The Great Indian Novel
Encyclopedia
The Great Indian Novel is a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 novel by Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala...

. It is a fictional work that takes the story of the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, the epic of Hindu mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, and recasts and resets it in the context of the Indian Independence Movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...

 and the first three decades post-independence. Figures from Indian history are transformed into characters from mythology, and the mythical story of India is retold as a history of Indian independence and subsequent history, up through the 1980s. The work includes numerous puns and allusions to famous works about India, such as those by Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

, Paul Scott, and E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...

.

The Mahabharata is an epic tale describing the historical dynastic struggle over the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapur between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, two branches of the heirs of the king Shantanu. In this novel, Tharoor recasts the story of the nascent Indian democracy as a struggle between groups and individuals closely related by their personal and political histories. Through his cantankerous narrator, Tharoor takes an irreverent tone towards figures such as Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

, who are ordinarily treated with reverence by Indians.

The phrase "great Indian novel" is an allusion to the long-standing idea of the "Great American Novel
Great American Novel
The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state,...

" and is also a pun, roughly translating "Mahabharata" (maha "great"; Bharata "India"). The Mahabharata, which is not a novel but an epic poem, can be understood, according to Tharoor, to represent Hinduism's greatest literary achievement and thus serves as an appropriate paradigm in which to frame a retelling of recent Indian history.

A significant characteristic of Tharoor's version of the story is the emphasis on the older generations (e.g., Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, and Pandu) and the resulting de-emphasis on the actions of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

Plot summary

The organization of the sections and chapters of the novel mirrors the organization of the Mahabharata and the themes and events addressed in each allude to themes and events of the mirrored sections of the epic. The novel has 18 "books," just as the Mahabharata has 18 books and the Battle of Kurukshetra lasted for 18 days.

The First Book: The Twice-Born Tale

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Beginning."

In this section, Ved Vyas ("V.V."), the narrator, recounts his personal history; the seduction of Satyavati by the Brahmin Parashar and his own birth; the origin of Ganga Datta from the union of Shantanu and the now absent Maharanee (whom he met on the banks of the Ganga
Ganges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...

 (Ganges) and who had had seven suspicious miscarriages); the marriage of Shantanu and Satyavati and Ganga Datta's vow of chastity; the birth of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya and the latter's marriage; Ved Vyas's insemination of Ambika and Ambalika; the vow of revenge against Ganga Datta taken by Amba; the birth of Dhritarashtra and Pandu; and the assignment of Ganapathi by Brahm
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

's Apsara
Apsara
An Apsara , also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, Accharā or A Bố Sa La Tư , Bidadari , Biradali , Widodari and Apson , is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in...

 Agency to transcribe Ved Vyas's memoir, which V.V. describes as the "Song of Modern India."

The Second Book: The Duel With the Crown

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Assembly Hall." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's The Jewel in the Crown
The Jewel in the Crown (novel)
The Jewel in the Crown is the 1966 novel by Paul Scott that starts his Raj Quartet.-Plot introduction:Much of the novel is written in the form of interviews and reports of conversations and research from the point of view of a narrator. Other portions are in the form of letters from one character...

. Ved Vyas also compares his memoir to The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian is the autobiographical work of one of India's most controversial writers -- Nirad C. Chaudhuri. He wrote this when he was around fifty and records his life from his birth at 1897 in Kishorganj, a small town in present Bangladesh...

 by Nirad Chaudhuri. The British resident's equerry is named "Heaslop," an allusion to a character in A Passage to India
A Passage to India
A Passage to India is a novel by E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time...

.

Introduced is the character of Sir Richard, the British resident at Hastinapur, who is complaining about the increasing radicalization of Ganga Datta, who is still serving as regent of Hastinapur. Ved Vyas discusses the upbringing of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur Dharmaputra under the care of the regent, Ganga Datta.

Discovering the suffering of the people of Motihari, Ganga Datta embarks on his first protest campaign. Gangaji is arrested and he pleads guilty to defying a police order, but his action results in a victory for the peasants of Motihari.

The Third Book: The Rains Came

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Forest." The title of this section alludes to Louis Bromfield
Louis Bromfield
Louis Bromfield was an American author and conservationist who gained international recognition winning the Pulitzer Prize and pioneering innovative scientific farming concepts.-Biography:...

's The Rains Came
The Rains Came
The Rains Came is the title of a novel by Louis Bromfield, published in 1937, as well as the 1939 20th Century Fox film version which followed it...

.

Sir Richard is furious about the events of Motihari and Heaslop notes that Gangaji had never formally resigned from the regency of Hastinapur. The regent having committed sedition, Hastinapur can now be annexed by British India.

Dhritarashtra and Gandhari’s marriage is off to a good start. The devoted young bride has resolved to forever covering her eyes with a blindfold so that she is deprived of whatever her husband is deprived of. Pandu is also enjoying his two sexually expert wives. While enjoying sexual congress with both at once, he suffers a "massive coronary thrombosis" and is prohibited from ever again engaging in sexual intercourse. Pandu joins Gangaji’s movement and instructs his wives to seek other sexual partners so that they may still bear him heirs. Kunti reveals that in her youth she bore Hyperion Helios’s child but sent the baby boy down the river in a basket.

Gandhari the Grim gives birth not to a hundred sons, but to one daughter, Priya Duryodhani, who is to be the equivalent of a thousand sons.

The Fourth Book: A Raj Quartet

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Virata." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's Raj Quartet
Raj Quartet
The Raj Quartet is a four-volume novel sequence, written by Paul Scott, about the concluding years of the British Raj in India. The series was written during the period 1965–75. The Times called it "one of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction."The story of The Raj Quartet begins...

.

