The Immortals of Meluha is the first book of the “Shiva Trilogy”. What makes this book, and the following two, a good read is the simplicity of language and an easy, concise narrative style.
The Immortals of Meluha is an attempt to humanize “Mahadev” – The God of Gods and the destroyer of evil. It is based on the belief that action and karma may be a decisive factor in transforming ordinary people into Gods!
Shiva and his tribe lived in Mountain Kailash, but competition with Pakratis forced them to relocate them to a place called Meluha.
The plot hardly ever slows down enough for the reader to lose interest as one event leads to another.
The Plot of Immortals of Meluha
The story takes place in 1900 BC in Meluha, the perfect land of Suryavanshis, fighting the sacred and cruel Chandravanshis on the sacred river “Saraswati”.
Chandravanshis established a secret alliance with Nagas, a cursed and cruel group, the martial arts master.
Shiva who is the most powerful god we know. He is not a god but portrayed a normal person in the plot who belongs to a Tibetan tribe.
A young Tibetan tribe Shiva soon arrived in Meluha and discovered that he was the legendary “Neelkanth” and considered to be their savior.
Shiva was suddenly restrained by fate due to her duty, love, and expectation, determined to lead Suryavanshi in revenge.
Then the plot takes into different turns, where protagonists go through a matrix of quests, answering all his unanswered questions.
This book ends with a note and putting many unanswered questions once again, which are answered in the second book, Secret of Nagas.
Unbiased Review of Immortals of Meluha
Since childhood, we have heard stories about the bravery, heroism of various gods and goddesses.
These stories narrate how they punish wrongdoers and bless and favor the righteous.
The tone and structure of the mythological tales we have heard and read are always very formal because our gods should be worshipped and held in respectful awe.
Therefore, it comes as a shock to read words like ‘dammit’, ‘rubbish’, ‘bloody hell’, ‘wow’, ‘what a woman’ which is being casually sworn by Shiva.
For the first time in history, we met a “humane” God.
There is a man here who is not a born God but is forced to play the role of a person and realize his destiny by making all the right choices and fulfilling his duties to humanity.
If you consider this, each of us has the potential to achieve our destiny by following the path of justice.
The plot seems interesting. The author has done an excellent job of interweaving Hindu mythology with the Indus Valley civilization.
In the early days of the first book, good progress was made in discussions on the caste system, the status of women in society, and the reference to karma.
However, these are the only good things we want to say about this book.
This story is neither fluent nor fascinating, it jumps forward without any surprises or twists and turns that you could not notice before.
Shiva smokes for tranquility, dancing for entertainment, and is full of young desires.
He immediately fell in love with Sati, fell behind her, and did all the trivial things to impress her.
The image of Lord Shiva’s pulp hero and a rock star is very harsh and cliche. Too much use of foul language in conversations makes Shiva look like human sounds inappropriate.
On the contrary, it is Shiva’s insecurity and inner conflict that make the reader feel that he is human. The other characters are flat and not well developed.
Although the modern or colloquial language is a necessary condition for connecting with youth in the modern era, the author seems to have forgotten the content of this book.
It seemed less like a book and more like the script of a Bollywood movie.
We wish the writing was more elaborated, the characters were built up with sound research and the author had paid more attention to the quality of writing.
Another very important point of thinking left by this book for readers is the interpretation of good and evil or a misunderstanding of good and evil.
As people’s intolerance towards other cultures, religions, and communities rises, it leads to unrest and rift expansion, which is refreshing and reminiscent of the “big picture”.
What is perceived as evil by someone may not necessarily be so in the eyes of another?
As Mahadev learned, “The difference between two different lifestyles is portrayed as a struggle between good and evil; just because someone is different does not make them evil.”
Amish artfully described how Suryavanshis wanted Mahadev to help them annihilate Chandravanshis, and Chandravanshis expected him to join their camp against Suryavanshis.
On the contrary, the truth is that Mahadev must go beyond the little quarrel between the two clans and deal with two of the bigger evils-everything that threatens the survival of humanity.
The description of free radicals, oxygen, and rainbow, etc. are very out of place, considering that the timeline of the book is supposed to be 1900 BC.
In all this, when Oxygen was mentioned, we went back to the first page to check if we had misread 1900 AD as 1900 BC.
These explanations seem to stem from the author’s attempt to portray Indian civilization as the most superior civilization among other countries.
The last few chapters are very sloppy. There are many loopholes in the story line.
At the time, the author seemed unclear about the development of the story. There is no passive reading of the text.
The reader is always on the edge and is compelled to get involved with the story line, actively participating in the course of the novel.
Though the readers may be familiar with the story of Lord Shiva, the Immortals of Meluha brings a refreshing twist to it.
Conclusion
Whether this book stimulates your imagination and makes you indulge in the larger problems of life, it is undoubtedly a populist.
Perhaps Amish himself realized his destiny by writing this easy trilogy, which speaks to the modern-day readers in a pleasant tone.
The information of karma and Dharma, the tolerance of all forms of tolerance and life, and the realization that there are pictures that are much larger than what you see!
People Also Ask (FAQs)
Is the Immortals of Meluha real?
Amish’s Shiva Trilogy is loosely based on Indian mythology & does not claim to retell any existing mythological story. It’s a work of pure fiction. The only accuracy that we can judge him on is the accuracy of the period the story is set in.
Is the Immortals of Meluha a fiction?
The Shiva trilogy is a great read no matter what you believe. It’s a fictional story supported by facts. The Shiva trilogy lays on the premise that what if Lord Shiva was just a man but he was respected as a God because of his karma; unfortunately this may have become our received knowledge over generations.
Who is Bhadra in Shiva trilogy?
Bhadra was a member of the Guna Tribe and a close friend of Shiva. He was a fierce warrior and sword fighter. Ever since Shiva attained the rank of Chief of the Gunas, he has acted weird around him. In the book, The Immortals of Meluha, his mother is mentioned.
What is the story of Immortals of Meluha?
The Immortals of Meluha is the first novel of the Shiva trilogy series by Amish Tripathi. The story is set in the land of Meluha and starts with the arrival of the Shiva. The Meluhans believe that Shiva is their fabled savior Neelkanth.
How many chapters are in Immortals of Meluha?
There are 26 chapters and 397 pages in The Immortals of Meluha book written by Amish Tripathi. This book has opened a new genre of book called Mythological fiction, which wasn’t mainstream in Indian literature.