ARJUN, WITHOUT A DOUBT

Blurb of the Book:

I knew there was nothing poetic about death. I knew not that the most horrific battles are fought off the battlefield.

Arjun: The idealist in a non-ideal world; the warrior whose deadliest opponent was his conscience. History forgot his voice, but misquoted his silence.

My self-esteem originates from me and ends in me. Why does your honor depend on me? Find your own.

Draupadi: The untamed tigress, the fragrant flame, the unbridled spirit.

Power does not justify sin. Power is not virtue. Virtue is that which lasts in spite of power.

Krishn: The enigma whose unique ideology churned the battlefield into a quest for Truth.

The Missile…The Trajectory…The Vision. The trio that makes for the core of The Mahabharata. This is their saga. Insightful, visceral and candid.

Know the Author

Dr. Shinde Sweety holds a Doctorate in Medicine. She is an avid Mahabharata fan, voracious reader, yoga enthusiast, student of Spanish and yearns to learn Sanskrit. Personally, Dr Shinde Sweety is skilled at pencil sketching, loves to daydream and swim. She is curious about the Mystic & Mystique, crazy about soulful music and content to be cocooned in a dream world.

My Take: Knowing my interest in reading stories, my father had got me my first books on the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, when I was in Class Eight or Nine. I read it without taking a break then, and I read Arjun, Without a Doubt, without taking a break even now. I re-realised my love for mythology with this book. 

At that tender age when I had read the first version of this epic called Mahabharata, I had a few questions still unanswered, and I am glad to share that this book answered most of them. It’s the answer to all those people who feel that it was Draupadi who was responsible for the war called Mahabharata. 

Before reading this book, I used to firmly believe that it was Duryodhan whose greed to the throne led to this war. But, hold on, there are other grey characters

too. None, absolutely none is without grey shades in their character. Even Arjun, the hero of the book, has himself admitted that he was one of the offenders.

I used to feel that Draupadi was one of the victims. The feeling has been reinforced by this book, but the book also throws light on the fact that Draupadi was a Tigress, she was not a dumb character leading her life only on the mercy of her five husbands, that more than becoming the victim in the hands of Duryodhan and party, she was a victim of her own clan including the adamancy of Mata Kunti, the lust of her supposedly elder brothers-in-law Yudhistir and Bhim and the timidness of her younger brothers-in-law Nakul and Sahdev.

I could have written so much about this book, but that would take away from the reader the joy of reading the book, the suspense of the interpretation. Hence, I would stop here itself.

A wonderful book, which will not allow you to keep it aside till the last page. I would personally like to request the author to take up other epics from the point of Sita and one from the point of view of Radha.

Title:    With due respect to the author’s choice, the Title Arjun, Without a Doubt” , to my understanding is mis-kept and could be replaced with probably, “Draupadi, The Empress” or “Draupadi, The Tigress”.

Cover Page:    Wished to see a trace of Draupadi or as she was fondly called Krishnaa on the cover page for the same reasons that I found this to be doing justice towards the female protagonist.

Publishers:  This one is a leadstart publication.

Overall Rating:           4.5/5