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Krishnavatara #3
The Five Brothers
Krishnavatara is a 7-volume reconstruction of Krishna's life and adventures by weaving a romance around him. Wise ad valorous, he was, loving and loved, far-seeing and yet living for the moment, gifted with sage-like detachment and yet intensely human; the diplomat, the sage and the man of action with a personality as luminous as that of a divinity. The first part, which ends with the death of Kamsa has been named The Magic Flute, for it deals with his boyhood associated with the flute, which hypnotized men, animals and birds alike, sung with such loving tenderness y innumerable poets. The second volume, which ends with Rukmini Haran, is named as The Wrath of an Emperor, as the central theme is the successful defiance by Sri Krishna of Jarasandha, the Emperor of Magadha. The third part is entitled The Five Brothers and ends with Draupadi's Swayamvara. The Fourth is titled The Book of Bhima, Fifth part The Book of Satyabhaama, the sixth volume The Book of Vyaasa, the Master. The seventh and concluding volume, incorporating 7th part and unfinished 8th part, is titled The Book of Yudhishthira.
370 pages, Paperback
First published January 26, 1968
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790 people want to read
About the author
Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
119 books224 followersK.M. Munshi is one of Gujarat's most well-known literary writers. His historical novels have contributed profoundly to the sense of past that Gujarat lives with. A multi-faceted personality, he was a prominent lawyer, freedom fighter and politician. He was also the founder of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 21, 2017
Third Book of Krishnavatara is as astounding as the previous two if not better. The mercurial nature of political paradigm in Aryavarta is illustrated in a way which makes it not too difficult to keep track of all the parallel threads; A great achievement in itself. Author K M Munshi in his own unique way has tried to show the reasoning behind the antagonists' actions. Author stops short of saying some of the actions are justified. Actions of Krishna if looked upon without appropriate context looks like adharma; for example - he had disowned Radha and moved to Mathura, Killed Kamsa his maternal uncle, stops Balarama from killing Jarasandha the tyrant Monarch, abducted Rukmini from her Swayamvara and the list goes on. One could simply argue all Duryodhana wanted was to ascend the throne after his father; was that wrong? was that not dharma? If not! then the question that needs to be answered is - what is dharma? This is the theme of the book. This book is a beautiful journey through the conscience of Krishna while he tries to grasp dharma. Eventually does he grasp it? Does the man become god? I suggest to read the book to find out for yourself.
February 1, 2024
A beautiful retelling of the story of the Mahabharata
August 4, 2013
The third part in series, the book brings in the story of Pandavas and how their life gets intrinsically entwined with that of Krishna’s and his goal to establish an empire of dharma in Aryavarta.
The story begins in Dwaraka where Yadavas are prospering. Guru Sandipani comes to meet Krishna and brings along political tidings. The King of Panchala wants to marry his daughter to a worthy warrior and since there was none worthier than Krishna himself, he has offered her hand to him.
(Note: I haven’t so far found any reference to this in the Mahabharat tale, but the way Munshi has put it across, it makes a lot of political sense and you do start thinking that maybe this too could be true!)
Krishna doesn’t say ‘no’ immediately but is poised to reject the offer because he doesn’t want to antagonize Bishma and the Kuru empire in the process. In the meanwhile, the focus shifts to Hastinapura and we get introduced to all the main characters, the five brothers, King Dhritarashtra and his sons.
Munshi’s description of the five brothers and their interaction with each other is so engaging that you will start picturing them as vividly as he paints.
Righteous and duty conscious Yudhistra agrees to go on an exile while his uncle insists that it is merely a holiday! We also get a glimpse of Dronacharya’s political acumen as he coolly analyses where his interests lie.
The news about the exile of the brothers is carried back to Krishna by Udhava, who also learns midway that they have been killed. Krishna, leaves Dwaraka to pay a visit to Hastinapura, as the maternal relative of the Five Brothers. Depressed and worried, Krishna agonizes about the fate of Aryavarta with Duryodhana as the king.
Duryodhana’s multi-faceted character is very fascinating to read. Despite being a king’s son, a prince he had to grow under the shadow of the prowess of the Five Brothers who excel in everything. He must have been one unhappy kid!
Duryodhana’s wife Princess Bhanumati makes a charming distraction both for us and for Krishna, whose love for beauty has matured beyond his years. Her innocent fascination for Krishna is beautiful to watch and will leave you feeling just as Krishna did; “What a beauty to waste on Duryodhana?”
In the meantime, we see Satyavathi the great matriarch of the kuru family entreating Krishna to save the Pandavas. And Krishna leaves on that mission to Panchala.
