Yugandhar

Book excerpt: HIGHEST-SELLING INDIAN CLASSIC ON LORD KRISHNA’S LIFE ‘Shivaji Sawant’s deep insights into the stories of our gods and goddesses, and his intriguing interpretations of these, have always been a source of delight to me. A must read for all those who love reading about Indian history and culture.’ Amish, author of the Shiva Trilogy and Ramchandra Series. Struck by Jara’s arrow, Krishna lies prone under a sprawling Kadamba tree. In his last moments, he looks back on his life and begins to speak, not as an incarnation of Vishnu but as a mortal who walked the earth and followed his dharma. As the stories of his childhood in Gokul and his youth in Mathura and Dwaraka unfold, people close to him appear by turns to examine Krishna’s life through the prism of their relationship with him. Rukmini tells the tale of their marriage and of her seven co-wives; Daruk, his charioteer, revisits Krishna’s travels and the many wars he accompanied him on; Draupadi, his confidante, describes his fondness for the Pandavas and his role in the Mahabharata; Satyaki, his commander-in-chief, marvels at his astute military tactics; his pupil Arjun speaks of lessons from the Gita; and Udhdhay, his cousin, reconstructs the breathtaking grandeur of his persona. Shivaji Sawant’s Krishna is an imperfect, flawed human. He is many people at once—a herdsman, a warrior, a statesman, a lover and a seer. He is complex and hides in him a vastness that no one person can entirely fathom. A consistent bestseller in Marathi since its first publication in 2000, Yugandhar goes beyond the familiar tales from the Mahabharata, and probes his life to understand this most beloved of gods.