The Mists of Brahma: These are completely fictional. For those readers interested in how I came up with the concept, please see my post at The Quest Club. The location of the Mists is also fictional, but details about the river Ganga are geographically accurate (Gangotri, Gomukh, Tapovan are all real locations). For more information about the mythology of Ganga, please read my post at The Quest Club. Also, to know more about the topography, including maps and other details, please log into The Quest Club.
You will find yogis meditating at Tapovan—it is a sacred place. And for those who wonder how Maya can melt into the ice, all I can say at the moment is that the explanation involves quantum physics. For more on this, you will need to keep reading the series.
The Devas and immortality: In Chapter 100, Satyavachana tells Maya that even the Devas could not escape death. For those who are surprised by this assertion, please refer to the Mahabharata, Drona Parva, Chapter 52, Verse 11, where Vyasa tells Yudhishthira, ‘Death takes away all; Devas, Danavas and Gandharvas (without exception)’.
The paper with black ink and white inscriptions: What Vishwaraj snatches away in Chapter 110 is a rubbing. It is a method by which inscriptions on stone or metal can be copied accurately. For more information on rubbings, please log into The Quest Club.
Vadabamukha: The story of Aurava and the fire that resides under the ocean can be found in the Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter 180, Verse 22.
If the concept of the illusion of being consumed by fire (which killed Trivedi in Book 1 and Arjun in this book) is confusing, there is a more detailed explanation available at The Quest Club. Do look it up.
The story of Kacha and Shukra: You can read the entire story in the Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter 76. However, the sensation felt by Shukra while he is teaching Kacha the Sanjivani mantra—which is a result of Maya watching him as an atma, having travelled back in time through the Mists—as mentioned in Chapter 76, is fictional.
Pronunciation Key: If you would like to know how to pronounce the Sanskrit words and mantras that have been used in this book, please log into your account at The Quest Club, where you will find a detailed Pronunciation Key under the section dedicated to The Mists of Brahma.
Chronology of events in this book: The events in this book have been spread over a period of almost one year. For those readers who would like to have greater clarity on the chronology of events and the time gap between events, please log into The Quest Club, where a detailed chronology has been provided.
Acknowledgements
The book you hold in your hands, dear reader, is the result of teamwork. There are so many people who have contributed to give the book its final shape and I would like to acknowledge and appreciate their efforts and contribution.
As always, my biggest appreciation and gratitude goes out to my wife Sharmila and my daughter Shaynaya. They have supported and encouraged me throughout the time I spent writing this book, even though it took away from the time that I could have spent with them. Moreover, Sharmila, as always, was the first to read the first draft of the manuscript and give her feedback and Shaynaya, being a teenager herself, gave me some valuable tips on teenage behaviour in different situations. I am also deeply grateful for Sharmila’s valuable contribution in spearheading the marketing and sales efforts for this series.
It is extremely difficult to write a book using, as a base, ancient texts that are revered and followed even today. If I had been writing on Egyptian or Greek mythology, it would have been much easier. But the Vedas, the Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita are all texts that are as relevant today as they were when they were composed thousands of years ago. As a result, while creating scenes, ideating or inventing fantasy elements, I wanted to stay true to the texts. This could not have been possible without the constant guidance of Shubha Vilas, who ensured that I stayed true to the texts and accurately reflected their teachings. Shubha Vilas has been studying and teaching Vedic texts for the last two decades and is also the author of the Ramayana: The Game of Life series, The Chronicles of Hanuman and Open Eyed Meditations. His expertise in Sanskrit was also invaluable in validating the mantras that I invented.
My thanks go out to Artika Bakshi, who read the first draft, as always, and gave me her valuable feedback.
Anand Prakash, my friend and designer extraordinaire, continued his tradition of designing brilliant covers for my books by creating a cover that was in keeping with the very different theme of the book, while visualising some of the key plot elements. Ishan Trivedi did the cover illustration and brought Anand’s vision to life, for which I am grateful.
I am also indebted to my good friend Ashish Gupta, who helped me detail many of the plot elements pertaining to Allahabad, including names and locations, as well as small details that make a big difference in terms of authenticity. His tips on police related matters also helped me ensure that I did not stray from reality while portraying the scenes involving police procedures for investigation, the STF and other details.
My thanks go out to Patricia MacEwen, Patricia Burroughs, Madeleine Robins, Phyllis Irene Radford, John C. Bunnell, David D. Levine and E. M. Prazeman, fellow scribes in my writers’ research group, who answered questions on key research topics that I struggled with at times.
A big thank you to all the people at Westland, especially Gautam Padmanabhan, Krishna Kumar Nair, Nidhi Mehra and the entire marketing team, who have been tremendously supportive with this book.
As usual, Sanghamitra Biswas, my editor, did a wonderful and very thorough job of polishing my writing and making changes that ensured that the narrative was smoother and true to the plot. I am also deeply appreciative of the time that Karthika V.K. took out from her schedule to do a final edit and polish and tighten the narrative.
Finally, I am deeply grateful to my parents for encouraging me to read and write from an early age and provided me with all the books I wanted to read as I grew up. It is only due to their encouragement and blessings that I have been able to fulfil my childhood dream of becoming an author.
While I acknowledge the contribution of everyone who has supported me, I take full responsibility for any errors and omissions of fact or detail.
Have You Joined the Quest Club?
A word about the Quest Club, in case you haven’t registered as a member yet. Membership is free and gives you access to Quest Club events—where readers interact with me both online and offline—that are held all over India. There will be free ebooks over the coming years, in addition to quizzes, puzzles, contests and exclusive previews of my future books for members of the club. Finally, you can join me, as I research my books, and gain free access to images, videos and my research notes. You could even learn more about characters, locations and events in my books. An exciting journey filled with adventure and mystery beckons all Quest Club members. You can register at: www.christophercdoyle.com/the-quest-club right away for free.
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