Deconstructing the Myth in Amish Tripathy's Shiva Trilogy

12 Pages·2015·0.1 MB·English

Journal of Innovative Research and Solutions (JIRAS)
A unit of UIIRS
Print ISSN: 2320 1932 / Online ISSN – 2348 3636
Volume No.1, Issue No.1, Page No:33-44, JULY - 2015

JJH-001-2015
DECONSTRUCTING THE MYTH IN AMISH
TRIPATHY’S SHIVA TRILOGY-A REVIEW

Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
Assistant Professor. Dept of Studies in English
Rani Channamma University. Belagavi.
Email.ID:[email protected]

Abstract
The west thought once, Indians have no history. A. B. Keith writes: “….despite the
abundance of its literature, history is so miserably represented…. That in the whole of the
great period of Sanskrit literature, there is not one writer who can be seriously regarded as a
critical historian”. The fact is, Indians have such a great aesthetic and literary sense that
they wrote history, science and arts in the form of puranas, epics and Vedas. A work of fiction
may not be a complete fact. But it may be the revisiting history with an expectation of
possibilities. The blend of science and religion, history and myth, actual geography and
imagination, valor and weaknesses, manliness and divinity, a hero unaware of future, a
realistic presentation of mystery and adventure…. makes the reading of trilogy-The
Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of Nagas and The oath of Vayuputras- a thrilling
experience.Lord Brahma and Shiva’s effort to keep Ganga safe, pure and the ban on the
production of Somaras are relevant. Amish have touched every character and place in the
series with a humanistic approach. In his recreation of the story Amish is proved
contemporary. The paper throws light on the realistic presentation of technology, medicine,
the production of Somras, the civilized lifestyle, convincing relations and the journey of a
man from a Tibetan tribe towards becoming Lord Shiva.
Keywords: Puranas and epics, divinity, hero, mystery, adventure, humanistic, recreation.

Introduction: facts of a remote past on the other. While
A man becomes a Mahadev when he myths have proved to be an irresistible
fights for good. mine of knowledge for historians,
A Mahadev is not born as one from anthropologists, sociologists and
womb. psychologists and a source of inspiration
He is forged in the heat of battle, when he for writers, it is the discipline of mysticism
wages a war to destroy evil. that discovers in it a message that often
(Part of Neelkanth’s message. P344. The transcends history or any academic
Immortals of Meluha) interpretation and reveals or at least hints
It is not easy to draw a line between myths at a greater truth. Retelling the stories from
on the one hand and legends, folklore and mythologies and history is not at all a new

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
33
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Journal of Innovative Research and Solutions (JIRAS)
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Print ISSN: 2320 1932 / Online ISSN – 2348 3636
Volume No.1, Issue No.1, Page No:33-44, JULY - 2015