Hastinapur is annexed to the British Presidency of Marabar (an allusion to the "Marabar Hills," which figure prominently in A Passage to India). The people of Hastinapur are milling in the streets, threatening revolt. There is a rumour that Gangaji will address a rally at the Bibighar Gardens (an allusion to the "Bibighar," which figures prominently in A Jewel in the Crown). Heaslop counsels Sir Richard to let passions dissipate on their own, but Sir Richard instead calls in Colonel Rudyard and the Fifth Baluch, which starts firing on the unarmed gathering in the Bibighar Gardens. Almost 400 people are killed and more than a thousand are injured.

After the Bibighar Gardens Massacre, Colonel Rudyard is retired with a half-million pound pension. An unnamed Nobel Prize-winning poet (an allusion to Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

) returns his knighthood. Gangaji kicks off the Quit India Movement (an allusion to the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...

 started by Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

). Bungling assassins kill a Professor Kipling instead of Colonel Rudyard. This Professor Kipling was the racist teacher whom a young Pandu had struck, resulting in the end of Pandu’s formal education.

Vidur resigns from the civil service but Gangaji and Dhritarashtra order him to rescind his resignation. Dhritarashtra becomes head of the Kaurava Party and Pandu becomes the party’s chief organizer.

Kunti bears the sons of Dharma (a young magistrate), Major Vayu of the palace guard, and Devendra Yogi: Yudhistir, Bhim the Brave, and Arjun. Exhausted, Kunti calls a halt to the cuckolding and Madri begs to be permitted to take up the torch. She has an affair with the twins Ashvin and Ashwin and bears the twin sons Nakul and Sahadev.

The Fifth Book: The Powers of Silence

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of War Preparations." The title of this section alludes to Paul Scott's The Towers of Silence
The Towers of Silence
The Towers of Silence is the 1971 novel by Paul Scott that continues his Raj Quartet. It gets its title from the Parsi Towers of Silence where the bodies of the dead are left to be picked clean by vultures. The novel is set in the British Raj of 1940s India...

.

During an epidemic, a Sarah Moore persuades her brother, the manager of a jute mill in Budge Budge, near Calcutta, to offer the mill workers a bonus. After the epidemic, the workers refuse to give up the bonus and are locked out. Sarahbehn enlists Gangaji's aid and Gangaji embarks on his first protest fast. The British Raj directs the Mill Owners' Association to give in.

The Sixth Book: Forbidden Fruit

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Bhishma."

A rift begins to develop between Dhritarashtra and Pandu, both working within the Kaurava Party to further the cause of Indian independence, with Pandu advocating a harder line than that pursued by Gangaji and Dhritarashtra. Gangaji attends the Round Table Conference hosted by the British government. Mahadeva Menon, a Kaurava Party official from Palghat, persuades Gangaji to do something about the tax on mangoes. Gangaji kicks off the Great Mango March, which prompts Pandu to leave the Kaurava Party.

In Chaurasta, a Kaurava protest turns violent and Gangaji calls off the mango agitation. Gangaji is called for a meeting with the viceroy and entertains an uncomfortable Sir Richard with the tale of why he drinks goat's milk instead of cow's milk.

The Seventh Book: The Son Also Rises

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Drona." The title of this section alludes to Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

's The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises is a 1926 novel written by American author Ernest Hemingway about a group of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. An early and enduring modernist novel, it received...

.

Ved Vyas describes the divisions in Indian society engendered by British policy and the formation of the Muslim Group under the figurehead leadership of the Gaga Shah, an "overweight sybarite." The arrogant and (literally) brilliant Mohammed Ali Karna, the son of Kunti and Hyperion Helios, educated by the generosity of Indra Deva, the employer of Karna's adoptive father, rises to prominence as a lawyer and as a member of the Kaurava Party. Dhritarashtra insults Karna upon discovering that his (adoptive) father is a chauffeur. Kunti sees Karna and realizes that he is her firstborn son. The story is told of how Indra Deva gave him the surname "Karna," the "Hacker-Off," after Karna circumcised himself with a knife. Karna leaves the movement and goes to England, but the Gaga Shah invites Karna back to India to lead the Muslim Group.

The Eighth Book: Midnight's Parents

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Karna." The title of this section alludes to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children is a 1981 book by Salman Rushdie about India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism...

.

The five Pandavas and Priya Duryodhani grow up, each revealing their characters. Priya tries and fails to poison and drown her cousin Bhim. While playing cricket, the Pandavas meet the sage Jayaprakash Drona who tells the tale of his son, Ashwathaman, and his insult at the hands of Ronald Heaslop, which led him to his mission of educating young Indians in order to facilitate the overthrow of the British. The Pandavas choose Drona to be their tutor.

Pandu decides to seek the presidency of the Kaurava Party and Dhritarashtra fears that there is a good chance he will lose the election to Pandu. Gangaji persuades Dhritarashtra to step down in favor of a less prominent figure, and untouchable. Thus, if Pandu wins the election, then Gangaji and Dhritarashtra will not be seen as having suffered a defeat.

The Ninth Book: Him — Or, the Far Power-Villain

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Shalya." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...

's Kim
Kim (novel)
Kim is a picaresque novel by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published serially in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901, and first published in book form by Macmillan & Co. Ltd in October 1901...

and to M. M. Kaye
M. M. Kaye
Mary Margaret Kaye was a British writer. Her most famous book was The Far Pavilions .-Life:M. M. Kaye was born in Simla, India, and spent her early childhood and much of her early-married life there...

's The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the Great Game. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling...

.

Pandu is elected president of the Kaurava Party and a struggle begins between him and Gangaji for control over the direction of the party. Gangaji outmanoeuvres Pandu, who loses a vote of confidence and resigns.

Ved Vyas switches to verse to tell Pandu's story. Pandu forms the Onward Organisation (an allusion to the All India Forward Bloc
All India Forward Bloc
The All India Forward Bloc is a leftwing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India...

