Series: The Divine Dancers Duology #1 (Cliffhanger)
Publication Date: 21st Jan 2025
Genre: Hindu Puranic Retelling
4.5 Stars
One Liner: Full stars for the Shiva chapter
Meneka is one of the apsaras of Indra’s court and a
powerful weapon. Her power is the art of seduction – to use dance and illusion
to defeat Indra’s enemies and prevent heaven from losing its magic. However,
Meneka no longer wants to do this. She wants to stay in Amaravathi, Indra’s
kingdom, and use her talents there.
However, Indra offers her a deal – seduce Kaushika
and prove her devotion to Amaravthi to get what she wants. Meneka agrees
knowing the new mission is near impossible. Kaushika may have become a sage but
he was a well-feared Kshatriya with warrior instincts. By channeling the same
intensity, he became a sage with tremendous magic intent on waging war
against Indra.
Will Meneka be successful in her mission or will she
get more than what she bargained for and at what cost?
The story comes in Meneka’s first-person POV in the
present tense.
My Thoughts:
Though I’m wary of retellings exploring Hindu
Puranic and Ithihasic stories, I did want to try this after someone recommended
the author’s previous books. The lower rating scared and worried me. NGL, I
postponed this to read closer to the pub date as I didn’t want a repeat of
Kaikeyi.
Patel’s Kaikeyi is nothing more than a distorted and
colonized take on something sacred to my culture. All those comparing Legend of
Meneka to that nonsense in a perfumed package have absolutely missed all the
nuances that make this a Hindu book. The sad state is that even the official
promotion does it!
Moreover, marketing this book using popular tropes
has done it a disservice. I know, readers need a checklist these days; the tags
are important; the comparisons are important; even more than the book itself.
But, a book is much more than its tropes.
Enemies to lovers, romantasy, cozy fantasy, spicy,
et al… well, the tags are right but only if you know the core context. Otherwise,
these won’t make sense or feel incorrect.
Legend of Meneka is not just lust, seduction, or
spice. It is an exploration of sringara and Kama at physical, emotional,
spiritual, and cosmic levels. It is the celebration of the union of divine
masculine and divine feminine without which this universe wouldn’t exist. When
it talks of Shiva and Shakti in terms of lingam and yoni, it transcends the
mortal desire for flesh and sexual gratification. It is the pulsing life that
ensures the universe thrums with neverending energy to prevent
self-destruction. Without the union of Shiva and Shakti, there is no life, no
prana, no jeeva, and no prakriti. Love is too small a word to encompass the
relationship of Shiva and Shakti. They are two halves of a whole, the
Ardhanareeshwara, the perfect balance of divine masculine and divine
feminine.
Though the author uses the word lust in the story,
she switches to the actual term in her note –Kama. Lust doesn’t define Kama as
it is only a part of it. Kama is one of the Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama,
and Moksha) and a part of our lives. We have only reduced their true meanings
with our incorrect translations to English. Lust might be a sin but Kama is
necessary and has to be balanced with Dharma and Artha to travel the path to
Moksha (Artha and Kama have to be discarded at the appropriate stage).
Kama is not limited to physical and material aspects; it never has been.
When something so intricate and integral to Hinduism
is removed from its framework, the result is a diluted and surface-level
narrative that limits the story to the physical realm. Those unfamiliar with
the core details miss out on the nuance; it doesn’t exist for them. It’s much
like how yoga became a billion-dollar industry of stretching exercises with
fancy and exotic names. It has no soul. Similarly, when the Hindu framework is
removed/ ignored/ avoided, this book ends up as a weak YA story of a whiny
heroine and a grumpy hero.
Before I dive into the details, let me share a short
version of the original. This isn’t an individual story but is mentioned in
different places as a part of the backstory.
Summary of the Original
Meneka is one of the three celestial apsaras –
Rambha, Urvashi, and Meneka. They live in Indra’s kingdom (heaven with a
capital city named Amaravati) and dance in his court for entertainment (theirs
and others). They are also spies and seducers whenever necessary.
Kaushika aka Vishwamitra is a king who left his
Kshatriya dharma to become the best rishi in the world. He wanted to become
Brahmarishi (think of it as a topmost title) and be called this by
Vashishta. Kaushika as a king once visited Vashishta’s ashram, and something
happened. This makes him determined to be the greatest rishi (never mind
that the concept of being a rishi is to denounce such traits, something
he learns after a long time). He attains a higher state through penance but
loses it when he helps a king called Trishanku by creating an exclusive heaven
for him. He starts fresh again and wants to show Indra and others what he is
capable of.
Indra isn’t going to sit idle, right? He sends
Meneka to disrupt Kaushika’s penance. If Kaushika had really given up worldly
pleasures, he wouldn’t be swayed and might become worthy of the title he seeks.
If not, well…
Meneka goes to seduce Kaushika and the result is
their baby girl Shakuntala. Meneka leaves the newborn outside Rishi Kanva’s
ashram and returns to heaven. Kaushika starts his tapasya once again, finally
proves his worth, and becomes Vishwamitra the Brahmarishi.
The cookie-cutter version makes it seem like
Kaushika and Meneka had a one-nighter or a fling. However, it was likely to be
an affair that lasted a solid few months or years that ended with Meneka’s
pregnancy/ Shakuntala’s birth.
The second half dealing with Indra sending Meneka to
Kaushika is provided as a backstory in Shakuntala’s story in the Mahabharata
(Adi Parva). The first half can be found in the Ramayana.