phenomenon in Indian Literature. adventure to convey that philosophy. And
Meghandh Vadha, in Bengali, Parva, if you have to write an adventure to
Ramayana Darshanam, Chitrangada, convey a philosophy on evil, well then the
Beralge Koral, Shudra Tapaswi in best hero is the destroyer of evil himself,
Kannada are best examples. Even in folk Lord Shiva. And having said that, one
literature we have so many Ramayanas, must also say he’s a very exciting god to
Shiva Puranas and Bharatas. Different write about even in his traditional form.
perspective of each literary work makes He’s a very democratic god, he never talks
the reading of them interesting one, and down to his devotees, and he treats his
adds to their uniqueness. Once again wife with respect – something which many
mythologies have proved their never men, frankly, across the world can learn
ending relevance and resourcefulness in from. He’s a brilliant dancer, he is the god
the hands of Amish Tripathi. Michael of dance, he is a brilliant musician, he’s
Madhusudan Dutt retells Ramayana with the god of music as well, he drinks bhang,
the perspective of the ‘other’, the feminine he smokes marijuana, and he’s a fierce
and masculine. Kuvempu from Shudra warrior. With due respect to other gods,
perspective. But Amish’s modern Lord Shiva is a very cool god; he’s a fun
perspective is based on historical, character to write about.”
linguistic, cultural study as well as Science in Shiva Trilogy:
imagination. In Meghanadh Vadha Rama A number of scientists in the name
and Laxmana are feminine villains. of rishis, their knowledge of Somras and
Ravana and Meghanad are majestic, daivi astras is so scientifically explained in
masculine, modern heroes. In the political the novels that modern scientists may
battle morality is on the side of demons. wonder. “So what did Lord Brahma do?”
Technologically superior are demons. asked Shiva. “After a lot of research, Lord
Objectives: Brahma invented the Somras, which
The paper shows Amish’s different consumed, reacts with oxidants, absorbs
interpretation of concepts like lord, them and then expels them from the body
Mahadev, good and bad, masculine and as sweat or urines. Because of the Somras,
feminine, ardha narishwar philosophy; there are no oxidants left in the body.”
scientific descriptions of production of “Yes. That’s why all Meluhans are taught
somras, daivi astras; realistic presentation about two things from a young age-water
of Shiva, Sati, Ganesh and Kartik’s lives. and hygiene. Water is the cleanest
Through discussing these aspects the paper absorber of the effluents that the Somras
tries to show how Amish deconstruct the generates and excretes as toxins. Meluhans
old myths. As Shiva reconstructs society, bathe at least twice a day. All ablutions are
Amish reconstruct the story. done in specific rooms and underground
Amish as writer of Shiva Trilogy: drains then safely carry the waste out of
In his words, “It began as a pure the city. “
philosophical thesis. A thesis on what is Manufacturing the Somras is not
evil and that got converted into an without its fair share of difficulties. It

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
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Journal of Innovative Research and Solutions (JIRAS)
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Volume No.1, Issue No.1, Page No:33-44, JULY - 2015

requires various ingredients that are not This way, Amish points out science
easily available. For example, the at every step in Shiva Trilogy. In the
Sanjeevani trees. The manufacturing production of Somras, hygiene, civilized
procedure also generates a lot of heat. So way of house construction, the concept of
we have to use lot of water during the Neelakanth, deformities of people whom
processing to keep the mixture stable. we today worship as Gods with
Also, the crushed branches of the extraordinary power. All the miracles are
Sanjeevani tree have to be churned with seen with scientific objectivity.
the waters of the Saraswati River before Naga concept:
processing begins. Water from other We have been listening to stories of
sources doesn’t work”. Ganesh in all the corners of India. But the
In the concept of Neelakanth, the concept of Ganesh as belonging to Nagas,
blue colour symbolizes slow poison or the with his abnormal features is something
negative thoughts. The same in the neck different.
indicates that the poison is neither to be Ganesh is a son of Sati and her first
drunk nor to be spitted out but to be kept husband Chandandhvaj. Sati’s parents, as
in the throat temporarily so that it can be the child had abnormal features threw it in
neutralized at appropriate time. The well river and told Sati that her child is still
described slow poisons are attachments, born. She gets the news at the same time
anger, greed, desires and ego. (Kama, that her husband is also dead. But later
Lobha, Moha and Ahankaar). when Shiva leaves in search of Nagas, the
The root cause of anger is non terrorists as said by King Dakhsa, the
fulfillment of desires. Anger in turn can be father of Sati; it was explored that Nagas
expressive or suppressive. Expressed anger are the victims of polluted water, caused
will lead to aggressive behavior and by the production of Samaras. And
resultant social unhealthiness. It can also Ganesh, Sati’s elder sister Kali are also
rupture a heart blockage and precipitating among them. The excessive and regular
a heart attack or rupture of a blood vessel uses of Somras lead to sterility in some
in the brain leading the brain hemorrhage. Meluhans. The realization of this fact leads
Suppressed anger on the other hand will to Shiva’s war against the evil, the
release chemicals in the body leading to production of Somras.
illness like acidity, asthma and diarrhea The Concept of OM and the Nagas:
and cholesterol deposition in the blood The concept of Om as three snakes
vessels leading to future blockages. One symbolizing three rivers is something
can manage anger with taking the right and interesting.
not the convenient action, neutralizing Picking up a palm-leaf booklet and the
anger by willful cultivation of opposite thin charcoal writing stick from the side
positive thoughts etc. For example the table, Shiva drew the symbol Om.
process of silently passing on love to any Nandi frowned. “That is an ancient
individual can take away the angry symbol that some people used for the word
thoughts from the mind. AUM.”

