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Praise for the Shiva Trilogy‘Amish’s mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring,unfolds the deepest recesses of the soul as well as our collective consciousness.’– Deepak Chopra, world-renowned spiritual guru andbestselling author‘Amish is a fresh new voice in Indian writing – steeped in myth and history, with a fine eye for detail and a compelling narrative style.’– Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State in the Indian governmentand celebrated author‘Furious action jumps off every page.’– Anil Dharker, renowned j ournalist and author‘Tripathi’s Shiva Trilogy is already being touted as India’s Lord of the Rings.’– Hindustan Times‘ Amish has mastered the art of gathering, interpreting and presenting India’s many myths, folklores and legends, and blending all ofthat into fast-paced thrillers that change your views about gods, cultures, histories, demons and heroes, forever.’– Hi Blitz‘Amish’s Shiva Trilogy has a refreshing storyline The narration forces you to impatiently turn the page to know what secret is goingto be revealed about the “Neelkanth” next.’– The Telegraph‘It’s a labour of love. Amish also humanizes his characters, something which most popular Indian writers fail miserably at.’– Mint‘Amish’s philosophy of tolerance, his understanding of mythology and his avowed admiration for Shiva are evident in his best-sellingworks.’– Verve‘Tripathi is part of an emerging band of authors who have taken up mythology and history in a big way, translating bare facts intodelicious stories.’– The New Indian Express‘[Amish] has combined his love for history, philosophy and mythology into a racy fictional narrative which depicts Lord Shiva as aTibetan tribal leader.’– The Pioneer‘Tripathi’s approach to storytelling is contemporary and urban which is one of the main draws of the books. Though the story isfictional, its characters and historical depictions are factual [ ].’– Harper’s Bazaar‘[Amish] does a matchless job of bringing Shiva’s legacy into a character who inhabited the earth.’– The Sentinel
‘The Shiva Trilogy is a racy mytho-thriller with a masala twist, like Amar Chitra Katha on steroids.’– Rashmi Bansal, bestselling author of Stay Hungry StayFoolishPraise for The Immorta ls of Meluha‘I was blown away with the world of Meluha and riveted by Amish’s creation of it.’– Karan Johar, renowned filmmaker‘Shiva rocks. Just how much Shiva rocks the imagination is made grandiosely obvious in The Immortals of Meluha. [ ] Shiva’sjourney from cool dude [ ] to Mahadev [ ] is a reader’s delight. [ ] What really engages is the author’s crafting of Shiva, with almostboy-worship joy.’– The Times of India‘The Immortals of Meluha [ ] sees Lord Shiva and his intriguing life with a refreshing perspective. [ ] Beautifully written creation.[ ] Simply unputdownable for any lover of Indian history and mythology.’– Society‘The story [in The Immortals of Meluha] is gripping and well-paced. An essentially mythological story written in a modern style, thenovel creates anticipation in the reader’s mind and compels one to read with great curiosity till the end.’– Business World‘[The Immortals of Meluha is] amongst the top 5 books recommended by Brunch. the story is fascinating.’– Hindustan Times‘[The Immortals of Meluha] has philosophy as its underlying theme but is racy enough to give its readers the adventure of a lifetime.’– The Hindu‘[The Immortals of Meluha is a] wonderful book, replete with action, love and adventure, and extolling virtues and principles. Theauthor has succeeded in making many mythological characters into simple flesh and blood human beings, and therein lie(s) the beautyand the acceptability of this book.’– The Afternoon‘The author takes myth and contemporises it, raising questions about all that we hold true and familiar. The book is a marvellousattempt to create fiction from folklore, religion and archaeological facts.’– People‘ The Immortals of Meluha is a political commentary with messages for our world and a hope that since they flow from theMahadev himself, they will find greater acceptance. Be it the interpretation of Shiva’s battle cry – Har Har Mahadev as Every man aMahadev or the valour of Sati who fights her own battles – every passage is rich in meaning, and yet, open to interpretation. Therein liesthe strength of this book.’– Indiareads.com‘Following the amazing success of the first book, one has to admit that Amish has managed to touch a very popular nerve [ ].’– Deccan ChroniclePraise for The Secret of the N a g a s‘With his book, the second part of the Shiva trilogy [The Secret of the Nagas], [Amish] seems to be taking a walk in [Dan] Brown’sshoes.’
