कृष्ण: धर्म योद्धा (Hindi Edition) | Reimagining Lord Krishna’s Adventures | Book Review

The perks of being a book lover and that too associated with the prestigious Team ThinkerViews include getting connected with some remarkable talents.

Mr. Kamal Upadhyay is one such author. His works are spread over in various genre including fantasy fiction, thrillers, kids special, poems, satire and more. Here are some of his books we got a chance to read and share our reviews about.

• Lankapati Ka LokTantra (लंकापति का लोकतंत्र) | Book Review
• Ravan Aur LokTantra (रावण और लोकतंत्र) By Kamal Upadhyay | Book Review
• Ilu – A Hindi Short EBook By Kamal Upadhyay | Review
• Ilu : Chalnewali Chidiya (ईलू : चलनेवाली चिड़िया) by Kamal Upadhyay | Book Review
• Christmas Gift | An Emotional Short EBook By Kamal Upadhyay | Personal Review
• किंग खान: द राशोमॉन सागा (Hindi Edition) By Kamal Upadhyay | Personal Review

Recently we came to know about his latest book कृष्ण: धर्म योद्धा . And, we found it available for free as a book promotion! How can we miss this golden opportunity?! So, we not only grabbed it, but also, read it out of its turn, and we are delighted for the decision.

The book is primarily intended for children and young adults, but readers of all age groups will enjoy it alike.

Book Cover:

Being a gateway to the virtual world explored within, the cover page plays a significant role in making the first impression of the book. And, thus, a large number of purchase and/or read decisions are influenced by the same.

As you can see, the cover page of the book is really appealing. कृष्ण means black and Lord Krishna is considered of black complexion. He was an avatar of Lord Vishnu and to represent the vastness and infinity, he is represented in blue color in almost all major illustrations. The cover designer for this book has kept the same thing in mind. You can see young कृष्ण in a striking pose, riding over a flying bird, wearing a small headband studded with peacock feather. While the resolution of the cover page looks not so high, actually it is sparkling all around. When you read the story you come to know about these elements.

I found the cover page faithful to the story.

The Plot:

Let us take a bird’s eye view of the book plot.

कृष्ण is a young kid yet. He was about to turn 16, and living his playful days in Gokul under the protection on Nandbaba and Yashoda ma. Of course, danger keeps lurking for him almost always. But, the brave kid has fought all such threats with exceptional skills and make the people around him wonder about his abilities.

The parents are parents, always worrying for their kid, no matter how old or skilful he/she is.

It all starts in a tensed situation when Nandbaba came calling कृष्ण while he was having his time at a pond near the village. Due to the change in the environment, Nandbaba, a scientist and strategist concluded that another danger is coming कृष्ण’s way. And, it cannot be ignored.

Nandbaba himself was a skilful warrior and an excellent scientist, having his bag of wonderful gadgets that can create illusions and overpower the magical demons also. But, he is a wise fellow. He also knew that sometimes – not fighting – is the best strategy.

He found some mercenaries came to capture कृष्ण (on the order of Kans / Kansa), and it seems tough to save him. But, he put his own life in danger to save his कृष्ण.

Will Nandbaba be survived? Will Krishna know the secrets of Govardhan parvat? How? Will Narayani sena be awakened on time to fight Kans? Who is Radha and Baldau? Who is Akrur?

Well, you need to read this small, 54 pages, Hindi EBook to get your answers!

Views And Reviews:

First thing first. The book is re-imagination of the incidents from कृष्ण’s life. He was a young kid then and not became Lord Krishna yet.

The beauty of Bharatiya culture is you can imagine your gods in the way you like. You can love him as a brother, play with him like a kid, respect him as a universal superpower, love him as a lover,.. And, everything is done from the bottom of the heart. With the deepest love and respect. So, the author’s attempt is to be seen in the same way.

The language of the book is quite simple. Also the scientific approach with which the author has reimagined the stuff, by keeping its essence as is, is remarkable. For example:

वो तो एक वैज्ञानिक थे, जिन्हें रसायन, भौतिक और जीव विज्ञान में महारत हासिल थी।

Also, the concepts of artificial ovary and out of the body fetus development are explored nicely.

