Urnabhih: A Mauryan Tale of Espionage, Adventure and Seduction

Sumedha Verma Ojha

Description

Misrakesi comes to the newly-formed Mauryan court with a mission-to avenge the death of her sister. However, an encounter with Chanakya, the man she had planned to kill, sets her on an unexpected path…She lands the highly-coveted job of a spy, masquerading as a dancing girl.
In a kingdom fraught with intrigue, Misrakesi must always remain one step ahead. With the help of her handsome but arrogant chief Pushyamitra, she must concoct the perfect blend of sweetness and seduction to vanquish the enemies of the state. But when she is sent to subtly conquer a powerful neighboring kingdom, she might be in for more than what she bargained for.
Will she succeed in her mission? Or more importantly, will she even survive to tell the tale?
Meticulously researched, this historical page-turner packs in romance, political intrigue, and mystery to make for a racy read.

Sujets

• Political
• Literary
• Historical
• Adventure (Guyana)
• Literature
• Maurya Empire
• Chanakya
• Ancient history
• Politics
• Espionage
• Mystery
• Kingdom
• Adventure
• Ancient
• History
• Spy
• Royal
• India
• Saga
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789351940524
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

About the book
‘Set in ancient Magadha, Sumedha V Ojha’s evocative novel transports us to a moment of dynamic change in India’s timeless history. A memorable cast of characters and the author’s deep cultural and historical insights make for a delightful read.’ —Namita Gokhale
Misrakesi comes to the newly-formed Mauryan court with a mission-to avenge the death of her sister. However, an encounter with Chanakya, the man she had planned to kill, sets her on an unexpected path…She lands the highly-coveted job of a spy, masquerading as a dancing girl.
In a kingdom fraught with intrigue, Misrakesi must always remain one step ahead. With the help of her handsome but arrogant chief Pushyamitra, she must concoct the perfect blend of sweetness and seduction to vanquish the enemies of the state. But when she is sent to subtly conquer a powerful neighboring kingdom, she might be in for more than what she bargained for.
Will she succeed in her mission? Or more importantly, will she even survive to tell the tale?
Meticulously researched, this historical page-turner packs in romance, political intrigue, and mystery to make for a racy read.

Sumedha Verma Ojha was born on the shores of the River Ganges in modern Patna; ancient Pataliputra, which was the capital of the Kingdom of the Mauryans, and has appropriately gone back to her roots for her first book. She graduated with honours in Economics from Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ram College, and has a Gold Medal in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics. After a stint as a bureaucrat in the Government of India, she now lives on the shores of Lac Léman in Switzerland with her husband and two children pursuing her long-cherished dream of writing to bring the beauty and nuances of ancient India before the world. Ancient Indian history and classical Sanskrit literature have been her lifelong passions. She is working on her second book on the Mauryans, researching a long term project for a series of books on the kingdoms of ancient India, and doing her best to learn French and Sanskrit!


ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in 2014

First published in paperback in 2014 by IndiaInk An Imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market New Delhi 110 048 Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000 Email: [e-mail] Website: www.rolibooks.com
Copyright © Sumedha Verma Ojha, 2014
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Cover Design: Turmeric Design
eISBN: 978-93-5194-052-4
All rights reserved. This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.

Contents
Prologue
Misrakesi
The Vivaha
Back to Pataliputra
Chandramukhi or the Ghost
The Ghost’s Story
The Solution and Other Problems
Too Many Coins
The Course of the Coins
The Silver Dagger
The Ox-Cart Drivers
Flight
Jambudweepa
Kaikeya
Shailanandini, Kamasundari and Others
Dhritrashtra’s Court
The Secret Weapon
The End of the Purus
Samrat Chandragupta

