Narasimha (#1 The Mahaavatar Trilogy) by Kevin Missal

Category : Fiction

Genre : Indian Mythology

No. of Pages : 350 Pages

Format : Paperback

Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date : June 10, 2019

ISBN : 9789353570767

Read Date : November 28, 2019

Rating : 5/5 ⭐

“Your past doesn’t define you. Your present does. What you do now will define the person you are going to be.”

My My! This book had me pulled in totally. Firstly, the cover – it is so fierce and goes totally with the plot of the book.

This book is a retelling of the Indian Mythology of the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu, Narasimha – Half Man, Half lion. Unlike, the actual story there are no gods here, just normal humans who become legends due their acts. The best part of this retelling is that no character is directly portrayed as good or evil, it’s only their actions that have been described.

Main Characters are – Hiranyakashyap, king of Kashyapuri, his wife Kayadhu, their sons Anuhrad and Prahlad, his sister Holika, Andhaka his nephew (son of Hiranyaksha), Indra (the king of Devas), Narada and Narasimha. There are four tribes the Devas, the Asuras, the Danavas and the Simhas.

The happenings of the story occur in Old Illavarti, a map of which is provided at the end of the book. Narasimha is an ex-warrior who has now become a physician. He used to side with the Devas led by Indra in the battles against the Asuras of Kashyapuri; the blood of many innocents on his hands. Fourteen years later he is again called by Indra to join the war against Hiranyakashyap and Andhaka, who want to get their hands on the “Pashupatastra”, a weapon which makes the owner powerful and its use can cause havoc for the years to come. But will just protecting the astra from going into wrong hands, bring an end to the war? How many more innocent lives will he claim in this process?

Anuhrad and Prahlad, the princes of Kashyapuri, the former a warrior and the latter an intelligent one. Anuhrad is sent by his father to Sonitpur to help Andhaka in the war against the Devas in annihilating their kingdom and bringing the Pashupatastra. But Andhaka keeps telling him that they are both born out of “tragedy” and that he has plans different from Hiranyakashyap. Will Anuhrad side with Andhaka and betray his father’s plans?

On the other hand, Hiranyakashyap declares Prahlad the interim king while he himself is going to Yakshlok, to help his men in defeating Agni (a Deva). In his father’s absence, Prahlad discovers some secrets about how his father has raised and is running the empire. He also comes across a vigilante group “Vishnusena”, followers of Lord Vishnu, who are on a spree to destroy the illegal activities being carried out in Kashyapuri. For all that Prahlad knows, his guru Narada is a staunch Vishnu follower. Will Prahlad chose his empire over what is right?

During his trip to Yakshlok, Hiranyakashyap comes across a secret that had come into his dead brother’s hands. What’s the secret? Is it going to help him in his battle against the Devas? Will he be able to avenge for his personal loss?

Holika, independent of her brother’s rule, has her own army and doesn’t spare anyone going against the empire built by her brother. She is brutal and ruthless. She has smelt the “Vishnusena” and is desperate to get her hands on all of them and slaughter them.

This being the first book of the trilogy, adequate chapters are dedicated to understand each character. Character descriptions are amazing. I will not lie, I really did like the character of Hiranyakashyap, Holika and Andhaka. The plot development is amazing with so many things happening with each of our characters. It has revenge, redemption, a little romance and a lot of action. The language is very lucid. Since the book involves various tribes and kingdoms, the author has given a brief description about the various tribes and kingdoms in the beginning itself. It is a fast paced read. It did have new revelations and twists to keep the reader hooked.

If you are a fan of Indian Mythology, do read this one. I’m super excited for the other parts to release. This was my first read of Kevin Missal and I definitely plan to read all of his works.

I loved this read.