– Hindustan Times‘In The Secret of the Nagas, the author tells the story well, tying up seemingly loose ends and tangents into a tight plot.’– The Sunday Guardian‘[ ] a gripping tale that combines lots of action with deep yet accessible philosophy. Amish does not disappoint. [ ] The Secret of theNagas is furiously packed with action and intrigue and leaves the reader guessing.’– Outlook‘ the book has it all – philosophies, spiritual messages, secrets, battles and mysteries.’– The Indian Express‘It’s clear that [The Secret of the Nagas] has struck a chord with Indian readers.’– The Hindu‘Amish Tripathi retained his Midas touch with The Secret of the Nagas.’– Deccan Herald‘The Secret of the Nagas is impressive in its conception. Tripathi is an excellent storyteller.’– DNA‘The moment you start reading [The Secret of the Nagas], you are sucked into the adrenaline-pumping ride through the enigmaticlandscape populated by a host of [characters].’– Alive‘Few books on history and mythology have an element that makes you think beyond the printed word. The Secret of the Nagas,Amish Tripathi’s second book of the Shiva Trilogy, does that.’– Herald, Goa
The Oath of theVayuputrasBook 3of theShiva TrilogyAmish
westland ltd61 Silverline Building, 2nd floor, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 60009593, 1st Floor, Sham Lal Road, New Delhi 11000223/181 Anand Nagar, Nehru Road, Santacruz East, Mumbai 400055No. 38/10 (New No.5), Raghava Nagar, New Timber Yard Layout, Bangalore 560026www.westlandbooks.inPublished by westland ltd 2013Copyright Amish Tripathi 2013All rights reserved10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Amish Tripathi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are usedfictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person living or dead, events and locales is entirely coincidental.ISBN: 978-93-82618-34-8Cover Design by Rashmi Pusalkar.Photo of Lord Shiva by Chandan Kowli.Inside book formatting and typesetting by Ram Das LalThis book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwisecirculated without the author’s prior written consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published andwithout a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights undercopyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmittedin any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission ofthe copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews with appropriate citations.
To the late Dr Manoj Vyas, my father-in-lawGreat men never dieThey live on in the hearts of their followers
Har Har MahadevAll of us are Mahadevs, All of us are GodsFor His most magnificent temple, finest mosque andgreatest church exist within our souls
ContentsThe Shiva TrilogyAcknowledgementsChapter1: The Return of a FriendChapter2: What is Evil?Chapter3: The Kings Have ChosenChapter4: A Frog HomilyChapter5: The Shorter RouteChapter6: The City that Conquers PrideChapter7: An Eternal PartnershipChapter8: Who is Shiva?Chapter9: The Love-struck BarbarianChapter 10: His Name Alone Strikes FearChapter 11: The Branga AllianceChapter 12: Troubled WatersChapter 13: Escape of the GunasChapter 14: The Reader of MindsChapter 15: The Magadhan IssueChapter 16: Secrets RevealedChapter 17: Honour ImprisonedChapter 18: Honour or Victory?Chapter 19: Proclamation of the Blue LordChapter 20: The Fire SongChapter 21: Siege of AyodhyaChapter 22: Magadh MobilisesChapter 23: Battle of Bal-Atibal KundChapter 24: The Age of ViolenceChapter 25: God or Country?Chapter 26: Battle of MrittikavatiChapter 27: The Neelkanth SpeaksChapter 28: Meluha StunnedChapter 29: Every Army Has a TraitorChapter 30: Battle of DevagiriChapter 31: Stalemate
Chapter 32: The Last ResortChapter 33: The Conspiracy DeepensChapter 34: With the Help of UmbergaonChapter 35: Journey to ParihaChapter 36: The Land of FairiesChapter 37: Unexpected HelpChapter 38: The Friend of GodChapter 39: He is One of UsChapter 40: Ambush on the NarmadaChapter 41: An Invitation for PeaceChapter 42: Kanakhala’s ChoiceChapter 43: A Civil RevoltChapter 44: A Princess ReturnsChapter 45: The Final KillChapter 46: Lament of the Blue LordChapter 47: A Mother’s MessageChapter 48: The Great DebateChapter 49: Debt to the NeelkanthChapter 50: Saving a LegacyChapter 51: Live On, Do Your KarmaChapter 52: The Banyan TreeChapter 53: The Destroyer of EvilChapter 54: By the Holy LakeGlossary
