Scion of Ikshvaku Book 1 of the Ram Chandra Series
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Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated, boring banker turned happy author. The success of his debut book, The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up a fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions. Amish lives in Mumbai with his wife Preeti and son Neel. www.authoramish.com www.facebook.com/authoramish www.twitter.com/authoramish ... I Love you Rachu ... Dear Frnds pls spread this msg until its reach to my rachu I thinks see knows my name Book Downloaded from: EBOOK4IN.BLOGSPOT.COM ‘I wish many more would be inspired by Amish Tripathi...’ - Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor and living legend ‘Amish is India’s Tolkien’ – Business Standard ‘Amish is India’s first literary popstar’ – Shekhar Kapur, renowned filmmaker ‘Amish is ... the Paulo Coelho of the east.’ – Business World ‘Amish’s mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring, unfolds the deepest recesses of the soul as well as our collective consciousness.’ – Deepak Chopra, world-renowned spiritual guru and bestselling author ‘Amish is a fresh new voice in Indian writing – steeped in myth and history, with a fine eye for detail and a compelling narrative style.’ – Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament and celebrated author ‘…Amish has mastered the art of gathering, interpreting and presenting India’s many myths, folklores and legends, and blending all of that into fast-paced thrillers that change your views about Gods, cultures, histories, demons and heroes, forever.’ – Hi Blitz ‘Amish’s philosophy of tolerance, his understanding of mythology and his avowed admiration for Shiva are evident in his best-selling works.’ – Verve ‘Tripathi is part of an emerging band of authors who have taken up mythology and history in a big way, translating bare facts into delicious stories.’ – The New Indian Express ‘…one must congratulate Amish on reintroducing Hindu mythology to the youth of this country.’ – First City Scion of Ikshvaku Book 1 of the Ram Chandra Series ... I Love you Rachu ... Amish westland ltd 61, II Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095 93, I Floor, Sham Lal Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002 www.westlandbooks.in Published by westland ltd 2015 First ebook edition: 2015 Copyright © Amish Tripathi 2015 All rights reserved Amish Tripathi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person living or dead, events and locales is entirely coincidental. ISBN: 978-93-85152-16-0 Cover Design by Think WhyNot This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior written consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews with appropriate citations. ... I Love you Rachu ... Dear Frnds pls spread this msg until its reach to my rachu I thinks see knows my name Book Downloaded from: EBOOK4IN.BLOGSPOT.COM To my father, Vinay Kumar Tripathi, and my mother, Usha Tripathi Khalil Gibran said that parents are like a bow, And children like arrows. The more the bow bends and stretches, the farther the arrow flies. I fly, not because I am special, but because they stretched for me. Table of Contents Hymn to Shivāya Hymn to Ram List of Characters and Important Tribes Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 The Shiva Trilogy Om Namah Shivāya The universe bows to Lord Shiva. I bow to Lord Shiva. Rāmarājyavāsī tvam, procchrayasva te śiram Nyāyārthaṁ yudhyasva, sarveṣu samaṁ cara Paripālaya durbalam, viddhi dharmaṁ varam Procchrayasva te śiram, Rāmarājyavāsī tvam. You live in Ram’s kingdom, hold your head high. Fight for justice. Treat all as equal. Protect the weak. Know that dharma is above all. Hold your head high, You live in the kingdom of Ram. List of Characters and Important Tribes (In Alphabetical Order) Arishtanemi: Military chief of the Malayaputras; right-hand man of Vishwamitra Ashwapati: King of the north-western kingdom of Kekaya; a loyal ally of Dashrath; father of Kaikeyi Bharat: Ram’s half-brother; son of Dashrath and Kaikeyi Dashrath: The Chakravarti king of Kosala and emperor of Sapt Sindhu; husband of Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra; father of