At Panchala, one of the most fascinating and controversial characters of Mahabharata awaits us. Princess of Panchali also named as Krishnaa is introduced here. Munshi’s description is so vivid that you cannot picture her in any other way. She is fiery, fiercely loyal and determined to marry a true warrior. Krishna rejects her hand but proposes that King Drupad arrange a true swayamwara to get her a real warrior.
Next the scene moves to the kingdom of Nagas, the place where the Pandavas were seen last disappearing into the forest. Udhava reaches there, and is trying to investigate. The Nagas have a matriarchal link to Krishna’s grandfather whose grandmother was from the same tribe. Udhava mingles with the tribe and in the process gets himself a twin naga princesses as his wives (something that he never bargained for!)
Udhava ventures into the forest along with a small asura child and finds himself as the guest of King Virochana, who is none other than Bhima. The narrative of Udhava’s and the five brothers tale in the forest make a very interesting read. The hardships of the five brothers, their dreams, their frustrations are brought about so well that you might just give up reading Mahabharata by any other author.
The political gambit of the swayamwara is very interesting to read and the way Kings and Princes lobby for Draupadi’s favour brings home the fact that certain political behaviour will never be passé.
The book ends with Draupadi’s marriage to all the five brothers and the reactions of all characters to the marriage. This is the book that sets the stage for the biggest and the deadliest war in Aryawarta and this is where it all begins.
The story begins in Dwaraka where Yadavas are prospering. Guru Sandipani comes to meet Krishna and brings along political tidings. The King of Panchala wants to marry his daughter to a worthy warrior and since there was none worthier than Krishna himself, he has offered her hand to him.
(Note: I haven’t so far found any reference to this in the Mahabharat tale, but the way Munshi has put it across, it makes a lot of political sense and you do start thinking that maybe this too could be true!)
Krishna doesn’t say ‘no’ immediately but is poised to reject the offer because he doesn’t want to antagonize Bishma and the Kuru empire in the process. In the meanwhile, the focus shifts to Hastinapura and we get introduced to all the main characters, the five brothers, King Dhritarashtra and his sons.
Munshi’s description of the five brothers and their interaction with each other is so engaging that you will start picturing them as vividly as he paints.
Righteous and duty conscious Yudhistra agrees to go on an exile while his uncle insists that it is merely a holiday! We also get a glimpse of Dronacharya’s political acumen as he coolly analyses where his interests lie.
The news about the exile of the brothers is carried back to Krishna by Udhava, who also learns midway that they have been killed. Krishna, leaves Dwaraka to pay a visit to Hastinapura, as the maternal relative of the Five Brothers. Depressed and worried, Krishna agonizes about the fate of Aryavarta with Duryodhana as the king.
Duryodhana’s multi-faceted character is very fascinating to read. Despite being a king’s son, a prince he had to grow under the shadow of the prowess of the Five Brothers who excel in everything. He must have been one unhappy kid!
Duryodhana’s wife Princess Bhanumati makes a charming distraction both for us and for Krishna, whose love for beauty has matured beyond his years. Her innocent fascination for Krishna is beautiful to watch and will leave you feeling just as Krishna did; “What a beauty to waste on Duryodhana?”
In the meantime, we see Satyavathi the great matriarch of the kuru family entreating Krishna to save the Pandavas. And Krishna leaves on that mission to Panchala.
At Panchala, one of the most fascinating and controversial characters of Mahabharata awaits us. Princess of Panchali also named as Krishnaa is introduced here. Munshi’s description is so vivid that you cannot picture her in any other way. She is fiery, fiercely loyal and determined to marry a true warrior. Krishna rejects her hand but proposes that King Drupad arrange a true swayamwara to get her a real warrior.
Next the scene moves to the kingdom of Nagas, the place where the Pandavas were seen last disappearing into the forest. Udhava reaches there, and is trying to investigate. The Nagas have a matriarchal link to Krishna’s grandfather whose grandmother was from the same tribe. Udhava mingles with the tribe and in the process gets himself a twin naga princesses as his wives (something that he never bargained for!)
Udhava ventures into the forest along with a small asura child and finds himself as the guest of King Virochana, who is none other than Bhima. The narrative of Udhava’s and the five brothers tale in the forest make a very interesting read. The hardships of the five brothers, their dreams, their frustrations are brought about so well that you might just give up reading Mahabharata by any other author.
The political gambit of the swayamwara is very interesting to read and the way Kings and Princes lobby for Draupadi’s favour brings home the fact that certain political behaviour will never be passé.
The book ends with Draupadi’s marriage to all the five brothers and the reactions of all characters to the marriage. This is the book that sets the stage for the biggest and the deadliest war in Aryawarta and this is where it all begins.