), the OO. Pandu allies himself with the Nazis and the Japanese against the British and forms the Swatantra Sena (an allusion to the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...

 formed by Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhash Chandra Bose
Subhas Chandra Bose known by name Netaji was an Indian revolutionary who led an Indian national political and military force against Britain and the Western powers during World War II. Bose was one of the most prominent leaders in the Indian independence movement and is a legendary figure in...

) to fight against British forces on the Burmese front. Pandu sends for Madri to join him and the sight of her wearing a military uniform begins to break down his control over his carnal desires. While fleeing from defeat in Singapore by air, Pandu and Madri succumb to their passion. Pandu dies of a heart attack and the plane is shot down, killing Madri as well.

The Tenth Book: Darkness at Dawn

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Sleeping Warriors." - title may be an allusion to Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon"

Ashwathaman joins the Pandavas as the students of Drona in the military, terroristic, and nationalistic arts. When Arjun has to share an academic prize with Ekalavya, the son of a maidservant, Ekalavya admits that he has been sharing in the Pandavas' lessons while standing outside the door. In exchange for payment for his tuition, Drona demands that Ekalavya cut off his own right thumb and give it to Drona. Unlike in the original Mahabharata, Tharoor's Ekalavya refuses and flees in horror. Drona has a good laugh.

Karna considers his options after the Muslim Group's candidates are bested by Muslim members of the Kaurava Party in the elections. Karna proposes a coalition government in the legislative assembly of the Northern Province. Vidur urges Dhritarashtra to accept Karna's proposal, even though the Kaurava Party controls enough seats in the Northern Province to rule without a coalition. Mohammed Rafi, a Muslim Kauravaman, urges rejection of Karna's offer and Dhritarashtra and Gangaji concede. Karna is resolved to find other means of gaining power.

The viceroy and Sir Richard consider what to do in reaction to the initiation of the Second World War. Sir Richard relates the story of Sir Francis Younghusband, who inadvertently annexed Tibet. ("He'd really intended just to see the tourist spots and to get a few good pictures of the Potala Palace, but one of his rifles went off accidentally and when he then saw all the notables on their knees cowering he couldn't really disappoint them by not conquering them.") Sir Richard persuades the viceroy to declare war on Germany without consulting the elected governments of the provinces.

Kaurava Party legislators react to the declaration of war by resigning en masse. The absence of the Kaurava Party in the administration benefits the Muslim Group, which takes over the government in three provinces. Gangaji initiates the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...

 and the leaders of the Kaurava Party are imprisoned. The emboldened Muslim Group begins calling for a separate Muslim state, to be called Karnistan (the "Hacked-Off Land").

Amba, planning her revenge on Gangaji, goes to a plastic surgeon for a sex-change operation.

Following the end of the war, the Kaurava Party does well in the election, but the Muslim Group's strength is not diminished. The British government charges with treason the soldiers who joined Pandu's Swatantra Sena. Viscount Bertie Drewpad is appointed viceroy. His wife, Georgina, is excited at the prospect of dallying with lusty Indian men.

While Dhritarashtra plans to meet the new viceroy, his wife, Gandhari the Grim, lies dying, calling Priya Duryodhani her "son."

The Eleventh Book: Renunciation — Or, the Bed of Arrows

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Women." Lord Drewpad announces the British intent to withdraw from India on Aug, 15, 1947, to Dhritarashtra, Mohammed Rafi, Ved Vyas, Sardar Khushkismat Singh, and Karna. Dhritarashtra and the Kaurava Party agree to the Partition of India. A Mr. Nichols is assigned to draw the border between the two new countries, to the derision of an experienced administrator named Basham. Vidur assists the viceroy in making decisions related to the transfer of power.

Gangaji initiates an experiment in eliminating sexual desire by inviting Sarah-behn to sleep in his bed. While violence tears India apart, Dhritarashtra initiates an affair with Lady Drewpad. While India celebrates independence, Amba, now Shikhandin the Godless, assassinates Gangaji.

The Twelfth Book: The Man Who Could Not Be King

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Peace." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King
The Man Who Would Be King
For the 1975 film based on this story, see The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. It is about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan...

. Ved Vyas refers to "Children being born at inconvenient times of the night who would go on to label a generation and rejuvenate a literature," which alludes to Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Drona's secretary is called Sir Beverley Twitty, K.C.M.G.

Jayaprakash Drona, now serving as Minister of State for Administrative Reform, gets his opportunity for revenge against Ronald Heaslop, who has lost everything in the rioting. Drona, instead of answering Heaslop's long-ago refusal to help him with co-ordinate cruelty, he offers Heaslop a job.

Georgina Drewpad's affair with Dhritarashtra (now prime minister of India) continues. On 26 January 1950, the day India becomes a republic, she gives birth to a daughter, who is given up for adoption and given the name Draupadi Mokrasi.

Vyabhichar Singh ("Mr. Z"), the maharaja of Manimir, tries to avoid acceeding either to India or Karnistan. Mohammed Rafi urges Dhritarashtra to ensure that Manimir remains part of India. Vidur, now Principal Secretary for Integration, counsels patience, hoping that Sheikh Azharuddin, a Kaurava ally, might be able to overthrow Mr. Z. Dhritarashtra decides to let Karna, now governor-general of Karnistan, make the first move, which he does, leaving the Indian government the perfect excuse to send in Khushkismat Singh, the Minister of Defence, with Indian troops. Vidur goes to Devpur to get Vyabhichar Singh to sign the instrument of accession, and persuades Colonel Bewakuf Jan to disturb the maharaja from his sporting with a Frenchwoman. Vidur states his case while the maharaja is fellated under an "enormous silk razai
Razai
A razai is a bedquilt used in Afghanistan, Pakistan, North India and Nepal. It is a type of bedding similar to a duvet or comforter. Razais usually have a cotton, silk or velvet cover which is stuffed with cotton wool...

." The maharaja is finally persuaded to sign by his companion, "a steatopygous blonde wearing nothing but a look of panic." Vidur helps the maharaja flee to Marmu, his winter capital.

