Yugandhar - A Big Novel Based on the Life of Bhagwan Krishna

Struck by Jara's arrow, Krishna lies prone under a sprawling Kadambatme. In his last moments, he looks back on his life and begins to speak, not as an incarnation of Vishnu but as a mortal who walked the earth and followed his dharma. As the stories of his childhood in Gokul and his youth in Mathuta and Dwaraka unfold, people close to him appear by turns to examine Krishna's life through the prism of their relationship with him. Rukmini tells the tale of their marriage and of her seven co-wives; Daruk, his charioteer, revisits Krishna's travels and the many wars he accompanied him on; Draupadi, his confidante, describes his fondness for the Pandavas and his role in the Mahabharata; Satyaki, his commander-in-chief, marvels at is astute military tactics; his pupil Arjuna speaks of lessons from the Gita; and Uddhava, his cousin, reconstructs the breathtaking grandeur of his persona.

Shivaji Sawant's Krishna is an imperfect, flawed human. He is many people at once—a herdsman, a warrior, a statesman, a lover and a seer. He is complex and hides in him a vastness that no one person can entirely fathom. AS...consistent bestseller in Marathi since its first publication in z000, Yugandhqr goes beyond the familiar tales from the Mahabharata, and probes his life to understand this most beloved of gods.

Shivaji Sawant (1940-2002) was born in a farming family of Ajara village in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He worked as a teacher for twenty years and afterwards, as an editor with Maharashtra education department's monthly magazine Lokshikshan between 1974-1980. Later, he held the post of vice-president at Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad. As a prolific novelist in Marathi, he is best known for his novel on Karna, Mrityunjay. He was the first Marathi writer to be awarded the prestigious Moortidevi Award in 1995 from the Bhartiya Jnanpeeth. He has received many other awards including the Poonamchand Bhutodiya Puraskar (1986) and the Maharashtra Shasan Puraskar. His important books include Yugandhar, Chhava, Kavadase and Ladhat.

Kadambini Dharap is late Shivaji Sawant's daughter. She writes poetry in Marathi, Hindi and English. She published a collection called Kinara Houn Aapanach in 2011. This is her first work of translation.

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