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But AUM? Asked Shiva. Nandi. They are born with hideous
“My Lord, Aum is the holiest word in our deformities because of the sins of their
religion. It is considered the primeval previous births. Deformities like extra
sound of nature. The hymn of the universe. hands or horribly misshapen faces. But
It was so holy that for many millennia, they have tremendous strength and skills.
most people would not insult it by putting The Naga name alone strikes terror in any
down in written form.’ citizen’s heart. They are not even allowed
‘Then how did this symbol come about?’ to live in the Sapt Sindhu.’(57-58 The
‘It was devised by Lord Bharat, a great Immortals of Meluha)
ruler who had conquered practically all of Later in The Secret of Nagas it is
India many thousands of years ago. A rare revealed that the lady with extra hands
Chandravanshi who was worth respecting, (one of with such deformity) among the
he had even married a Suryavanshi Nagas is Kali. Wide ears and long nosed
princess with the aim of ending our child is Ganesh.
perpetual war.’ He slowly bent down to pick it up. It was a
(…..) bracelet made of leather, burnt at the
‘Well, King Bharat created this symbol of edges, its back-hold destroyed. The
unity between the Suryavanshis and the crimson hue of the setting sun caused the
Chandravanshis. The top half in white Aum symbol to glow. At the amalgam of
represents the Chandravanshis. The the top and bottom curve of the Aum were
bottom half in red represents the two serpent heads. The third curve,
Suryavanshis. The amalgam of these is the surging out to the east, ended in a sharp
emergent common path represented in serpent head, with its forked tongue
orange. The crescent moon to the right of striking out threateningly. (308 The
the symbol was the pre-existing Immortals of Meluha)
Chandravanshi symbol. And the sun above Sati took a closer look at the coin. It had
it was the pre-existing Suryavanshi the face of a strange man with a crown on
symbol. In order to signify that this was a his head. Strange, because unlike a Naga,
pact blessed by the gods, Lord Bharat he had no deformity. ‘He looks like a king
mandated the representation of this symbol of some kind,’ said Sati, wiping some
as the holy word Aum.’ blood off her mouth.
‘And then what happened?’ ‘But look at these odd markings,’ said
‘As expected, the pact died along with the Shiva as he flipped the coin. It had a small
good king. (….)’ symbol of a horizontal crescent moon. But
‘But the symbol on the bracelet of this the bizarre part was the network of lines
hooded man was not coloured. It was all running across the coin. Two crooked lines
black. And the parts of the symbol didn’t joined in the middle in the shape of an
look like lines to me. They looked like a irregular cone and then they broke up into
drawing of three serpents.’ a spidery network.
‘Naga!’ exclaimed a shocked Nandi. ‘They “I can understand the moon. But what do
are cursed people, my lord,’ gasped these lines symbolize?’ asked Sati.

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
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Volume No.1, Issue No.1, Page No:33-44, JULY - 2015