October 8, 2012
Krishna at his manipulative best as a statesman. To become an undisputed leader of the entire aryavarta, with no 'real power' to wield as a king. Not as profound as the Book 2, but still a phenomenal job.
July 19, 2016
An depth narration of the Classical story from the great Indian Epic The Mahabharata about Krishna's relationships with the 5 Pandava brothers, especially Arjuna, who's narrative with Krishna during the battle in the Mahabharata becomes The Bhagavad Gita.
July 31, 2015
Good as the previous ones!
August 3, 2021
The third volume of the Krishnanavatara deals mostly with the five Pandava brothers, with Krishna relegated to political mover and shaker, rather than taking part in the adventures himself. Duryodhana, the son of the blind king Dhritarashtra* hates his cousins, the five brothers, and plots to have them killed. Through "shenanigans", they are believed dead, but go into hiding, only to be miraculously "brought back to life" by Krishna when it's politically convenient.
In the course of the book, we encounter cannibalistic rakshasas, ridiculously overblown senses of entitlement, and a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of a trans man. Through it all Krishna goes from crisis to crisis, exerting his (supernatural?) charisma, making people trust him and making unwise promises. But he somehow pulls it all together and comes out smelling of roses.
It does feel like most of the problems in the book (not counting cannibalistic rakshasas, who can be dealt with in the old-fashioned way of killing the existing chief and becoming their king) were mostly down to vastly inflated egos. Both Duryodhana and the brahmin master of warfare Dronacharya are idiots who who can't take 'no' for an answer.
I did know about the polyandry of Draupadi marrying all five of the Pandava brothers, but I hadn't known how that came about. She was "won" by Arjuna, but through a ridiculous misunderstanding, his mother tells him to share "his alms" with his brothers. And the boys always do what their mother tells them... Even though she admits that she made a mistake. It's just silly.
We also finally get some "real" magic in this book, with both a Brahmin who heals the lame, and a Yaksha who magically turns Shikhandin from a girl into a boy. I'm still surprised how sympathetically that was handled, by the way (although I suspect it wouldn't have been so understanding if the case had been that of a trans woman).
I will continue to read these, as I get a chance, but I can't help feeling that so much could have been defused by people talking about their feelings, and going to therapy.
* it's commented several times in the book that Dhritarashtra couldn't be a king, because he's blind (um, sure), and so his son couldn't either (eh?), and yet Dhritarashtra is very definitely a king, and Duryodhana becomes crown prince, so I don't know what that's about
In the course of the book, we encounter cannibalistic rakshasas, ridiculously overblown senses of entitlement, and a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of a trans man. Through it all Krishna goes from crisis to crisis, exerting his (supernatural?) charisma, making people trust him and making unwise promises. But he somehow pulls it all together and comes out smelling of roses.
It does feel like most of the problems in the book (not counting cannibalistic rakshasas, who can be dealt with in the old-fashioned way of killing the existing chief and becoming their king) were mostly down to vastly inflated egos. Both Duryodhana and the brahmin master of warfare Dronacharya are idiots who who can't take 'no' for an answer.
I did know about the polyandry of Draupadi marrying all five of the Pandava brothers, but I hadn't known how that came about. She was "won" by Arjuna, but through a ridiculous misunderstanding, his mother tells him to share "his alms" with his brothers. And the boys always do what their mother tells them... Even though she admits that she made a mistake. It's just silly.
We also finally get some "real" magic in this book, with both a Brahmin who heals the lame, and a Yaksha who magically turns Shikhandin from a girl into a boy. I'm still surprised how sympathetically that was handled, by the way (although I suspect it wouldn't have been so understanding if the case had been that of a trans woman).
I will continue to read these, as I get a chance, but I can't help feeling that so much could have been defused by people talking about their feelings, and going to therapy.
* it's commented several times in the book that Dhritarashtra couldn't be a king, because he's blind (um, sure), and so his son couldn't either (eh?), and yet Dhritarashtra is very definitely a king, and Duryodhana becomes crown prince, so I don't know what that's about
May 27, 2020
In the third installment, we have the complex geopolitical backdrop of the epic laid bare. The Kuru-Panchala rivalry triggered by Drona's ego forms the central plot. A worried Krishna springs to action to counter the possibility of a resurgent Magadha led by Jarasandha, joining hands with the Panchalas. The only possibility to avert this manifests in the form of Draupadi.
Bhima's marriage to Hidiimbaa and their life with the Rakshasas was well crafted. Satyabhama makes a tantalizing appearance in the story. Will be interesting to see how Munshi develops the story from here.
Bhima's marriage to Hidiimbaa and their life with the Rakshasas was well crafted. Satyabhama makes a tantalizing appearance in the story. Will be interesting to see how Munshi develops the story from here.
