I took this book by only reading the title of it. It is strange, isn't it ?. How on the earth ***** ? As you can exclaim!! :). This is the tale of Yuvanashva, the king of Vallabhi, a descendant of Turvasu clan. Vallabhi a city placed adjacent to the kingdom of Kauravas, the Hastinapur.
The novel picks up really well with the introduction of Yuvanashva parents, his father Prasenjit that dies very early, which leads his mother Shilavati to rule the kingdom. Here author brings up a very interesting argument over, why women cannot become the king and sit over the throne, which is a must read from the book. All the villagers and other neighbor kings were not really in acceptance mode, when shilavati was ruling. This was adharma according to them. Hence, Shilavati just became a proxy ruler, until his son is blessed with a child, that’s the right time to allow him to become the king.
To everyone’s dismay, Yuvanashva remained as childless though he was married to 3 different queens. His first wife Simantini, Second wife Poulomi and third wife Keshini. These characters are just the filler roles for this novel. There is not much about them that you can guffaw over it. Hence, Yuvanashva conducts a ritual by calling the sages Yaja and Upayaja to prepare a magic potion by offering richly to the gods through Yagna. But, unfortunately, Yuvanashva drinks this potion accidently and he becomes pregnant! :)
What follows after this accident is a splendid art work of fiction. Author had brought the woman in Yuvanashva through his tales of emotion, happiness and feelings. Yuvanashva's dilemma/jignasa over whether his firstborn son Mandhata, should call him MOTHER or FATHER ?. Whether he can announce the world that, he has given birth to Mandhata ? Whether the world will agree to such story?, etc.. To his surprise, when he revealed this secret to his son Mandhata a few years later, Mandhata also silences Yuvanashva citing the reason “Whatever happened has happened, now I am your son and you are my father”. Yuvanashva pleading his son Mandhata to call him as MOTHER at least once is one of those highly charged scene from the book.
Though this entire story takes place at the time of Mahabharata, The story of Vallahi and Yuvanashva takes the cake. The people of this kingdom were least bothered about what’s happening in Hastinapuri. One such example is when a bard comes and announces that, all the Kaurava army was destroyed in the battle of Kurukshetra, everyone exclaims “Oh, is it so??”, then they carry on with their regular chores. :)
Yuvanashva is one of those kings who don't participate in the battle of Kurukshetra, reason being obvious, he is pregnant. There are multiple references to bulls, fields, soil and seeds as euphemisms for sex and conception, and to illuminate the vexing question of “ownership” that arises when a woman is made pregnant by someone other than her husband (famously called as NIYOGA system). And then there are those troublesome dead ancestors, the “pitrus”, waiting for the arrival of a child so they can be reborn in the land of the living. Taking the form of crows, they perch outside bedchambers, waiting for quick results, flapping their wings impatiently when foreplay goes on for too long. (“Does it not bother you that your son’s seed is weak?” one of them indelicately asks Shilavati.) The book is bit "for adults only" too, that doesn't mean that, it is disgusting to read. I guess it is appropriate for the tale that the author is describing.
There are other supplement tales. Two best friends Sumedha and Somavat(i), their tales of how they were supposed to get married and it was severely dealt by Yuvanashva, by burning them alive. Later they became ghosts and were tormenting Yuvanashva. These ghosts are responsible for Yuvanashva drinking the potion that was meant for his wives. It’s an interesting section to read. Shilavati, who cannot rule as a king because she is a woman. Pruthalashva (grandfather of Yuvanashva), who must sire a child because he is a man, a Yaksha named Sthunakarna, who surrenders his manhood so thatShikhandi (a woman) can become a man and a husband, and later reclaims it, and of the great warrior Arjuna with his many wives, who is forced to disguise himself as a woman (Brihannala) when a nymph (Urvashi) castrates him. And in this journey, we witness King Yuvanashva's struggle to be just to all, his conflict with himself, and his duty to bring about Dharma in his kingdom.
The climax part is what gave an amazing conclusion. Yuvanashva decides to renounce as a king and becomes a hermit. He wanders through the forests meeting sages and other learned rishis. He realizes there is more to life than what he had imagined. He slowly raises his consciousness and becomes Nilkanth Bhairavi or Yuvaneshwar.
Overall, this is a sporadically successful, intriguing, spectacular, beautiful, yet thought provoking book that tells an engrossing, subversive story but meanders a little too much.
Some of the quotes which I liked from all the characters:
- "What sounds sweetest, being called Mother or being called Father"?
- “Does it not bother you that your son’s seed is weak?”
- "You are assuming you know the boundaries of nature. You don't. There is more to life than your eyes can see."
- “Who is a King? Who can claim to be mother or a father? Who is the rightful heir to the throne?”
- "To be a woman is like becoming a prey, her every move watched by hungry predators. Every glance of man is a violation. No one is spared. No one. Not mother, not sister, not daughter. It is only fear of Dharma that keeps men in check. (Arjuna describing his story to Yuvanashva when he became Brihannala for one long year)"
The realization quotes of Yuvanashva:
- “It will not make sense to your logical mind. You will say, a parent is a parent, whether you are father or mother. But it is not the same. I cannot explain. You have to experience it. All I know is what I feel. I feel, while there is sweetness when your son calls you “father”, there is more sweetness when he calls you “mother”.
- “I am not sure that I am a man…I have created life outside me as men do. But I have also created life inside me, as women do. What does that make me? Will a body such as mine fetter or free me?”
- “That’s what they were. Vehicles of an idea. Two ideas. No. One idea, two expressions. Two halves of the same idea. Mutually interdependent” - (on being Male and Female).
- “Within you is your soul, Adi-natha as Shiva, silent, observant, still. Around you is matter, Adi-natha as Shakti, ever-changing, enchanting, enlightening, enriching, empowering”.
- “The imperfection of the human condition and our stubborn refusal to make room for all those in between”
Endnote (Quote) by the author:
My Rating:
5/5
Hey! One correction: the names of the siddhas that conduct the yagna are Yaja and Upayaja, not Jaya and Upajaya.
ReplyDeleteHey Anonymous,
DeleteThanks for the correction. I have updated the post!