Book Review: The Krishna Key

Great has been the speculation that Krishna was a mythical character rather than a historical character. Krishna Key, the third novel by Ashwin Sanghi, is a stunning anthropological thriller, that tries to unfold the secrets of the Mahabharata and establish Krishna as a historical character rather than a mythical character. The book is full of twists and turns that is sure to keep the reader engrossed till the very end. Anyone who has read the Krishna Key is sure to compare it with Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. If you ask me, the book is an Indian version of the Da Vinci Code and Saini is an Indian answer to Robert Langdon,

The book is a really fast paced eventhough over stuffed with some facts. The author has done a lot of research for the book which is evident from the below statement.

"Krishna was the eighth Avatar of Vishnu – a manifestation of a form of energy that we shall call Vish. The exact opposite energy of Vish is Shiv. While Vish, creates and preserves, Shiv destroys. They are the two faces of same coin."

"The Philosopher is more important than the stone."

Ashwin has also covered the topics such as ‘the Taj Conspiracy’, the significance of 108 to the Hindus and the magical power of ‘Om’. He has also made some wicked comparisons in the book, like nuclear bomb to the brahmasthra and BARC (Baba Atomic Researh Centre) to Shivaling and has also tried to provide some scientific explanations to the vedic knowledge.

Plot And Summary

The plot is not a complicated one. Major part of the story has been narrated through the eyes of the protagonist Ravi Mohan Saini. Like many other thrillers, the novel begins with a murder- the murder of Varshney, Saini’s close friend. Saini is accused of murdering him, to steal a sacred seal, which is supposed to be the key to the elixir of life- the philosophers stone. Saini escapes the prison with the help of his student Priya and goes about the process of trying to solve the mystery and find the elixir of life. As the investigation continues Saini finds himself in the midst of many dangers which he is able to overcome, with little assistace from his lady partner.

Characters

All the characters in the book except Saini, Radhika, and Priya are dumbfounded and do not have any major role. They just come about , say something and disappear.The book would have been letter if they were a littlestronger and if they had contributed more.

Climax

Climax is the most disappointing part of the Krishna key. Everyone waits for something great to happen ,but everything comes down to this weak climax.But if you ignore the climax the book is definitely worth the price and will keep you entertained till the end.

After finishing the book you will still have one unanswered question-‘’Is it really fiction?”.