Book Review #10: Ashtamahishi - The Eight Wives Of Krishna By Radha Viswanath

Book Name- Ashtamahishi - The Eight Wives of Krishna

Author- Radha Viswanath

Genre- Indian Literature/Mythology

Publisher- Rupa Publications

Blurb:

Krishna, the eternal lover, is believed to have charmed the heart of every woman he came across and his marriage with 16,100 women is the stuff of numerous ballads that have enthralled us over ages. But who amongst them all did Krishna love? Who ruled his heart and influenced his life?

Not one, but there were eight women whom Krishna married solely on the basis of mutual love and respect. Each of these wives—the Ashtabharyas—contributed to making Krishna what he was. While their names figure in the text of the great epic Mahabharata, not much has been discussed about them. Who are these women and what was that special ‘something’ in each of them that won Krishna over? What were each of those relationships like?

Radha Viswanath delves deep into the great Hindu epics, puranas and other ancient texts, weaving nuggets of information with rich imagination to give us a fascinating picture of Krishna’s life with these eight extraordinary women.

My view:

As the title suggests, this book tells us all about Krishna and his relationship with his wives- not all of them but the 8 principle wives- Rukmini, Jambavanti, Satyabhama, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra devi, Lakshana. It gives us the details of how he met them and wed them (under what conditions) and how they helped him in his life. Although he had 16 thousand and 8 wives, these 8 wives were the most important as they had taken birth for the sole purpose of marrying Lord Krishna. Interesting much? It also gives us other details of Krishna’s life which one might be unaware of.

This book also shows us the lesser known sides of Krishna and the different phases of his life (like a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a lover). They have been depicted so beautifully with mesmerising language that you won’t be able to put down the book once you’ve started it. It has portrayed the human nature/side of Krishna, unlike other books where he has been depicted only as a God. Throughout the whole book, the hard work that the author has put in her research can be seen and that’s what makes the book worth reading. It’s narrated in a simple language and the writing style is so enchanting that one simply falls deeper into the story as one proceeds. Other positive points of the book are it’s strong characters and the tight plotline along with the impressive narration style.

Even though I’m not a mythology fan, I found this book quite appealing and informative. I have read Radha Vishwanath’s previous book ‘Ravana-Leela’ and was pretty sure that this book would not be a letdown. And boy was I right. I would recommend this to all mythology lovers out there. Guys, trust me on this that this one’s definitely for you!

Overall rating: 4/5