Author: Divya Narain

The night was dark and tempestuous. Jet-black nimbus clouds had blotted out the moon and the stars, making the darkness overpowering. The winds howled through the kingdom of Matsya, uprooting trees, breaking branches, blowing dead leaves and foliage in the palace compound through the open windows and into the chambers of those who slept inside.…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – V (The Killing of Keechak)

In the peninsular part of the ancient land of Bharatvarsha, south of the Vindhya mountains, was located a territorial region known as Nashikya. Most of the land of Nashikya was covered with dense, impenetrable forests where light did not reach the ground, no vegetables grew and no flowers bloomed. This dense forest, akin to hell…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – IV (The Battle of Panchavati)

As the storm lashed the city of Mathura, the capital of the kingdom of Vrishni, a celestial event, foretold by the sages, was unfolding in a prison cell attached to the royal palace. Devaki and Vasudev, the royal prisoners and relatives to the cruel despot Kansa, were expecting their eighth child. As the day had…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – III (The Eighth Son)

As the color of the sky brightened in the east, Usha, the goddess of the morning colored the sky crimson. The sun rose languidly, full of guilt and shame, knowing the great horrors of the day before. Its first rays fell on the ash-smeared form of the yogi who wandered the lands of Bharata, the land…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – II (The Cosmic Dance)