Gods were men once....
This is the basic premise of Amish Tripathi's "The Shiva Trilogy". We have grown up listening to stories, legends, myths about Gods, stories so fantastic that made it difficult to believe such Gods even exist. However, Amish took the idea and turned it on its head. Great men were worshipped because of their actions, records of their deeds were lost or destroyed, leaving only fragments behind and now, they still continue to be worshipped, albeit as Gods.
"The Shiva Trilogy" consists of three books - "The Immortals of Meluha", "The Secret of the Nagas" and "The Oath of the Vayuputras". The first two books in the series were released to widespread commercial and critical success, reaching bestseller lists and remaining there for quite some time. As such, the amount of anticipation for the third and final book in the series reached epic heights for a relatively new writer in the Indian fiction category. Does "The Oath of the Vayuputras" provide a proper and, at the least, a fitting conclusion to story of a man who became a God? Read on and find out.
The Shiva Trilogy follows the tale of a Tibetan tribal named Shiva, who suddenly finds himself thrust into the limelight as the prophesied Neelkanth, the destroyer of Evil. In "The Immortals of Meluha", we see the protagonist, Shiva, accepting his role as the Lord Neelkanth, although grudgingly, and living it out. We are introduced to the Meluhans/Suryavanshis, Swadweepans/Chandravanshis and the Nagas, a creed of fearsome and extremely skilled deformed warriors feared and regarded as terrorists equally by both the Suryavanshis and Chandravanshis. The Meluhans are ruled by Emperor Daksha and are a very happy and satisfied people. They follow rules rigidly and are very organised. We witness a beautiful love story between Shiva and Sati, the daughter of Emperor Daksha. Shiva's relationship with his friends, companions and followers are also explored in detail. Shiva ends a law that is completely unjust, learns that magic is actually science and displays his legendary prowess in battle. The origin of the war-cry "Har Har Mahadev" is well imagined and re-interpreted. We also see Shiva effectively destroying evil, suffering the loss of Brahaspati, a Meluhan scientist and a person Shiva had come to consider as his brother, at the hands of a Naga, referred to as the Lord of the People, in the process. A war is waged between the Suryavanshis and the Chandravanshis and the former are victorious. But at the end of it all, something lingers. He sees that Chandravanshis are also a happy people, but are a complete paradox to the Suryavanshi way of life, no regard for rules or protocol. But they too are waiting for the Neelkanth, to destroy evil. Has he actually destroyed evil by helping the Suryavanshis prevail over the 'evil' Chandravanshis? Are the Chandravanshis the evil he's meant to destroy?
In "The Secret of the Nagas", Shiva and the readers undergo a shift in perspective regarding evil. The 'evil' Chandravanshis are not all evil, just different. Then what is evil? This quest leads Shiva to the Nagas. But it turns out that even the Nagas are not evil. Far from being evil, these warriors are shown to be full of righteousness, integrity and valour. A confused Shiva does not give up and continues his quest for evil, aided by the all-knowing Vasudevs, supported by his wife and friends. It is revealed that the Naga Queen Kali, an antagonist in the first book, is in fact Sati's twin sister, who was discarded by her father due to her deformities. We also learn that the Naga Lord of the People is Ganesh, Sati's first-born who was supposedly still-born, but suffered the same fate as Kali due to his apperance. Due importance is given to the relationship between Shiva, Sati and Ganesh. Nearing the climax, Shiva and company are attacked with Daivi astras, divine weapons that had been banned by the previous Mahadev (Neelkanth), Lord Rudra. Brahaspati is actually alive and had faked his death. By the end of this book, Shiva and the readers are further confused regarding the true nature of evil, but are already on threshold of discovering it.
And now, we begin the subject proper, the review of the conclusion to this epic tale, "The Oath of the Vayuputras".
The book begins with a dream sequence, which ends right where the previous book left off. Brahaspati, shown to be alive, begins explaining why he had to do what he had to do and this is where we come to realise the true identity of evil. It is not a person, it is not a nation but, on the contrary, something that has done lots of good for Meluha and Shiva himself. The Somras. The drink of the Meluhans that grants them a prolonged life and dramatically improves the quality of the same. "Good and evil are two sides of a coin". But Shiva still has his doubts. So he journeys to the land of the Vasudevs, but not before learning that he and his convoy had been attacked by a joint order of the Emperors of Meluha and Swadweep. He also comes to the conclusion that there is a master puppeteer behind the curtain. The Neelkanth finds peace with Ganesh and accepts him as his son without question. We also see the development of the character of Kartik, the son of Shiva and Sati, who was a little child in the previous book. The rest of the book describes the war that is waged against the Somras.
For a book that is close to 600 pages, there is a very small and simple plot. But the writer has successfully transformed what could have been a mediocre fizzle at the end into a nuclear explosion. The characters have been beautifully described and developed with amazing detail over the previous two books, but with this book, the writer goes a step further. All characters are faced with extremely difficult choices at one point or the other, and the choices they make are nothing but astounding. Whether they choose to remain on the side of Shiva or the Empire, you can't help but feel even more respect when they make their decision, revealing yet another admirable facet to their personality.
One of the most important attributes explored in this book is the idea of "Evil". You realise that no one is evil in the book. Everyone has a righteous reason for what they are doing. What is evil to us may be completely justified and for the greater good from the other person's point of view. This is easily one of the best aspects of the book, and has been handled beautifully by the writer. The scientific descriptions may seem to be in layman terms, but then how else could one explain science to a layman?
The battles are just epic and have been described in beautiful, vivid, violent and bloody detail. These portions are not for the tame. One such sequence is when Kartik fells a rhinoceros near the beginning of the book. So vivid is the decription that you can see the sword-slashing and the blood-spurting happening in front of your eyes. Another such sequence is the re-interpretation of the Daksha Yagna and Sati's Agnipariksha. The references to Lord Agni and the battle waged are truly something to behold. The emotional range of this book is also on another level as compared to the writer's previous works. Particularly, Shiva's lament at the loss of Sati is heart-breaking.
This sets in motion the final act of the book. While many may feel that this act is not upto the mark, my humble opinion is that this was the best, most logical and most suitable way for the tale to end. No one could stand any more drama or violence because, at the end, everyone had lost something.
However, the epilogue is something that all the readers and reviewers will concur with me to be fitting to the legend. The writer ties up all the loose ends, even gives us insight on how these amazing people have attained their current status as our Gods and even goes international, just for the scope, I think. There is even a subtle hint about what the writer's next project will be.
Finally, my verdict?
This is by far the best book Amish Tripathi has written. For it's sheer audacity, premise and rich storytelling, this book is a must-read for fiction fans. Only, I feel that the language, i.e. the grammar and usage of contemporary terms, could have been better. Let's hope Amish reads this and takes my humble opinion into account for his future projects.
However, if you haven't read the prequels, I suggest you get the entire trilogy and immerse yourself into the world of Shiva. You might just be surprised. And you will not regret it.
SCORE: 4.5/5
Om Namah Shivaiy