The Kaurava Empire: Volume One


Book Description

The tales of the Mahabharata are updated in this new series from Campfire. Time and again the timeless nature of the greatest stories ever told have been highlighted by readers and fans. This space age rendering of these epic tales really proves the point. The Kauravas and Pandavas go high tech as their forces clash in the fiercest battle the universe has ever known. Told through the eyes of the Pandava Prince, Abhimanyu, and the Kaurava Prince who ultimately kills him, this tale of teenage heroism, sacrifice and adventure has been thrilling readers for centuries. As civil war tears the Empire apart, the Kauravas seek to stamp out the revolution headed by their cousins the Pandavas. But in civil war there are no victors, only victims. Join us on the battlefield of Kurukshetra for the ultimate battle as the sixteen year-old Abhimanyu risks all to save his family from destruction.




AJAYA


Book Description

THE MAHABHARATA ENDURES AS THE GREAT EPIC OF INDIA. But while Jaya is the story of the Pandavas, told from the perspective of the victors of Kurukshetra; Ajaya is the narrative of the ÔunconquerableÕ Kauravas, who were decimated to the last man. At the heart of IndiaÕs most powerful empire, a revolution is brewing. Bhishma, the noble patriarch of Hastinapura, is struggling to maintain the unity of his empire. On the throne sits Dhritarashtra, the blind King, and his foreign-born Queen Ð Gandhari. In the shadow of the throne stands Kunti, the Dowager-Queen, burning with ambition to see her firstborn become the ruler, acknowledged by all. And in the wings: Parashurama, the enigmatic Guru of the powerful Southern Confederate, bides his time to take over and impose his will from mountains to ocean. Ekalavya, a young Nishada, yearns to break free of caste restrictions and become a warrior. Karna, son of a humble charioteer, travels to the South to study under the foremost Guru of the day and become the greatest archer in the land. Balarama, the charismatic leader of the Yadavas, dreams of building the perfect city by the sea and seeing his people prosperous and proud once more. Takshaka, guerilla leader of the Nagas, foments a revolution by the downtrodden as he lies in wait in the jungles of India, where survival is the only dharma. Jara, the beggar, and his blind dog Dharma, walk the dusty streets of India, witness to people and events far greater than they, as the Pandavas and the Kauravas confront their searing destinies. Amidst the chaos, Prince Suyodhana, heir of Hastinapura, stands tall, determined to claim his birthright and act according to his conscience. He is the maker of his own destiny Ð or so he believes. While in the corridors of the Hastinapura palace, a foreign Prince plots to destroy India. And the dice fallsÉ




The Kaurava Empire: Volume Three


Book Description

The tales of the Mahabharata are updated in this new series from Campfire. Time and again the timeless nature of the greatest stories ever told have been highlighted by readers and fans. This space age rendering of these epic tales really proves the point. The Kauravas and Pandavas go high tech as their forces clash in the fiercest battle the universe has ever known. In this volume we see the real puppet master behind the great war, Shakuni, the man who manoeuvred both sides into hating each other in order to satisfy a lifelong thirst for revenge against the Empire. The greatest empire the universe has ever known. Ever expanding and seemingly impossible to resist. One man makes it his life-long mission to see that empire crumble into dust. Taken from his home as a child, forced to watch his father and loved ones starve to death before his very eyes, Shakuni vows to make those responsible pay for their actions. Slowly but surely he plots the destruction of everything they hold dear. Revenge will be his, at any cost, even if it means hurting those he cared for, because vengeance has no room for compassion. It is time to see how one man turned the Royal Family of the Kaurava Empire against each other and caused the spark that ignited the greatest civil war ever known. Each volume in the series is a stand-alone adventure that will mesmerize and thrill readers everywhere.




The Kaurava Empire: Volume Two


Book Description

The tales of the Mahabharata are updated in this new series from Campfire. Time and again the timeless nature of the greatest stories ever told have been highlighted by readers and fans. This space age rendering of these epic tales really proves the point. The Kauravas and Pandavas go high tech as their forces clash in the fiercest battle the universe has ever known. Each volume in the series is a stand-alone adventure that will mesmerize and thrill readers everywhere.The Mahabharata goes science fiction in this graphic retelling of the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashwatthama, a reluctant warrior commits the ultimate crime and must pay for it by wandering the universe, friendless and alone for all eternity. A graphic reminder that war can brutalize even the best of men and that revenge is seldom worth the price. Cursed to wander the universe, friendless, alone and in pain, Ashwatthama has eternity to ponder his crimes and to yearn for forgiveness. Can he escape his terrible past and find peace or will he be doomed to live forever? In the second volume of Campfire's Kaurava Empire series we focus on the story of Ashwatthama, the son of great guru and weapons master Drona, teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas. When war comes to the empire, Ashwatthama is reluctant to choose sides as he is friends with members of both the Kaurava and Pandava families, but in the end he sides with his father, following him into battle against the Pandavas. When Drona is killed through trickery on the battlefield, Ashwatthama swears vengeance and his revenge is bloody and terrible.




