About[]
The Oath of the Vayuputras is a 2013 novel by Indian author Amish Tripathi and the final book in his Shiva trilogy. The book was released on 27 February 2013, through Westland Press and completes the mythical story about an imaginary land Meluha and how its inhabitants were saved by a nomad named Shiva. Starting from where the previous installment left off, Shiva discovers that Somras is the true evil in The Oath of the Vayuputras. Shiva then declares a holy war on those who seek to continue to use it, mainly the Emperors Daksha and Dilipa, who are being controlled by the sage Bhrigu. The battles rages on and Shiva travels to the land of Pariha to consult with Vayuputras, a legendary tribe. By the time he returns, the war has ended with Sati, his wife, being murdered. An enraged Shiva destroys the capital of Meluha and Somras is wiped out of history. The story concludes with Shiva and his associates being popularized as Gods for their deeds and accomplishments.
Plot[]
On meeting Brahaspati at the Naga capital of Panchavati, Shiva comes to know about the evil "Somras", and its ill effects on the people of India. Brahaspati explains that the large amounts of water required to manufacture Somras has resulted in the depletion of the Saraswati River’s water. The waste generated in the process of manufacturing the Somras was dumped in the Tsangpo river, which flows through Branga territory as Brahmaputra, and resulted in their disastrous plague. Also the birth of Naga babies was credited to Somras as it results in the multiplication of cells at a very high rate which lead to their deformation and outgrowths.
Shiva travels to the hidden city of Ujjain along with his entourage to meet the chief of Vasudev pandits, Gopal. He explains how the Vayuputra council—an ancient tribe left by the previous Mahadev Lord Rudra, dwelling in remote land of Pariha in the West—train a member of their tribe as the Neelkanth when "evil" rises. Shiva comes to the conclusion that it was his uncle Manobhu, who turns out to be a former Vayuputra member, trained him as Neelkanth. Seeing that Meluha is the center of manufacturing the Somras, Shiva declares a holy war on the Kingdom and appeals the people to stop using the drink. Parvateshwar decides to join Meluha, since he thinks that it is his duty to defend his motherland; Anandamayi joins him. Shiva also realizes that Maharishi Bhrigu is the mastermind behind the attack on Panchavati, plotting against him along with the Swadweepan emperor Dilipa and Daksha. The preparation for the war mobilizes as Branga, Vaishali and Kashi come to Shiva's aid. He takes the Nagas, the Brangas and the Vasudev elephant corps to attack Meluha, while Kartik and Ganesh attack Ayodhya and successfully prevent them from aiding Meluha. Shiva captures the city of Mrittikavatti and makes the citizens imprison the Meluhan army led by Vidyunmali, who believes Shiva to be a fraud. He escapes and persuades Bhrigu and Parvateshwar to attack Sati's army by a thousand Meluhan troops, and defeat them.
Following this defeat, Shiva abandons the plan of invading Meluha and leave for Pariha with Gopal; they wanted to procure the deadly Brahmastra weapon, to threaten the Meluhans for peace with them. There he meets the chief of Vayuputras, Mithra, who turns out to be his maternal uncle. Mithra convinces the Vayuputras that Shiva is the real Neelkanth and gives him the Pashupathiastra which acts on a specific target, rather than annihilating everything like the Brahmastra. Meanwhile, Parvateshwar uses decoy ships to give an impression to Kali that he was going to attack Panchavati. Alarmed, Kali takes the bait and leaves with the finest Naga soldiers in their pursuit. However, she realizes her folly and returns.
Daksha plans to assassinate Shiva and sends Vidyunmali to get Egyptian assassins. He frames a peace treaty for Shiva but in his absence, Sati attends the peace conference and finds out the truth. She fights the assassins valiantly, but is killed. The war ends with Sati's death, but an enraged Shiva decides to use the Pashupatiastra to finish Devagiri forever. Parvateshwar, Anandmayi, Veerini decide to stay back in the city and die with it, but Kartik persuades Bhrigu to remain alive and share his vast knowledge with future generations. Shiva unleashes the astra and ends Devagiri's history, along with the Somras manufacturing units hidden beneath the city.
In the epilogue, Shiva retires to Mount Kailash where he lives the rest of his days peacefully, though missing Sati every day. Ganesh, Kali and Kartik become renowned as Gods for their prowess, all over India. They take revenge for Sati's death by wiping out the whole clan of the Egyptian assassins. Bhrigu continues teaching and collates his knowledge in a book called Bhrigu Samhita. Sati's death is not forgotten and she is later renowned as Goddess Shakti, and her ashes are spread throughout India, in places later known as Shakti Peethas (Seat of Shakti). It is revealed that in order to ensure that the Somras is not mass-manufactured again, the course of the Yamuna is turned towards the east, thus drying up the Saraswati River.