Ram, Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughan Janak: King of Mithila; father of Sita and Urmila Jatayu: A captain of the Malayaputra tribe; a Naga friend of Sita and Ram Kaikeyi: Daughter of King Ashwapati of Kekaya; second and the favourite wife of Dashrath; mother of Bharat Kaushalya: Daughter of King Bhanuman of South Kosala and his wife Maheshwari; the eldest queen of Dashrath; mother of Ram Kubaer: Trader and ruler of Lanka before Raavan Kumbhakarna: Raavan’s brother; he is also a Naga (a human being born with deformities) Kushadhwaj: King of Sankashya; younger brother of Janak Lakshman: One of the twin sons of Dashrath; born to Sumitra; faithful to Ram; later married to Urmila Malayaputras: The tribe left behind by Lord Parshu Ram, the sixth Vishnu Manthara: The richest merchant of Sapt Sindhu; an ally of Kaikeyi Mrigasya: General of Dashrath’s army; one of the nobles of Ayodhya Nagas: A feared race of human beings born with deformities Nilanjana: Lady doctor attending to members of the royal family of Ayodhya, she hails from South Kosala Raavan: King of Lanka; brother of Vibhishan, Shurpanakha and Kumbhakarna Ram: Eldest of four brothers, son of Emperor Dashrath of Ayodhya (the capital city of Kosala kingdom) and his eldest wife Kaushalya; later married to Sita Roshni: Daughter of Manthara; a committed doctor and rakhi-sister to the four sons of Dashrath Samichi: Police and protocol chief of Mithila Shatrughan: Twin brother of Lakshman; son of Dashrath and Sumitra Shurpanakha: Half-sister of Raavan Sita: Adopted daughter of King Janak of Mithila; also the prime minister of Mithila; later married to Ram Sumitra: Daughter of the king of Kashi; the third wife of Dashrath; mother of the twins Lakshman and Shatrughan Vashishta: Raj guru, the royal priest of Ayodhya; teacher of the four princes Vayuputras: The tribe left behind by Lord Rudra, the previous Mahadev Vibhishan: Half-brother of Raavan Vishwamitra: Chief of the Malayaputras, the tribe left behind by Lord Parshu Ram, the sixth Vishnu; also temporary guru of Ram and Lakshman Urmila: Younger sister of Sita; the blood-daughter of Janak; she is later married to Lakshman *Refer to inside back cover for map of India in 3400 BCE Acknowledgements I don’t agree with everything that John Donne wrote, but he was right on one count: ‘No man is an island’. I am lucky to be connected to many others who keep me from being ‘rifted’. For creativity has no greater sustenance than the love and support of others. I’d like to acknowledge some of them. Lord Shiva, my God, for blessing me with this life and all there is in it. Also, for bringing Lord Ram (who my grandfather, Pandit Babulal Tripathi, was a great devotee of) back into my life. Neel, my son, my blessing, my pride, my joy. He gives me happiness by simply being who he is. Preeti, my wife; Bhavna, my sister; Himanshu, my brother-in-law; Anish and Ashish, my brothers, for all their inputs to the story. My sister Bhavna deserves special mention for her dedication and the time she gave while advising me on the philosophies in the book. My wife Preeti deserves my eternal gratefulness, as always, for her brilliant marketing advice. My family: Usha, Vinay, Meeta, Donetta, Shernaz, Smita, Anuj, Ruta. For their consistent faith and love. Sharvani, my editor. We have a strange relationship. Fun and laughter in normal times; we fight with each other passionately when we edit. It’s a match made in heaven! Gautam, Krishnakumar, Preeti, Deepthi, Satish, Varsha, Jayanthi, Vipin, Senthil, Shatrughan, Sarita, Avani, Sanyog, Naveen, Jaisankar, Gururaj, Sateesh and the fantastic team at Westland, my publishers. They have been partners from the beginning. Anuj, my agent. Big man with an even bigger heart! The best friend an author could have. Sangram, Shalini, Parag, Shaista, Rekha, Hrishikesh, Richa, Prasad and the team at Think WhyNot, the advertising agency for the book. They made the cover, which I think is fantastic! They also made most of the marketing material for the book, including the trailer. They are among the best ad agencies in the country. Hemal, Neha and the Oktobuzz team, the social media agency for the book. Hardworking, super smart and intensely committed. They are an asset to any team.