Book Review: Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant

 Yugandhar (Epoch Maker, Lord Sri Krishna) 

By Shivaji Sawant 

Translated from Marathi to English by Kadambini Dharap and Madhura Phadke 

Published Year: 2000 in Marathi, 2017 in English. 

Page Count: 568 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre : Spirituality, Hinduism, Mahabharata, Biography, Mythology, Lord Krishna, Krishna's life story, 2024-read.

Rating : 5/5 

If I am gonna always have one book in my library.. this one is it! The story of the life - mostly, his adult life and the events leading to and following the great, 18 day Kurukshetra War - are told from multiple points of view. Narrators are his sakhas and sakhi - krishna himself, his main wife Rukmini, his charioteer Daruka, his minister and friend Satyaki, his best female friend and sister Draupadi, then his paramsakha and cousin Uddhava. 

I felt rejoiced to read many of the already well known details from Krishna's escapades but I,  invariably felt a dearth about two aspects. Krishna's childhood and past times that have given so much pleasure to all his devotees and demi gods alike is not touched upon in this book. They are skipped even if the book is over 550 pages long. And the second, I felt some of the events are changed from what we have come to know from long time. Like how bhimasena kills Jarasandha in war by tearing his legs apart, like how krishna saves the child in the womb of Uttara etc. They seem to have deviated from the regularly known narrative. Other than this, I have no complaints. I just loved and adored everytime my Krishna is on the scene and which is always..since this is his story. :) 

I also enriched my mind with some of the scenes and events that were unknown to be before - like what happened after the war, how did Balaram and Krishna end their existence on earth, what is the fate of the pandavas and other queens of Dwaraka. 

Cheers 🍻 🥂