September 27, 2021
There were more POVs in this book. In the Mahabharata, there were maybe two pages dedicated to Draupadi's marriage to the five brothers. However, this entire book (almost 400 pages) had the lead up plus more details on how flawed Duryodhana was.
February 28, 2025
I thought this book was very interesting as you never get to see the swayamvara from the perspective of Krishna and prior to reading it I wasn't aware of all that he did during the ceremony. I just felt like it was unnecessarily long for the content. Very good though.
August 6, 2018
This third installment is a very beautiful introduction of the pandas.
August 15, 2016
The author admits in his introduction to 'A work of romance, departing many times from the legend using whatever little creative power I possess, feeble though it be.' Truer words were never spoken.
Bizarre inventions include - Krishn brandishing Sudarshanchakra eons before Khandav dahan, Satyaki kidnapped by Satyabhama, Shikhandi many years junior to Dhrishtadyumn, Pandavas defeat an unarmed Drupad on temple premises instead of on a battlefield, Krishn sends Shikhandi to Drona, Ghatotkach is kidnapped by Bheem Arjun, an ambidextrous Arjun is depicted as left handed, Satyaki is an inferior archer to Duryodhan etc.
The Gandharva Angaraparna skirmish is reduced to one line. The post-Draupadi swayamvar battle is peremptorily deleted to gloss over the inconvenient defeats of the author's pets.
And what does the author do with the gigantic wordspace saved in the above process? He adds an icky, ugly Krishn-Bhanumati lust angle (latter being Duryodhan's 17 year old queen), a secret rendezvous of Shakuni-Ashwatthama with Draupadi on the night preceding her swayamvar, Uddhava's amorous hay rolls with twin Naga sisters, a drunken orgy involving Bhanumati, cousins with random men etc.
Character assassinations continue: Draupadi is alternately wailing or flailing her arms (Btw she is also fair complexioned). Duryodhan, so far was only infamous for greed, murder attempts and unshackled ambitions. In KM Munshi's world, he literally arm twists his wife in nocturnal drunken slurs before sending her off as a honey trap for Krishn. Bheem discusses Hidimbaa's body odour with his mother & brothers.
Even the great Ved Vyas is not spared. A lewd wink and crude joke about wedding nights is tossed between Vyas & Bheem in the august company of Drupad, Dhaumya and Kunti!
Drupad grudges Arjun's victory over him and specifically wants no Drona disciple to wed Draupadi. After spending 605 pages pursuing this theory, not a single line is spared to express Drupad & Draupadi's emotions when finally Arjun, the Drona-disciple wins her.
Read at your own risk. Or if you don't mind chunkfuls of over dramatized fan fiction.
Bizarre inventions include - Krishn brandishing Sudarshanchakra eons before Khandav dahan, Satyaki kidnapped by Satyabhama, Shikhandi many years junior to Dhrishtadyumn, Pandavas defeat an unarmed Drupad on temple premises instead of on a battlefield, Krishn sends Shikhandi to Drona, Ghatotkach is kidnapped by Bheem Arjun, an ambidextrous Arjun is depicted as left handed, Satyaki is an inferior archer to Duryodhan etc.
The Gandharva Angaraparna skirmish is reduced to one line. The post-Draupadi swayamvar battle is peremptorily deleted to gloss over the inconvenient defeats of the author's pets.
And what does the author do with the gigantic wordspace saved in the above process? He adds an icky, ugly Krishn-Bhanumati lust angle (latter being Duryodhan's 17 year old queen), a secret rendezvous of Shakuni-Ashwatthama with Draupadi on the night preceding her swayamvar, Uddhava's amorous hay rolls with twin Naga sisters, a drunken orgy involving Bhanumati, cousins with random men etc.
Character assassinations continue: Draupadi is alternately wailing or flailing her arms (Btw she is also fair complexioned). Duryodhan, so far was only infamous for greed, murder attempts and unshackled ambitions. In KM Munshi's world, he literally arm twists his wife in nocturnal drunken slurs before sending her off as a honey trap for Krishn. Bheem discusses Hidimbaa's body odour with his mother & brothers.
Even the great Ved Vyas is not spared. A lewd wink and crude joke about wedding nights is tossed between Vyas & Bheem in the august company of Drupad, Dhaumya and Kunti!
Drupad grudges Arjun's victory over him and specifically wants no Drona disciple to wed Draupadi. After spending 605 pages pursuing this theory, not a single line is spared to express Drupad & Draupadi's emotions when finally Arjun, the Drona-disciple wins her.
Read at your own risk. Or if you don't mind chunkfuls of over dramatized fan fiction.
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