Mahasena: Part One Of The Murugan Trilogy
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- Create Date：2021-09-26 06:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-13
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- Author：Kala Krishnan
- ISBN：9390679133
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Summary
The Vast: a still， dark， endless field of nothing， in which something broods and gathers， rising and billowing into waves。 Everything emerges from these waves of the Vast， including Time， Creation， and the woman and two men known as The Three。 From the waves come multitudes of beings， including the Asura， those of untiring breath who seek knowledge， and the Sura， the bright ones who keep order。
The greatest of all the Sura and Asura is Surapadman， who will embody inventiveness， wisdom and statecraft for all time to come。 The only one who can counter his might and his challenge to the rules of creation is Karthikeya， child of Shambhu and Uma， and brother to Ganesha， the all-seeing elephant-headed god。
Kala Krishnan has been exploring the Murugan universe for years now。 In this first volume of a planned trilogy， she expands the mythologies of the god。 Kumara， Karthikeya， Kandhan， Velan， he is the god of Tamizh， the patron of the Great Assembly of poets in Madurai， friend and mentor to the hot-headed and fiercely loyal Aambal， who is known to all as ‘Murugan’s poet’。
A reimagining of the life and exploits of the magnificent young god， Mahasena is resonant with the stories that were， as well as vividly original。
‘Full of charm and delight—as much an homage to a cherished boy-god as it is a stirring panegyric to Tamizh and to poets everywhere。’ Sharanya Manivannan
The greatest of all the Sura and Asura is Surapadman， who will embody inventiveness， wisdom and statecraft for all time to come。 The only one who can counter his might and his challenge to the rules of creation is Karthikeya， child of Shambhu and Uma， and brother to Ganesha， the all-seeing elephant-headed god。
Kala Krishnan has been exploring the Murugan universe for years now。 In this first volume of a planned trilogy， she expands the mythologies of the god。 Kumara， Karthikeya， Kandhan， Velan， he is the god of Tamizh， the patron of the Great Assembly of poets in Madurai， friend and mentor to the hot-headed and fiercely loyal Aambal， who is known to all as ‘Murugan’s poet’。
A reimagining of the life and exploits of the magnificent young god， Mahasena is resonant with the stories that were， as well as vividly original。
‘Full of charm and delight—as much an homage to a cherished boy-god as it is a stirring panegyric to Tamizh and to poets everywhere。’ Sharanya Manivannan
Reviews
Savitha Vaidyanathan
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Murugan is a household name here for someone who grew up in Tamil Nadu。 ‘The God of Tamizh’ is most people’s favorite God down south。 I grew up listening to kandha shasti kavasam （a hymn for Lord Muruga） every day。 My paternal grandmother was a Thiruppugazh （devotional songs for Lord Murugan） music teacher and the Lord has been a major part of my home and life。 Though I became an agnostic as I grew up， I still hold the Lord in reverence and close to my heart。Mahasena by Kala Krishnan is the firs Murugan is a household name here for someone who grew up in Tamil Nadu。 ‘The God of Tamizh’ is most people’s favorite God down south。 I grew up listening to kandha shasti kavasam （a hymn for Lord Muruga） every day。 My paternal grandmother was a Thiruppugazh （devotional songs for Lord Murugan） music teacher and the Lord has been a major part of my home and life。 Though I became an agnostic as I grew up， I still hold the Lord in reverence and close to my heart。Mahasena by Kala Krishnan is the first part of Murugan trilogy that begins with the birth of Muruga。 He is born to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathy and brother to elephant-god Ganesha。 He is destined to fight the greatest of all Sura and Asura， Surapadman。 The story follows his separation from Parvathy and growing up with Krittika mothers for the initial years， to his return to Kailasa for a brief period， only to depart to Palani Hills after losing the ever famous ‘Race around the world’ challenge to Ganesha。 It is there in Palani that he becomes the God of Tamizh and prepares for his impending battle with Surapadman。 The book ends with the war just about to begin。The book is filled with legends， myths and tales about various characters， but they are nicely blended with the original story。 The writing is very lyrical and poetic with mesmerizing descriptions of the landscape and transports one to that era。 The author’s love for God is evident in the way she writes about him。 There is a chapter titled ‘Kandhan’s language’ that describes how Murugan became the Tamizh God and gave form to its alphabets along with sage Agasthiyar。 While this is a popular myth， the writing in that chapter gave me goosebumps as a proud Tamilian。 The writing is definitely beautiful， but it also lets the story down at places with some unnecessary details and descriptions going overboard。Lord Muruga’s stories are not widely known outside the Tamil fraternity and this book is a great place to start with。 I definitely recommend this book if you love mythological fiction。 Looking forward to the remaining two parts of the trilogy。 。。。more
Maahi Patel
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“Everything， in all the worlds， stood somewhere in a rippling base that constantly spread out and contracted; if you were attentive， you could see how， sometimes， things that were at the merging of two ripples were shifted by its force from one， and joined into another ripple。” Mahasena， part one of the Murugan Trilogy by Kala Krishnan， is a book that explores， as well as， creates new myths and legends of Murugan， the son of Shiva and Parvati。 Having grown up listening to many stories about Gane “Everything， in all the worlds， stood somewhere in a rippling base that constantly spread out and contracted; if you were attentive， you could see how， sometimes， things that were at the merging of two ripples were shifted by its force from one， and joined into another ripple。” Mahasena， part one of the Murugan Trilogy by Kala Krishnan， is a book that explores， as well as， creates new myths and legends of Murugan， the son of Shiva and Parvati。 Having grown up listening to many stories about Ganesha， I was surprised to realise that I didn’t know any stories about Murugan， or Kartikeya， as I’ve known him。 