Expanding the world of Maahishmati!

Some movies make such a huge impact on you that you start getting into the world in which that movie was set. Baahubali is one of the best examples of how a complete world has been created just for the main kingdom Maahishmati and other smaller kingdoms like Kunthala.
The visual treat was nothing but the best, as is the background music.

Such is the impact of all the characters like Baahubali, Kattappa, Shivagami, Devasena, Bhallaladeva, Avanthika, etc. that I have created my own ebook which has the extension of the movie as imagined by me. Not a big book, but definitely took some time to weave origins story for each of the main characters of the movie. There are so many storylines that could possibly be weaved around Baahubali: The Beginning that my ebook becomes one of the multiverses of them!

For example, there are so many questions left open in the movie like why is Kattappa helpless and completely living like a slave to Bhallaladeva despite he getting an offer of joining hands with Aslam Khan.
The intensity with which Bhallaladeva converses with Devasena as well as her oath to fry him on the pyre set up by her means there is a very intense flashback that must have happened decades ago involving Kattappa, Baahubali, Bhallaladeva and Devasena.

So many questions have been raised(including the biggest puzzle of "why Kattappa killed Baahubali") and those have an answer in the complete Amazon Kindle ebook here:

Maahishmati Kindle ebook on Amazon

Some of the excerpts from the book are below:

Excerpt 1: Athura: The First War:

"
The sun started to rise a little faster the next morning as the tension remained high. The enemy was baying for blood as their soldiers kept building floating boards to cross the huge river. All their efforts to swing across the river using ropes turned out to be futile as they were punctured by poison-edged thorns coming from people specialized at aiming them. Attacks by wild animals were not uncommon but the enemies warded them off using their shields and weapons.
With a singular aim of wiping off anyone who are not from their faith and establishing their caliphate, the thirst of their greed knew no bounds. With the job of breaking through the defenses getting tougher, they aimed for the offensive by using their weapons like thousands of arrows. In response, the people of Mahaashanthala went back to escape them.
As the attack neared the people, they prayed for the almighty to show them a way. Off the dusty atmosphere, the devils started appearing clearly. They neared them and shouted “Athuraaa! Complete your duty. Why are you hiding?”
The people were shocked to hear the name of Athura from them. In a split second, Athura emerged from behind them, took a special sword that seemed to have been made specially for him, and raced towards the defenceless people. Uttama saw all this from a distance and rushed forward to save the people from him.
But as he was getting close, Athura threw the sword backwards towards the devil army with such a skill and power that it cut the throats of the commanders, went around for the heads of the marching soldiers and returned to the hand of Athura.
“Now my duty is complete”he shouted.
The devil army stood there in shock. They hadn't seen such level of skill from anyone and came towards Athura, with the remaining generals shouting: ”You traitor. You cheat your own people? The prophet will never forgive you. You will die a horrible death for going against us.” as the foot soldiers charged ahead, baying for his blood.
“I have found my people.” shouted Athura, pointing to the people of Mahaashanthala.

"

The above is just a small sample of one of the chapters and this particular piece is about the origins of Kattappa, his ancestors and most importantly how his extreme loyalty towards Maahishmati came into being).

Looking forward to share more info and snippets in the coming days.

Excerpt 2: Post-Kaalakeya War

"

In the aftermath of Kaalakeya being defeated, there is a larger challenge: To control the evil mind of Bijjaladeva and his son Bhallaladeva from playing games that could put the whole of kingdom in danger.

During the war against Kaalakeya, Kunthala kingdom wished that Kaalakeya is defeated, because if Kaalakeya wins, the next target would be Kunthala. And its whole population is not even as large as the strong and highly-inspired Maahishmathi army. Despite not going to the war, Kunthala used the time to sharpen its army’s skills, and one of the sharpest weapons is Devasena. Nayaka’s pride, Maahishmathi’s envy, Devasena has showcased her defensive and combative skills in sword fighting. Maahishmathi’s people saw her as a direct competitor to their loved king-to-be Baahubali.

One fine day, Shivagami called everyone to the palace to decide on the auspicious date for the cornation of Amarendra Baahubali as the king of Maahishmathi. Priests from several kingdoms made their way to the large environs of Maahishmathi. They were stunned to see the advanced architecture and the magnificent style of the kingdom and wished to stay there for some more time than just the few hours that they originally planned for! The large palaces, temples, wide pathways, strong horses, sharpest of weapons, and the huge elephants and energetic people made them stunned.

