The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi is the second book in the Shiva Trilogy Fictional Series. It is the continuation of the story from the point where Immortals of Meluha ended. Through this book, the author tries to present the idea that there is nothing such as Good and Evil. There is only Strong and Weak(in terms of character and principles). Shiva's fight is also against something that flaunts strength outside but at the core is very weak. Such weakness abets evil.
The book kicks off from where Immortals of Meluha ended. Shiva's illusion that Chandravanshis are evil shatters. There is regret. In search of Evil, Shiva visits Chandravanshi kingdom only to find that even Chandravanshis were waiting for Shiva to save them from the wrath of Suryavanshis.
Shiva finds that Chandravanshi's way of living is completely contrasting to Meluhan's . i.e., they were freedom loving and have colourful houses as well as lives. Though having a lot of difference in the social status among Chandravanshi's, some very rich and extravagant while some very poor, Shiva notices that they are still happy with what they are.
After entering their territory, Shiva comes to conclusion that both Suryavanshi's and Chandravanshi's have gone to the extremes of their lifestyle and some kind of evil exists in both of the society. For example, Maika system of Suryavanshi's does not allow mothers and children to stay together; handicap and genetically mutated people were considered cursed, punishment of previous birth's bad deeds, etc. On the other hand, Chandravanshi's exploited their own freedom to have prostitution legalised in their country.
But as per Vasudev's, the guides of the Mahadev, Shiva had to search The Evil, the greatest evil, that is the root cause of all problems. Though unclear what it is and what it will be like, whether it is a thing, a person, an action, a law or an entire community, confused Shiva keeps his search on.
Suddenly, during the Marriage ceremony of Shiva and Sati, Nagas attack on Mount Mandar, the production house of Somras, and in the attack, Chief scientist Brahaspati, by now a good friend of Shiva, dies. Shiva swears to punish the evil Nagas and comes to the conclusion that they are the real evil he was set in search of.
In search of Nagas, Shiva and his entourage, comprising of Sati, Parvateshwar, Chandravanshi King Dilipa's children Anandmayi& Bagirath, Veerbhadra, Kritika, Ayurvati, Drapaku and army of Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi travel to Kashi and then to Branga to find leads to Nagas.
Lot of secrets come out in light about the rich Brangas, their blackmailing at the hand of Nagas, existence of another medicine manufactured by Nagas. They get a new addition to their entourage, Parshuram, an abandoned violent brahmin. There is another character, Maharshi Bhrigu whom Daksha respects a lot is introduced. What is his importance for Daksha and what is his role in the medicine that he provides to King Dilipa(Chandravanshi) to fight his ill health are not revealed to detail and thus keeps enthusiasm on for the 3rd and final book.
A lot more about Daksha comes to the front. A little of his past is mentioned. Lot of new secrets are revealed. Who are these Nagas? Why they launch terrorist attacks? Why do they blackmail Brangas? What is the meaning of Vaudev's riddles in the saying that "Good and Evil are the two sides of same coin" and "The greatest Good lies in the greatest Evil" are some of the things that are revealed along with the biggest secret from which the book gains its name 'The secret of the Nagas' .
There are surprises and bewilderment awaiting during the adventurous journey of Shiva. The author has left no stone unturned to keep the reader on tenterhooks and building the plot for the final instalment, THE FINALE, Oath of Vayaputras. Nothing of Vayaputras is mentioned in The Secret of the Nagas. Doubts and thrill linger till the end of the book and a super suspense waits at the end.
I bought this book with the expectations of more war, action, romance between Shiva and Sati. From story point of view I had no idea where actually it was leading. It was like entering a tunnel and keep moving forward to see where it ends, suspense and thrill accompanying every moment of darkness.
The book does not disappoints in any of the things. There is lot of action. A new mischievous blossoming love between sworn to celibacy, Parvateshwar, and flirty Chandravanshi princess Anandmayi . The book does not have thrills and surprises like Immortals of Meluha (you turn a page and lo! A new thing is revealed) but have more than enough as per the story.
