit.

Click here to purchase the book from Flipkart [Link] or Amazon [Link].

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A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in return for an honest and unbiased review of the same.

Third time around – Part 3

<< PART 2 >>

Things reached a point where kings belonging to the Kuru dynasty, Matsya dynasty, Kekaya dynasty and Srnjaya dynasty became infuriated and took up arms to kill Sisupala as a punishment for his insults. However, Krishna did not want the holy ceremony to be disrupted with unnecessary bloodshed and personally restrained these kings from any martial action.

Even the sight of these might kings taking up their arms did not dissuade Sisupala who continued to abuse Krishna. Little did he know that Krishna was keeping count of all the offences committed by him, and what was worse was that he was running out of his quota of one hundred offences.

And then when the count ran out, Krishna addressed the gathering thus – Listen all you people present here. As promised to my aunt, I have pardoned one hundred offences of Sisupala. This number has now been exceeded by him, and in the presence of all you honored people, I shall now slay him.

Saying so, Krishna summoned his mighty disc, the Sudarsana Chakra and beheaded Sisupala. When the mighty armed Sisupala’s body fell down to the ground, there was a fierce burst of energy akin to that of the sun, which emanated out of the lifeless body of Sisupala and entered Krishna.

Thus, one of the doorkeepers of Vaikunta had been provided with salvation for a third time.

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King Salva was a good friend of Sisupala and was part of the bridegroom’s party when Sisupala went to marry Rukmini. However, Krishna had other plans and managed to kidnap Rukmini just before she got married to Sisupala. And in the ensuing battle between Sisupala and his friends’ armies and the Yadu army, Salva was defeated badly. This defeat at the hands of the Yadu army rankled Salva very much and he undertook severe penance and austerities in order to obtain the good favor of Shiva.

Pleased with Salva’s austerities and devotion, when he was granted a boon by Shiva, the king asked for a flying machine, an airplane which would be so strong that it could not be destroyed by any demigod, demon, human, Gandharva, Naga or Rakshasa. He also desired that the airplane be allowed to fly anywhere without restraints and be especially useful in combat situations.

Shiva granted Salva his boon and with the help of the divine architect Maya, the king manufactured this magical airplane. With the help of this indestructible airplane, Salva attacked Dwaraka when Krishna was attending the Rajasuya Yagna conducted by Yudhisthira in Indraprastha. And when Krishna came back to Dwaraka after the yagna, he saw his city Dwaraka and its inhabitants in great danger.

Krishna immediately ordered his charioteer to take him to the place on the battlefield from where Salva was launching his attack on the city and its inhabitants. Despite Salva’s best efforts, Krishna managed to unleash a shower of sixteen powerful arrows which overpowered Salva’s magical airplane. Despite Salva’s best efforts and use of unworldly magic to try and convince Krishna that he had kidnapped his father Vasudeva and kept him hostage, Krishna was not fooled. He beheaded Salva and rid the world of the terror of this evil ruler.

Almost immediately, Salva’s good friend, Dantavakra appeared on the scene of the battlefield and set to avenge his friend’s death. He was so agitated with the killing of his good friend that he attacked Krishna without proper armor and weapons. In fact, he was so blinded with rage that he ran towards Krishna on foot without even mounting his chariot, with just a club in his hand.

Following the military etiquette of the day, Krishna also dismounted his chariot and armed himself with a club to meet Dantavakra in battle. And in a quick matter of minutes, Krishna managed to kill Dantavakra as well with strong strikes to his head and chest with his club.

Thus, both the doorkeepers of Vaikunta, Jaya and Vijaya were granted salvation by Lord Vishnu a third time over, fulfilling the conditions of the curse placed upon them by the Manu Kumaras.

Third time around – Part 2

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Years later, when the Pandava king Yudhisthira, another cousin of Krishna was performing a Rajasuya Yagna at Indraprastha, both Krishna and Sisupala were honored guests at the ceremony. One of the important parts of the Rajasuya Yagna was that one of the guests would be offered what was termed the Agrapuja – the first person to be worshipped. This honor was usually given to the most exalted of all the warriors and kings present at the ceremony and would be chosen by the audience present.

When Bhishma and all the elders present decided that Krishna was to be given this honor, this irked Sisupala a lot. He already had issues with Krishna having killed his good friend Jarasandha with Bhima’s assistance (read that story here) and also because Krishna had managed to kidnap marry Rukmini, his bride-to-be a few days earlier.

