Scion of Ikshvaku
Authors: Amish Tripathi
Amish
is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated, boring banker turned happy author. The success of his debut book,
The Immortals of Meluha
(Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up a fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions.
Amish lives in Mumbai with his wife Preeti and son Neel.
‘I wish many more would be inspired by Amish Tripathi...’
- Amitabh Bachchan, Indian actor and living legend
‘Amish is India’s Tolkien’
– Business Standard
‘Amish is India’s first literary popstar’
– Shekhar Kapur, renowned filmmaker
‘Amish is ... the Paulo Coelho of the east.’
– Business World
‘Amish’s mythical imagination mines the past and taps into the possibilities of the future. His book series, archetypal and stirring, unfolds the deepest recesses of the soul as well as our collective consciousness.’
– Deepak Chopra, world-renowned spiritual guru and bestselling author
‘Amish is a fresh new voice in Indian writing – steeped in myth and history, with a fine eye for detail and a compelling narrative style.’
– Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament and
celebrated author
‘…Amish has mastered the art of gathering, interpreting and presenting India’s many myths, folklores and legends, and blending all of that into fast-paced thrillers that change your views about Gods, cultures, histories, demons and heroes, forever.’
– Hi Blitz
‘Amish’s philosophy of tolerance, his understanding of mythology and his avowed admiration for Shiva are evident in his best-selling works.’
– Verve
‘Tripathi is part of an emerging band of authors who have taken up mythology and history in a big way, translating bare facts into delicious stories.’
– The New Indian Express
‘…one must congratulate Amish on reintroducing Hindu mythology to the youth of this country.’
– First City
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Scion of Ikshvaku
Book 1
of the
Ram Chandra Series
Amish
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westland ltd
61, II Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095
93, I Floor, Sham Lal Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002
www.westlandbooks.in
Published by westland ltd 2015
First ebook edition: 2015
Copyright © Amish Tripathi 2015
All rights reserved
Amish Tripathi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual person living or dead, events and locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-93-85152-16-0
Cover Design by Think WhyNot
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by any way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior written consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews with appropriate citations.
To my father, Vinay Kumar Tripathi,
and my mother, Usha Tripathi
Khalil Gibran said that parents are like a bow,
And children like arrows.
The more the bow bends and stretches, the farther the arrow flies.
I fly, not because I am special, but because they stretched for me.
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Table of Contents
Om Namah Shivāya
The universe bows to Lord Shiva.
I bow to Lord Shiva.
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Rāmarājyavāsī tvam, procchrayasva te śiram
Nyāyārtha
ṁ
yudhyasva, sarve
ṣ
u sama
ṁ
cara
Paripālaya durbalam, viddhi dharma
ṁ
varam
Procchrayasva te śiram,
Rāmarājyavāsī tvam.
You live in Ram’s kingdom, hold your head high.
Fight for justice. Treat all as equal.
Protect the weak. Know that dharma is above all.
Hold your head high,
You live in the kingdom of Ram.
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List of Characters and Important Tribes
(In Alphabetical Order)
Arishtanemi:
Military chief of the Malayaputras; right-hand man of Vishwamitra
Ashwapati:
King of the north-western kingdom of Kekaya; a loyal ally of Dashrath; father of Kaikeyi
Bharat:
Ram’s half-brother; son of Dashrath and Kaikeyi
Dashrath:
The Chakravarti king of Kosala and emperor of Sapt Sindhu; husband of Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra; father of Ram, Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughan
Janak:
King of Mithila; father of Sita and Urmila
Jatayu:
A captain of the Malayaputra tribe; a Naga friend of Sita and Ram
Kaikeyi:
Daughter of King Ashwapati of Kekaya; second and the favourite wife of Dashrath; mother of Bharat
Kaushalya:
Daughter of King Bhanuman of South Kosala and his wife Maheshwari; the eldest queen of Dashrath; mother of Ram
Kubaer:
Trader and ruler of Lanka before Raavan
Kumbhakarna:
Raavan’s brother; he is also a Naga (a human being born with deformities)
Kushadhwaj:
King of Sankashya; younger brother of Janak
Lakshman:
One of the twin sons of Dashrath; born to Sumitra; faithful to Ram; later married to Urmila
Malayaputras:
The tribe left behind by Lord Parshu Ram, the sixth Vishnu
Manthara:
The richest merchant of Sapt Sindhu; an ally of Kaikeyi
Mrigasya:
General of Dashrath’s army; one of the nobles
of Ayodhya
Nagas:
A feared race of human beings born with deformities
Nilanjana:
Lady doctor attending to members of the royal family of Ayodhya, she hails from South Kosala
Raavan:
King of Lanka; brother of Vibhishan, Shurpanakha and Kumbhakarna
Ram
: Eldest of four brothers, son of Emperor Dashrath of Ayodhya (the capital city of Kosala kingdom) and his eldest wife Kaushalya; later married to Sita
R
oshni:
Daughter of Manthara; a committed doctor and
rakhi
-sister to the four sons of Dashrath
Samichi:
Police and protocol chief of Mithila
Shatrughan:
Twin brother of Lakshman; son of Dashrath and Sumitra
Shurpanakha:
Half-sister of Raavan
Sita
: Adopted daughter of King Janak of Mithila; also the prime minister of Mithila; later married to Ram
Sumitra:
Daughter of the king of Kashi; the third wife of Dashrath; mother of the twins Lakshman and Shatrughan
Vashishta:
Raj guru, the royal priest of Ayodhya; teacher of the four princes
Vayuputras:
The tribe left behind by Lord Rudra, the previous Mahadev
Vibhishan:
Half-brother of Raavan
Vishwamitra:
Chief of the Malayaputras, the tribe left behind by Lord Parshu Ram, the sixth Vishnu; also temporary guru of Ram and Lakshman
Urmila:
Younger sister of Sita; the blood-daughter of Janak; she is later married to Lakshman
*
Refer to inside back cover for map of India in 3400 BCE
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