Epilogue
Endnotes

Acknowledgements
Time to hold the result of my lifelong passion for India’s ancient past in my hands! I owe so much to so many people around me.
A big thank you to my husband, Alok Ojha, because of whom I took the first step; believed that I could do it, then put pen to paper and finished the book!
My daughter, Vidushi, (at whose hostel desk in Harvey Mudd College I write this) without whose multiple interventions this book would have been at least a thousand pages longer!
My son, Vivaswat, who fought with me for the possession of the sole laptop but offered sage advice beyond his years when I was stuck or frustrated.
My mother, Maya Verma, from whom I inherited my love for India’s beautiful past and who suggested the name for this book.
My father, B.K. Verma, who has been unwavering in his support and encouragement.
My sister, Shruti Kumar, a dependable sounding board for everything and ever ready with her help.
All my friends from India who obligingly packed up kilograms of research material and sent them through Speedpost. A special thank you to you, Manish Kumar!
Debashree Mukherjee and Sonali Ghosh for bearing with the birth pangs and my occasional angst.
And almost last but definitely not least; the person without whom this book may not have seen the light of day, Subbiah Yadalam! And his wonderful Facebook platform for the discussion of all things historical, the Rare Book Society of India. If he had not put me and Roli Books in touch I would not have been writing this today.
I must mention my many friends on RBSI especially Satyakam Sudarshan and Sunny Narang. We have never met except on Facebook but the cut and thrust of constant arguments sharpened and nuanced my own understanding.
And finally, thank you Priya Kapoor and Neelam Narula and the Roli team! For sharing my passion for India’s history, for your vision and attention to detail, your meticulousness and hard work… you have brought what I imagined to life!
California
June 2014



Prologue
It is 326 BCE… Alakshendra, the legendary warrior of the Yavanas has defeated the Paurava king and run rough shod over the big and small kingdoms of the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Jambudweepa. The established power centres are smashed and open the way for a young adventurer, backed by the powerful intellect and towering personality of his guru and preceptor.
An army of volunteers, soldiers, and mercenaries is collected from all across the Gandharan region; first the Yavanas who remain after the departure of Alakshendra are subjugated and driven out. Then the great power of Magadha is attacked. But that too fails. The kingdom is too strong to defeat.
The young adventurer, Chandragupta and his preceptor, Acharya Chanakya, are forced to rethink their strategy. They form a grand alliance with five potent kingdoms of the north including Paurava of Kaikeya and Abhisara of Kashmir.
This time, there is a military and covert attack on Pataliputra and due to the infighting between the Nanda princes and the treachery of their senapati, Bhattaraka, Pataliputra is vanquished. Chandragupta takes over the city in a bloodless coup stage managed by Acharya Chanakya.
Consolidation is the order of the day, a marriage is proposed between Chandragupta and the Nanda princess, Dharini, to bring the two dynasties together; important officials of the Nanda regime are reappointed and shown favour, the populace is sought to be soothed and calmed.
The land is thick with intrigue and Chanakya, the power behind Samrat Chandragupta, nurtures a terrible and efficient secret service which weaves a gossamer web of deceit and deception the Urnabhih covering the entire kingdom and is harnessed to the expansion of empire.
This time, between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE is an Axial Age when radical new ways of social and religious thought arising out of dizzying changes in material technology change the world beyond recognition. An explosion of change is making the radical re-ordering of society seem imminent. Pastoral and nomadic ways of life are giving way to a settled agricultural community and the bringing of the forest land under the plough is the main aim before the state.
From the heart of the Gangetic plain, is also being born a dream; a vision of an empire that would unite vast tracts of the Indian subcontinent and central Asia. The far-flung kingdoms of the fabled ‘Jambudweepa’ are to be strung on to the thread of a vast empire; a subcontinent of peoples has to be melded into a civilization.
Misrakesi, an orphan, courtesan extraordinaire, a ganika from Ujjain, has come to Pataliputra to avenge the death of her sister…but she finds herself caught up in all these events which sweep her off her feet and take her towards her destiny…




Misrakesi

Send thy spies forward, fleetest in their motion. Be not deceived by him who, near or far is bent on evil.
The Rig Veda

She stood quietly inside the great pool filled with marigold petals, while her body was rubbed down with sandalwood and turmeric and her hair washed with perfumed water. It was a great day: the accession of Chandragupta, the goatherd, who should rightly look after cows and goats, to the throne of Magadha – the richest, most prosperous and strongest Janapada, the mightiest kingdom of the world; and ready, if the wily and wise old Chanakya had anything to do with it, to extend itself over all of Jambudweep and more.
Misrakesi looked around at the beautiful inner courtyard – which was deep within the Sugaang Praasaad, the royal Mauryan palace – with its delicate paintings on the walls of the corridors surrounding it. She had come here but recently, not even a fortnight ago. Her throat tightened when she thought of the reason. Her sister, Sukesi, the leading ganika and exquisite dancer, the jewel of the Magadha court… was dead... and dead by her own hand. All because of Vishnugupta Chanakya.
Well, she would exact her revenge today. She was to dance