| trnam brahmavidah svargastrnam shurasya jivitam |
|| jitakshayasya trna nari nihsprhasya trnam jagat ||

AMBA NAHIN MAIN BHISHMAA (Hindi)
Novel based on the Mahabharata character "Amba"
By Chitra Chaturvedi
2006 220 x 140 mm 160 pp
Hardcover Rs. 125

After a long time, Hindi has produced a writer in the league of
Amritlal Nagar and Acarya Chatursen! The award-winning novelist
Dr. Chitra Chaturvedi "Karttika" specialises in finely written
impeccably researched historical novels.

Her oeuvre contains gems such as "Mahabharati" [on
Draupadi], "Vaijayanti" [on Krishna], "Tanaya" [based on Madhavi,
daughter of the ancient King Yayati] and "Vaidehi ke Rama" [on
the angst that Rama went through after giving up Sita].

The protagonist of this novel, Bhishmaa (Amba) is a heroine of
the Mahabharata. Abducted by Bhishma and compelled by him to
marry Bhishma's younger brother, she, along with her two younger
sisters Ambika and Ambalika, was forced into living a life bereft
of all happiness and joy.

As a 17 year old on the verge of marrying her beloved one in a
svayamvara, she was kidnapped by Bhishma, the senior statesman
and one of the most important and powerful men of his era.
Despite that, she took him on and swore an oath to avenge her
humiliation.

Since Bhishma had been blessed with "iccha mrtyu", i.e. he could
live as long as he wanted to, he lead an extraordinarily long
life. Thus, it took Amba, an ordinary mortal, three incarnations
to finally take her revenge and kill Bhishma. She did so as
Shikhandi.

Had Amba, in the form of Shikhandi, not slayed Bhishma, the
Mahabharata would have gone on unceasing causing even more deaths
and destruction. Hence, Amba / Bhishmaa should be credited with
saving mankind by bringing about the end of the Mahabharata. But
somehow, the spotlight always remained on the brave Pandavas and
Kauravas, the great Krishna and the valiant Karna. No one bothered
to study the role of the extraordinary women protagonists of the
Mahabharata - Draupadi, Amba, Kunti and Gandhari.

This is an insightful and elegantly crafted novel on a hitherto
ignored / undermined key protagonist of the Mahabharata. Worth
reading more than once! It is a treasure for every lover of Indian
literature. This work is right up there with Shivaji
Savant's "Mrityunjaya" and "Yugandhara" in terms of quality of
writing and subject matter.

Truly a masterpiece! Beautifully designed, aesthetically printed
and priced very low.

Please order your copy today by writing to <manishymodi@...>

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