The Shiva TrilogyShiva! The Mahadev. The God of Gods. Destroyer of Evil. Passionate lover. Fierce warrior.Consummate dancer. Charismatic leader. All-powerful, yet incorruptible. Quick of wit – and oftemper.No foreigner who came to India – be he conqueror, merchant, scholar, ruler, traveller – believedthat such a great man could ever have existed in reality. They assumed he must have been a mythicalGod, a fantasy conjured within the realms of human imagination. And over time, sadly, this beliefbecame our received wisdom.But what if we are wrong? What if Lord Shiva was not simply a figment of a rich imagination buta person of flesh-and-blood like you and me? A man who rose to become god-like as a result of hiskarma. That is the premise of the Shiva Trilogy, which attempts to interpret the rich mythologicalheritage of ancient India, blending fiction with historical fact.The Immortals of Meluha was the first book in a trilogy that chronicles the journey of thisextraordinary hero. The story was continued in the second book, The Secret of the Nagas. And itwill all end in the book that you are holding: The Oath of the Vayuputras.This is a fictional series that is a tribute to my God; I found Him after spending many years in thewilderness of atheism. I hope you find your God as well. It doesn’t matter in what form we findHim, so long as we do find Him eventually. Whether He comes to us as Shiva or Vishnu or ShaktiMaa or Allah or Jesus Christ or Buddha or any other of His myriad forms, He wants to help us. Letus allow Him to do so.Yadyatkarma karomi tattadakhilam shambho tavaaraadhanamMy Lord Shambo, My Lord Shiva, every act of mine is a prayer in your honour
AcknowledgementsI hadn’t imagined I would ever become an author. The life that I live now, a life spent in pursuits likewriting, praying, reading, debating and travelling, actually feels surreal at times. There are many whohave made this dream possible and I’d like to thank them.Lord Shiva, my God, for bringing me back to a spiritual life. It is the biggest high possible.Neel, my son, a rejuvenating elixir, who would regularly come and ask me while I was obsessivelywriting this book, ‘Dad, aapka ho gaya kya?’Preeti, my wife; Bhavna, my sister; Himanshu, my brother-in-law; Anish and Ashish, mybrothers; Donetta, my sister-in-law. They have worked so closely with me, that many times I feelthat it isn’t just my book, but a joint project, which just happens to have my name on it.The rest of my family: Usha, Vinay, Meeta, Shernaz, Smita, Anuj and Ruta. For always being therefor me.Sharvani Pandit, my editor. She has battled severe health troubles, without asking for anysympathy. And despite the trying times she went through, she helped me fulfil my karma. I’m luckyto have her.Rashmi Pusalkar, the designer of this book’s cover. She’s been a partner from the first book. In myhumble opinion, she’s one of the best book-cover designers in Indian publishing.Gautam Padmanabhan, Satish Sundaram, Anushree Banerjee, Paul Vinay Kumar, Vipin Vijay,Renuka Chatterjee, Deepthi Talwar, Krishna Kumar Nair and the fantastic team at Westland, mypublishers. They have shown commitment and understanding that very few publishers showtowards their authors.Anuj Bahri, my agent, a typically large-hearted, boisterous Punjabi. A man brought to me by fate,to help me achieve my dreams.Sangram Surve, Shalini Iyer and the team at Think Why Not, the advertising and digitalmarketing agency for the book. I have worked with many advertising agencies in my career,including some of the biggest multinationals. Think Why Not ranks right up there, amongst thebest.Chandan Kowli, the photographer for the cover. He did a brilliant job as always. Also, AtulPargaonkar, for fabricating the bow and arrow; Vinay Salunkhe, for the make-up; Ketan Karande, themodel; Japheth Bautista, for the concept art for the background; the Little Red Zombies team andShing Lei Chua for support on 3D elements and scene set-up; Sagar Pusalkar and team for the postprocessing work on the images; Julien Dubois for coordinating production. I hope you like thecover they have created. I loved it!Omendu Prakash, Biju Gopal and Swapnil Patil for my photograph that has been printed in thisbook. Their composition was exceptional; the model, regrettably, left a lot to be desired!Chandramauli Upadhyay, Shakuntala Upadhyay and Vedshree Upadhyay from Benara
Praise for the Shiva Trilogy ‘Amish’s mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring, unfolds the