Therefore, when it was announced in the court that Krishna was to receive the Agrapuja, he addressed the court thus –

Ladies and gentlemen, the Vedas state that time is the only predominating factor in nature. In spite of all our endeavors to the contrary, time keeps moving forward and executes its own plan without any opposition. I also see that with the passage of time, the intelligence of all the honored guests at this ceremony has been misdirected.

While I agree with the fact all the elders and kings present here are competent enough to take a wise decision regarding the recipient of the Agrapuja, I simply cannot accept that this august gathering has found Krishna worthy of this honor.

In this gathering, there are many personalities who have performed severe austerities, who are highly learned and who have performed many penances. There are wise men here whose knowledge knows no boundaries and also many self-realized persons and brahmanas. How could this wise gathering have selected this cowherd Krishna as the recipient of this honor by overlooking such personalities?

We cannot even ascertain what caste Krishna belongs to and what his occupation is. He does not belong to a royal family or enjoy royal lineage. Almost all his actions so far since his childhood have not prescribed to any societal or religious norms. He always acts outside of religious principles, Vedic injunctions and regulative guidelines of the day.

Krishna is so foolish that he chose to abandon Mathura and build a fort at Dwaraka in the middle of the ocean. And whenever he proceeds out of his fort at Dwaraka, he loots and pillages armies of other kings and destroys their kingdoms.

In his anger, Sisupala insulted Krishna even further, and tried to provoke Krishna into action. However Krishna, remaining unperturbed by all the utterances of Sisupala calmly remained seated in his place, all the while sporting a beatific smile on his face. This agitated the young king so much that he started hurling abuse after abuse on Krishna to the extent that many of the wise men and kings present in the assembly covered their ears unable to hear the insults and abusive language that was being used by Sisupala.

<< PART 3 >>

Third time around – Part 1

In my earlier series on the Varaha Avatar (read Part 1 here) I had alluded to the curse placed on the doorkeepers of Vaikunta, Jaya and Vijaya where they would attain salvation only at the hands of the Supreme Godhead, Lord Vishnu three times over as human beings.

The first instalment of the salvation was when Hiranyaksha was killed by the Varaha avatar (read that series here) and Hiranyakasipu was killed by the Narasimha avatar (read that series here). The second instalment of the salvation was when Ravana and Kumbhakarna were killed by Rama in the great epic, the Ramayana.

This series of posts will narrate the third and final instalment of the salvation where Jaya and Vijaya take birth as Sisupala and Dantavakra and how they attain salvation by being killed by Lord Vishnu in his avatar as Krishna.

At the outset, let me confess that some versions of the story and religious texts state that Kamsa was one of the doorkeepers, but a majority of the versions of the religious texts allude to Sisupala and Dantavakra as the third time that Jaya and Vijaya were born as human beings.

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Sisupala was born to the king of Chedi with three eyes and four hands. It is said that as soon as he was born he screamed and cried with sounds similar to the ones that a donkey makes. Beholding these extraordinary omens, the king and queen of Chedi (who happened to be Krishna’s paternal aunt, ie, Vasudeva’s sister) resolved to abandon this abnormal child.

However, a celestial voice addressed the king and the queen, with the court ministers and priests in attendance – This son of yours who has been born thus, will have good fortune and extraordinary strength. You need not fear him or his appearance. He is not destined to die anytime soon. His time has not yet come. The one that will slay him has also been born.

Hearing these words, Sisupala’s mother, rendered anxious due to the affection for her son addressed the invisible voice – I desire to hear who will slay my son.

The voice then said – He shall be slain by the person, upon whose lap when he is placed his third eye and additional arms will drop off.

The king of Chedi then undertook an exhaustive exercise where he placed his son on the lap of all the kings assembled there to witness this abnormal son of his. And though the child was placed on the laps of a thousand kings, the prophesied ‘slayer’ was not revealed.

A few days later, Balarama and Krishna representing the Yadavas arrived at the court of the king of Chedi. After paying due obeisance to their elders, when the brothers took their seats at the court, the queen with great pleasure placed their young cousin Sisupala in Krishna’s lap.

As soon as the child was placed on Krishna’s lap, his third eye and additional arms dropped off. Alarmed at this turn of events and in anticipation of her son’s long life, the queen then asked Krishna for a boon. O Krishna, assurer of afflicted ones and dispeller of fears, grant me a boon that you will forgive my son Sisupala’s offences, for my sake – she said.

Krishna granted her the boon saying – O aunt, do not despair, even when your son will deserve to be slain, I shall grant him pardon for a hundred offences. 

<< PART 2 >>