Rating- 3.5/5
While there have been many novels and poetries that attempt to retell the after-war stories of Mahabharata through a new perspective, the book focuses on a less-talked perspective of the death of Lord Krishna. With ‘Mayabharata- The untold Story behind the death of Lord Krishna’, Meghnad Desai has come up with a story of Krishna, for which I have yearned, for years. The author has taken full liberty in penning down the instances yet placed them so sensibly that it hooks the reader until the end.
The author successfully creates a well-researched world that is much more than mere mysticism or magic, a world infused with humanity. As a reviewer, I feel compelled to warn readers not to mistake this for Mahabharata because it is Mayabharata. Because other than the descendants of the Kuru clan, Meghnad imbues the lead characters (Maya, Takshak and Krishna) with attributes that might surprise a readership more familiar with the mainstream version.
For many, Mahabharata ended with the great war of Kurukshetra. While for others, it ended with how the Kauravas and Pandavaas died. But there are no clear stories about the death of Shri Krishna, and if there are they are the ‘the road less travelled’. In nearly every book he is regarded as the supreme power, who lived until the end, however, in some places mention of shraap (curse) by Gandhari is also mentioned which later led to the death of his entire clan.
Notably, the tales of Mahabharata and the life of Krishna are evident to everyone. Unlike the stories we have heard and read, the book mentions a name forgotten by many – Maya or Mayasur.
Meghnad Desai’s book features Maya, an architect, as one of the main protagonists. He is part of a community that is known for building some of the most impressive structures in the world. Even though he has never seen those places himself, he has always heard about them from his father. When he sets out to find these palaces, he ends up building many palaces. Some of his famous works were the palace of Pandavaas in Khandavprastha – which led to one of the biggest wars in history. Later on, he also builds a palace for Duryodhana when the Pandavaas are in exile. The story focuses on whether Maya finds them or not, what circumstances he faces during his journey, and his first and last interaction with Krishna.
The author has looked to the Maya civilization for inspiration and found several parallels between it and Indian and Chinese civilizations, including the fact that three of these survived coextensively. The past and present political and cultural instances are also considered to provide context for the events in the book. The book leaves with a message that the law of ‘good triumphs over evil’ and ‘Everything that has a beginning, has an ending’ applies to everyone.
I read the book as a reviewer and fan of mythologies, and I was constantly amazed at how Meghnad was able to incorporate rich mythological detail without losing credibility with the modern reader.