Mahabharat! An epic tale of an epic war that was fought centuries ago. A tale involving a set of complex characters with complex relations and interactions. Since eons, authors, scholars and ordinary folks like you and me have pealed layers off it and yet more remain. Each character is worthy of being investigated and written about. And yet some of them get sidelined as authors and readers alike concentrate on the main players - Krishna, Arjuna, Karna, Bheem, Yudhisthir, Draupadi, Bheeshma, Duryodhana, Shakuni, Kunti, Abhimanyu, Dronacharya, Dhrutarashtra and Gandhari. This book focuses on two such women, who, in a way, were responsible for the events unfolding the way they did - Ganga and Satyawati.
We are familiar with the hardships faced, trauma suffered and sacrifices made by Kunti, Gandhari, Draupadi, Devki and to a certain extent even Subhadra - she lost her only son in a battle that was waged because her husband's first wife was insulted. We even know about how Amba suffered because men in her life placed more premium on their egos and oaths. But Ganga and Satyawati have sort of remained in the background because they stand at the beginning of this tale. By the time the drama unfolds in its full intensity they are but a dim memory of a distant forgotten past. We don't give much thought to their story, we don't feel their pain and we don't feel sorry for what fate had in store for them. This book changes that to a certain extent.
The novel starts with Ganga, the daughter who seems destined to take over from her mom as the Lady Of The River in a land called Meru. The young Janhavi is certainly being groomed for the same. But her life takes a different turn when one of the elemental powers, Prabhasa, visits them one morning. He, along with other Elementals, is cursed by High Sage Vashistha's wife Arundhati for stealing the Divine cow Nandini. They are to be born on earth and cannot think of a woman other than the Lady Of The River as their mother. Since Ganga's mother is past her child-bearing age, Ganga is chosen for the same. That starts her journey from Meru to Earth. And Ganga ends up being more cursed than the Elementals because she has to kill the first few of her newborn sons, has to bear the scorn of the citizens of Hastinapur, see husband Shantanu's love turn to pure unadulterated hatred and even after bringing back her last son, Devavrata, to Meru with her, has to watch helplessly as he decides to go back to Earth.
Satyavati's tale begins where Ganga's moves away from Hastinapur. A princess of the fisher-folks, she has her own cross to bear - a swarthy complexion in a land that often equates fair skin with beauty and a fishy smell that clings to her at all times. An encounter with Sage Parashara changes that. She gets both her wishes - to marry King Shantanu to become Hastina's queen and to ensure that her children have the first right to the throne and yet she is the loser in the end. Neither of her sons survives to sire any children and she has to use her son born of Sage Parashara to make sure that her daughters-in-law bring the next generation into this world.
Ganga and Satyawati are used by fate or destiny as puppets. The only difference being that Ganga is acutely aware of it to begin with while Satyawati learns it the hard way. Whenever I read about the Mahabharata, I cannot help but feel that the only price that the men in this tale have had to pay is death while the women have all had to sacrifice a great deal. And it all began with Ganga and Satyawati.
I will always remember what Ganga says at one point of the story:
The Wise Ones say that acceptance is the only true way to happiness; acceptance of the fact that we do not have a say in what must happen, and that the harder we try to change that which is fated, the more we contribute, unknowingly, to bringing it about.
We are familiar with the hardships faced, trauma suffered and sacrifices made by Kunti, Gandhari, Draupadi, Devki and to a certain extent even Subhadra - she lost her only son in a battle that was waged because her husband's first wife was insulted. We even know about how Amba suffered because men in her life placed more premium on their egos and oaths. But Ganga and Satyawati have sort of remained in the background because they stand at the beginning of this tale. By the time the drama unfolds in its full intensity they are but a dim memory of a distant forgotten past. We don't give much thought to their story, we don't feel their pain and we don't feel sorry for what fate had in store for them. This book changes that to a certain extent.
The novel starts with Ganga, the daughter who seems destined to take over from her mom as the Lady Of The River in a land called Meru. The young Janhavi is certainly being groomed for the same. But her life takes a different turn when one of the elemental powers, Prabhasa, visits them one morning. He, along with other Elementals, is cursed by High Sage Vashistha's wife Arundhati for stealing the Divine cow Nandini. They are to be born on earth and cannot think of a woman other than the Lady Of The River as their mother. Since Ganga's mother is past her child-bearing age, Ganga is chosen for the same. That starts her journey from Meru to Earth. And Ganga ends up being more cursed than the Elementals because she has to kill the first few of her newborn sons, has to bear the scorn of the citizens of Hastinapur, see husband Shantanu's love turn to pure unadulterated hatred and even after bringing back her last son, Devavrata, to Meru with her, has to watch helplessly as he decides to go back to Earth.
Satyavati's tale begins where Ganga's moves away from Hastinapur. A princess of the fisher-folks, she has her own cross to bear - a swarthy complexion in a land that often equates fair skin with beauty and a fishy smell that clings to her at all times. An encounter with Sage Parashara changes that. She gets both her wishes - to marry King Shantanu to become Hastina's queen and to ensure that her children have the first right to the throne and yet she is the loser in the end. Neither of her sons survives to sire any children and she has to use her son born of Sage Parashara to make sure that her daughters-in-law bring the next generation into this world.
Ganga and Satyawati are used by fate or destiny as puppets. The only difference being that Ganga is acutely aware of it to begin with while Satyawati learns it the hard way. Whenever I read about the Mahabharata, I cannot help but feel that the only price that the men in this tale have had to pay is death while the women have all had to sacrifice a great deal. And it all began with Ganga and Satyawati.
I will always remember what Ganga says at one point of the story:
The Wise Ones say that acceptance is the only true way to happiness; acceptance of the fact that we do not have a say in what must happen, and that the harder we try to change that which is fated, the more we contribute, unknowingly, to bringing it about.
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