Narasimha: The Mahaavatar Trilogy Book 1

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Narasimha, once a brave soldier, has left the war and lies low as a physician in a village. But a familiar face from his past seeks his help to stop the tyranny of the blind usurper Andhaka. If Narasimha refuses, the world might just end. What will he do? And why did he leave the war in the first place? Prahlad, the interim king of Kashyapuri, is torn between the ideals of his unrighteous father and his love for Lord Vishnu. Whom will he choose? Hiranyakashyap, the ruler of the Asura Empire, wants to avenge the death of his wife. To do that, he must go through the Trials and get the ultimate weapon - the Brahmastra. But the Trials have sent so many others to their death. Can Hiranyakashyap survive? Welcome to the reimagining of the fourth Avatar of Lord Vishnu by bestselling author Kevin Missal.

From the Publisher
























































































Short excerpts from the book

Nara wiped his wounds with a hot, damp cloth as he looked at Indra. ‘Why are you here?’ he asked. ‘To apologize,’ Indra said, his smile growing wider. ‘Without your army, your guards, your elephant? You look like a civilian.’

‘I had to. I had to disguise myself to reach you and, of course, having Airavata with me would have made me quite conspicuous. My spies have been searching for you for the longest time, and finally, one of them heard about your antics close to a tavern and told me. I was in Mandara, discussing something with Bhairav when I heard, and rushed down here,’ Indra explained.

‘How is Bhairav?’ Nara had known all of these men during his stint back in the army. Now, none of it made sense. Lord Bhairav was a Shiva, just like Lord Rudra had been before him, during Mohini’s Yug. Shiva was a war title given down below in the mountainous regions of the Gana tribe. ‘Worse. Andhaka has been a nuisance,’ Indra sighed. ‘You have to hand it to him, though. Even though he’s blind, he’s quite the man, quite a warrior.’ Nara nodded. He had heard about Andhaka – the famous son of Hiranyaksha, the previous Asura king. The blind prince who was near impossible to kill, so superior were his battle strategies.

‘Why are you here to apologize after fourteen years?’ ‘Because …’ Indra stood up, getting a log and then tossing it in the fire, ‘I made you do some pretty questionable things. I know. I … uh …’ he sighed, ‘I am growing old, Nar. I really am. Jayant is going to take my throne soon … if there is a throne to take, otherwise I’ll make sure he leaves for Swarg. All I’m saying is, in the heat of the moment, in the heat of war, I have done some terrible things. I have ordered executions which weren’t necessary and I have led wars which were …’ ‘Wrong,’ Nara completed for him. ‘I know, they were. I was part of them.’

‘Yes, you and your Simha army. Simhas have always supported the Devas and for that I’m grateful.’ ‘You misused our trust, my lord.’ Nara flared his nostrils. ‘We thought you would lead us in the right direction.’ ‘I still am. The other Simhas are still supporting me. They

are under Mrigsimha now,’ he said, referring to Mrig, who had once been Nara’s subordinate. ‘Only you left. Why?’ ‘You know why. I was exhausted, watching you allow deaths in vain. And then …’ He shook his head, recalling one of the many incidents in the village where the supposed Asuras lived, only to learn that instead of Asuras, it was a village of Manavs, and that he had been forced to attack Manav women and children. ‘I couldn’t spill more innocent blood. Simhas were never supposed to kill innocents. Perhaps Mrig is okay with it, but I am not.’ ‘Every war has casualties, Nar.’ Nara nodded. ‘I know. That’s why I left it. I can’t stop the war, so I decided to leave it.’ He paused. ‘You have brought such a long war on yourself. You shouldn’t have attacked Kashyapuri. That is the reason everything started.’ And the reason my faith in you was shaken.

Detailed author description

Kevin Missal wrote his first book at the age of 14, and at 22, the St Stephens graduate is a bestselling author and a fulltime writer, with the first two books in his Kalki series being runaway successes. Dharmayoddha Kalki: Avatar of Vishnu and its sequel Satyayoddha Kalki: Eye of Brahma have sold one lakh copies in under a year. Kevin loves fantasy fiction and has always been a fan of mythology. His books have been featured in publications like The Sunday Guardian, The New Indian Express and Millennium Post.

Questions for Kevin Missal

You’ve picked Kalki before for your first series. Why Narasimha now? What about him drew you?

After writing Kalki, I happened to realise that the world I have created is far bigger than anticipated. I decided to subvert the cliches and rather than going forward, I’ll go backwards. I had to start somewhere. The reimagining on Lord Ram and Lord Krishna had been done to death and there was a dearth of stories being told from fresher, newer character perspective. I happened to write on Narasimha when I realised he’s the angriest Avatar of Lord Vishnu. The more I researched about him, the more he became layered and complex. Did you know he had a wife? Did you know he was a devoted husband? It made me think that people know only the Narasimha they have read in populist stories and not the one that came prior. So I happen to write on him.

Tell us a little bit about the research, and the texts you referred to for the series.

I only read comparative analysis on ancient texts for it helps me to create a nuanced portrayal of the myths. If I follow one text, it’ll be very limited for me as a writer. One of the few analysis was done by Deborah A. Soifer in her book “The Myths of Narasimha and Vamana” where she had looked through all the texts and gave her critique on it. Since I was a history student from St. Stephen’s college, this is what we also did during our exams—get the texts, compare and write your critique.

The plot of the book is complex and layered. Tell us about how you worked on it?

I always start with the character’s PURPOSE. For me, if a character doesn’t have a goal, I wouldn’t care for him. Once that was done, I made sure my characters were tragic—either Narasimha who has gone through too much bloodshed, or Prahlad who’s confused between two opposing ideologies or Hiranyakashyap who is grieving over his wife’s demise. Then I added their past and why they are who they are today. All of this culminated into a breathtaking story.

The characters in Narasimha are from the past, but their language is young, very contemporary. Why is that?

I always believe in catering to the audience. I can have an archaic way of storytelling and not many will read this book and get the message I’m trying to portray. For me, it should be feasible to read so the message is carried the best way possible. Thus, I made their language young and fresh.

There are strong women characters in the book. Tell us about crafting Holika, Chenchen and Dhriti?

I never think of gender whenever I’m creating a character. Just how I create any male hero, I’ll do the same for female heroine. I’ll give them purpose, a backstory, a sort of conflict that’ll be an obstacle in their goal. I would also make sure that they aren’t just lovers of the male protagonist but have dreams, fears and hope. I hate it when they are just considered a love interest.

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