There is no section that will bore you as the book is very fast paced yet attention to details have not been compromised. This is a brilliant skill of Amish Triparthi. Few scenes seem to be like extra masala, for example, concept of Liger, the bear that attacks the entourage in Dandaka forest was described bigger than anyone has seen and yet a young one of the bears of Dandaka forest. The fully grown bear never came on the way.
Kartik's (son of Shiva) war and hunting skills are too unacceptable. How can a child of the age of 4 - 9 can fight so?
Also, in entire series, concept of somras looks bit indigestible as it keeps human alive for quite a very long time. though the strength it provides is highly believable except in Kartik's case. The book's action and story lines seems to be inspired from Lord of the Rings, 300, Song of Ice and Fire(Game of Thrones). Similar long living guys are present in those stories.
Those are also stories based on journey and finding and fighting the great evil. The battle on water sequences has been inspired by many Hollywood movies and to mention, Game of Thrones have scenes of Demon ships to fight.
Authors unique description of Branga ship and the Entrance Gate on Ganga is astonishing.
I loved the description of Dandaka Forest and want to know more about what's in there. I thought author would expand the story on its hidden and rumoured fears. But he did not.
Also, it is highly not fathomable how plant seeds sowed by Lord of the People of the Nagas grows overnight to 4 inches. When Amish tried to give logical reason behind everything, he disappointed me here with no explanation. But that does not matter as the scene has negligible significance in the story.
Again, as it is a fiction inspired from Hindu mythology, lots of characters are not portrayed as they should have been done. Shiva's and Lord of the People's character itself is a big disappointment from real mythology point of view. For entertainment and fiction story, the character is interesting.
Amish wrote this book with an intention to portray that even without the super-powers that he is assumed to posses, Shiva still deserves to be GOD because of his way of living. The book does not justifies this at all. Shiva's character does not look even close to what a God walking on earth would be like. Infact, it would have been better if Amish Tripathi had given him some super powers to execute to make it believable.
God cannot be impatient and judgemental. Shiva's actions and deeds are not any different from a good leader. Amish has not yet explained how Shiva's throat turns blue by drinking Somras and why only it happens with him. I am looking forward for the answer to it and for this reason I will be reading Oath of the Vayaputras.
The best parts of the Secret of the Nagas that I loved were the conversations between Anandmayi and his Parva(Pravateshwar), battle between Shiva and Parshuram, scenes involving Shiva and Lord of the People, The revelation of past of Dakha's family.
The only thing I cannot understand is why Shiva was so much attached to Brahaspati? He did not live with him for longer duration nor any special attachment was described in earlier chapters between them. Then why he gets so upset at his death and decides to wage a war against Nagas instead of getting worried about the destruction of Somras Manufacturing house?
Also, Actions are little filmy in the book. It is difficult to apprehend how Lord of the people survives so much fatal injuries that he takes in war. Honestly, for a human (as assumed by Amish) it is not possible. At least again taking the position of a warrior that too without having Somras. Sati's instant love, shiva's extreme hate(being God) and Daksha's actions are not correctly justified in true sense.
If one analyses the book properly, Shiva's behaviour reflects lot of changes than in the first book. In the first part, he lacked confidence and hated war but in the second book he looked out for war and was super confident to be saviour of the Kingdom.
India was not called India in 1900 BC! Amish, you should have knew that. Liger was a genetic mutant created by scientific research in current times.
The book is little predictable as compared to Immortals of Meluha which completely out of the box thrilling experience. I could sense what next is going to happen. But then, at some point the story has to lead somewhere.
The Secret of the Nagas is full of such forgivable mistakes and wouldn't mind a reader much. Above pointed out concerns are just for the sake of argument. Amish has kept the book very simple to read. His writing is magical. I loved his style of italicising the thoughts in the book. Spelling mistakes are rare as compared to Immortals of Meluha. That made the reading experience really great.
Thus, on a whole, The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi is a disappointment for religious people but once in a lifetime kind of adventurous experience for the fiction lovers. It would have got a better reception from Indian audience had it not used the characters from Hindu mythology. The book has not much in it to learn for literature enthusiasts as it is not a classic but a cult to change the trend of storytelling.
Highly recommended for fiction readers, history lovers and Indian culture enthusiasts. The book reveals a new way of third dimensional thinking.
