Ancient texts: according to David Pingree, who conducted a research study on ancient manuscripts in India, there are over 30 million such manuscripts. K.V. Sharma, who conducted a study of scientific texts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala estimates that only 7 per cent of those have been translated and published. Amba’s reference to millions of unread texts in Chapter 46, is based on this little known fact.
Dandaka: is mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana, Book 2, Chapters 2 and 5. I have based the location of the Dandaka forest in this book on an excellent analysis of the geography of the Ramayana done by Arun Ramakrishnan, where he describes the ashram of the sage Suteekshina being located near Sarangpur village in Panna district. It is in the vicinity of this ashram that Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman spent 10 years of their exile. All 14 years of their exile were spent in the Dandaka forest. And it is true that the Dandaka forest was created as the result of a curse by Shukra. The story of how this happened can be found in the Puranic Encyclopaedia, Pages 46 and 200.
The Seven Levels of the Netherworlds: and the details of their inhabitants are taken from the detailed description provided in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 5, Chapter 24.
The story of Bali : can be found in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapters 15-23.
Attainment of the Siddhis : the Srimad Bhagavatam describes the Siddhis in detail and how they can be achieved, in Canto 11, Chapter 15.
The story of Tvasta : as narrated by Maya in Chapter 50, can be found in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 6, Chapter 9.
The six categories of mantras : listed by Jignesh in Chapter 50 are purely fictional.
The missing verses of the Mahabharata: reference to this can be found (as reproduced in Chapter 56) in the Adi Parva, Chapter I, Verses 104-105.
The concept of the atma, the subtle body and the gross body: as described in Chapter 57, is based on the following references from the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam:
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7, verses 4-5
Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 3, Chapter 5, verses 22-38; Chapter 26, verses 23-49
The shantaa-kaaram mantra: this is a real mantra and has been reproduced in the book in its real form, but the effect on Maya (enabling her atma to travel) is fictional.
The ‘invented’ mantras: the laghu mantras described in the book are purely fictional, except for the laghu mantra form of the Garuda mantra (see “Garudaya Trayambakaya” below). The following mantras are all invented by me, though the Sanskrit is real and each mantra has a meaning that is directly associated with its purpose, as you can see from the meanings below.
Vikurute Vyapaniya: change the form to make it permeable
Vidyutate : illuminate or shine forth
Udnayate : raise or elevate
Vegita Vriddhi : increase speed or velocity
Gandharvo krpaya vishto : O Gandharvas, have compassion for me
Arjuna and the Vrishnis : the story of Arjuna’s inability to recall his weapons when dacoits attacked the group of Vishnu women and children he was escorting is narrated in the Mausala Parva, Chapter 7, Verses 46-59. Verse 55 specifically describes how he fails to recall his celestial weapons. However, the ‘storage space’ or ‘locker’ for Kshatriyas weapons described by Virendra to Arjun in Chapter 63 is fictional, though inspired by this story from the Mahabharata — it is my way of interpreting the verses from the Mahabharata from a fantasy perspective.
The law of Karma: as mentioned in several places in the book is based on the following references from the Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam:
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14
Srimad Bhagavatam: Canto 1, Chapter 15, verse 18; Canto 3, Chapter 31, verse 1; Canto 11, Chapter 9, verse 26
It is very interesting to note that, in the story of Jara and Krishna, narrated earlier, the law of karma is seen in action, even for Krishna, who is divine. Krishna, in his earlier birth as Rama, had killed Vali (Sugreeva’s brother) from behind. Vali was reborn as Jara, and he, in turn, ‘killed’ Krishna. The karma that Krishna had earned from his previous birth had an impact on him in his birth as the Krishna of the Mahabharata. It is a great example of how even the all powerful Krishna did not exempt himself from the working of karma.
Kadru : was one of the wives of Rishi Kasyapa, one of the Saptarishis, and the mother of the Nagas.
Takshaka and Parikshit: the story of Takshaka and Parikshit can be found in the Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Book 5 : Astika Parva, Chapters 42 to 43.
Dwarka: the verses quoted in Chapter 79 relating to the destruction of Dwarka can be found in the Mahabharata, Mausala Parva, Chapter 7, Verses 41 - 43. The 2003 discovery of the ancient, sunken ruins of a lost city in the Gulf of Cambay is fictitious, though inspired by the real life discovery of underwater ruins of two cities in the Gulf of Cambay, off the shore from Hazira in 2001. A detailed report on this discovery can be found in the BBC television series Underworld, by Graham Hancock, based on his book by the same name, including the discovery of the foundations of the cities. The description of the foundations in Chapter 78, of course, are based on my imagination of what they may look like, if actually discovered.