Find the Nagas. They are your path to openance and women have their own
discovering evil. Find the Nagas (10, 11. order.’
The Secret of Nagas) Shiva questions, ‘But tell me one thing.
So, the above dialogues show two Who decides that the vikarma people had
different opinions about the concept of committed sins in their previous birth?’
Aum. The symbol of Aum is connected to ‘Their own karma, my lord,’ for example if
the life of Nagas. a woman gives birth to a still born child,
Question of Chronology: why would she be punished thus unless she
Before reading Shiva Trilogy it had committed some terrible sin in her
was believed that Shiva was first and later previous birth? Or if a man suddenly
comes Ram. Now the mind is troubled contracts an incurable disease and gets
thinking which is fact? In the Oath of paralysed, why would it happen to him
Vayuputra Shiva is inheritor of Rudra. unless the universe was penalizing him for
Lord Rudra was called as Shiva by his the sins of his previous life?’
mother, which no other person knew ‘That sounds pretty ridiculous to me.
except family members. But Dr. Sham. (…..)’
Bha Joshi says, Shiva is the Dravidian Later at Mohan Jo Daro Shiva
term for the Aryan word Rudra. Both questions Pundit? ‘How can anyone be
mean shining, red. (Shiva Rahasya, sure that these people committed sins in
Shamba Kriti Samput: Kannaadu-karnat their previous birth? And that their present
vol 1) sufferings are a result of that?
In The Immortals of Meluha as In the dialogue Nandi, like all Meluhans
Nandi tells Shiva, Om is the symbol looks so ignorant. Shiva changes the belief
coined by King Bharat. If it is the King of Meluhans and marries Sati, who was
who comes in Mahabharat, then is it that believed to be vikarma as her child was
Shiva comes after Dwaparyug? still born and her husband also died at the
So the novel seeds some questions same time. Shiva says of the vikarma
in the readers mind. system, ‘It would only lead to a
Vikarma and Maika System: progressive increase in pentup anger’
Shiva finds some grossly unfair (p211Meluha). He even enrolls some
practices in the nearly perfect society. vikarmas into his army.Of Maika system
‘Vikarma people, my Lord,’ said Nandi the Pundit at Mohan Jo Daro says, ‘If we
sighing deeply ‘are people who have been believe that flexibility is key to successful
punished in this birth for the sins of their society, then the Maika system is designed
previous birth. Hence they have to live this to achieve it in practice. No child knows
life out with dignity and tolerate their what the professions of his birth-parents
present sufferings with grace. This is the are. He is independent to pursue what his
only way they can wipe their karma clean natural talent inspires him to do.’ Shiva is
of the sins of their previous births. not with maika system also. He questions,
Vikarma men have their own order ‘But this is about flexibility. What about
stability?’ This is one step in his war

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
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Volume No.1, Issue No.1, Page No:33-44, JULY - 2015

against evil. Breaking from Ram’s rules as ‘The Asuraas took refuge here? Asked
the changed time demanded Shiva Shiva. Still in shock.
deconstructed the life system. “Yes, Lord Rudra himself brought the few
Rudra and Shiva: surviving Asura leaders to Pariha. Others,
According to the novel Rudra is Lord who were in hiding, were led out of india
Shiva’s ancestor. And Lord Rudra was by the Vayuputras. Some Asuras went
called as Siva with love by his mother, farthest. (…) he found that a few of the
which others didn’t know. Even Shiva was Asuras were not detached enough to
surprised knowing this by his uncle when become members of the Vayuputra tribe.
he goes to bring Brahmastra from Pariha They were allowed to live in Pariha as
(today’s Iran). refugees.’ (371 The Oath of the
But a great scholar Dr. Shankarrao Vayuputras)
Baladeekshit Joshi has interpreted the Gopal glanced at Shiva. Our phonetic
concept of Shiva differently. For him sound “s” became “sh” or “h” in Parihan
Rudra is Aryan word for Shiva the language. There is no place for the
Dravidian word. Both the words mean red, production and perception of the phonetic
shining, auspicious, and golden. From sound “s”. They called their gods
‘Shin’ Shi(n)va, chin, chen, ken words ‘Ahuras’. Their demons were called
have taken shape. Daevas.
Sura and asura concepts: Fire as symbol:
From the following dialogues two different ‘Oh! My friend, we have a symbolic fire as
ideologies on sura and asura concepts of well. But we don’t call it Fravarshi. We
Parihans and Meluhans are visible. Gopal call it Agni, the God of Fire’.
glanced at Shiva conspiratorially. ‘Before ‘But the symbol is almost exactly like the
you answer, know this that in the old Fravarshi.’
Parihan language, there was no place for ‘Yes, it is. I’m aware that the Parihans
the production and perception of the give enormous importance to fire rituals.
phonetic sound “s”. It either became “sh” So do us Indians. The first hymn of the first
or “h”. So, what do you think they called chapter in the Rig Veda is dedicated to the
their gods?’ Fire God, Agni. The importance of the
Shiva frowned, making a wild guess, element of fire is, I believe, common
‘Ahuras?’ across all religions of the world.’
‘Yes, Ahuras’. ‘Fire is the beginning of human
‘Good Lord! What were their demons civilization.’
called then?’ ‘It is the beginning of all life, my friend. It
‘Daevas’. is the source of all energy. For one way of
‘By the exact opposite of the Indian looking at the stars is to see them as great
patheon. We call gods Devas and demons balls of fire.’
Asuras.’ Shiva smiled.(365)
Shiva smiled slightly. “They’re different, Even the dream of Shiva before
but they’re not evil’. (372) leaving for Pariha is of fire: the fire which