Characters[]
- Shiva– The main character in the story. He is a Tibetan immigrant to Meluha and the chief of the Guna tribe. On arriving in Meluha and consuming the Somras (a potion), his throat turns blue making him the Neelkanth of the Meluhan legend, which speaks of the appearance of Neelkanth as a destroyer of evil. The Meluhans end up believing that Shiva would be their saviour. Shiva searches for the source of Evil, and deciding that it is Somras which would destroy India, he declares war to eradicate the drink completely. His deeds and accomplishments in saving India from its dangers makes him the Mahadev (Great God).
- Sati– A Meluhan princess, she is the daughter of King Daksha. Shiva falls in love with her and marries her. Sati is a skilled swords-woman and is very brave since childhood. She assists Shiva on his journey to destroy Evil, but dies a valiant death while saving her people from a group of assassins. Her death becomes a trigger for the wars to cease. She is later renowned as Goddess Shakti, and her ashes are spread throughout India, in places later known as Shakti Peethas (Seat of Shakti).
- Kali –Sati's twin sister who was separated from her after birth, due to their father denouncing her. Kali was born with two extra functioning appendages, hence she was ostracized from society and declared a Naga. A very hot-tempered woman, Kali assists and helps Shiva in his journey to destroy Evil. Kali is later renowned as a Goddess.
- Ganesh– Sati's first child, who was declared dead by her father Daksha, as he was born with physical deformities. Ganesh was raised later by Kali, and they created the formidable Naga army. Ganesh becomes an ardent follower of Shiva and Sati, and later comes to be renowned as a God.
- Kartik– Son of Shiva and Sati, Kartik is a fearsome warrior and gains recognition for his battle skills and strategies. Kartik recognizes the importance of preserving Shiva's legacy by not destroying everything in Meluha. He later moves to South India and is renowned as a God there.
- Nandi – A captain in the Meluhan army. A loyal devotee of Shiva, who is often considered for his opinion and suggestions by Shiva.
- Veer Bhadra– A captain of Shiva's army and his close childhood friend. He was later renamed as Veer Bhadra, a title earned by once defeating a tiger single handedly.He is quick tempered and is husband to Krittika.
- Krittika-She is the best friend and hand maiden of Sati. She is like a second mother to Kartik and is the wife of Shiva's best friend Veer Bhadra. She does not have children as she has become infertile due to the adverse effects of Somras.
- Bŗahaspati– The chief Meluhan scientist who becomes Shiva's good friend. Though he does not believe the legend of the Neelkanth, he believes that Shiva is capable of taking Meluha to its new glory.
- Daksha– The King of the Meluhans, he wants to be the Emperor of the whole of India, and is bitter towards Shiva for bringing into light his injustices against his own daughter, Sati.
- Veerini – The Queen of the Meluhans, wife of Emperor Daksha, Veerini is against Daksha's diabolical schemes to bring down Shiva.
- Parvateshvar– Head of Meluhan Army and a Suryavanshi, Parvateshvar is a follower of Shiva. However, he is caught in a dilemma when Shiva decides to destroy Meluha for ending the usage of Somras, and ultimately decides to help the country by leading it in the impending war, being bound to his duty as the protector of the country. He is a man of his word and places truth and honour even above God. He is a tall, well-built giant of a man and is husband to Princess Anandamayi.
- Bhagirath – The prince of Ayodhya, he assists Shiva in his journey to destroy Evil.
- Anandamayi – The princess of Ayodhya. A strong-willed woman,Anandamayi joins Parvateshwar as he decides to lead Meluha in the war.
- Ayurvati – The Chief of Medicine, Ayurvati is another intelligent and revered woman, who is capable of curing any disease. She is the first one to realize that Shiva is the "Neelkanth", their savior.
- Bhrigu– Bhrigu is a renowned sage of India, who is extremely powerful and malevolent. He believes that the Somras is never Evil, and hence mobilizes the war against Shiva. Held in high-esteem and fear by everyone, Bhrigu realizes the error of his ways after Sati is killed.
- Dilipa – King of Ayodhya and the father of Bhagirath and Anadamayi, Dilipa is obsessed about his looks and decaying body, and is black-mailed by Bhrigu in helping him in the impending war against Shiva.
- Gopal – The chief of the Vasudevs, Gopal assists Shiva throughout his journey from the hidden city of Ujjain, to Pariha, the land of the Vayuputras.
- Kanakhla – Meluhan prime minister, Kanakhla is shocked at the criminal side and dark revelations about her King Daksha, and never supported him in his misdeeds. When she comes to know about Daksha's plans to kill Shiva, she stealthily informs Parvateshvar about his plans and commits suicide.
- Parashuram-He was a Bandit-Priest purely devoted to Shiva. He is a courageous man and will fight till his last breath for the Lord Neelkanth.
- Divodas- He is a Branga official who is Shiva's major ally.