Naimisha - God's Own Story - The Middle Game

Book excerpt: MOVES & COUNTERMOVES Animish, the disciple teetering between scepticism and awe around Krishna’s divinity, inherits his Master’s mantle as the latter proceeds to Badari to pursue his self-realisation goals. Asareer's belief solidifies, and divine anecdotes about Krishna continue to enthral him. While the chasm between the viewpoints of both friends keeps widening, Krishna attains a God-like stature and comes to be feared by his opponents and revered by his devotees and sages alike. Meanwhile, rivalries explode between cousins. Kauravas, led by the determined Duryodhana, manipulate the king to their advantage while Pandavas fight for survival. Draupadi's entrance, forging a solid alliance between Pandavas and the powerful Panchala kingdom, adds a new twist to the story. And, through it all, the enigmatic Krishna emerges as the central figure, unfolding his own fascinating tryst with destiny. The game of one-up-manship between Kauavas and Pandavas, which resembled the opening stage of a chess game to Animish during the graduation ceremony of princes, moves into the next stage, the middle game. Kauravas and Pandavas were entangled in a prolonged fight over the chessboard of fate, with advantage shifting back and forth like in a bitter middle game of chess that does not produce a clear winner. Find inside the dramatic events of Krishna’s battles with Jarasandha, the setting up of the Dwaraka kingdom, Draupadi’s Swayamvara and her unconventional polyandrous marriage, the rise and fall of Indraprastha Empire, multiple marriages and battles of Krishna, the fortune-turning dice game where a wife was put on stake, and a host of other exciting events. Join Animish and Asareer, two good friends who disagree on matters of faith, to watch the enthralling moves and countermoves in the intricate middle phase of the story and analyse for yourself which moves are blunders and which ones are brilliancies. What did destiny ordain for the kings who thought they were players but were mere pawns on fate’s chess board?