Abhaya, page 33
MAHADEVA Great God (used to evoke Shiva)
PRASAD Food distributed to worshippers/devotees/visitors after being offered to a deity in worship
SHAKTA Practitioner of a religion worshipping Shakti
SHAKTI/ADI SHAKTI Primeval energy regarded as the female aspect of the Supreme Being
SWAYAMVARA A ceremony where a bride marries the groom of her choice among the suitors
VAMACHARA The “left” path of worship, usually considered unorthodox as against the Dakshinachara or the “right” path, which encompasses the orthodox ways
VRATA A ritual worship aiming to achieve a deity’s blessing for a certain purpose
REFERENCES AND WORKS THAT INSPIRED ABHAYA
2003. Sri Lalita Sahasranama (trans. in English by Swami Tapasyananda.) Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math.
Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra. 2008. Krishna Charitra (trans. by Alo Shome). New Delhi: V&S Publishers.
Barua, B.K. and H.V. Sreenivasa Murthy. 1965. Legends and Temples of Assam. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Das, Bhagavan. 1962. Krishna—A Study in the Theory of Avatars. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Magee, Michael. 2011. Shri Yoni Tantra: Unveiling a Key Tantric Sexual Ritual. UK, Australia, India: MetaPlume Corporation.
Misra, V.S. 2007. Ancient Indian Dynasties. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Munshi, K.M. 1963. Krishnavatara Series Volume 2: The Wrath of the Emperor. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Osho. 1991. Krishna, the Man and his Philosophy. Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House.
Pothana, Bammera Sri. 2010. Andhra Mahabhagavatamu. Tirupati: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Publications.
Vartak, P.V. “Brahmaputra Culture Is At Least 15,000 Years Old”. Available at https://www.scribd.com/document/206418233/ARTICLE-Narakasura-Brahmaputra-Culture-is-at-Least-15000-Years-Old
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Conceiving a story, its characters and our world is beyond the single-handed capabilities of an author, if not for the world that comes together in supporting him or her. The journey of writing Abhaya showed me a wonderful side of the world that opened its supportive arms to me.
The dynamic editorial team from Bloomsbury—Praveen Tiwari, Nitin Valecha and Shreya Chakraborti—and the freelance editor, Gauri Kelkar, deserve all my applause for their proactive efforts due to which the book reappeared in this new form.
The foundations of Hindu epics, legends and philosophies were laid for me by my parents. My mother, Usha Krishna Swamy, ushered me into the ageless world of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana with her regular reciting sessions, compelling insights, bedtime stories and much more. My father, Krishna Swamy Kumar, cemented my love for Indian history through his unique way of combining current affairs with scriptural knowledge from Indian itihasas.
My husband, Arvind Iyer, is my single pillar of support. He saw to it that I get past multiple writer’s blocks and pessimistic urges to give up my attempts to write. His love and companionship—not to mention the many occasions where he treated me to a dinner or a gift upon the completion of every small milestone of my manuscript—are things I shall cherish for life and beyond. I am thankful for the support of my in-laws. Trust me, it is tough to bear with a family member whose mind is forever captured in 2000 BCE all the time and they did it!
My extended family, my grandparents, uncles and aunts, who were there for me to support my crucial necessities as well as my wildest ideas; my cousins who used to humour me by listening to my endless stories—this was possible because you all had a huge role to play in encouraging the storyteller in me.
The journey of writing Abhaya started in my late teens when it was only a collection of disconnected wild fantasies about Lord Krishna, written in stray sheets, which I tore away later, laughing at myself. I am thankful that the characters succeeded in capturing my attention this long and chose me to be the medium—despite my multiple attempts to give up—to weave their story.
Expressing any amount of gratitude would fall short when I take the name of Sri Hari Kiran Vadlamani, founder of Indic Academy, who made countless milestones happen all along my career. I pray that he, his family and his team are blessed with a long life of health, prosperity and happiness. My humble words of gratitude to Sri Amish Tripathi, bestselling author and director, Nehru Centre, and Sangeeta Bahadur, a wonderful author. Both of them supported me with their kind words of praise, along with insights and encouragement that boosted my confidence just when I needed it.
I would also like to mention the team that was behind the self-published edition—Vrinda Baliga, Anoop Ravindran, Ritesh Kala, Emily Tippets. I could not have done it without you. The very first step of my literary career could take off because of you all.
