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Abhaya

by Saiswaroopa Iyer

4.8 · 5 Ratings 2 Reviews

BOOK, 332 pages

Published 01-09-2016

Original Title : Abhaya
Genre : Not defined
ISBN : 9781535535588 (ISBN13: 153553558X)
Language : en
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Formerly an analyst with a Venture capital firm, Saiswaroopa's interests include Startups, Economics, Carnatic Music, Philosophy, Politics, History and Literature of India. She won a state level gold medal from TTD in rendering Annamacharya Kritis. She holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Technolog ... more

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Gautham R Shenoy rated it

September 19, 2018

Abhaya is set in the Mahabharata period. The incidents in the novel coincide with the Pandavas' bid to perform the Rajasuya. The novel is a retelling of the Narakasura vadha episode wherin it describes a new threat in the form of Lord Bhauma of Kamarupa who uses a subverted form of the Shakta religion in order to covertly destroy the Arya civilization and gain control over the Arya empire. The novel describes the effort of Abhaya and Krishna Vasudeva, the prince of Dwaraka in combating this challenge. For me the best parts of the novel are the ... more Abhaya is set in the Mahabharata period. The incidents in the novel coincide with the Pandavas' bid to perform the Rajasuya. The novel is a retelling of the Narakasura vadha episode wherin it describes a new threat in the form of Lord Bhauma of Kamarupa who uses a subverted form of the Shakta religion in order to covertly destroy the Arya civilization and gain control over the Arya empire. The novel describes the effort of Abhaya and Krishna Vasudeva, the prince of Dwaraka in combating this challenge. For me the best parts of the novel are the ones where Abhaya is conversing with Krishna. Their relationship is beautifully described. The way it transforms from Sakhya to Prema is beautifully woven into the story. In the story we see a Krishna akin to the character of Krishna in SL Bhyrappa's Parva or K M Munshi's Krishnavatara Series, in that there's nothing supernatural about him. He is just a person whose goals coincide with that of Dharma, he seeks out the Artha to achieve the Dharmic goal. And he does this in a very endearing manner. The author has acknowledged both Parva and Krishnavatara series in the list of books at the end. Another strong point about the book is the way female characters are written. There are very strong female characters, but they are definitely not the garden variety of male-hating, panty-burning feminists that we encounter in social media. The strength of the female characters in the books seems to come from the inner-most core of Sanatana Dharma which has always been pro-life as opposed to pro-ideology. A sensitive issue about how change needs to be brought about is shown through the contrasting approaches taken by Dhatri and Abhaya. I would strongly recommend this work to anyone who is interesting in retelling of our epics. This one is tastefully done. And what's more! It revives the kind of story-telling by the likes of KM Munshi in a foreign language without making it seem so foreign. Kudos to the author for that!

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Gautham R Shenoy rated it September 19, 2018

Abhaya is set in the Mahabharata period. The incidents in the novel coincide with the Pandavas' bid to perform the Rajasuya. The novel is a retelling of the Narakasura vadha episode wherin it describes a new threat in the form of Lord Bhauma of Kamarupa who uses a subverted form of the Shakta religion in order to covertly destroy the Arya civilization and gain control over the Arya empire. The novel describes the effort of Abhaya and Krishna Vasu ... more Abhaya is set in the Mahabharata period. The incidents in the novel coincide with the Pandavas' bid to perform the Rajasuya. The novel is a retelling of the Narakasura vadha episode wherin it describes a new threat in the form of Lord Bhauma of Kamarupa who uses a subverted form of the Shakta religion in order to covertly destroy the Arya civilization and gain control over the Arya empire. The novel describes the effort of Abhaya and Krishna Vasudeva, the prince of Dwaraka in combating this challenge. For me the best parts of the novel are the ones where Abhaya is conversing with Krishna. Their relationship is beautifully described. The way it transforms from Sakhya to Prema is beautifully woven into the story. In the story we see a Krishna akin to the character of Krishna in SL Bhyrappa's Parva or K M Munshi's Krishnavatara Series, in that there's nothing supernatural about him. He is just a person whose goals coincide with that of Dharma, he seeks out the Artha to achieve the Dharmic goal. And he does this in a very endearing manner. The author has acknowledged both Parva and Krishnavatara series in the list of books at the end. Another strong point about the book is the way female characters are written. There are very strong female characters, but they are definitely not the garden variety of male-hating, panty-burning feminists that we encounter in social media. The strength of the female characters in the books seems to come from the inner-most core of Sanatana Dharma which has always been pro-life as opposed to pro-ideology. A sensitive issue about how change needs to be brought about is shown through the contrasting approaches taken by Dhatri and Abhaya. I would strongly recommend this work to anyone who is interesting in retelling of our epics. This one is tastefully done. And what's more! It revives the kind of story-telling by the likes of KM Munshi in a foreign language without making it seem so foreign. Kudos to the author for that!

Shashi Kiran rated it

September 17, 2018

Great book in the category of Puranas.

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