Amish Tripathi - Legend of Suheldev: The King Who Saved India

Legend of Suheldev

Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-educated, boring banker turned happy author. The success of his debut book, The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to give up a fourteen-year-old career in financial services to focus on writing. He is passionate about history, mythology and philosophy, finding beauty and meaning in all world religions. Amishs books have sold more than 5 million copies and have been translated into over 19 languages.

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Other Titles by Amish

SHIVA TRILOGY

The fastest-selling book series in the history of Indian publishing

The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of the Trilogy)

The Secret of the Nagas (Book 2 of the Trilogy)

The Oath of the Vayuputras (Book 3 of the Trilogy)

RAM CHANDRA SERIES

The second fastest-selling book series in the history of Indian publishing

Ram Scion of Ikshvaku (Book 1 of the Series)

Sita Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Series)

Raavan Enemy of Aryavarta (Book 3 of the Series)

NON-FICTION

Immortal India: Young Country, Timeless Civilisation

{Amishs} writings have generated immense curiosity about Indias rich past and culture.

Narendra Modi

(Honourable Prime Minister of India)

{Amishs} writing introduces the youth to ancient value systems while pricking and satisfying their curiosity

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

(Spiritual Leader & Founder of the Art of Living Foundation)

{Amishs book is} riveting, absorbing and informative.

Amitabh Bachchan

(Actor & Living Legend)

Amish is Indias first literary popstar.

Shekhar Kapur

(Award-Winning Film Director)

Thoughtful and deep, Amish, more than any author, represents the New India.

Vir Sanghvi

(Senior Journalist & Columnist)

{Amish is} one of the most original thinkers of his generation.

Arnab Goswami

(Senior Journalist & MD, Republic TV)

Amish has a fine eye for detail and a compelling narrative style.

Dr. Shashi Tharoor

(Member of Parliament & Author)

{Amish is} a deeply thoughtful mind with an unusual, original, and fascinating view of the past.

Shekhar Gupta

(Senior Journalist & Columnist)

To understand the New India, you need to read Amish.

Swapan Dasgupta

(Member of Parliament & Senior Journalist)

Through all of Amishs books flows a current of liberal progressive ideology: about gender, about caste, about discrimination of any kind He is the only Indian bestselling writer with true philosophical depthhis books are all backed by tremendous research and deep thought.

Sandipan Deb

(Senior Journalist & Editorial Director, Swarajya)

Amishs influence goes beyond his books, his books go beyond literature, his literature is steeped in philosophy, which is anchored in bhakti, which powers his love for India.

Gautam Chikermane

(Senior Journalist & Author)

Amish is a literary phenomenon.

Anil Dharker

(Senior Journalist & Author)

First published by Westland Publications Private Limited in 2020

1st Floor, A Block, East Wing, Plot No. 40, SP Infocity, Dr MGR Salai, Perungudi, Kandanchavadi, Chennai 600096

Westland and the Westland logo are the trademarks of Westland Publications Private Limited, or its affiliates.

Copyright Amish Tripathi, 2020

Amish Tripathi asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

ISBN: 9789387894037

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organisations, places, events and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or used fictitiously.

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Om Namah Shivya

The universe bows to Lord Shiva.

I bow to Lord Shiva.

Nsti me jtih nsti me dharmapanthh

Nsti v bhs nsti me rjyam

Ekoyam paricayah ekaiva vyaktit

bhratamtuh sut bhratamtuh sut

Jvanam mama tm v

Karmam mama raddh v

Bhratamtre khalu bhratamtre khalu

Yadi moksaprptih yadi v sampranam

Ek pratyuktih kosi pranasya

prcchet adhyaksah yadi v parameah

Ek pratyuktih bhratamtuh sut

Ekoyam paricayah ekaiva vyaktit

bhratamtuh sut bhratamtuh sut

Neither caste, nor religion,

Neither language, nor kingdom (state),

Only one identity I bear,

I am a child of Mother India.

My life, my soul,

My work, my faith,

Is all for Mother India.

Whether I attain Moksha,

or I stand on Judgement Day,

When asked who I am,

By the One Most High,

There will be only one answer:

I am a child of Mother India.

Only one identity I bear,

I am a child of Mother India.

To the late Himanshu Roy,

My brother-in-law.

There is no person that I have admired more. Ever.

You were the shade that protected me.

The light that guided me.

There is no fear of death now.

For you are on the other side, my brother.

I will keep breathing. I will keep walking.

For you would expect that of me, my brother.

But the feet will stop someday

And that will be a good day.

For you will be on the other side.

Till we meet again

Till we meet again, my brother.

Contents

Professionally, the last few years have been fabulous. Personally, they have been terrible beyond imagination. There was a time when I was so exhausted by the repeated blows of fate, that in one of my morning prayers, I looked up and screamed at Lord Shiva to stop testing me further. How this phase of my life will end, I dont know. Our ancients said that grief is the path to personal growth. I hope they were right But I know what has kept me going these last few years: my writing. It has been my refuge. It stops me from giving up. Id like to thank all those who help me live, by helping me write.

My father-in-law the late Manoj Vyas, and my brother-in-law the late Himanshu Roy. Two men I have admired deeply. Their sense of honour, grace and dignity continues to inspire me.

Neel, my young son, my life, the purpose of my soul. The purest joy in the world is having him run into my arms shouting, Daaaaad!

Bhavna, Anish, Meeta and Ashish, my siblings and my sister-in-law, for all that they do. They read the first draft, usually as each chapter is written. More importantly, they pick me up when Im down. They are the souls I chose to be born with in this life. My soul chose well.

The rest of my family: Usha, Vinay, Shernaz, Preeti, Donetta, Smita, Anuj, Ruta, Mitansh, Daniel, Aiden, Keya, Anika and Ashna. For their consistent faith and love.

Gautam, the CEO of my publisher Westland, and Karthika, Shikha, Deepthi and Sanghamitra, my editors. If there are people outside of my family who are the closest to this project, it is this group. More than friends, they are like family now. Special thanks of course to Deepthi, who is in charge of the Writers Centre. I look forward to doing many books in the Writers Centre with her. The rest of the marvellous team at Westland: Arunima, Christina, Divya, Jaisankar, Krishnakumar, Madhu, Mustafa, Naveen, Neha, Nidhi, Raju, Sanyog, Sateesh, Satish, Shatrughan, Srivats, Sudha, Vipin and many others. They are the best team in the publishing business.