The Pathans invading Manimir get drunk and the Indian Army parachutes into Devpur. Dhritarashtra snatches defeat from the jaws of victory by halting the Indian Army's advance and calling in the United Nations.

Professor Jennings delivers a critique of his student, D. Mokrasi.

The Thirteenth Book: Passages Through India

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of Bhishma's Final Instructions." The title of this section alludes to E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...

's A Passage to India
A Passage to India
A Passage to India is a novel by E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time...

.

Drona decides to resign from government and do "constructive work" in rural areas, taking Ashwathaman with him. The five Pandavas they also want to go along and break the news to Kunti, their chain-smoking and still glamorous mother. In order to secure her blessing, Yudhishtir promises never to disobey his mother.

Dhritarashtra consults V. Kanika Menon, India's high commissioner in London, regarding what he should do about the increasing popularity of Drona and the Pandavas. Kanika counsels Dhritarashtra not to allow the Pandavas to attain too much political power, but Dhritarashtra is too idealistic to take the advice. Priya Duryodhani, however, is listening and she takes Kanika's advice seriously.

Vidur, now Secretary of the Home Ministry and head of the Central Bureau of Intelligence, goes to a Drona land reform rally to warn the Pandavas that Priya Duryodhani is plotting against them. Vidur arranges for the Pandavas to hide out in Varanavata with Kunti.

Karna, who has not been well, dies when he tries to pull a car out of the mud with his bare hands. Kunti, hearing the news, repeats her firtborn son's final gesture—by shaking her fist at the sun.

The Fourteenth Book: The Rigged Veda

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Horse Sacrifice." The title of this section alludes to the Hindu sacred work the Rig Veda.

Purochan Lal, the owner of the hotel where Kunti is staying, is an agent of Priya Duryodhani. Vidur intercepts the cables and sends a coded message explaining that the house is coated with lac and will be set fire. The building is burnt, but Vidur arranges their escape while letting the world believe they have perished in the fire.

Vidur tells Dhritarashtra about a joke by Winston Churchill botched by Khushkismat Singh. After discussing the Manimir situation, Dhritarashtra appoints Kanika to replace Singh as Minister of Defence.

The Pandavas wander India sticking up for the rights of the downtrodden. The refuse to take sides between two corrupt landlords, Pinaka and Saranga (whose men attacked a man named Hangari Das).

Dhritarashtra and Kanika start the "non-aligned" movement. They decide to annex the Portuguese colony of Comea.

Bhim saves a beautiful girl from her abusive brother, Hidimba ("a large man with a small goatee"), and weds.

The Chairman of the People's Republic of Chakra, watching the annexation of Comea by India, orders the Chakar People's Liberation Army to cross the Big Mac Line and annex the nation of Tibia, on the Indian border. In order to enter Tibia from the province of Drowniang, however, Chakar troops must cross into territory claimed by India.

Bhim has a baby son, Ghatotkach, who is born in the town of Ekachakra. Sahadev challenges the champion wrestler Bakasura and is trounced. Kunti is annoyed with her other sons for allowing Sahadev to go through with it.

The Chakars annex a piece of Indian territory and the humiliation breaks Dhritarashtra's heart and he dies.

The Fifteenth Book: The Act of Free Choice

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Hermitage." Dhritarashtra leaves nothing in his will to Draupadi Mokrasi and her adoptive father worries that he will not be able to find her a suitable husband.

The Kaurava Party's Working Committee appoints the "honest but limited" Shishu Pal to replace Dhritarashtra as prime minister.

Ved Vyas convenes a training camp where the Pandavas are captivated by Draupadi. Priya Duryodhani is annoyed that Draupadi is drawing the attention away from her lectures and orders Ved Vyas to get Draupadi married. In Ved Vyas's mind, only Arjun is good enough for Draupadi, but he realises that Arjun will not be faithful to her. Priya Duryodhani decides to match her up with Ekalavya, of whom Drona had demanded his right thumb, and, apparently with whom Priya Duryodhani had had a youthful fling. Draupadi chooses Arjun, but through a misunderstanding, Kunti instructs the Pandavas to share equally the "surprise" they have brought home. All five Pandavas marry Draupadi, Ved Vyas using his father's magic to ensure that she is a virgin for each of the five successive wedding nights. Bhim's wife leaves him.

Perceiving India as weak following its defeat at the hands of the Chakars, Karnistan invades Manimir again. Shishu Pal directs a successful counterattack. Shishu Pal dies of a heart attack after signing a cease fire.

Unable to find a successor that is universally unobjectionable, the Working Committee is persuaded by Ved Vyas to appoint Priya Duryodhani.

The Pandavas work out a strict schedule to share Draupadi's bed. Arjun violates the rule when he goes to retrieve the manuscript of a speech while Yudhishtir and Draupadi are together. Under the rules, Arjun is banned from his conjugal rights for a year. Arjun decides to spend the year as a "roving correspondent" for a newspaper and, in addition to witnesses the condition of the people, he finds a new sexual companion in every locale he visits.

Arjun ends up in Gokarnam where he meets Dwarakaveetile Krishnankutty Parthasarathi Menon (known as "Krishna"), the local Kaurava Party secretary who has recently unseated the local political machine boss, Kamsa. When Arjun first sees Krishna, he is using a traditional dance form, Ottamthullal, as a medium for social satire. Arjun and Krishna become close friends and Arjun falls for Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna advises Arjun to woo her through abduction. In the dark, a confused Arjun mistakenly abducts Kameswari. A second attempt is more successful and the two are married.

Arjun cables Draupadi, telling her that he is bringing home a new maid, making their eventual meeting rather uncomfortable. However, by the time Draupadi and Subhadra give birth to their sons, Prativindhya and Abhimanyu, they are as close as sisters.

The Sixteenth Book: The Bungle Book — Or, the Reign of Error

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Maces." The title of this section alludes to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...

.

