Ten Kings by Ashok K. Banker

"Ten Kings" by Ashok K. Banker. This book is published by Amaryllis in Aug 2014 and has 340 pages. This book has its origins in Rigved. The war happened more than 4000 years ago.

Sudas was the king of tribe Trtsu Bharata. He ruled area of five rivers, today's Punjab. His kingdome was on the river Parusni. He was advised by Guru Vashistha. Anu was the king of Anu tribe (another Bharata tribe) who shared space with Trtsu Bharatas on Parusni river (today's Ravi) and had an uneasy relationship with Trtsu Bharata over sharing of river Parusni. Vishwamitra was the Guru of Anu's. He was also half brother of Sudevi, Sudas' wife. Indra was patron god of all Bharata tribes.

Anu forms an alliance with five other kings from Bharat Varsha and four foreign kings and these Ten Kings (Dasarajna - दशराजन्) decide to annihilate Trtsu Bharata tribe and plunder the spoils. These Ten Kings are: Anu, Alinas, Puru, Bhrigu, Druhyu, Bhalana, Dasya, Matsya, Parsu & Pani. Last four are Mleccha (Barbaric foreigners) who came from Pariyatra Parvat Pass (called Khayber pass today). Odds are stacked decisively against Sudas. His army of less than 500 is outnumbered by the Ten Kings army of Six thousand, which actually turn out to be more than 30,000.

Sudas decides to fight the battle for his dream of united Bharat Varsh (भारत वर्ष) on the banks of Parusni river on a stormy day. His only hope is advice of Guru Vashishtha, strategy, bravery, element of surprise and weather. How many hours can Sudas sustain? Will he survive? Will he retain his honor? Who will win? Does the thunder god Indra and rain good Varun help him?

Sudas fights valiantly. His men support his trust in them. They use the terrain to their advantage. They use natural resources to their advantage. They employ psychological warfare. They use weather to their advantage. (Did you think of 'Art of war' by Tsun Tzu? This was much before him.) Trtsu achieve impossible feat through determination, bravery and trust in their king and Guru. It also underlines the fact that ancient Indians possessed the knowledge to make use of elements through the study of mathematics, science, geography, almanac and astronomy.

It was probably the first ever war fought with iron weapons. Opposition considered them godly weapons (दैवी अस्त्र) handed over to Trtsu by Indra himself. Weather played an important part in the war, again considered intervention by Gods. It was a war of Sudas Vs Ten Kings, Good Vs Evil, Vashistha Vs Vishwamitra, Civility Vs Barbarism.

Emperor Sudas established a city after winning the war. A city distinguished by greatly advanced civic and social development. This city is HARAPPA of Indus Valley Civilization. Emperor Sudas can thus be termed as founding Father of Bharat.

All counting in this book is in scores (1 score = 20 numbers). He has successfully created an atmosphere of more than 4000 years ago. The description of war and tactics is vivid. You can actually visualize the war and positions of the armies. Kudos to the author for writing this tantalizing historical fiction based on just two verses from 7th mandala of Rigved and archeological findings. It's neither pure history not pure fiction. Author calls it historical fiction. This book can be made into a riveting film.

Why is this story so significant? Because this battle can be considered first known invasion of India. Had the Ten Kings won, we might have been ruled by tribes from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan and European steppes today.

An excellent book. A must read.

The Mahabharata Secret by Christopher C. Doyle

"The Mahabharata Secret" by Christopher C. Doyle. This book is published by Om Books in 2013 and has 386 pages.

There is a legend about King Ashoka. It is said that after he embraced Buddhism, he wanted his subjects to live in peace and prosperity. He came across ancient knowledge from Mahabharata that could be used for violence and destruction. In order to save it from unscrupulous elements he formed brotherhood of nine unknowns. The Mahabharata secret was hidden. In order to make it extremely difficult to find it a series of puzzles and clues were devised. Each one of the nine unknowns carried a part of the knowledge or puzzle. Ashoka also ordered destruction of all written records of wiman parva (विमान पर्व) from Mahabharata and decreed discontinuation of it from verbal records.

Vikram Singh, a nuclear scientist is killed for this Mahabharata secret by a Pakistani nuclear scientist turned LeT terrorist, Farooq Siddiqui. When Vikram knows of the impending attack, instead of saving himself he sends a series of cryptic emails to his nephew, Vijay, in USA. The same LeT gang abducts Vijay and his friend cum business partner Collin upon reaching Delhi but they escape. Then these two with the help of Dr. Shukla (Friend of Vijay's uncle and linguist of ancient languages), his daughter Radha(A nuclear scientist) & Dr. White, friend of Vikram start to decipher the emails, follow the clues and obtain artifacts that should eventually lead them to The Mahabharata Secret. There is a global conspiracy afoot that will benefit from Mahabharata secret.

What is the conspiracy? Who are the conspirators? Do the nine unknowns still exist? Can Vijay find Mahabharata secret? Can LeT get their hands on it? What is the secret?

Earlier this year I had read a book called 'The Tenth Unknown' by Jwalant Nalin Sampat on the same legend of 'Nine Unknowns'. Looks like this legend is  catching imagination of Indian fiction writers.

The study and background work that has gone behind this book is evident. Christopher has written the book well. The story is interesting. It is paced to keep you interested. He has used the mythological and historical details properly. Edicts of Ashoka, their locations and correlation of their locations are impeccable. The puzzles and clues are created keeping the mythological and historical references and significance in mind.

I would have preferred if the clues were a little more cryptic. The traitor should have been camouflaged in a better way. Readers can identify the traitor easily but characters can not. Although readers don't know what the secret is, they can make a close-enough guess. The secret should have been better hidden and the readers should have been kept guessing till it's revelation.

This book reminded me of Dan Brown thrillers. Is Christopher C. Doyle India's Dan Brown? Not yet, but he is close.

A very good book. Recommend reading.