Hindu mythology another emerging genre of India which is in high demand in current time and seeing that demand people many writers are trying this genre and writing and trying their luck in this genre and most of the time the attempt is successful in many as the demand is increasing. Basically Hindu mythology is a literature which is related to Hindu religion many literature book such as Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagwat Geeta, Upanishads, Vedas etc. comes under this category these are the common text of Hindu religion many text such as Periya Puranam and Divya Prabandham comes under Tamil literature whereas in Bengal it is Mangal Kavya. Many books such as Panchtantra and Hetopadesha, are also counted as Hindu text.
Today we are going to talk about the books that are inspired by or taken from Hindu mythology.
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
This book was inspired from Hindu mythology text called Mahabharata it was written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was basically a novel which came into market in 2008.
This book was basically about Hindu Mythology The Mahabharata told from Draupadi’s point of view.
It tells us about the situation of Draupadi living in patriarchal world it also tells us the journey of her that how she was born from fire then getting married to heroic five Pandavas, becoming the queen of Indraprasth, getting disrobed by her own brother-in-laws in front of whole Sabha full of males and a pure relation of friendship between her and Krishna who also saved her from disrobing. It received a lot of good reviews from the critics and was praised by them.
The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
The Immortals of Meluha is the first book Amish Tripathi, first book of Shiva Trilogy and Amishverse (a universe created by Amish Tripathi). This book was also inspired from Hindu Mythology book Mahabharata.
Initially the writer was going to write a book on philosophy of evils but by the denial of his family he shifted his idea to write a universe on Lord Shiva. It was praised by the critics and loved by mass audience.
The plot of the book starts from a land of Meluha who are the devotees of Shiva and on the other hand there are Chandravanshis who are tying hands with cursed Nagas to fight with Meluhans and Shiva decided to help Meluhans.
February 2010 this book came into market and became a success at the level that the writer had to change the production house to meet the requirements of book. In 2013 after the release of “The Secret of Nagas” and “The oath of Vayuputra” which became Shiva Trilogy later became the fastest selling Indian Book series of all time.
Lanka’s Princess by Kavita Kane
Lanka’s princess was a book which was has shown a Hindu Mythology book Ramayana from Surpanakha’s point of view.
It tells us the journey of Surpnakha that where and how was she born how and where she got married also what lead her to be one of the biggest villain in Ramayana. This book also flashes on what happened to her after the death of Ravan and all her brothers, where she has gone after Vibhishan became the king of Lanka and what led to her end.
Lanka’s Princess was published in 2016 written by Kavita Kane and was loved by the audience for its unique concept and POV. Though some critics found it little slow and said that it would be more fun if the book was short and crisper.
Asura:Tale of the Vanquished by Anand Neelakantan
Asura:Tale of the Vanquised was first book of Anand Neelakantan which was published in 2012.This is fiction story which was inspired by Hindu Mythology Book Ramayana and Ravan perspective was shown from this book.
This book puts light on the journey of Ravan and what led to him becoming most evil person in the history of the world, How he became Shiva bhakt? , How he fought with Kuber and became the King of Lanka?
This book when published became the largest bestselling book of 2012. According to cross wood list and CNN this book became the number one best selling book of 2012.
The Liberation of Sita by Volga
This book was published in 2016 by Volga (pen name) whose real name is P. Lalitha Kumari.
It is about telling Ramayana from Sita’s point of view, here the main character of the story is Sita where she meets other women like Surpanakha, Ahalya, Renuka Devi and Urmila.
Though in Original version of Ramayana these four characters got very less limelight but in this book they are sharing their thoughts to the world. Basically this book was the epic example of feminism.
This book was also praised by critics and audience while some found it very boring.
Dharmyoddha Kalki by Kevin Missal
This book is about one of the fiercest and most dangerous avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hindu Mythology which is in 3 parts and was released in 2017 by writer Kevin Missal.
The plot is about a boy young boy who likes to live his life to the fullest and is living his life happily in the village of Shambhala (which is said to be the village of immortal people) until he comes to know that why he came on earth and why he was born and what was the reason of his birth.
His life totally changes when he met his sister Durukti and who saved him from illness. This book came in 3 parts and was called “Kalki Trilogy” and was one of bestselling book of 2017 and was also loved by audience.
The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi
The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi is another book inspired by Hindu Mythology Book Mahabharata which was published in 2012.
This book was majorly a thriller story where a professor is being accused of doing a murder of his friend and after that a journey of proving his innocence started. Where we get to know about post Mahabharata story through the main character in the following story the professor happens to be the descendant of Shri Krishna. We also came to know about Mahabharata which was going parallel with the main plot.
The main motive of the author to write this book was that he wanted something related to Mahabharata but not telling the story from other’s point of view which was already done by many other writers. So, that is why he tried to go for a unique way which was loved by audience.
The Pandava Series by Roshani Chokshi
The Pandava Series by Roshani Chokshi is book series which was published in five parts by the writer Roshani Chokshi which were published in the span of 2018-2022. This series was inspired from Mahabharata but the difference here was that instead of Pandava brothers there are Pandava sisters.
In this series writer is trying to tell us about the main character Aru Shah which was being disliked by his own classmates but was loved by Pandava sisters and with that story begins and holds a grip and tells about the journey and life of main character Aru Shah.
This story was praised by audience for being similar to Rick Riordan‘s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was also critically acclaimed by audience.
The Rise of Hastinapur by Sharath Komarraju
As Mahabharata(Hindu Mythology Book) is one of the oldest and biggest epic in the world which is why there are various versions in the market, well this particular version which has been written by Sharath Komarraju is the story of beginning and women of Mahabharata.
In this particular story some God of elements are being cursed with a life on earth by Rishi Vashista whose cow was stolen by them. Among those God of elements there was Devarata who later became Bhisma Pitamah (which was given by his father Shantanu as he takes a vow of Celibacy) of Mahabharata.
This story also tell us about Ganga (mother of Devarata) and Satyavati who were the wives of King Shantanu (former ruler of Hastinapur) who played main role in Mahabharata story.
This book was published in November 2015 was well written and totally did justice to the story and the characters shown.
Karna’s wife: The Outcast’s Queen by Kavita Kane
Here’s another book of Kavita Kane published in 2014, was about a Kshatriya Princess named Uruvi who fell in love with Karna (a grey character of Mahabharata) and tells us the story from her perspective. This was taken from Hindu Mythology Book Mahabharata.
This book was all about how Uruvi saw Karna and fell in love with him and ended up marrying him following how she faces challenges of getting accepted by society and his family and how she adjusts in the environment which was totally new to her. As, she was a born princess and Karna was a Charioteer’s son (Sutputra).
This book was roller coaster ride of emotions at one time you will start feeling Uruvi and you will think that you are her. This book was also praised by audience.
That’s the wrap for today hope you like today’s Blog and found it informative. Meet you guys in the next blog till then “Keep reading, Keep spreading”.