The Fisher Queen's Dynasty Written By Kavita Kane

The Fisher Queen's Dynasty by Kavita Kané
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kavita Kane, a senior journalist for over two decades quit her job to become a writer on Indian mythological fiction. A pet lover and post graduate in English Literature & Mass Communication, she has over four best selling books in her kitty till date. And probably more to come.

Storyline:

This is the story of Satyavathi, the unceremonious Queen of the Kuru dynasty. Not much about her is discussed when it comes to Mahabharata, though she is one of the root queen of the infamous Kuru dynasty, which later perish in the great Kurukshetra war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Satyavathi, also known as Matsyagandha (the girl who has the scent of a fish), or Kali (the dark one) was the abandoned daughter of Uparichar Vasu- the King of Chedi, born to a fisherwoman. She goes through the hardships of poverty in the fishermen village but carries the zeal and burning desire to become a Queen, one day. Shantanu, the mighty king of Hastinapur, the most powerful kingdom of the land, once while wandering across encounters the beautiful Satyavathi and falls in love with her.
Opportunity seemed to have struck Satyavathi, to cherish her long pending wish. Her father Dasharaj, loses no time in striking a deal with Shantanu. For him to agree to the marriage, Dasharaj demands that neither Shantanu’s already existing multi talented warrior son and Crown Prince, Devavrat, nor his offspring, should ever ascend the throne of Hastinapur or be in competition to the same in future, against the offspring of Shantanu and Satyavathi. Devavrat agrees to this condition and pledges that he shall never marry. He thus becomes Bhishma of Mahabharata. Later, after Satyavathi’s marriage to Shantanu, she will never be able to live happily due to this guilt of her backdoor entry as the Queen of Hastinapur. Later she gives birth to two sons, Chintragad and Vichitravirya who happen to be not so healthy and successful rulers of Hastinapur. Bhishma, the grand Regent of Hastinapur continues to protect the kingdom from its dangerous enemies ever since. Satyavathi, ultimately, commits suicide, unable to bear the burden of curse on her for having deprived Bhishma, the right to be the King of Hastinapur and also for not having been able to give the rightful and healthy warrior princes, as heirs to the Kuru dynasty.

Pros: Any story is always interesting when narrated from the vanquished side. This is one such part of the origin of the grand Hindu epic, Mahabharata, wherein very little is spoken about this great iconic character, of Kuru dynasty. The author, has brought about every emotion out of a woman who was abandoned at her birth, taken by the most powerful king, sustained as a Queen of the most powerful kingdom, becomes the matriarch of a powerful dynasty but ultimately succumbs to the guilt of usurping her position in the wrong way. A woman’s angle is very well elicited in every chapter of the book. Satyavathi, who is perceived as a clever, ambitious, but wicked woman in the regular citation of Mahabharata of every Indian home, shall garner sympathy and love, if one reads this book.

Cons: The author seems to have missed a chord in maintaining a steady tempo in the flow of the book. There are some instances in-between when the reading gets boring and the reader tends to see the page number.

My rating is 3 out of 5


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