“महाराज हर महिला को रोज दो घंटे तक अपने कृत्रिम गर्भ के साथ समय व्यतित करने का मौका मिलेगा। उस समय गर्भ और महिला को एक तार के साथ जोड़ दिया जाएगा। जिससे उन्हें वो सब सीख मिलेगी जो एक गर्भ में पल रहे शिशु को उसकी माँ से मिलनी चाहिए।”

And it has the emotional angle too. Like every other father, Nandbaba is also worried for his Krishna, when the situation is tensed. The author has depicted it as:

एक जोरदार धमाके की आवाज हुई। नीला आकाश काले धुएँ के बादलों से भर गया। एकदम गाढ़ा काला, जैसे अमावस की रात हो लेकिन तारे एक भी ना हो। नंदबाबा तालाब की तरफ दौड़े। “कृष्ण जल्दी बाहर आओ।”

And, when Krishna/Krushna asks him that they have overpowered such situations many a times so far, why to worry so much? Then Nandbaba gives him a very important advice (which he followed later in his life when he resettled to Dwarika).

कृष्ण, मैंने युद्धकला के जो कौशल तुम्हें सिखाएं हैं, उन्हें परखने के लिए उचित अवसर तुम्हें जरूर मिलेगा लेकिन अभी वह अवसर नहीं आया है। मेरी एक बात हमेशा याद रखना, युद्ध जीतने के लिए सिर्फ आगे बढ़ते रहना जरुरी नहीं है, कभी – कभी पीछे हटकर भी युद्ध जीता जा सकता है।

The author is good at building scenes and elaborating natural landscapes. Here is an example:

आकाश में सतरंगी बादलों का एक – दूसरे से बात करना कुछ – कुछ सुनाई दे रहा था। बादल रह रहकर एक – दूसरे से धक्का – मुक्की करते दिख रहें थे। पेड़ तो इतने लंबे – लंबे थे कि उनपर चढ़कर सूर्य तक पहुँचा जा सकता था।

The book has some proof reading errors which could have been taken care of:

हमलवारों

काले रंग के लिबाज में वो और भी दानवी प्रतीत हो रहा था।

“धीरज धरो पूतना, नंदबाबा को जरूरत से अधिक यातना देने पर उसकी मृत्यु हो सकती है, बूढ़ा अब सौ साल के ऊपर हो गया है और वो मार गया तो कृष्ण को ढूंढना और भी मुश्किल हो जाएगा।”

The book has fantastically imagined species like flying elephants, speaking trees, 3 headed parrot and much more. A special type of prison where you can capture and put people inside a mirror, is also an interesting concept. I think, the readers will love this imagination.

“राजकुमारी जी धीरे बोलिए, कहीं पेड़ों ने इस बात को किसी से कह दिया तो हम और आप दोनों मुसीबत में फंस जायेंगे।”

कुछ पानी उगलने वाले हाथियों ने उससे सामान करने की कोशिश की परंतु वो सब को मोक्ष को प्राप्त हो गए।

कंस ने दर्पण को जोर – जोर से हिलाया। जिससे दर्पण में कैद वसुदेव और देवकी की पीड़ा बढ़ गई और उनके करहाने की आवाज आने लगी।

सत्यकी ने टिमटिमाते हुए उस ​कारागृह में प्रवेश किया।

The author has used modern day words and day to day language in the book.

“तुम अपने साथ वो चमकने वाले बल्ब लेकर क्यों नहीं घूमते हो?”

There is a quest for a special element.

सत्यकी ने कहा – नंदबाबा ने कहा था सूखे पर्वतों में एक सूखी नदी मिलेगी और उसका जहाँ से उद्यम होगा वहीं मिलेगा कमल का फूल।

So, you will find all the elements of a fantasy fiction thriller in the book. And yes, a domestic “ritual” between a mice couple is also mentioned.

आज फिर चुहा इरावन और चुहिया इरावती में झगड़ा हो रहा है।

By the way, ILU (ईलू – उड़ने वाली चिड़िया), a character from the author’s other book also makes a guest appearance here!

And there are some fantastic lines like:

कृष्ण ने अपनी तलवार को ऊपर लेकर कोई मंत्र पढ़ा और तलवार को जमीन के हृदय में भेद दिया।

Highlight (orange) – Location 1010

These quotes must have given you a fair idea about the book and its content. Referring more of the plot settings or characters will lead to spoilers. And, I want to avoid them as far as possible.

Despite being a short EBook, it has well-elaborated characters. Some suspenses are revealed periodically making the book unputdownable. Merging all these together in a short EBook is a challenge in itself. The author has dealt with it quite skillfully.

Summary:

Overall, a nicely imagined tale from Indian epic which will be liked not only by young-adults but everyone.

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 7.5 to 8 stars out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy - कृष्ण: धर्म योद्धा by Kamal Upadhyay - Kindle EBook - Amazon IN

Over To You:

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