"Vishwamitra" & "Parshuram" by Vineet Agrawal are still on my wishlist. Before I can lay my hands on these two Vineet came up with Bharat - The Man Who Built a Nation. I got my hands on Bharat on my birthday. I was glad as it was the only gift I received (apart from my wife's of course) Talking about the first impression, compared to previous books by Vineet cover of Bharat is far better.
After Vishwamitra and the Legend of Parshu-Raam, comes the epic saga of the king of Bharatvarsh! The kingdoms of Nabhi-varsh lie scattered in the wake of Parshu-Raam's assault on corrupt Kshatriyas. While evil has been wiped out from the land, the important task of nation-building remains. In the forest of Naimish-Aranya, the stunned king of Hastinapur watches a young boy play with lion cubs. Who is this fearless child? How does his destiny entwine with that of this ancient kingdom? Will he be able to bring order to the nation and defend it against the invaders lining up at its borders? Reimagined brilliantly, this novel tells the story of the son of Dushyant and Shakuntala, the grandson of Brahmarishi Vishwamitra, the man who changed the destiny of our country and gave it a brand new name-Bharat! Praise for the Legend of Parshu-Raam!
The story is divided into three or I would say two & half parts. The first part covers how Bharat's parent met each other, how they fall in love & how they got separated. I think all Indians knew about the love story of Shakuntala & Dushyant. This part depicts his epic love story. Next (half) part is about Sarvadaman's (aka Bharat's) upbringing. It is short in length but deep in meaning. Specially few conversation between Vishwamitra & Sarvadaman becoming Bharat. How he conquered Gandhar to Kamapura, Himalaya to Kanyakumari. It shows how he subdued (as per meaning of his name) foreign barbaric invaders.
These stories we have heard or watched many times so what is new in this book. The first & foremost, the author's narration style & story building. I liked the way author has driven story & character of Bharat. Second at various places author has nicely shown the deep meaning of our Sanskrit shloka or rituals. I liked following
- Saptapadi - Marriage Vows
- Verse given after above marriage vows
- 10 gurus from nature - Vishwamitra's teaching to Sarvadaman
Though the pace was fast, except end I didn't find the author was rushing towards the end. War strategies shown at the end was really interesting. If the author has shown more of it I would have given one more star. Talking about ratings
- Cover 4/5
- Title 3.5/5
- Characters - 3.5/5
- Concent - 3.5/5
- Overall - 3.5/5
Review from other readers can be found at GoodReads
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