The Kaurava Party is dealt a blow in state and local elections, although still holding a majority in the national Parliament. Yudhishtir suggests that new leadership is needed. Priya Duryodhani agrees to a national election. Yudhishtir is named deputy prime minister, but is shut out of the Cabinet by Priya Duryodhani and Yudhishtir resigns.

Ashwathaman, Drona' son and the leader of a socialist splinter party, is invited by Priya Duryodhani to join the Kaurava Party Working Committee. Priya Duryodhani takes Ashwathaman's side in advocating the elimination of the privy purses of India's former princes. Yudhishtir resigns from the Working Committee. Priya Duroydhani and Ashwathaman then champion a bill to nationalise the banks.

Dr. Mehrban Imandar, the president of India, dies. The Kaurava Old Guard thwarts Priya Duryodhani by nominating Ved Vyas as the Kaurava Praty's candidate for president. Priya Duryodhani backs Ekalavya as an independent candidate. The Working Committee expels Ekalavya from the Kaurava Party for opposing the party's official candidate. Before the Working Committee can act to expel Priya Duryodhani, Ekalavya narrowly wins the election.

Priya Duryodhani splits the Kaurava Party, forming the Kaurava Party (R) ("R" for "real") to oppose the Kaurava Party (O) ("O" for "official" or "old guard"). Priya Duryodhani wins with the support of the Left.

Jarasandha Khan, the military dictator ruling Karnistan, decides to call elections. The Gelabin People's Party, representing the Gelabi people of East Karnistan, wins a majority in the Karnistani Parliament. Zaleel Shah Jhoota persuades Jarashanda Khan to declare the election results null and void and declare martial law in East Karnistan. Priya Duryodhani enters the conflict on the side of the Gelabins and the Gelabi Desh War results in the creation of a new nation-state. The success against Karnistan boosts Priya Duryodhani's popularity, but her rule grows increasingly oppressive.

The Seventeenth Book: The Drop of Honey — A Parable

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Great Journey."

Drona leads the opposition to Priya Duryodhani's rule. Priya Duryodhani is convicted of electoral misconduct. Shakuni Shankar Dey, a Bengali lawyer and president of the Kaurava (R) Party, counsels her to declare a Siege and seize dictatorial powers. President Ekalavya concedes to the seizure of emergency powers. Priya Duryodhani orders the arrest of her political opponents.

The Eighteenth Book: The Path to Salvation

Counterpart to the Mahabharata's "Book of the Ascent to Heaven." Ved Vyas refers to the Kama Sutra
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...

 as the "Great Indian Novelty."

Priya Duryodhani calls elections. Ved Vyas chooses Krishna to lead the opposition campaign. Priya Duryodhani thus gets Krishna's experienced Kaurava Party grassroots electoral machine. At a critical moment, Krishna persuades Arjun that he should criticise Priya Duryodhani's administration instead of remaining a disinterested reporter. Bhim, Nakul, and Sahadev stay out of the campaign, refaining from endorsing either party. The People's Front defeats the Kaurava (R) Party.

Drona and Ved Vyas consult with the parties of the People's Front coalition to choose the new prime minister. Their ultimately erroneous choice is Yudhishtir. Ashwathaman is appointed head of the party organisation. The People's Front leadership gathers at the Taj Mahal for a ceremonial oath.

The return of Krishna to local politics marks the beginning of the failure of the People's Front. Yudhishtir proves to be "as stiff and straight-backed and humourless as his critics had always portrayed him, and his colossal self-righteousness was not helped by his completely inability to judge the impression he made on others." Yudhishtir becomes a target of fun in the national and international press when he admits to drinking his own urine. The "strongmen" of Yudhishtir's cabinet are locked in squabbles and Yudhishtir "remained tightly self-obsessed, seemingly unaware that half of those who sat on the executive branch with him were busily engaged in sawing it off."

Priya Duryodhani, labeling the faltering government as the "Backward Front," begins to gain political strength again. As Zaleel Shah Jhoota is toppled in another Karnistani military coup, Priya Duryodhani runs rings around her prosecutors while being tried for subverting the constitution.

Yudhishtir suffers another publicity blow when he attends a speech by a holy man who uses the word "Untouchables" instead of "Harijans." Ashwathaman criticises Yudhishtir and the party organisation awaits word from an ailing Drona that it is time for Yudhishtir to go. Yudhishtir dispatches Sahadev to tell Drona that Ashwathaman's plane has crashed. When asked Yudhishtir confirms that "Ashwathaman is dead" and Drona dies without throwing support to Yudhishtir's opponents in the People's Front.

When Ved Vyas confronts Yudhishtir regarding his lie about Ashwathaman, Yudhishtir says that early that day he had caught a cockroach, named it Ashwathaman, and killed it; thus, his statement to Drona was not a lie. Ved Vyas refuses to accept Yudhishtir's explanation and abandons him. In any case, Yudhishtir's deception is ultimately pointless. The government falls and Priya Duryodhani is victorious in the next election.

Ved Vyas sees a vision in which the Pandavas, Draupadi, and Krishna hike up a mountain. One by one they are killed, except for Yudhishtir, who reaches the top. When Kalaam, the god of time, offers to bear Yudhishtir to the court of history, Yudhishtir refuses to leave his faithful dog behind. The dog reveals himself to be Dharma, Yudhishtir's father, and the three board Kalaam's chariot together. In the court of history, Yudhishtir is stunned to find a place of honour given to Priya Duryodhani.

Characters in "The Great Indian Novel"

Figures from history and characters from the Mahabharata can be directly correlated to characters in the book or to more general allegorical references. In many cases, characters are related to multiple real personages and vice versa:

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="2" style="width: 90%;"
! scope="col" | Character from the Novel
! scope="col" | Mahabharata Character
! Historical Figure
|-
| Ved Vyas (V.V.-ji), the narrator, 88 years old and forced into retirement from politics, dictates his memoir || Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...

