Rajendra Kher

Udayan Rajendra Kher

The story of Udayan belongs to the ancient Indian classic literature. In its time it was as popular as Ramayan and Mahabharat, the two epics from the ancient India but over the period, it is relegated to the recesses of the public memory. Udayan was the fifth king in the lineage of the Pandava dynasty. He was a valiant king. Kaushambi in Vatsa kingdom was the capital of Udayan's empire. The king was an ace Veena player. Apart from the musical legacy from his forefathers he was a master of the Vedas, various arts and craft, different sciences and of course, use of different arms and weapons. The empire of Udayan that stretched from the sea to the Himalayas, started deteriorating and eroding as a result. It didn't take very long for the empire so valiantly built and meticulously preserved by his forefathers to come to a sad end. While Udayan himself didn't care much about it, he was fortunate to have a head of the council of ministers, Amatya, in Yaugandharayan, who was fiercely loyal to the empire and hence, was concerned enough for its state. The empire was a matter of constant concern for the Amatya. Udayan had studied music and the Hasti Vidya (knowledge about elephants) at the Naaglok, the land of the cobras. Naaglok was the place where he received a divine Veena called Ghoshvati. This particular Veena produced divine notes when played. It became a constant companion of King Udayan. He practiced on it virtually all through the day... and night. An avid art lover that he was, Udayan loved a good life. Alas, all his qualities proved to be his undoing as far as politics was concerned. Because of them, he could hardly concentrate on the day-to-day governance of his empire. The empire that stretched from the sea to the Himalayas, started deteriorating and eroding as a result. It didn't take very long for the empire so valiantly built and meticulously preserved by his forefathers to come to a sad end. While Udayan himself didn't care much about it, he was fortunate to have a head of the council of ministers, Amatya Yaugandharayan, who was fiercely loyal to the empire and hence, was concerned enough for its state. The empire was a matter of constant concern for the Amatya. Udayan was also lucky to have a general in the form of Rumanwan, who, like Amatya Yaugandharayan, was completely dedicated and was extremely valiant. In the absence of the king's attention, these two trusted lieutenants of his took care of the affairs of the state to the best of their abilities. Sadly though, they couldn't arrest the fast deteriorating condition of the empire they held so dearly. Around that time, Udayan learned from the book 'Hastishiksha' about a mammoth, blue bodied elephant by the name Neelkuvalayatanu. No one in India had ever seen such an elephant in those days. Udayan resolved to find the elephant and tame him with his music. One fine day, Udayan left his palace with a few of his most trusted men without informing anyone and started scouring the jungles for the Neelkuvalayatanu elephant. The news of this extreme pursuit of Udayan soon reached his sworn enemy Pradyot, the king of Avanti. Pradyot's kingdom was quite large and he was a brave man himself. His enmity for Udayan was unilateral however and Udayan had largely ignored Pradyot's political advances and diplomatic games against him. . . What next? Read it in this classic novel in Marathi language: UDAYAN. (Leadstart Publishing corp. are publishing this novel in English.)