Sub bottom profiling: is a real technique for mapping what lies below the ocean bed.
Takshaka and Kasyapa: the story of Takshaka and Kasyapa, and the burning of the banyan tree by Takshaka, with the power of his poison, as described in Chapter 79, can be found in the Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Book 5: Astika Parva, Chapters 42 to 43.
The Nagas: the description of the Nagas that I have provided in Chapter 81 is completely fictional. The vermilion hue of the Nagas that I have mentioned in Chapter 74 is inspired by the description of Takshaka as he flees after killing Parikshit, in the Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Book 5 : Astika Parva, Chapter 44.
Garudaya Trayambakaya: this is a shortened form of the Garuda Mantra. The full form of the Garuda mantra is: om namo bhagawate garudaya trayambakaya sadhsttvastu swaha.
Pronunciation Key
The following are the phonetic equivalents of the Sanskrit/Hindi words used in the book, listed as in order of their appearance in the book. I have provided both the Devanagari phonetic equivalent as well as the phonetic pronunciation in English, for ease of understanding, since English phonetics do not always lend themselves to an accurate pronunciation of Sanskrit or Hindi words.
Acknowledgements
The book you hold in your hands, dear reader, is the result of team-work. There are so many people who have contributed to give the book its final shape and I would like to acknowledge and appreciate their efforts and contribution.
As always, my biggest appreciation and gratitude goes out to my wife Sharmila and my daughter Shaynaya. They have supported and encouraged me throughout the time I spent writing this book, even though it took away from the time that I could have spent with them. Moreover, Sharmila, as always, was the first to read the first draft of the manuscript and give her feedback and Shaynaya, being a teenager herself, gave me some valuable tips on teenage behaviour in different situations.
It is extremely difficult to write a book using, as a base, ancient texts that are revered and followed even today. If I had been writing on Egyptian or Greek mythology, it would have been much easier. But the Vedas, Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita, are all texts that are as relevant today as they were when they were composed thousands of years ago. As a result, while creating scenes, ideating or inventing fantasy elements, I wanted to stay true to the texts. This could not have been possible without the constant guidance of Shubha Vilas, who ensured that I stayed true to the texts and accurately reflected their teachings. Shubha Vilas has been studying and teaching the Vedic texts for the last two decades and is also the author of the Ramayana: The Game of Life series, The Chronicles of Hanuman and Open Eyed Meditations. His expertise in Sanskrit was also invaluable in validating the mantras that I invented.
My thanks go out to Artika Bakshi, who also read the first draft, as always, and gave me her valuable feedback.
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Anand Prakash, my friend and designer extraordinaire, continued his tradition of designing brilliant covers for my books by creating a cover that was in keeping with the very different theme of the book, while visualising some of the key plot elements. Ishan Trivedi, did the cover illustration and brought Anand’s vision to life, for which I am grateful.
My thanks go out to Patricia MacEwen, Phyllis Irene Radford, John C Bunnell and Elizabeth Gilligan, fellow scribes in my writers’ research group, who answered questions on key research topics that I struggled with at times.
With a book like this, illustrations can add to the reader’s experience by helping them visualise things the way I saw them while writing. Priyankar Gupta, who has illustrated my previous books, once again delivered the goods with his illustrations of Egypt (the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid) and the Gurukul from Maya’s viewpoint. Ishan Trivedi has vividly brought out the grandeur and beauty of The Pandava Falls and also brought to life my vision of Garuda fighting the Nagas.
A big thank you to all the people at Westland, especially Gautam Padmanabhan, Krishna Kumar Nair, Shweta Bhagat and the entire marketing team who have been tremendously supportive with this book.
As usual, Sanghamitra Biswas, my editor, did a wonderful and very thorough job of polishing my writing and making changes that ensured that the narrative was smoother and true to the plot.
Finally, I am deeply grateful to my parents for encouraging me to read and write from an early age and providing me with all the books I wanted to read as I grew up. It is only due to their encouragement and blessings that I have been able to fulfil my childhood dream of becoming an author.
While I acknowledge the contribution of everyone who has supported me, I take full responsibility for all errors and omissions of fact or detail in this book.
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