They entered the main courtyard of the palace where so many important decisions were made in the presence of Shivagami over the years.

“15 days from today there is a fantastic alignment of planets. That is the perfect time for coronation. Nothing can come close to it in the next 5 years!”

One of them interrupted: “But.”

Shivagami responded: “What but? Tell us”

“There is a danger lurking in the next few days. Amarendra needs to avoid mingling with outsiders, especially lower caste people or rival kingdoms during this time.”

There is a growing tendency in the kingdom to get influenced by the kings and segregate themselves based on castes. This split has resulted in a cold war of sorts.

During one of these days, Amarendra Baahubali was walking along the street, when he found something is wrong. He sensed something is wrong at the other side of the street.

A group of people were shouting with each other due to something serious. Amarendra queried them about the matter and found out that the issue is about letting some people from other caste to the largest temple of Maahishmati. He took an instant decision: There shall be no more distinction between the upper caste and lower caste.

To make his statement, he did something no other king-to-be woukd have done:

Washed the feet of the lower caste devotees with pure water and welcomed them.

The royal members who are in the temple were shocked when they saw this scene. They tried to take Baahubali away but in vain. He stood firm in his resolve.

On the staircase to take the lower caste to temple, he found the people very happy and they started seeing them as their hero.

Back in the palace, Bijjaladeva was furious. He warned Baahubali not to mingle with others because that is not only dangerous to his life according to the astrology, but also against the norms of the palace and the royal family.

But Baahubali kept calm and ignored him silently. Shivagami too kept a dignified silence.

"
Another chapter, this time on Shivagami, based on her characterization in the movie:

Excerpt 3: Introduction of Shivagami:

"
The day finally came:
Rudrayya has always been the quintessential free bird in terms of doing whatever he wants to do. On the deciding day, he was taken to Vaidehipuram where he witnessed
the people’s lifestyle. They too seemed to believe in dreams coming true. Rudrayya laughed off.
He was taken to the palace where there is a dedicated area for competitions.
The king finally arrived. Tall, well built and handsome, Rudrayya suddenly saw that the king also seemed to be built well and had more mass. The huge drums signalled the start of the competition.
Both of them started bravely with a huge thud of their thighs and skillfully outwitted each other repeatedly and it was almost impossible to tell who was having the upper hand.
“Actually this is to find the right groom for the kingdom. And my daughter Shivagami is ready for you. I knew no one would marry anyone from our family which is considered inauspicious and a harbinger of bad luck.” He paused.
He called the guards to bring in his daughter Shivagami. She is just a young girl, around 19 years. Out of her father’s urgency to marry off his daughter, Shivagami accepted it hesitantly. But her dreams are loftier than just finding a brave and heroic husband.
Rudrayya found this crazy and immediately replied:
“Is this a joke? I cannot do this. I cannot cheat my wife. I can never ever touch any other woman in my life, let alone marry her.”
The king replied: “Well, here we dont have the tradition of monogamy. If you dont accept the marriage, we are going to be losing our honor”
.
Shivagami kept calm. She didnt knew what to do. Rudrayya refused this offer, angering the king and ministers. Shivagami remained indifferent. She never wanted the marriage nor any kind of relationship at the moment, but she couldnt go against her father’s wish either.
So she chalked out a plan: “I want to talk to Rudrayya.” The court turned towards her when they heard her voice. Authoritative and confident for someone so young.
“Personally”. They were surprised further!
Rudrayya entered Shivagami’s private room. As Shivagami started to say something, there was a huge alarm in the palace, notifying an extreme emergency.
“Our kingdom has been attacked. Save yourselves” the announcer said to all the inmates of palace. The king has been given a special security but the body guards themselves sliced his back before he fought back with extreme injuries. He was brave and fought them off before falling down.
As Rudrayya was coming out and saw the king lying in a pool of blood, the king ordered him to take Shivagami to safer areas and look after her. “She is the only hope of Vaidehipuram. This is the only dream that I have. Go.” Shivagami shed tears upon seeing her father in a pool of blood, but promised him to remain with a strong will and
continue a legacy of justice that her father always believed in. She bid a teary farewell to her father by giving him a final hug. Still sensing danger behind them, Rudrayya rode the horse as swiftly as he can to take Shivagami to safety.
Across the waterfalls and rivers, he rode like an expert, protecting the young Shivagami and entered the kingdom of Maahishmathi. Shivagami looked around as everything seemed like a collection of moving images around her. Her fate took a sharp turn within a few hours and she couldnt believe it. Peeking out of her warm blanket, she saw the emblem of Maahishmathi for the first time in bright sunlight that is just jutting out of the morning sun. Rudrayya told the guards that he is bringing the princess of Vaidehipuram. Maahishmathi’s prince Vikramadeva welcomed Shivagami to the palace and ordered everyone to take care of her and treat her as a guest...
"