, son of the wandering sage Parashar and fisherman's daughter Satyavati
Satyavati
Satyavati was the queen of the Kuru king Shantanu of Hastinapur and the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes . She is also the mother of the seer Vyasa, author of the epic...

; author of the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....

 and the Mahabharata; father of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidur; when Ambika and Ambalika were sent to him to be inseminated, his ugliness caused Ambika to close her eyes (resulting in Dhritarashtra's blindness) and made Ambalika turn pale (resulting in Pandu's physical infirmity) || C. Rajagopalachari
C. Rajagopalachari
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari , informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician, writer and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India...

 ("Rajaji"), close associate of Gandhi and last governor-general of India, Sanjeeva Reddy, ex-Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, ex-speaker Lok Sabha, defeated by V.V. Giri in the presidential election in 1969, though being the official Congress candidate, last elected as President in 1977. Acharya Kriplani, who along with Jayaprakash Narayan, was instrumental in getting Morarji Desai elected unanimously as Prime Minister candidate of the Janata party in 1977. V. V. Giri
V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...

, writer, orator, politician, labour activist, freedom fighter; served in many offices, including as governor of several states, president of India and labour minister.
|-
| Ganapathi, a young South Indian scribe sent by Ved Vyas's friend Brahm to transcribe the tale; he is described as having a "big nose and shrewd, intelligent eyes," an "elephantine treat, broad forehead," a "substantial belly" and "dragging an enormous trunk behind him" || Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god who wrote down Vyasa's account of the Mahabharata ||  
|-
| Kanika, Minister of Hastinapura and Duryodhani's advisor || Kanika, Minister of Hastinapura || Krishna Menon, the defence minister during the China war
|-
| Ganga Datta (Gangaji or the Mahaguru), a celibate spiritual leader who begins his career as the regent of Hastinapur || Bhishma
Bhishma
Bhishma or Bheeshma or Devavrata or 'Bhishma Pitamah' was the eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu who was blessed with wish-long life and had sworn to serve the ruling Kuru king. He was one of the most prominent characters of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He was the grand uncle of both the...

 (Devavrata), celibate son of Shantanu and the river Ganga
Ganga in Hinduism
In Hinduism, the river Ganges - referred to as Gaṅgā in the Hindu context and India - is considered sacred. The river, personified as a goddess, is worshipped by Hindus, who believe that bathing in the river causes the remission of sins and facilitates liberation from the cycle of life and death...

; his oath of celibacy led him to reject Amba; regent who rules Hastinapur in the absence of a legitimate ruler in the line of Satyavati
Satyavati
Satyavati was the queen of the Kuru king Shantanu of Hastinapur and the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes . She is also the mother of the seer Vyasa, author of the epic...

, his father's second wife || Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 ("Gandhiji" or the Mahatma), spiritual leader of the independence movement, who advocated celibacy
|-
| Lady Georgina Drewpad, wife of the viceroy and lover of Dhritarashtra ||   || Edwina Mountbatten, wife of the viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, who, it is rumoured, was a paramour of Nehru's
|-
| Dhritarashtra the blind, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambika, the elder heir to Vichitravirya || Dhritarashtra
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...

, the blind king of Hastinapur || Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

, India's first prime minister, often termed a blind idealist
|-
| Pandu the pale, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambalika, the younger heir to Vichitravirya, who is cursed with a heart condition that prevents him from enjoying sexual intercourse; he allows his two wives sexual freedom so that they may bear him sons (the five Pandavas). He dies when he finally succumbs to the charms of his second wife on an airplane. || Pandu
Pandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...

, brother of Dhritarashtra, who suffers from a curse that says he will die if he ever engages in sexual intercourse (he eventually dies when he has sex with his second wife); his two wives take advantage of a spell through which they bear the sons of the gods (the five Pandavas) || Shubhash Chandra Bose, the independence leader who, in contrast with Gandhi, took up arms against the British and accepted help from the Axis powers in establishing the Indian National Army. He was last seen boarding an airplane that disappeared in flight.
|-
| Vidur Hastinapuri (Vidur Dharmaputra), the wise, the son of Ved Vyas and Ambika's maidservant || Vidura
Vidura
Vidura was an important figure in the Mahabharata, a major Hindu epic. He was half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and a lady-in-waiting to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city...

, son of Vyasa and a maid, who was sent by Ambika and Ambalika to avoid having to have intercourse with him again; prime minister to Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Duryodhan; saved the Pandavas' lives on multiple occasions ||Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was an Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress and one of the founding fathers of India...

, who forced the accession of the princely states and established the Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....


|-
| Jayaprakash Drona || Drona
Drona
In the epic Mahābhārata, Drona or Dronacharya was the royal guru to Kauravas and Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the Devastras. Arjuna was his favorite student. Dronas love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama...

, the instructor in the arts of warfare to the Pandavas and Kauravas || Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...

, a former freedom fighter who opposed the rule of Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

; leader of the Janata Party, which defeated Congress in the 1977 elections
|-
| Draupadi Mokrasi ("Di Mokrasi"), illegitimate daughter of Dhritarashtra and Lady Drewpad, and wife to all five Pandavas || Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...

, wife to all five Pandavas || Democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...


|-
| Viscount Drewpad || Drupada
Drupada
Drupada , also known as Yajnasena, is a character in the Mahābhārata. He is king of the land of Panchala.In his youth he studies with, and becomes a friend of Drona. Drupada makes him promise to share all his fortunes with him. Later, when Drupada becomes king of Panchaladesa, Drona reminds him...

, the Raja of Panchala
Panchala
Panchala is an ancient region of northern India, which corresponds to the geographical area around the Ganges River and Yamuna River, the upper Gangetic plain in particular. This would encompass the modern-day states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient times, it was home to a...

