Aryan

The First Aryan

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Please see the article “A Historical event in the Rig Veda – The Vr̥ṣā́kapi Hymn (RV 10.86)” to understand the background to this novel.

Will a series of brutal killings destroy the very foundation of Parsuvarta, an ancient kingdom?
A series of murders have taken place in Parsupur, the capital city of Parsuvarta. Kasyapa and Agastya, two students training to become priests, are asked by their guru to investigate the deaths. Around the same time, there is great turmoil brewing in the city-a palace coup and a battle for supremacy between the traditional Indra worshipers and the new sect of Varuna followers.
It is an age when Vedic gods are worshiped, religious sacrifices are performed regularly, commerce flourishes and kings are guided by their loyal head priests. But beneath this façade of order lie prejudices and political rivalries, jealousy and power games. This is why the murders, which at first seem to be unconnected, soon lead in the same direction. It is now up to Kasyapa and Agastya to find out the common thread and identify the killer.
The First Aryan is a one-of-its-kind murder mystery set in the Vedic times.

“This is a wonderful mystery in a novel setting. I could not put the book down once I got into it. Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot would be proud of this. “
An Amazon Customer

“An excellent book! An intelligent page-turner, enjoyed the read.The Vedic-era setting certainly makes this novel quite unique. I liked it that the early Aryan civilization was portrayed with balance and a good bit of mischief. Just the normalcy with which you portrayed these people, including these early sages (Kasyapa, Agastya, …) was striking. On the same lines, I found some of your choices quite interesting, viewed from today’s politicized lens – for instance your take on the whole or Out-of-India versus Aryan-Migration divide. I suspect neither camp will be entirely happy with your take, which I am sure is a good thing :)Your descriptions of the period, the places, and the sacrificial rituals had just the right amount of detail, and the whole Indra-Varuna religious tussle was good fun. And I did not figure out who the killer was 🙂 Congrats again on a damn good debut novel. Looking forward to your second book.”

Varun Ravichandran