It’s
been quite a while since I received this book as a review copy, but my academic
commitments delayed the write up. Sincere apologies to all concerned before I
start my review.
The
rise and fall of Mauryan dynasty and its greatest leader, Emperor Asoka were a
part of the history classes of my high school days. The course material was
more concerned about the War of Kalinga and Asoka’s subsequent transformation
which made him a follower of Buddhism. Asoka is considered as one of the
greatest emperors of India and often termed as Asoka the Great.
Founded
by Chandragupta Maurya with the primary objective of preserving the Aryan
bloodline and safeguarding it against foreign invasions, the empire reached its
peak during the reign of his grandson Asoka. The biggest irony of the era is
Asoka himself, taking up Buddhism, the spread of which was one of the founding
reasons of the empire. However, very little is known about the transcend of
power from Chandragupta Maurya to his son Bindusar and then to Asoka. This book
gives us a sneak peek into those unknown facts in an intriguing way that the
moment you finish reading the final words of the book, you are hit with an urge
to pick up The Scourge from Taxila,
the second part of this trilogy, which is currently being written.
This
book takes us to the days where Chandragupta Maurya was Chanakya’s disciple and
the different situations which ultimately take him to the throne as the King of
Taxila. The story often shifts between past and present, narrating the story of
Chandragupta and Asoka and drawing a lot of similarities between the two. While
for Chandragupta there was one Chanakya to guide him, for Asoka there is
Radhagupta who masterminds Asoka’s transition from an army general to a
contender for the throne of Bharatvarsha. Chandragupta vows to be the people’s
leader and fights against the Nandas’ tyrannical rule and the invasion of
Alexander the Great. For Asoka, it’s more personal, as he fights against his
own half brother after he uncovers the plot by his brother to assassinate him.
The work also throws light on the caste system prevalent on the society then,
much of which hasn’t changed much today.
This
historical fiction has all the necessary elements to make it a thriller worth a
read – it has suspense, betrayal, patriotism and beautifully written, yet
subtle romance between Asoka and Devi. It beautifully depicts the extent to
which the addiction to power and pride would take a man, even if that demands
killing his half brother. Though the main protagonist is Asoka, my pick among
the characters is Chanakya and to an extent Radhagupta, who himself his
Chanakya version 2.0. Chanakya once again proves that wars are not necessarily
won on battlefields and takes a calculated step every time, without deviating
from the ultimate objective just like a game of chess. With an advisor like
him, any Raja can be a Maharaja or Samrat in no time.
Another
striking feature of this book is it’s author and I have to admit that he is
someone to lookout for, given he has come up with such a well written debut
work at the age of 21. I had to go through a few historical references and the
2001 bollywood flick Asoka to get to know more about the scenario, and I have
to admit that this is indeed well written if not better than the screenplay of
the film. Hats off to you Mr. Shreyas Bhave!!!
My rating : 4/5
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