[Book Review] Goddess of the River — Vaishnavi Patel
She is the River, ever constant, ever changing.
Vaishnavi Patel is back for yet another Hindu/Indian mythological retelling, this time tackling the epic Mahabharata in Goddess of the River.
This book follows the cult success of her debut novel, Kaikeyi which was a retelling of various facets of the other Indian epic, Ramayana told from the perspective of the titular character Kaikeyi, the stepmother of the protagonist, Lord Rama.
Goddess of the River follows a similar pattern of retelling the events of a well-known and beloved mythos, albeit from the perspective of a “lesser known” character. This time, it is the goddess, Ganga, the eponymous Goddess of the River (also for whom the river Ganga/Ganges is named) through whose eyes we see events unfold. The events covered in this novel are her origins from the heavens, and much of the early formative plots that lead up to the Kurukshetra war, which is the conflict aroud which the Mahabharata is centered.
Unfortunately, Ganga is a very limited perspective character, seeing as she is, you know, a river. Even though the story explores her time spent in Hastinapur (the central kingdom of what would later be the Kaurava faction) as the mortal Jahnavi, most of the tale is narrated via musings of Ganga as her river-bound form. To get around this issue, Vaishnavi Patel adds another narrative perspective, that of Ganga’s seventh son Devavrata, later known as the demigod Bhishma.
Goddess of the River explores two major philosophical ideas via the narratives which span decades leading upto the Kaurava-Pandava succession crisis leading to the inevitable world-changing Kurukshetra war. By choosing Lady Ganga as our eye into the world, Vaishnavi Patel allows for a deeper look at the core concept of motherhood and all the trials and tribulations that go along with it. In particular, being a mother in ancient India, with all the constraints that came along with being a woman and a mother in a rigid caste system for key characters guidied not only by Fate but also by the literal intervention of various Gods of the Hindu pantheon. The major sell of Goddess of the River is the delving into how maternal conflict shaped various key aspects of the epic tale through Ganga and other prominent maternal figures in the tale.
In contrast, the chapters that brought Bhishma’s POV dealt with the central premise of the internal ideological conflict between the key Hindu concept of Dharma (the morality borne of custom and tradition) and doing what is “right”. This conflict forms the major philosophical argument in the Mahabharata and plagues every major character in the epic, and their interpretations of this conflict shapes their actions, thereby shaping the flow of events in the epic. In Goddess of the River, Bhishma is the paragon of dharma, which led to the inevitable conflict and downfall.
What I did like about Goddess of the River is that Vaishnavi Patel has gone through great pains to strike a good balance between exploring nuanced characterization of the key players without relying on the easy out of good/bad dichotomy. She spends time talking about the flaws of “protagonists” like lionized and deified Arjuna, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Bhishma, and even takes potshots at the vanity of Lord Krishna himself, while also celebrating positive aspects of more maligned characters like Shantanu, Dhritirashtra, Duryodhana, Karna, Lord Shiva and others. However, I found Lady Ganga’s ruminations to more more hamfisted, trite, and altogether, whiny. Her narratives lacked the nuanced heft and depth given to the other characters, even though she is the central idol of the novel.
My issue with Goddess of the River is the same with many of the now popular mythological retelling subgenre (see also Circe and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes, Atalanta by Jennifer Saint, and so many others), is that the prose style, while pretty, feels more documentarian than evocative. However, Patel makes it a point to be more straightforward in admitting that she took artistic liberties, and provides solid resources in the novel’s appendix for academic readings into the Maharabharata. This is a marked improvement and is in direct response to much of the criticism levied against her after the release of Kaikeyi. It is always a touchy subject when you give a “westernized” take on a tale that holds such strong religious and cultural connection to billions of Indians (and other people) worldwide. In that regard Vaishnavi Patel can hold her head high as she has done her due diligence.
Altogether, I found myself liking Kaikeyi more than Goddess of the River, merely because I felt like the titular character of the first novel had more of an active role in the events of the tale, and was written with more nuance than Ganga. Nevertheless, with strong prose, and tackling subject matter that even veteran authors would shy from, from a unique perspective, Goddess of the River is another feather in Patel’s burgeoning catalog. She continues to be an author to keep a keen eye on. I continue to be optimistic about what tale she will tackle next!
