ASHTAMAHISHI: The Eight Wives of Krishna by Radha Vishwanath (Rs 295, 197 pp)
ABOUT THE BOOK
Krishna, the eternal lover, is believed to have charmed the heart of every woman he came across, and his marriage with 16,100 women is the stuff of numerous ballads that have enthralled us over ages. But who amongst them all did Krishna love? Who ruled his heart and influenced his life?
Image Credit: Rupa Publications
Not one, but there were eight women whom Krishna married solely on the basis of mutual love and respect. Each of these wives—the Ashtabharyas—contributed to making Krishna what he was. While their names figure in the text of the great epic Mahabharata, not much has been discussed about them. Who are these women, and what was that special ‘something’ in each of them that won Krishna over? What were each of those relationships like?
Radha Viswanath delves deep into the great Hindu epics, puranas, and other ancient texts, weaving nuggets of information with rich imagination to give us a fascinating picture of Krishna’s life with these eight extraordinary women.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Radha Viswanath was born in Andhra Pradesh and spent most of her life in Delhi. Trained as a teacher, Radha entered journalism late in life. After a distinguished career as a political correspondent spanning three decades, she retired from active journalism. She has the honour of being the first woman journalist to be admitted in the long and distinguished category of Parliamentary journalists, in 2006.
An avid reader with a keen interest in Hindu mythology, she aims to bring the complexities of the Indian political discourse into intricate and rich mythological narratives.