Book review - Shiva Trilogy - By Amish Tripathi

By the Holy Lake …

An afterthought on the Shiva Trilogy

The three-part series – The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of Vayuputras - resembles pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle, where if a single piece is removed, the picture cannot be completed. We cannot read them in any other order or just pick any one in isolation. 

It makes it amply evident why Lord Shiva is also known as Bholenath, thanks to his sheer simplicity, humbleness and modesty, though he represents immense power and intelligence, enough to make an entire nation quiver.

The Trilogy is bound by Lord Shiva’s pursuit for the eventual truth, identifying and correcting the imbalance between Good and Evil, and how he takes on the role of the Neelkanth, by deploying his power, through persuasion, persistence, strategic intelligence, or warfare, all with a single-minded commitment to free the world from Evil.

It took me over 18 months to complete reading this series, thanks to my hectic schedule involving work, home management and running behind an overenergetic toddler. However, I would always come back to where I left, and never felt as if I lost the thread. The lucidity of language, the gripping plot that binds the three series with a single thread, vivid descriptions of places such as Devagiri, Panchvati, Pariha, or Kashi, the architecture and engineering prowess displayed in buildings and structures in those generations, the shrewdness and strategic marvel shown by leaders … leaves you wanting for more.

Woman power is dominant through the series – Sati’s character shows her as a caring daughter of Emperor Daksha and Queen Veerini, the ever-loving and inseparable consort of Shiva, and doting mother of Ganesha and Kartik, but her final skirmish with foreign assassins leaves you devoid of words of praise. Even other women characters - Ayurvati, Kali, Kanakhala or Krittika, each have a powerful role to play and a strong message to give out.

Loyalty is put to test when the Meluhan general Parvateshwar is torn between his love for the Neelkanth and his commitment towards Meluha, and the Neelkanth gives him the full freedom of choice. The prime minister, Kanakhala or Prince Bhagirath are other such examples, who refuse to bow down to political pressure or threats from their superiors.  Nandi and Veerbhadra, of course, remained ever loyal to their friend Shiva.

Weak leadership most often culminates in short-sighted decisions, choice of wrong people and total havoc, be it in matters of a society, an organisation, or the nation as a whole. Emperor Daksha is one such example, whose lack of focus, clarity of thought or total sense of judgement, proves detrimental to interests of his own people.

Glimpses of certain events stay with you forever, instances where Lord Shiva challenges the Vikarma law, the stage-managed death of Brahaspati, Sati rescuing a village from a pack of ferocious lions, emergence of the truth of Parshurama, dialogues between the Vasudev Pandits and Shiva, in his tryst for truth at various critical junctures, or the final choice made by Kanakhala. The dutiful, brave and valorous sons, Ganesh and Kartik, never needed to be told how to negotiate a precarious situation.

Roles of various kings, Chenardhwaj, Athitighva, or Mitra, and the Chief Vasudev, Gopal, were carefully interwoven into the binding narrative. Lord Bhrigu, the Sapt Rishi Uttaradhikari, was the ultimate mastermind in the scheme of affairs.

Kudos to Amish, for his efforts in unravelling the Shiva Trilogy to the world, his eye for detail, magnificent descriptions, soft characterisations, and above all, an unswerving faith in Lord Shiva, without which he could not have accomplished this mission.

Om Namah Shivaya !!!

My ten favourite quotes from the Shiva Trilogy

If the entire society was conscious of its duties, nobody would need to fight for their individual rights.

The biggest carrier of energy that we are physically in touch with is Mother Earth herself…

Most people prefer to wait for the arrival of the Messiah than to solve their own problems

Make the main objective of the enemy difficult, and they will lose the will to fight.

Civilisation is fragile; all it takes is few decades of chaos for us to forget humanity and turn into animals.

Transactions are threads that when woven together make up a society and its culture, and in case of a person, they weave together his character.

The masculine way of life is ‘life by laws,’ defined by the Code of Truth, Duty and Honour, while the feminine is ‘life by probabilities,’ which is based on Code of Passion, Beauty and Freedom. Laws are unchangeable and must be followed rigidly in the Masculine way, however, the Feminine laws are more malleable.

Truth doesn’t have to be liked, it only has to be spoken. The truth may hurt you but will set you free.

There is a god in every single one of us. And there is evil in every single one of us. The true battle between good and evil is fought within.

Ati sarvatra varjayet. Excess of anything is bad and should be avoided; what is good for some may end up becoming bad for others.