Excerpt 4: Shivagami and Kunthala's Destruction

"
When Shivagami entered the main courtyard, she saw complete destruction. Amidst it all, Devasena and her infant are struggling to escape a huge fire put up by the enemies.
Still Devasena was fighting against the fire, like a warrior, very similar to Rani Laxmi Bai, with her baby put tightly inside a cloth tied to her back. In a huge blast that broke apart the palace, Bhalla thought that Devasena and her baby were burnt to death. Nayaka left the palace much earlier to fight the enemies and left his body guards to
take care of Devasena, but they were killed by Maahishmati’s soldiers on the orders of Bhalla. With no one to help her, Devasena valiantly fought on her own and killed most of the enemies who were attacking her right inside her room. After the huge explosion, it turned out to be too difficult to find a way out. But luckily for her, in the dense smoke, Shivagami appeared, surprising Devasena and rescued her, taking her baby in her arms. She is happy that her mother-in-law has come to rescue her, but Devasena, feeling very weak, collapsed on the way when they crossed the boundary of the palace where there was no one. Shivagami tried to wake her up, but to no avail. With some of Maahishmati’s soldiers chasing her from far away, and left with no other option, she ordered Kattappa to look after her as she carried the baby away from the prying eyes of the enemies, disappearing in the dark of the woods. No one else saw her again.
Kattappa gently took his daughter in his arms and with tears in his eyes, carried her to a safe place.
“Can I ever tell you the fact? It is my fate. My bad fate that I have to see you in this situation” Kattappa silently talked to himself.
On getting her conscience back, Devasena felt that Kattappa is trying to capture her and tried to fight him. Devasena knows nothing about the truth about her and Kattappa and fears that he may kill her too on the orders of Bhalla. Unable to convince her that he is trying to protect her and also not in a position to tell the truth, a war of words happen between the two and finally Kattappa had to leave the place as Devasena went her own way into the woods, trying to keep distance from Maahishmati’s soldiers.
But some of Bhalla’s forces spot Devasena in some plains of Kunthala’s forest. Bhalla order them to tie her in iron chains and bring her to Maahishmati palace.
Back at Maahishmati, Bhalla wanted Kattappa himself to tie the chains on Devasena and tie her at the main city square.
With no other option than to obey Bhallaladeva’s orders, Kattappa kept low and waited for an opportunity to release Devasena from all the humiliation and imprisonment.
A couple of weeks passed by during which the people were trying to cope with the huge destruction. In Kunthala, Nayaka and some of his staunch followers, who escaped that dreadful night of massacre, await their moment to strike back at Maahishmati, which plays like mute spectator as their queen suffers humiliation at the hands of Bhallaladeva.
Devasena lives in an illusionary state of mind and always waiting for her son to rescue her from Maahishmati. She wants to see Bhallaladeva’s heart, blood, and everything to be burnt on a pyre that she was preparing for the past several years and reveals the same to Kattappa after she realises that he is trying to release her in many ways, officially or unofficially.

Bhalla, in a few weeks, married a trader’s daughter and within a year turned into a proud father of a son named Bhadra. Unfortunately, Bhadra’s mother died soon due to delivery complications. A heartbroken Bhalla took refuge in hundreds of concubines in his personal hall inside the palace and lead a luxurious life at the cost of people’s lives who were heavily taxed and discriminated based on their caste, color and gender too.
"

For more of the above story, check out the ebook here!

Thank you all for your love towards the book at Amazon(ebook as well as paperback). It give me immense pleasure when people support good work and it works like an energy booster to write more books in the future..

With love.. Anil