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swallows Sati. Fire is the God of of any possible attack. (50 The Immortals
Egyptians. Swuth who kills her is of Meluha)
Egyptian. Here in Amish’s portrayal Sati is
Women Ungendered: not less to Shiva in valor. Her last fight in
So many women characters in the her life was with Swuth. (….) Swuth
novel are warriors of no less valor and whirled around, stunned. Sati was up on
strength of men’s. The first glimpse of Sati one knee. She was breathing rapidly,
in the first of the Trilogy occurs when forcing some strength into her debilitated
Shiva meets her outside the temple. She body. She had dug her sword into the
rode in on a chariot, guiding the horses ground and her right hand was on its hilt as
expertly into the courtyard, while a lady she tried to use the leverage to push herself
companion by her side held on to the up. She failed, took quick breaths, (…)
railings. (.) She dismounted the chariot Swuth stared at Sati, dumbstruck.
with an air of confidence. It was a calm She was completely soaked in her own
confidence which had not covered the ugly blood, there were cavernous wounds all
distance towards arrogance. Her walk was over her body, and her hands were
dignified. Stately enough to let a beholder shivering with the tremendous pain she
know that she was detached, but not cold. was in. her soul must know that death was
(48 The Immortals of Meluha) Sati comes just minutes away. (…)
out of the temple and questions staring Tears sprang into Swuth’s eyes as
Shiva ‘Excuse me, is there a problem?’ his heart felt immeasurably heavy. This
here we can see her boldness in indeed was his final kill. (…) and removed
questioning a stranger. That moment Shiva his mask. (..) Unlike all his other weapons,
was alerted by a quick movement from the this sword was marked. It was marked
cucumber seller. Shiva turned to see him with the name of their God, Aten. Below
pulling out a sword as he tossed his shawl that had been inscribed the name of the
aside. The shepherd and the man next to devotee, Swuth. Swuth bowed low before
the chariot also stood poised in traditional Sati, (…) Swuth went down on one knee.
fighter positions with their swords drawn. He had to give Sati an honorable death.
In a flash Shiva drew his sword and (476-478 the Oath of the Vayuputras)
stretched out his left hand protectively, to Throughout the Trilogy Sati’s
pull the object of his protective hand, decisions, stances of her valor are so
reached into the folds of her angvastram realistically pictured by Amish that for his
and drew out her own sword. Surprised impartial sketches of women characters is
Shiva flashed her quick, admiring smile. convincing. The first lady Shiva meets on
Her eyes flashed right back, Meluhan’s land is Ayurvati. “Welcome to
acknowledging the unexpected yet Meluha. I am Ayurvati, your designated
providential partnership. Shiva and the doctor. My nurses and I will be at your
lady stood back to back in a defensive- assistance for the time that you are in these
partner position, covering all the directions quarters.” We see Ayurvati’s marvelous
treatment which saves Shiva and Sati in