Critical feedback from different angles is a priceless treasure an author can hope to find. Authors— Nilanjan Chaudhuri, Krishna Udayasankar, Nandini Vijayaraghagavan and Venkatesh Ramakrishnan—had a lot to teach me through their timely advice, insights and their own writings too. Mahesh Mohan, Jijith N. Ravi, Sindhuja Ramasubramanian, Suraj Sharma, Mrinalini Krothapalli, Ramaa Prabha, Shashank Davanagere, Uma Shankar Das and K. Chandrashekhar come to mind. Without their inputs, right from character suggestions and structural elements to linguistic improvements, the novel would not have come this far.
Finally, I would like to thank my friends and batch mates—it is a long list and, though I wonder why these wonderful people chose to believe in me, I’m nevertheless grateful that they did: Jyothi Gonuguntla, Pavan Kunchapudi, Aditya Kumar, Nandhita V.M., Anjali Vipparthy, Bhavna Baral, Shambhavi Satya, Hitesh Jogiya, Rakesh Nath, Ramesh Badiger and many others chose to believe in the very first draft and were generous with feedback and lots of unconditional support.
My memory could be failing me and I am sure I am forgetting many more names. Technology and social media have indeed made the world a lot smaller and closer and, yes, many lent me a kind word or two when I needed it the most.
A big shout-out to all the early readers who read the online version and validated my digital-first approach with their reviews and also promoted Abhaya on their social networks. And, finally, a big thank you to you, the readers, who chose to believe in an unknown name and bought the book. I pray that Krishna Vaasudeva manifests to each of you in his way to delight you eternally.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and an investment professional turned satisfied writer, Saiswaroopa Iyer is the bestselling author of five novels, all based on legendary female protagonists from ancient Indian literature. Her second novel, Avishi, based on a Rig Vedic hymn, has been acquired for screen adaptation by a major studio. She also curated an anthology of short stories based on the Kurukshetra battle of the Mahabharata, published by Bloomsbury India. Saiswaroopa is passionate about ancient Indian history, philosophy and literature. She is a curator at Indic Academy and holds a certificate in the Puranas from Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
As a trained Carnatic classical singer, she has also been awarded a gold medal by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), a trust that provides comprehensive information about temples in Tirumala and Tirupati. In her spare time, she likes to search for her next inspiration in books, pravachanas and historical temples. She lives in Bengaluru.
If you enjoyed reading the books and would like to stay updated with the author’s forthcoming projects, you can follow her on social media:
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BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Avishi
Long before the times of Draupadi and Sita
Immortalised in the hymns of Rig Veda
But forgotten to the memory of India
Was the warrior queen with an iron leg, Vishpala.
Brought up in the pristine forest school of Naimisha, Avishi reaches the republic of Ashtagani in search of her destiny. When Khela, the oppressive king of the neighbouring Vrishabhavati, begins to overwhelm and invade Ashtagani, Avishi rises to protect her settlement but at a high cost.
Separated from her love, her settlement broken, with a brutal injury needing an amputation of her leg, what can Avishi do to save herself?
Will her disability let her continue to be the warrior that she was?
Can she fight Khela and save everything dear to her?
Separated from her love, her settlement broken and handicapped by a brutal injury, can Avishi overcome Khela?
If stories about ancient India, especially those with strong women characters, interest you, then Avishi is a story you must read!
Mauri
She wants to kill the man whom others call God. However, love unwittingly becomes an obstacle in her sworn path.
With her father’s death shattering her world, Mauri is torn away from everything she had once loved. Anger has replaced every emotion within her, and she seeks only one thing. To kill her father’s killer. Even if the man is none other than Krishna Vaasudeva, the man whom people worship as God!
Someone is standing in the way though, reining in her bitterness when she is least prepared for it—the Rakshasa prince, Ghatotkacha! But, by the time love sprouts within her, Mauri has gone too far in her thirst for vengeance and has endangered Kamarupa, the high seat of the Supreme Goddess.
Does Ghatotkacha realise the true intentions of his lover?
Can Mauri fight her own monsters and defend the temple?
Can Mauri save herself and Ghatotkacha before both their worlds are destroyed?
Saiswaroopa Iyer, Abhaya
