Shiva Trilogy – Decoding the myth of the revenge of a Mahadev

Bending forward Shiva kissed Sati Passionately.

He turned around hearing a sound. “This is an open deck. Can’t you both get a room?” asked Veerabhadra as he entered the deck even as Krittika patted his chest in embarrassment.

A smiling Shiva hit his friend playfully on his shoulder.

This was one of the many reasons that kept me engrossed to the Shiva Trilogy, the thought of the God we fear the most, is depicted as one among us. A chillum smoking barbarian with a haunted past carefully chosen to be a Mahadev, not only of gift, but also of reason. Then why did the trilogy that made us worship Shiva not as a God but as a hero, ended up as just another revenge novel? May be this first time author panicked at the wake of such enormous pressure or he wanted to shock us in the end and make a sensation of it. Well, for what it’s worth, he made us talk about it alright, but not in the right way. The feeling was more of betrayal on the part of the author than of a shock in awe.

The series had all the ingredients of a blockbuster commercial movie. A reluctant hero who takes up his chosen task in the wake of disturbing events, a leading lady put under enormous hardships only to be rescued by the hero, a two faced father of the lady & her weak mother, an angry young man with a heart of gold who is out for answers, a gifted son, an honest lieutenant, a mastermind who stays in the background, friends of the hero ready to die for him, sounds like Bollywood isn’t it?

The series unfolded swiftly with a bit of twist here and there (Sati’s predicament, the identity of the hooded naga, the secret of the nagas being a person & the unveiling of true evil) ready for an enthralling finish only to falter at the final hurdle. But that will not take away the amazing journey that we took along with Shiva along the vast expanses of India, relishing in her rich history and deep philosophy.

Mr. Amish Tripati has treaded a careful path while dealing with four very delicate matters, Religion, History, Philosophy and Politics. We all know the history and been told about the mythological characters right from our childhood. One slip and it would have been a never ending fall. Philosophy had profound meanings and history, although twisted at times (Sangamtamil? Lord Manu a Pandya King? Please!), was still good enough for the plot. But the point where it captures the viewers was the humanization of the gods we revered. To me, Karthik mouthing bad words was like “wow!” rather than “eew!”

Then why this supposedly modern take on the Shivapuranam, end like a B-Centre commercial movie? Having discovered the true identity of evil and set on course to destroy it, why did Shiva, hell bent on revenge, did the unthinkable? His anger, which his uncle had repeatedly asked him to control, took the better of him. When he had to let Parvateshwar go, despite protests from everyone he let him go and said that it’s important to win the battle the right way. If he had that vision, then why did he destroy an entire city because of Sati’s fate? It contradicted with the claims of him being a Mahadev. And the whole villainy was so weak. I expected more from Bhirgu’s character and was so looking forward to his confrontation with Shiva. Puff! So disappointed!

Imagine this! After Sati had met with her fate, it should have come down to the use of Somras to rescue her (Remember, they had healing powers that saved Sati after she was stuck with a fire arrow). Shiva now has to decide whether to use it on his beloved wife or stand by his belief that the Somras is evil and let Sati die. That would have been a grandstand finish. Instead what transcribed is an incompetent climax that left everyone shell shocked, mind you not in the right way. In a brief 10 minute conversation with Amish when I met him at the (belated) book launch in Chennai, I put forward the same scenario. He thought about it for a moment and replied “That would have been difficult to finish!” First time author blues maybe! But he also said that he wanted to align Sati’s fate with that of the puranas in which she dies. And in the climax where Shiva uses the Pasupathiastra, he said he wanted to portray Shiva as a human and also justified it by the fact that Shiva had asked anyone not involved in the manufacture of Somras to leave. Still not convinced I must admit. It may be down to our denial to see our gods anything other than gods, even in a human form. Remember even Ram wanted Sita to testify and Krishna used a number of questionable tactics to get the victory in Kurukshetra. But even otherwise, the climax left a lot to be desired.

On an overall scale, yes it’s been an incredible journey, one that we all made, screaming Har Har Mahadev in our hearts during the first battle (Illayaraja’s Sanskrit song “Har Har Mahadev” that gives me goose bumps every time I hear it, was in my ears at that time & how perfect it was!). We felt sorry for Sati’s fate both when she was a vikarma & in the end, hoping against hope that Daksha would be a stronger person. We got bored of Parvateshwar’s style of life (We are all Chandravanshis aren’t we!). We were first so intrigued on who the hooded naga was, believing him to be the ultimate bad guy only to be shell shocked, this in the right way, with his true identity. We frowned at Karthik’s over confidence but admired when he did the right thing in the end. We loved Bhadra treating Shiva as a friend even if he was a Mahadev. So it had its moments, a lot of it. But ultimately fell through when it mattered most. It was like a world champion racer, leading from the start, only to crash in the final lap of the race. That’s how it felt in the end. But it was a refreshing read, a trend setter. What it did was to bring out the child in us. Reading the book was like listening to our grandma’s stories, full of imagination. And for that, I salute Amish Tripati. Hoping that with his take on the Mahabharatha, (Shiva’s permission or not, he will write on the mother of all storytellers I can guarantee that) he will take the chequered flag.

“Har Har Mahadev”