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
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different situations. Those were the days posses pairs of contradictory characters
when woman was as free as men to learn such as corpuscular property and wave
skills and work. property. The contradictory characters are
The next important woman of not exclusive of each other, but are
strength in the Meluha is Kanakhala. complementary. For an integral
Smiling politely, Daksha asked, ‘May I comprehension of the entity as a whole, it
introduce my most important aides? This is necessary to know both the
is my prime minister, Kanakhala. She contradictory characters.
takes care of the administrative, revenue There is evil in every single one of us.
and protocol matters.’ (67 The Immortals Exactly. There is a god in every single one
of Meluha) Both Sati and Kanakhala had of us. And there is evil in every single one
chance of choice. But they choose the path of us. The true battle between good and
to truth, which lead them to their death in evil is fought within.
fighting for the great cause. And the great evil connects itself to the evil
Anandamayi takes decision of within us. Is that why people get attached
staying with her husband Parvateshwar to it?
even in high risk of life, even in situation I believe that when you discover the great
of standing against her brother. Tara a evil of our times, you will not need any
scientist helped in the production of explanation about how it attaches itself so
Somras as well as daivi astras like, deeply to us. (111-113 the Secret of the
Pashupatiastra and Brahmastra. Nagas)The war Shiva wages in the Trilogy
Ideology of Good and Bad: is not the war against any person. But it is
In Kashi Vishwanath temple, Shiva against the evil possible in anybody.
heard the voice from Magadh clearly. ‘I After meeting the grown up
really liked your speech at the Ganesha and knowing the matter of
Dharmakhet war. Har Har Mahadev. All Meluhans’ practice of leaving the children
of us are Mahadevs. There is a god in born with deformities in the river, Shiva
every single one of us. What a beautiful expresses his doubt, ‘I suspect that
thought.(……….) Chandandhvaj did not die naturally’(…)
Everything needs balance, Neelakanth. ‘My Lord!’ Nandi spoke up in shock. ‘But
The masculine needs the feminine. The that cannot be true. That is a crime. No
energy requires the mass. Suryavanshi ruler will ever stoop so
The dialogues written by Amish are so low.’(..)
relevant in present society. In a society ‘It is just a feeling that I have. Remember
bereft of humanity, human values there is nobody is good or bad. They are either
need of this great philosophy and strong or weak. Strong people stick to
understanding of human nature and their morals, no matter what the trials and
society. tribulations. Weak people, many a times,
Vasudeva’s words may be examined under do not even realize how low they have
Bohr’s principle of complementarity. sunk.’ (315 The Secret of Nagas)
According to him every entity in Nature ‘Because desire creates attachment.

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Attachment to this world. And, when you power flows from all of us. From the way
don’t get what you want or get what you all of us live together.’ (….)
don’t want, it leads to suffering. This leads But if you actually distill the way people
to anger. And that to violence and wars. live, there are only two ways: The
Which finally results in destruction.’ Masculine and the Feminine.’
‘So if you want to avoid destruction and “The Masculine way of life is “life by
suffering, you should control your desires, laws”. Laws that could be made by a great
right?’ asked the teacher. ‘Give up maya, leader, perhaps a Vishnu like Lord Ram.
the illusion of this world?’(..) Or laws that come down from a religious
‘But the Rig Veda, one of our main sources tradition. Or collective laws decreed by the
of philosophy’, continued teacher, ‘says people themselves. But the masculine way
that in the beginning of time, there was is very clear. Laws are unchangeable and
nothing except darkness and a primordial they must be followed rigidly. There is no
flood. Then out of this darkness, desire room for ambiguity. Life is predictable
was born. Desire was the primal seed, the because the populace will always do what
germ of creation. And from here, we all has been ordained. Meluha is perfect
know that the Prajapati, the Lord of the example of such a way of life. It is
Creatures, created the Universe and obvious, therefore, why the people of this
everything in it. So in a sense, desire is the way of life live by the code of Truth, Duty
root of creation as well.’ and Honor. Since that’s what they need to
(………….) ‘How can desire be the source be successful in this system.’‘And the
of creation as well as destruction?’(….) feminine?’ “The feminine way of life is
‘Is it safe to assume that anything that has “life by probabilities”. There are no
been created has to be destroyed at some absolutes. No black or white. People don’t
point in time? act as per some preordained law, but based
‘Yes’, answered a student. on probabilities of different outcomes
‘That is the purpose of desire. It is the perceived at that point of time. For
beginning and the end of a journey. example, they will follow a king who they
Without desire, there is nothing.’ (381,382 think has a higher probability of their
The Secret of Nagas) loyalties do as well. If there are laws in
This ideology of good and bad in such a society, they are malleable. The
person is what modern psychology proves same laws can be interpreted differently at
of. The skill of Amish in spreading thread different points of time. Change is the only
by thread the highly philosophical matters constant. Feminine civilizations, like
like, good and bad, desire, evil before the Swadweep, are comfortable with
readers and his knowledge is praise contradictions. And the code for success in
worthy. Even for a common reader these such a system? Unmistakeably, Passion,
ideologies are legible. Beauty and Freedom.’
Ardha Narishwar philosophy: ‘And no one way of life is better?’
‘So the key point is that we humans are
nothing individually,’ said the Pandit. ‘Our