, and lifelong enemy of Drona; father of Draupadi and Shikhandi ||Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India
|-
| Ronald Heaslop, a British official who was once friends with Drona, but when Drona asks him for assistance, Heaslop insults him || Drupada
Drupada
Drupada , also known as Yajnasena, is a character in the Mahābhārata. He is king of the land of Panchala.In his youth he studies with, and becomes a friend of Drona. Drupada makes him promise to share all his fortunes with him. Later, when Drupada becomes king of Panchaladesa, Drona reminds him...

, the Raja of Panchala
Panchala
Panchala is an ancient region of northern India, which corresponds to the geographical area around the Ganges River and Yamuna River, the upper Gangetic plain in particular. This would encompass the modern-day states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. During the ancient times, it was home to a...

, who was a childhood friend of Drona, but when Drona asked for his help, Drupada insulted him || A reference to a character (also a British official in the days of the Raj) from A Passage to India
A Passage to India
A Passage to India is a novel by E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time...

 by E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...

.
|-
| Gandhari the Grim || Gandhari
Gandhari (character)
Gāndhārī is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. In the epic, she was an incarnation of Mati, as the daughter of Subala, the king of Gandhara, or the modern Kandahar, a region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, from which her name is derived...

, Dritarasthra's long suffering wife ||Kamala Nehru
Kamala Nehru
Kamala Kaul Nehru was the wife of Jawaharlal Nehru - leader of the Indian National Congress and first Prime Minister of India. Kamala married Nehru on 7 February 1916.-Contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement:...

, who endured the many sexual infidelities of her husband, Jawaharlal Nehru
|-
| Shakuni Shankar Dey || Shakuni
Shakuni
Shakuni , an avatar of Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga, was the brother of Gandhari in the Mahābhārata. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a...

, Gandhari's wily brother, who helps Duryodhan by taking advantage of Yudhishtira's gambling addiction to engineer the Pandavas' exile ||Siddhartha Shankar Ray
Siddhartha Shankar Ray
Siddhartha Shankar Ray was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He was a prominent barrister, Punjab Governor and Education minister of India...

, who held emergency dictatorial powers in West Bengal during the Naxalite uprising .
|-
| Shishu Pal, Dhritarashtra's short-lived successor || Shalya
Shalya
In the epic Mahabharata, King Shalya was the brother of Madri , as well as the ruler of Madra-desa or the kingdom of Madra. Thus, he was the maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva and was loved and revered by the Pandavas. When he was young, he entered a competition among princes and nobilities to...

, Madri's brother ||Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...

, the second prime minister, who directed a military victory against Pakistan, but died while attending cease-fire talks
|-
| Gaga Shah, founder of the Muslim Group ||   || Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...

, nobleman and imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

 of the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...

s and one of the founders of the All-India Muslim League
|-
| Amba/Shikhandin, one of three royal sisters seized by Ganges Datta to be wives to Vichitravirya; Amba was in love with Raja Salva of Saubal and in the end was rejected by Salva, Vichitravirya, and Ganges Datta; she swore revenge on Ganges Datta and was instrumental in his eventual death || Amba/Shikhandi
Shikhandi
Shikhandi is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. He was originally born as a girl child named 'Shikhandini' to Drupada, the king of Panchala...

 (Shikhandini), who was rejected as a wife by Bhishma and was reborn as a man to get revenge; eventually instrumental the death of Bhishma at Kurukshetra ||Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Godse
Nathuram Vinayak Godse , from the city of Pune, India was a Hindutva activist and journalist, who was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with his brother Gopal Godse and six other co-conspirators, he executed a plot to assassinate Gandhi.-Early life:Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Pune...

, the killer of Gandhi
|-
| Ambika and Ambalika|| Ambika and Ambalika
Ambalika
Ambalika was the daughter of Kashya, the King of Kashi and queen of Vichitravirya, King of Hastinapura.Along with her sisters Amba and Ambika, she was taken by force by Bhishma from their Swayamvara, the latter having challenged and defeated the assembled royalty...

, the sisters of Amba, who were married to Vichitravirya. When Vichitravirya died without issue, they were sent to Ved Vyas to be impregnated; horrified by Ved Vyas's appearance, Ambika closed her eyes and Ambalika turned pale with fear; on a second occasion, Ambika sent her maidservant to Ved Vyas in her stead ||  
|-
| the Kaurava Party || the Kauravas, the villains led by Duryodhan, who usurp the Pandavas from the rulership of Hastinapur || the Congress party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...


|-
| Kaurava Party (Real) ||   || the Congress (I) Party
|-
| Kaurava Party (Old Guard) ||   || the Indian National Congress (Organisation)
Indian National Congress (Organisation)
The Indian National Congress or Congress was a political party in India formed when Indira Gandhi broke away from the leadership of the Congress Party...


|-
| Priya Duryodhani, the autocratic villain, daughter of Dhritarashtra and head of the Kaurava Party || Duryodhana
Duryodhana
In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...

, eldest of Dhritarashtra's 100 sons, leader of the Kauravas || Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

, daughter of Nehru, and third prime minister, who, in the early 1970s, declared an "emergency" and seized dictatorial powers
|-
| Mohammad Ali Karna, son of Kunti and Hyperion Helios, the leader of the Muslim Groupo and father of Karnistan; known as Khalifa-e-Mashriq ("Caliph of the East") || Karna
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...

, the elder brother of the Pandavas, who becomes an associate of Duryodhan after the Pandavas reject him || Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....

, the father of Pakistan, who began his career as a colleague of Nehru and Gandhi in the Indian National Congress; known as Quaid-e-Azam ("Great Leader")
|-
| Mr. Rafi || || Maulana Azad
|-
| the People's Front || the Pandavas, the heroes led by Yudhisthir || the Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...


|-
| Yudhishtir || Yudhishtira, eldest of the five Pandava brothers, who embodies the concept of dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...