Krishnan creates a beautifully intricate world full of Gods & Goddesses， Suras & Asuras， star women， demi-gods & demi-goddessess… We also encounter mythical creatures like Anantha， the wise serpent of infinity who holds up the world on his ten thousand hoods。 The book begins around the birth of Murugan and it captivates you from the first page。 I found myself blissfully lost in Kala’s magical world。 My absolute favourite part was where we encounter the Krittikas， the six star women who nurse， educate and raise Murugun。 He is named Kartikeya in their honour， which means ‘of the Krittikas’。 The book progresses as Murugan grows up and faces different trials and tribulations before he can become worthy of his quest。 Some parts were written so exquisitely that I just couldn’t put them down！ The stories about gods quibbling over petty issues and an unborn baby burning the God of Fire because he was singing out of tune were delightful and humourous！ However， the writing style of the other parts didn’t quite resonate with me and many of it felt overscrupulous。 Although I am still curious to read the other parts of the trilogy， I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the writing had focused more on the plot without going overboard with unnecessary details。 。。。more
Ankita Chauhan
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Read on blog: https://soundingwords。blogspot。com/20。。。‘Ganesha was happy。 He was finally going to have a sibling， have the company of someone other than parents， relatives， collaborators， friends and devotees， his own baby brother。’Mahasena by Kala Krishnan， begins with a scene where lord Ganesha waiting for the birth of his younger brother。 This book maps the life journey of south Indian deity， Lord Murugan。 Here， in the north we knew him as Karthikeya。 Although， I have heard many stories about Read on blog: https://soundingwords。blogspot。com/20。。。‘Ganesha was happy。 He was finally going to have a sibling， have the company of someone other than parents， relatives， collaborators， friends and devotees， his own baby brother。’Mahasena by Kala Krishnan， begins with a scene where lord Ganesha waiting for the birth of his younger brother。 This book maps the life journey of south Indian deity， Lord Murugan。 Here， in the north we knew him as Karthikeya。 Although， I have heard many stories about Ganesha but Karthikeya remained puzzle to me， until I found this mesmerizing book。Before， stepping into details， I eagerly want to talk about the lyrical language of the book。 I got immersed into its visual writing immediately。 It transports me into that very era。Kala Krishnan is truly a poetic writer。 The detailing of characters is so expressive; you would not want to put down the book。 Narration is simply powerful， touches your deep most senses。 Frankly， it evoked love for more mythological fiction out there。 I have not picked one since ‘Shivaji Sawant’s Mrityunjay’ that was masterpiece。‘Mahasena， the first part of Lord Murugan trilogy’ is centered on compelling and moving theme that ‘explores the difficult path that the boy-god must walk before he can grow from a pampered and much-loved child to the battle-ready warrior。’Kala says ‘Focusing on all the stories in one book was not possible， so I decided to divide it into a trilogy。’ She also added ‘They are mostly made-up stories。 And， they may not be the same as they are in mainstream myths of Murugan。’Entire book goes in a chronological order， and amount of short stories embedded into it as if beads on some rich fabric。 In the beginning， reader gets to know the reason behind this name ‘Karthikeya， there was an interesting back story， how Ganesha promised six mothers， Krittikas that， in the future， they would be given charge of the child born of Parvathy and Shambhu。 The boon Krittika sisters own， they could read Kartikeya’s stars， draw a chart of his life events， and read his fate as well just by touching him。 And after a year why Krittikas would have to return the Kumaras to their parents？ I fell in love with the magnanimous yet smooth writing， and deeply moved by this very incident ‘They were ready， the six Krittika women and six Kumaras， the six pairs of little boy eyes were bright， sometimes their gaze turned towards the sky， at other times they rested on the faces of the women or on the creatures crowding around。 Each of the Krittikas held their Kumara tight and hugged him。 They knew that they would not see him again for a very long time。’Mahasena， is not only Karthikeya’s story， it is lot more than that， enriched with amalgamation of human emotions we live by。 For instance， when Parvathy looked at the six boys， her six boys， their hands clasped in the hands of six women and a thought runs deep inside her， It should have been her hands the boys held on to when they stood up and tried to walk。 And once he is back to her， she pronounced his new name ‘you are gathered from Shambhu’s and my strength and thus too you are Skanda。’On the other note， Shambhu blessed the Krittika sisters， ‘Kumaras wil be known as Karthikeya， acknowledging that you are the foundation where his roots are held firm。 Kumara will remember all his lessons， he had practiced and perfected them all， except one – how to control his impatience。’Once Karthikeya returns to his parents’ home， all gods had gathered up in the sky to watch the miracle boy， he is the one who would go into the battle and stand against the Asura King， Surapadman。In the next few chapters， reader gets an insight of his basic habits， that’s how author developed a character arc。 His affection was effusive but if he didn’t like someone he would ignore them， one of these was sage Narada， a mind-born son of the creator Bramha。There is a chapter called Kandhan’s language。 Along with that， reader get to know about the twelve matris led by Dhumi， who had been Murugan’s mentors and bodyguards from the day he arrived in Kailasa， arrived soon after， followed by Veerabahu， who came with his eight siblings， warriors who were together known across the worlds as the Nine Brave Ones。The story of their birth is both sad and amazing。 How mother Parthvathy took nine gems from her anklet and created nine women as lovely as the gems， and Shambu turned nine tulsi leaves into nine men。 How Veerbahu and her eight siblings were born and become companion of Karthikeya。The story of ‘Mahasena’ echoed with motherhood， reverence， serenity of landscapes and nature， devotion， desire， faith and mythology。All in all， I have said enough of its story。 I don’t want to give you any more spoilers。 It is an experience; it may lose the charm after more description。 Read the book。 If you are a reader of mythological fiction， this would be kind of treat。 。。。more
Saloni
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