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
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‘Obviously. Both types of civilizations as iit happens with too much freedom, the
must exist. Because they balance each feminine civilizations overreach into
other.’ decadence, corruption and debauchery.’
‘How?’ ‘Then the people once again welcome the
‘You see, a masculine civilization at its order of the masculine’.
peak is honourable, consistant, reliable and ‘Yes. The feminine Deva way was in
spectacularly successful in an age suitable decline during Lord Ram’s times. The
for its particular set of laws. There is order country was corrupt, immoral and
and society moves coherently in a depraved. People clamored for order and
preordained direction. Look at the civility. Lord Ram ushered that in as he
Suryavanshis today. But when masculine created a new masculine way of life. Very
civilizations decline, they cause horrible intelligently, to prevent unnecessary
turmoil, becoming fanatical and rigid. rebellions, he never decried the Deva way.
They will attack those that are different, He just called his rule a new way of life:
try to “convert” them to their “truth”, the Suryavanshi path.’ (47-49 The Secret
which will lead to violence and chaos. of the Nagas)
This especially happens when an age In this long dialogue between
changes. Change is difficult for the Pandit and Shiva the modern reader is
masculine. They will cling even more definitely convinced of ardha narishwar
rigidly to their laws, even though those philosophy. More scientific is the
laws may be unsuitable for the new age. approach of Amish in analyzing the
Masculine civilizations enforce order system of society and law of life and
which is welcome when they are strong, nature. No doubt. Trilogy is the fiction of
but is suffocating when they decline. The new age.
Asuras, who were followers of the Rivers:
masculine way, had faced similar The effort to join rivers or the
problems when their power started thought to change the flow of the rivers is
waning.’ not a new plan. It occurred centuries back.
‘So when fanaticism causes rebellions Around 1900 BC. ‘And when the Yamuna
born of frustration, the openness of the changed course from Meluha and started
feminine brings a breath of fresh air.’ flowing into Swadweep, it met the Ganga
‘Exactly. The feminine way incorporates at Prayag,’said Bhagirath. ‘That would
all differences. People of varying faiths have made Prayag very important?’ asked
and belief can coexist in peace. Nobody Shiva. ‘Yes, My Lord. Just like Magadh, it
tries to enforce their own version of the became a crucial junction for river trade.
truth. There is a celebration of diversity And unlike Magadh, it was not bound by
and freedom, which brings forth renewed any treaty on its portage and trading
creativity and vigor causing tremendous charges. Any trader or kingdom wanting to
benefits to society. The Devas, who were settle or trade in the newly opened
followers of the feminine way, brought in hinterlands of the Yamuna had to pay
all this when they defeated the Asuras. But charges at Prayag. Its prosperity and power

Author: Dr. Kavita S. Kusugal
42
Period From (Jan – Jun 2015)