, justice, honesty, virtue; the son of Kunti and the god Yama
Yama
Yama , also known as Yamarāja in India and Nepal, Shinje in Tibet, Yanluowang or simply Yan in China, Yeomla Daewang in South Korea and Enma Dai-Ō in Japan, is the lord of death, in Hinduism and then adopted into Buddhism and then further into Chinese mythology and Japanese mythology. First...

 || Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...

, the honest but ineffective fourth prime minister; the Indian Judiciary
|-
| Bhim || Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

, the second Pandava, who embodies the concept of strength; son of Kunti and the god Vayu
Vayu
Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...

 || The Indian Army, seen as the sole incorruptible institution in Indian society
|-
| Arjun || Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

, the third Pandava and an expert archer, who served as supreme commander of the Pandava forces at Kurukshetra; son of Kunti and the warrior god Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 || the Indian news media
|-
| Nakul and Sahadev || The two youngest Pandavas; twin sons of Madri and the Ashwins, the Light of Sunrise and the Light of Sunset || The Civil Service and the Foreign Service
|-
| Khushkismat Singh, the Sikh defence minister who embarrasses himself by botching a joke ||   || Sardar Baldev Singh, India's defence minister. Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country....

, journalist, essayist, satirist, and humourist
|-
| D. Krishna Menon, a local South Indian politician, Arjun's friend and advisor || Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...

, God, and Arjun's charioteer at Kurukshetra ||  
|-
| Ekalavya || Ekalavya
Ekalavya
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, Ekalavya is a young prince of the Nishadha tribes, and a member of a low caste, who aspires to study archery in the gurukul of Dronacharya. After being rejected by Drona due to his low caste, Eklavya embarks upon a program of self-study in the presence of a clay...

 || V. V. Giri
V. V. Giri
Varahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...

, writer, orator, politician, labour activist, freedom fighter; served in many offices, including as governor of several states, president of India and labour minister. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was the fifth President of India from 1974 to 1977.-Early life and background:Fakhruddin's grandfather, Khaliluddin Ali Ahmed, of Kacharighat near Golaghat, Assam, married in one of the families who were the relics of Emperor Aurangzeb's bid to conquer Assam Ahmed was born on...

, the Indian president who assented to Indira Gandhi's seizure of emergency powers
|-
| Dr. Mehrban Imandar ||   || Zakir Hussain (politician)
Zakir Hussain (politician)
Dr. Zakir Hussain , was the third President of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. He was the first elected Muslim president of India....

, the third president of India, whose death sparked a struggle between Indira Gandhi and her Congress Party colleagues
|-
| Jarasandha Khan, the president of Karnistan who moves to suppress the Gelabins; defeated in the Gelabi Desh War || Jarasandha
Jarasandha
Jarasandha was a great and legendary king of Magadha. He was the son of a vedic king named Brihadratha. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But he is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahābhārata....

, a powerful king who is defeated only when Bhima, Arjuna, and Krishna work together to tear him in two || Ayub Khan or Yahya Khan
Yahya Khan
General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...

, Dictators of Pakistan
|-
| Zaleel Shah Jhoota ||   || Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...

, successor to Yahya Khan
|-
| Vyabichar Singh ||   || Hari Singh
Hari Singh
Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.He was married four times...

, raja of Kashmir in 1947
|-
| Ashwathama, son of Drona, who supports Duryodhani earlier but joins opposition after getting mistreated by Duryodhani and later becomes deputy PM in Yudhistir's government || Ashwathama, son of Drona || Jagjivan Ram
Jagjivan Ram
Babu Jagjivan Ram , known popularly as Babuji, was a freedom fighter and a social reformer hailing from the scheduled castes of Bihar in India. He was from the Chamar caste and was a leader for his community...

, defence minister in Indira gandhi government, joins the opposition during emergency , and later becomes deputy prime minister, at the behest of Jai Prakash Narayan,in Morarji Desai government
|-}

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

Certain places and events in the novel can also be correlated to real places

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Place in the Novel
! Actual Place
|-
| Gelabin ("Gelabin" is anagram of "Bengali". Also a pun: "(a) girl I've been" as opposed to "been girl") || Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...


|-
| Manimir ("money" as opposed to "cash")
Summer capital, Devpur
Winter capital, Marmu ("marmalade" as opposed to "jam" || Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...


Summer capital, Srinagar
Winter capital, Jammu
|-
| Karnistan ("The Hacked Off Land") || Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...


|-
| Comea ("come" as opposed to "go") || Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...


|-
| Great Mango March || Gandhi's Great Salt March
|-
| the Hastinapur Massacre at the Bibighar Gardens || the Amritsar Massacre at Jallianwallah Bagh
|-
| Chakra (and its capital Snoop-ing) || China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and its capital Peking ("peek-ing")
|-
| the annexation of Hastinapur || the annexation of Oudh
Awadh
Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh...


|-
| the Siege || the Emergency, during which Indira Gandhi seized dictatorial powers
|-
| the Northern Province || United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...


|-
| Laslut ("slut" as synonym for "whore") || Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...


|-
| Tibia || Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...


|-
| Drowniang || Sinkiang
|}

Release details

  • 1989, UK, Viking (ISBN t/k), Pub date 15 August 1989 (First edition)
  • 1989, India, Viking Press (ISBN 0-670-82744-4), Pub date 24 August 1989, hardback (First edition)
  • 1990, UK, Penguin Books (ISBN t/k), Pub date March 1990, paperback
  • 1990, India, Penguin Books (ISBN 0-14-012049-1), Pub date 26 July 1990, paperback
  • 1991, USA, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-116-1), Pub date ? April 1991, hardback
  • 1993, USA, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-194-3), Pub date ? April 1993, paperback
  • 1994, UK, Picador (ISBN 0-330-33490-5), Pub date 20 May 1994, paperback
  • translations into French (Seuil), German (Claasen Verlag: hardback, Suhrkamp: paperback), Italian (Frassinelli), Malayalam (DC Books), Spanish (Akal)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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