Acharya Chatursen paints a vivid
picture of fifth century B.C. India in his novel Vasihali ki Nagarvadhu. His
canvas is large and he fills in every inch of it with brush strokes of fine
prose to bring together a story of epic proportions. The author combines
history and fantasy, war and love, politics and culture using a multitude of characters
and interlinked stories to create an enchanting web which gives a legendary
quality to this novel.
The novel begins with the story of
Ambapali, a courtesan in the republic state of Vaishali. Though the novel is
titled after her, the book soon moves beyond her life to other sub-stories
based on social and political themes. These help to describe the Indian
landscape of the later Vedic period when many large city states both monarchies
such as Magadh and Kosal and republics such as Vaishali and Gandhar prospered
in northern India. The leitmotif remains Ambapali’s life–the mystery of her
birth and her bitterness towards Vaishali for her disgrace, which break out to
the surface time and again from the thick undergrowth (the metaphor seems
appropriate because much action in the novel takes place in deep tropical
forests) of other detailed and descriptive accounts of political intrigue,
caste conflict, and the rise of Buddhism and Jainism. The convoluted sub-plots
and sharp turns and twists in the story ensure that the societal upheaval and
turbulence of that time are felt acutely by the reader as they negotiate the
crossing paths of conspiracy and war on one extreme and love and passion on the
other.
Although Ambapali’s central position
in the story remains unrivaled, the other female characters are sketched with
the equal depth. It becomes somewhat disappointing when these women disappear
from the novel rather abruptly. Somprabh- a warrior from Magadh who is hinted
to be Ambapali’s brother, Bimbisar-the king of Magadh, and king Udayan of
Kaushambi are the three male protagonists in the story and Ambapali’s real
feelings for each of them, by clever design, remain a conundrum till the very
end of the novel.
The author effectively depicts the
pace and thrill of fight and chase. Darkness, danger and movement are
dramatically described which gives the novel its ‘page-turner’ quality. A
significant feature of this novel is the use of myths and fantasies which bring
in a larger than life scale. The antics of a poison-woman ‘vishkanya’, the
invasion of the spirit of a human being by supernatural apparition, and the
handsome submarine horses that are washed ashore from the sea, enthrall the
reader. War strategies and ways to destabilise an enemy country using guerrillas,
spies, paid mercenaries, civil war etc. are also well described.
In the middle of the excitement and
drama the author has tactfully woven interesting philosophical discussions into
the narrative. Should a warrior be loyal towards the king or the kingdom; the
status of women–comparisons between the women of Gandhar and Vasishlai; what is
better, rule of a king or governance by elected representatives, are some of
the discourses which occur as dialogue between the major characters. These
discussions climax with the one which takes place in the assembly of Vaishali
where the members debate about the kind of government that is suitable for
Magadh state who they have just defeated in war. Here some novel insights about
the nature of a monarchy and a republic are presented. The monarchical dynasty
is compared to a human being’s life with stages of infancy, youth, middle age
and old age which, after two or three generations shows signs of aging and is
overthrown by a new dynasty. The republic is considered appropriate for
homogeneous people with uniformity in race and rank—‘rakt aur shreni’
and therefore it is concluded that the republic system will not work in Magadh
where a person is called a Magadhi because he is ruled by Magadh and not
because he is Magadhi by clan or tribe.
The book affords another important
reflection on the effect of mixing of castes on the Aryan race. The decay of
the Aryan race is a cause of worry to the powerful Aryan Brahmin priests who
fear that the new castes of mixed blood are mentally and physically stronger
than pure bred Aryans.
The appeal of this novel lies in its
overreach though the breadth of its narration does lose the reader at some
places. The convoluted story-telling becomes frustrating especially when a
particularly engaging sub-plot loses connection with the main story and a major
character turns out to be actually a disguised version of another character.
With four hundred fifty pages of
chaste Hindi, the book may be difficult to fully comprehend for some but
Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu of Chatursen still is, without doubt, well worth a read
for keen readers of Hindi Literature.
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