Karna


Book Description

Unwanted by his mother, snubbed by his blood-brothers and ridiculed by all, this is the story of the unsung hero of the Mahabharata. The graphic novel traces the life-journey of this brave and noble man who became victim to the twists of fate. Loyal to a fault, Karna's blind devotion to the wicked prince Duryodhana, the one man who accepts him as a friend, leads him to side with the Kauravas and fight against his own brothers in the Battle of Kurukshetra.




Kaurava


Book Description




Asura : Tale of the Vanquished


Book Description

The epic tale of victory and defeat... The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors, that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak. "For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the Gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Deva rule? You have heard the victor's tale, the Ramayana. Now hear the Ravanayana, for I am Ravana, the Asura, and my story is the tale of the vanquished." "I am a non-entity-invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama - the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser." The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour-Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed for them. It is when that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.




AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2)


Book Description

"THE MAHABHARATA ENDURES AS THE GREAT EPIC OF INDIA. While Jaya is the story of the Pandavas, told from the perspective of the victors of Kurukshetra, Ajaya is the tale of the Kauravas, who were decimated to the last man. From the pen of the author who gave voice to Ravana in the national bestseller, ASURA, comes the riveting narrative which compels us to question the truth behind the Mahabharata. THE DARK AGE OF KALI IS RISING and every man and woman must choose between duty and conscience, honour and shame, life and death… o The Pandavas, banished to the forest following the disastrous games of dice, return to Hastinapura. o Draupadi has vowed not to bind her hair till she washes it in the blood of the Kauravas. o Karna must choose between loyalty and gratitude, friend and Guru. o Aswathama undertakes a perilous mission to the mountains of Gandhara, in search of the Evil One. o Kunti must decide between her firstborn and her other sons. o Guru Drona has to stand with either his favourite disciple or his beloved son. o Balarama, having failed to convince his brother about the adharma of violence, walks the streets of Bharatavarsha, spreading the message of peace. o Ekalavya is called to make the ultimate sacrifice to uphold a woman’s honour. o Jara, the beggar, sings of Krishna’s love while his blind dog, Dharma, follows. o Shakuni can almost see the realization of his dream to destroy India. As the Pandavas stake their claim to the Hastinapura throne, the Kaurava Crown Prince, Suyodhana, rises to challenge Krishna. As great minds debate dharma and adharma, power hungry men prepare for an apocalyptic war. The women, highborn and humble, helplessly watch the unfolding disaster with deep foreboding. And greedy merchants and unscrupulous priests lie in wait like vultures. Both sides know that beyond the agony and carnage the winner will take all. But even as gods conspire and men’s destinies unfold, a far greater truth awaits. ***** One of the six most remarkable writers of India. DNA An Amazing read. The WEEK Unique voice of a rebellious author telling the story from the other side, a feat a few have dared or managed so well. Bihar Times"




Sita


Book Description

In an ancient age, when gods and goddesses walked with mortals... ...Sita is the kind-hearted and intelligent princess of the kingdom of Videha. Married to Rama, prince of Ayodhya, her journey in life takes her from exhilaration to anguish. Along the way, she has to leave behind the luxury of royal comforts and live the simple, harsh life of a forest dweller, where danger is lurking in every shadow. Ensnared in the evil plans of the wicked demon-king Ravana, Sita is abducted and hidden away in Lanka. Will Rama muster up a strong army to rescue Sita from the demon's clutches? Will Sita return to Ayodhya to become queen of the land... or is she destined to be mistrusted and live alone for the rest of her life? Adapted from the ancient Indian epic, the Ramayana, this is a touching tale of love, honor, and sacrifice that reveals one woman's shining strength in an unforgiving world.




The Last Kaurava a Novel


Book Description

"I am Amba." The voice rang in Devavrat's ear like a forgotten melody. ... Ancient memories from lost time veered in and out of focus. The memories came with flooding questions. How could it be Amba? What was she doing, here and now? ...I must see her. He tried to turn. The stub of an arrow, sticking under his left shoulder, made him pause with every move, however slight. Devavrat Bhishma is dying, wounded. He tells Yudhishthira the story of how the Kurus established Hastinapur as a trading outpost on the frontier of Panchnad. The river Sarasvati dried up creating a crisis for Panchnad as cities were abandoned and immigrants poured into Hastinapur looking for safety and support. The Kurus under Devavrat address the crisis with social policy. The success comes at a cost to Devavrat's personal life. Devavrat's narration becomes part of the epic poem of the Great War. The story survives, memorised as oral history by the Kavi Sangha, the guild of bards. A thousand years later, the story is written down by Vyaasa, the head of the Kavi Sangha, with help from many others. "No Indian ever hears the [epics] for the first time ... It requires great courage, therefore to re-imagine [the Great War] as the author has done. He captures the reader's attention from the start, with a sense of theatre, making the characters tangible and even more complex than in the original. ....The book ... conveys the high tension of the immediate." -- S. Anandalakshmy, Ph.D. President Bala Mandir Research Foundation Former Director Lady Irwin College, Delhi.