Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Book Review: Thundergod : The Ascendance of Indra, by Rajiv G. Menon




There is something about mythology that attracts me. Having grown up on a steady diet of stories from Indian mythology, somewhere, there has always been an urge to rationalize the stories, to search for their roots, and somehow connect them to history. 


In recent times, we have seen a surge in Mythological fiction from Indian authors, and in all these books, I see the same desire. However, few among them have enthralled me, or made me look forward to the sequels, which is why I have rarely volunteered to review them. Thus, when I was offered the opportunity of reviewing ‘Thundergod – The Ascendance of Indra’ by Rajiv G.Menon, I hesitated. The only reason I eventually agreed was curiosity about how the author had handled the story of a character like Indra.

Indra is extremely powerful, wielding the thunderbolt and controlling the heavens. He leads the gods in their regular forays against the demons, with the support of the higher deities. However, he is not the bright symbol of goodness he is expected to be. Stories frequently highlight his lust for power, fear of any strong ruler usurping his throne and his lack of control which frequently lands him in difficult situations. Rajiv Menon chooses to delve into this mass of contradictions, taking us through various civilizations to show us his version of Indra’s meteoric rise to power.

The book begins with the union of the earth goddess Gaia and Daeyus, chief of the Deva clan. The child’s birth is foretold, as the one who will unite warring clans and change the world order. The author charts the journey of Indra, in danger from all directions, protected by the alert warrior sage, Mitra, from a child in Central Asia to the warrior who conquers Harappa in the valley of the Indus. Along the way, he makes staunch friends, friends who will ascend with him, as gods controlling the elements – Vayu, Varuna, Agni, and Soma. Together, they control the five elements, and are unstoppable. They meet and unite the warrior clans, the descendants of Kashyapa, and together, they set out to fulfil their destiny. The end of the book was especially interesting..... Indra’s becoming a God is not what I would have expected it to be.

The best thing about the book is the attempt to unite Indian mythology with world history. Within a few pages, Rajiv takes us from Mount Meru somewhere in the Himalayas to the ancient Elamite city of Susa in present day Iran, and then to the Karakum desert in present day Turkmenistan, combining the events taking place at all three places with his narrative. He traces the journey of Indra and his companions across Asia Minor and eventually to Harappa, even chronicling the flood which leaves the erstwhile city in ruins.  In the process, he also manages to combine mythologies...... the Saptharishis are an inherent part of the narrative, as are Greek, Assyrian and Babylonian deities. What I found interesting was that the author accepts and reiterates the existence of higher powers than man, but he chronicles the rise of a man to the status of a god!

The only negatives in the book are the excessive details of the war scenes, but maybe that’s simply because of my dislike for blood and gore. The same goes for the sex scenes, which, I felt didn't really fit well into the narrative. They could have been written in a more aesthetic manner. The language is stilted in a few places, and there are a couple of proofing errors which could have been avoided. The character of Indra is beautifully sketched out, but the author doesn’t do justice to many of the other characters, especially Indra’s friends, whom we learn too little about. Considering that this book is the first in a trilogy, I hope the characters in the forthcoming books are etched out more in detail.

However, these do not affect the pace and the readability of the narrative, which is what makes the book a good read.

P.S. This book was sent to me for review by Westland Books.



Comments

  1. It's quite interesting that while one is within a narrative of Indian mythology, one is also listening to other histories really far away in other parts of the world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Kiran.. its that blend which makes it interesting.

      Delete
  2. Been an avid follower of you blog, Anuradha. Great work !

    These books on Indian Mythology are very interesting. However, this one is based on the old Aryan Invasion Theory which is slightly outdated according to latest historical research. Aren't these books still promoting a not-so-correct history?

    Having said that, it is a welcome trend to see Indian mythology getting prominence, there is so much to write about our mythology and history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Chandana! It is always nice to see someone de-lurking and commenting on the blog.. and yes, i agree that the aryan invasion theme of the book is outdated, even for someone who is not really up to date with history, but then again, the idea is so deep rooted.. almost as deep as the myths that the book is about.. and thats the one good thing about so many books in this genre.. they at least force us to take another look at myths... that finally people look at myths more as distorted versions of history, rather than not-t0-be-argued-with religion...

      Delete
  3. hi
    thanks for the review...I was a little apprehensive when I picked up the book but looks like it was a good idea to pick it up. do you know when the next book is going to release ? Also could you tell me a few other books based on Indian mythology? I am a huge fan of this genre but cant seem to find the right book.

    thanks :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie