Chaturanga (2020 novel)

Chaturanga (transl. Chess) is an Indian historical fiction novel written by Anand Neelakantan.[1][2] It acts as a prequel to the film Baahubali: The Beginning[3] and sequel to the book The Rise of Sivagami. It was originally released in English on 6 August 2020, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions are scheduled to release.[4]

Chaturanga
AuthorAnand Neelakantan
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
SeriesBaahubali
GenreHistorical fiction/Fantasy
Published6 August 2020
PublisherWestland (Tata Group)
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages320
ISBN9789389152449
OCLC9389152445

Plot

The prologue of the novel starts with how Sivagami's parents were killed a day before her 5th birthday, 13 years ago.

In the present day, after a failed coup by the Vaithalikas (immediately after the incidents of the first book):  

  • Sivagami defeats her uncle Thimma in a duel and rises to the post of Bhoomipathi. She finds suspicion in royal priest Rudra Bhatta and is helped by his daughter-in-law Gomati. 
  • Gundu Ramu tries various attempts, but is unable to escape from Hidumba's clutches. 
  • Shivappa kills his father by accident. Kattappa is in search of him. 
  • Ally fails to kill Kattappa as she falls in love with him. 
  • Brihannala, Shivappa and Neelappa (Sivagami's father's former slave) plan to kill Kattappa and make Shivappa the head of the rebellious Vaithalika clan after a failed coup but fail to do so. 
  • Pattaraya visits Kadarimandalam to his lover princess Chitraveni and his daughter Mekhala's mother.
  • Keki and prince Bijjaladeva plan to access the throne by winning the hearts of the masses.

Basically, the novel focuses on how everyone in the kingdom of Mahishmati is involved in the dirty game of Chaturanga (chess) and planning moves or their goals and hence, the title.

In the end, Sivagami exacts her first revenge on Rudra Bhatta by burning him alive. Prince Mahadeva orders to get her arrested. The novel ends with a cliffhanger.

References
  1. "The Rise of Sivagami: Dynastic Tale". The New Indian Express. 25 March 2017. Archived from the original on 14 May 2017.
  2. "Chaturanga". Times of India.
  3. "Baahubali prequel novel The Rise of Sivagami explores SS Rajamouli's epic universe". Firstpost. 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017.
  4. "Chaturanga: Second book in Bahubali trilogy to hit stands in August". Deccan Herald. 26 July 2020.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.