The author took different versions of this story and
used creative liberties to spin a tale of magic, love, lust, seduction, and
power strongly rooted in Hinduism.
While her MMC retained the core traits of Kaushika,
she gave her own spin to Meneka (which is where I believe things went a bit
south).
Characters
Kaushika is a Kshatriya turned Brahmin. The blend of
both has given him an advantage and a disadvantage. I don’t use the terms in
the ‘caste’ sense. Not even varna or jati. I talk of them as gunas (personality
traits). A Kshatriya is a warrior born and trained to protect, rule, govern,
and spends most of his years as a grihasta (a married man). A Brahmin is leaner
born and trained to study, acquire knowledge, gain wisdom, and attain a balance
of mind that prevents partiality, pride, anger, and grief. It’s a life-long
tapasya to constantly improve oneself; not for accolades but for the peace felt
when one separates themselves from the rest of the world.
Those who know Vishwamitra (even the movies/ TV
version should be enough) can easily see Kaushika. The aloof grumpy hero
with a temper is not an archetype. It is him. It is who he is, and has
always been. The author retained his essence perfectly. I had zero issues visualizing
him as I read the book.
She did the same for Indra – who can be a hero, villain,
or both. He is a complicated deva with an abundance of grey shades. After all,
he is my god even if he is not my God. Rambha is much like how I expect
an apsara to be.
I think the issue lies with Meneka’s
characterization. Since we don’t get much information about her, the author
created someone vulnerable and naïve possibly to showcase her growth. A great
idea. However, the execution makes her sound whiny at times. While I can see
her conflict, I don’t think it makes much sense when you ignore the Hindu
framework. She pales as a new adult who whines and cries and cannot decide what
to do. But within the framework, she presents the conflict of dharma. I think
using the word loyalty in place of devotion for Indra might have helped.
Themes
The book deals with many themes like loyalty, love,
friendships, devotion, dharma, etc. The core of it is finding oneself. I
wouldn’t have minded if Meneka found herself earlier than she did. I prefer
strong FMCs, so there have been instances when I wanted to shake sense into
her. Still, when it happened, it was beautiful. Diversity is another theme that
blends with everything else. The devas would hardly bother with the gender
rules humans like to define! They accept everything as natural. Beautiful!
The book has spice but only around 2.5. That may not
be enough for those who want a spice romantasy. It works for me as I can see
the elements of sringara rasa, which is integral to my culture. It is one of
the nava rasas (nine flavors, to put it loosely). It blends romance,
love, lust, desire, seduction, sensuality, and erotica but is a lot more than
these. English really doesn’t do justice to the word. There’s no exact
translation. For an apsara, sringara is in every fiber of her being. She is it.
In the book, their interactions are a heady blend of everything with a good
dose of vulnerability. Maybe more spice might have helped but it is not
necessary. What we get here is a slow dance where every move is full of
eroticism that stems from genuine feelings.
World-building and Magic System
The world-building is also Hindu. It is colorful,
vibrant, rich, and full of life. Be it Amaravati or Kaushika’s ashram, opulence
or earthiness, everything is inherent to my culture. Even though the choice of
kurta-pajama as costumes took a while to get used to, the saris, jewelry,
topknots, dhoti, etc., are familiar and comforting.
I love the use of scents to describe the characters.
I could feel and smell them. Star anise for Rambha – what a choice! Potent and
spicy, exciting and mysterious, and a touch of sweetness with a bite that can
draw blood; most importantly, best in small quantities or it will overpower the
dish.
Magic is inherent to our essence. It is the prana
that keeps us hoping and living. In the book, magic comes from prana (the
source of life). It is represented by the elements (fire, wind, water,
and earth), the pancha bhootas that sustain life.
While it may seem silly for ‘love’ to be the key, it
is apt. It is the truth. For an apsara, it is the most vital differentiating
factor. The key couldn’t have been anything else. Nothing would make sense
other than love. It is this love that resulted in the birth of Shakuntala.
I could easily visualize every scene in the book, be
it the setting, the intimacy, the dance, or the magic. It helps that I know
what a Kalpavriksha is or what Sri Yantra looks like. Not being familiar with
these elements will make a difference to your reading experience.
Shiva and Ending
I’m not a crier when I read books. I read too many
words a day for them to touch my heart. So, when a book makes me teary-eyed, I
give it grace marks. But this made me cry; not for the characters, though. I was
a little annoyed by Meneka by then.
The tears had everything to do with Shiva in that
one chapter. The tears are a response to the beauty of love for Shiva. The
author must be a Shiv bhakt. You cannot fake bhakti like this (at least I
think it cannot be). Words carry intentions that seep through at some
point. All I feel here is love and devotion that comes from deep trust; not
something we are expected to display but something that’s a part of our soul. I
can only pray I’m right. If book two proves me otherwise, it’ll be a lesson I
have to learn.
The ending is open since the whole thing will
conclude in the sequel. Meneka has decent growth, so I hope it sustains and
increases in the next book instead of crashing to zero and starting again. The
stakes are high, and I prefer we have a heroine capable of more transparency
and self-reflection. Don’t turn her into a new adult again. Let her continue to
bloom. And… give us a beautiful chapter with Shakti.
To summarize, The Legend of Meneka is an unapologetically
Hindu story filled with symbolism from my culture. Not many will understand the
nuances. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
There’s a glossary at the beginning (a great idea)
and the final version will have a map as well. Don’t miss the author’s note. It
might help understand the book a little more (if you couldn’t).
Thank you, NetGalley, and Harper Voyager, for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheLegendOfMeneka
