Sivakamiyin Sabadham is a historical Tamil novel set in 7th century South India written by Kalki in 1944. Kalki Krishnamurthy, recipient of India's highest literary honour - the Sahitya Akademi Award. Believed by some to be one of the first historical novels in Tamil it was originally serialized in the weekly Kalki magazine for about 12 years. This was later published as a novel. Along with Ponniyin Selvan, this is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written in Tamil Set in 7th century south India against the backdrop of various historical events and figures. The novel created widespread interest in Tamil history when it was being published in the 1940s. Honour, love and friendship form important themes that run through the course of the novel that would be tough to point out who the real hero of the novel is. Mahendravarman I, the Pallava emperor plays an important role in the first half of the story while his son Narasimhavarman comes into his own as the novel progresses. The plot revolves around the historical events of the Chalukya king Pulakesi II playing a siege of Kanchi and Narasimhavarman avenging this by attacking Vatapi the capital of the Chalukyas. The novel is divided into four volumes.
Tamil language Novel Writer, Journalist, Poet & Critic late Ramaswamy Aiyer Krishnamurthy also known as 鈥楰alki鈥�. He derived his pen name from the suffixes of his wife name Kalyani and his name Krishnamurthy in Tamil form 喈曕喁嵿喈距喈� and 喈曕喈班瘉喈粪瘝喈`喁傕喁嵿喁嵿喈� as Kalki (喈曕喁嵿畷喈�). His name also represents 鈥淜alki avatar鈥�, the tenth and last avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu.
His writings includes over 120 short stories, 10 novelettes, 5 novels, 3 historical romances, editorial and political writings and hundreds of film and music reviews. Krishnamurthy鈥檚 witty, incisive comments on politics, literature, music and other forms of art were looked forward to with unceasing interest by readers. He wrote under the pen names of 鈥楰alki鈥�, 鈥楻a. Ki鈥�, 鈥楾amil Theni鈥�, 鈥楰arnatakam鈥� and so on.
The success that Krishnamurthy attained in the realm of historical fiction is phenomenal. Sixty years ago, at a time when the literacy level was low and when the English-educated Tamils looked down on writings in Tamil, Kalki鈥檚 circulation touched 71,000 copies 鈥� the largest for any weekly in the county then 鈥� when it serialised his historical novels. Kalki had also the genius to classify the historical and non-historical events, historical and non-historical characters and how much the novel owes to history.
Many thanks to Kalki for bringing me the habit of reading books!!. When I was pursuing my Master's degree at Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, it was happened to read Kalki's "PARTHIBAN KANAVU" (thanks for my room-mate a good reader then), ofcourse I started the novel by 7.10 pm as a short time pass until the dinner 7.30 pm. But I was trapped by his writing and I lost my dinner that night and finally put down the book after 12.00. I never thought of reading a full book before, but it had happened by his fascinating narrating of the story. I could visualize the scenes, characters ofcourse every instants delivered in the book and hailed by the surprise almost in every page. Immediately I bought his other books, ponniyin selvan and sivagamiyin sabatham they are astounded then I switched to similar kind of novels and grew frantic in reading. I always believe "A good book can change your life". I don't want to review these three books (Parthiban Kanavu, Sivagamiyin Sabatham and Ponniyin Selvan)because these three books are such an extraordinary and exceptionally written in Tamil.
4.25 stars. When your rating is in 2 decimal places, you know you have thought a lot about the book. Kalki's this masterpiece should be essential blueprint for writing historical fiction. And the addiction it created for the reader (or listener in my case) is the stuff of drugs.
The Pallava dynasty has accomplished so much that you are not sure why they are not given their due credit in the Indian history. The story traces Mahendravaraman and later his son Narasimhavaraman's rule centered around the battles with Pulikesi II. At the pivot of the battle is Sivagami, the gifted bharatanatyam dancer - daughter of Aayanar, the chief sculptor of Mamallapuram and the love of Narasimhavarman. The villanous Naganandi who is the Buddha Bikshu, spy and evil personified. And we also meet Paranjothi, the youth whom fate destines to be the commander of the Pallava army and friend of Narasimhavarman.
Mahendravaraman wants to dedicate his life for arts and sculpture and does not beleive in war. He is also a brilliant war strategist who uses cunning and wily to protect his capital of Kanchi. Books 1-3 focus around the all consuming love between Narasimhavarman and Sivagami, Paranjothi's adventure and Mahendravaraman's strategy to protect his kingdom. Book 4 diverges a bit to finish the saga with Narasimhavaraman coming into his own.
The tamil is mesmeric and the audiobook makes it more magical with background music and explanation for Tirunavukarasar songs was so beautiful. The songs dissection of Navukarasar's compositions and it's interpretation through bharatanatyam are absoulte bliss.
Sivagamiyin Sabatham is a saga of imperfect people. No ideal characters distilled of goodness. And the imperfections make them memorable. Narasimhavarman is short tempered, Sivagami wavering, Aayanar selfish, Mahndravaraman controling. Amidst all this, the 4th book, I felt seemed to change the basic characters a bit, especially Pulikesi and Naganandi. And that apart, the book ends in the only manner possible.
Special mention for the audio book. I would gladly gift it to people I love!
Sivakamiyin Sabadham is a historical Tamil novel set in 7th century South India written by Kalki. This is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written in Tamil Set in 7th century south India against the backdrop of various historical events and figures. Mahendravarman I, the Pallava emperor plays an important role in the first half of the story while his son Narasimhavarman comes into his own as the novel progresses. The plot revolves around the historical events of the Chalukya king Pulakesi II playing a siege of Kanchi and Narasimhavarman avenging this by attacking Vatapi the capital of the Chalukyas. Other characters are interspersed into the story seamlessly and the action moves at a furious pace with bits of historical facts here and there to enable the reader understand the characters.
Never miss Kalki's historical novels and it would make you for sure to read it once again. If you are even remotely interested in the genre of historical fiction, just pick up this book and let Kalki do all his magic. He takes you through the beautiful streets of Kanchipuram, magnificence of Vatapi, serenity of Thiruchengattankudi of that time when Pallavas and Chalukyas ruled. It varies from dance to art, spying to war and each part of the entire novel gives the thrilling moment to read on. The rich visual imagery that Kalki presents would make you want to time travel and explore our glorious past. Kalki is such a classic writer that he forces you to emote along with the characters.
Each volume ends with a cliffhanger, making you rush to the next. War, palace intrigue, description of nature, culture, religion, all are part of the script. The author gives you vivid description of the ancient Tamil nation, politics and culture. Most of the times I felt as if I was living among the characters.
Even the last book is a page turner due to the unexpected turn of events. For a novel of this size, there are many characters like spies, warriors, disguise and Buddhists, and since the novel is this big, we get to know each of them very well. The book is full of mystery, drama, thriller, conspiracy and romance.
I can't stop pondering over the fact that today we have such popular novels like lord of the rings, harry potter and game of thrones and amazing on screen adaptations of these too. I imagine how grand it would be if someone got Kalki's writings on screen. Such an enchanting story entwined with real history would be a delight to see on screen!
If you can read Tamil then don鈥檛 miss this book. If you can鈥檛 read Tamil then at least read a translation.
Wow! This book completely engulfed me. What does the heart know? It knows no logic. Wish it did. Such a great beauty is portrayed by Kalki Ji. Sivakamiyin beauty translated from word to image. I could imagine her beauty when she danced gracefully. I can also imagine the prestige of the city Kanchi. The temples, the dance and the music. With every page, your heart gets attached to every character. Their death seems your loss, their grief becomes your grief. The ending was heartbreaking. And, I was overwhelmed by the devotion for Sivakamiyin. Sometimes, when things become complicated, beyond the measure of our understanding we start to name it fate. Yet, we bear the allegations for that fate.
I've never been to Mahabalipuram, Kanchipuran or Vathapi, but now I feel like I've been there for long! I've never admired some one dancing Bharatham before, but I did when Sivagami danced in the Kanchi palace! I've never seen elephantry bulldozing a fort, but I did when Narasimhavarman's army attacked the Vathapi fort!
One must not stop with Ponniyin Selvan. Read Sivagamiyin Sabatham. It has got a lot.
Sivakamiyin Sabadham is my third book by Kalki ji. He wrote this as a serialized story in the magazine Kali and later published it as a series of books in 1940s. It is a magnum opus of 850+ pages and considered to be the pinnacle of Tamil literature along with his other book Ponniyin Selvan. Kalki ji authored three masterpieces viz. Sivakamiyin Sabadham, Prathiban鈥檚 Dream and Ponniyin Selvan (in that order), and I read them in reverse order. Sivakamiyin can be called an epic in its grandeur, beauty and fine details. The author has carved out his story like his character Ayanar, the great sculptor, chiselled the 108 poses of Bharat Nataym on stone statues. The book is a historical fiction based on the two important key events namely the 8-months long siege of the city of Kanchi, capital of the Pallava Empire, by the Chalukya army and the total annihilation of the Chalukya army and incineration of their capital city Vathapi in retaliation few years later by the Pallava Chakravarthi Narasimhan Varmar. The author has created a tragic love story between the greatest dancer Sivagamyin, the jewel of Pallava Empire and daughter of Ayanar, and the Empire鈥檚 Crown Prince Mamallar. Woven into this story is all the flavor that one could ask for in a work of such stature. The breath-taking beauty of the Tamil land in general and city of Kanchi in particular. The Pallava King, Mahendra Varmar, a connoisseur of art and literature, a learned person, war-strategist equal to Chanakya and a father opposed to his son鈥檚 love affair. Spies entangled in deadly mind games, vish-purush who can kill by just scratching a person, court jester, courageous warriors and the tussle among various religious sects of the time. The sheer beauty that the author has described of the southern land and everything there, from wide lanes of Kanchi to rock-cut temples of Mamallapuram to the lotus pond at the back of Ayanar鈥檚 forest home transports you to a bygone era. You could actually hear a bird twittering here and an anklet jingling there. One feels as if they are waiting with bated breath beside Sivakami to see if this is the day Mamallar comes to meet her by the pond. And tears streaming down your eyes in ecstacy when Sivakami is doing her Abhinayam in praise of Lord Shiva. But equally graphic is Kalki ji's depiction of the destruction Vathapi suffered during war. And here you could feel your skin crawling and hear the lamentations of the bereaved women and men. You could feel the horror of Sivakami鈥檚 terrible vow has wrought on the innocent citizens of the Chalukya Empire. I have read and loved Ponniyin Selvan, now however, I think I will put this one on top of it. If not for the story, do read this book for the beauty that it evokes in each of its sentences. Don鈥檛 be worried about the number of pages, as one of my friends said you pick it up and Kalki ji will take care of the rest.
Its a great book too. Probably I got very used to Ponniyin selvan or that's really close to my heart ,I was slightly narrow minded and partial while reading this. Sivagami's character is powerfully portrayed but for some unknown reason she did not have that impact Poonkuzhali or Kundhavai had in P.Selvan. Definitely a good read.
I started this book after ponniyin selvan. Just imagine how would anyone's expectation be after reading that epic creation. Failed to meet my expectations. The love in this book was not as heart melting as that of poongulali's or vanthiyathevan's. A must read, nevertheless. The war and stuff is good
Probably the longest fiction i have ever "heard". Reading tamil would have meant slow progress, everyday 1 chapter with podcaster Deepika Arun was fabulous. The narration was super crisp, the story even grandeur.
Written in 1944, this is a historical fiction, printed in a magazine initially for 12 long years.
Its still fresh as it was decades back, the genre being such and coming from a mastercalss writer. Kalki is still living in minds.... Long live his legacy.
Longest fiction I ever read... 1100+ pages and I can't believe I finished it and longing for more. This is something beyond to be reviewed. Kalki is an era and thanks to my friend who recommended to read this. Though it's a fiction, there are several historical facts which give preview of beautiful era of Tamilnadu. Love, revenge, patriotism, humour, affection...all in one. I am glad I read this book and I certainly will read all other Kalki's writings.
A must read book for all Tamil ppl as it shows art skills,love n more importantly the life of our ancient kings which s full of sacrifices. Kalki s master piece
This historical tamil novel by Kalki Krishnamoorthy is based on incidents in Tamilnadu that took place during 7th century AD. Among many historical and fictional characters, Thirunaavukkarasar, a religious head of famous saiva traditions, who has written thousands of poems in praise of Lord Siva in Devaram, also is featured in this novel.
The historical characters in this novel are Mahendra Pallava, his son the great Narasimha Pallava, his army commander Paranjyoti, who later becomes a famed shiva devotee called Siruthondar, Pulikesi II of Badami and others. The main fictitious character is the heroine of this novel, Sivakami, named as the daughter of sculptor-general of Mahendra varman, who carved most of the famous stone sculptures at Mamallapuram.
The real situation in this novel is the war waged by Pulikesin II against Pallava kingdom of Kanchi during Mahendravarman's reign and the devastating destructions done by the Chalukya king and the revenge taken by Mahendra's son Narasimha Varman with the aid of his able commander Paranjyoti who burnt the city of Badami to ashes. In the end the commander takes away a statue of Vigneswara from Badami and establishes it in his native village of Thiruchengattangudi.
The story line tells that Narasimha varma was in love with Sivakami, who was taken a prisoner by Pulikesin after the war. On this she takes an oath that Narasimha should take revenge on Pulikesi for his misdeeds and only after that, she will re-enter Pallava kingdom. Though this was done by Narasimha, he could not marry her due to the political situation that prevailed then. Thus, this famous novel ends as historic tragedy.
From the famous Sahitya Akademi award winning Tamil author comes probably the first historical novel in the language - Sivagamiyin Sapatham - Sivakami's Vow . This version from @penguinindia has been translated by Nandini Vijayaraghavan. . This is the first of the four in the entire series and is sub-titled Paranjyothi's journey. This story states Paranjyothi's journey inti Kanchi for studies and coupled with his saving Ayanar and his danseuse daughter Sivakami changes his fate. The city at that point is under the rule of the Pallava king, who s son Kumara Chakravarthy (Narasimha Pallava) has a love affair with Sivakami. . The Chalukya 's under Pulikesin II rides into war at that time and massive destruction and desolation occurs. The city is brought down to ashes and Sivakami is also taken hostage. . Paranjyothi with his bravery is now the commander in Narasimha' s army. Revenge burns deep and Narasimha goes to avenge the Chalukyan attack, burning Pulikesin's badami too! . The book is titled so because Sivakami vows to not enter Pallava kingdom until Narasimha avenges the attack. Sadly the story does not give a happy ending to their love. . The story is motion is words with a dynamic capacity to transport the reader to that era. The opulent descriptions with insight with the then political, economic as well as religious scenario is very educational. Obviously as a winner of a great literary award, the author and also the translator here does wonders in the descriptions! . The cover details is also applaudable on this version. Thankful to have read my first one by this author! .
I read an English translation of this novel by P.S.Sri, published by Sahitya Akademi in 2008 in hardcover. The quality of the publication sucks. First of all, the binding is poor and the pages come out even if you turn them once. Then, some of the pages are not in order and are bound in random order. The translation itself is poor. It seems like a literal translation of Tamil idioms and metaphors into English with no regard for contextual explanation or changes to appropriate English phrases. Grammar mistakes abound. A baby deer is called a 'deer calf' instead of a fawn. All this makes it look like someone with a minimal knowledge of english did the translating. There appears to have been no editing or proofreading whatsoever before publishing the book. Lots of spelling errors and botched sentences are seen. The word processor used to typeset the pages has substituted some uncommon words with words of it's own choice and no one has corrected these errors. For example, name of a character beginning with J has been replaced with Joanne. What is someone called Joanne doing in a novel set in 7th century India? This happens because MS Word automatically detects unfamiliar words, takes them to be mistakes and replaces them with words from it's own dictionary. The publishers couldn't even bother to correct these elementary errors.
In spite of all the above, I enjoyed the novel immensely; hence the four stars. Just stat away from this edition!
Never have I thought I would complete such a big novel. I completely fell in love with tamil language. For this I bow to the great author Kalki. I am excited to see that he has written more. Yay. Going for Parthiban Kanavu.
The book is true beauty synonymous to ajanta cave paintings and its beautiful sculptures. The best character is Mahendravarma Pallavan. He truly is Vichitra veerar. He talks and acts accordingly. Sometimes I felt like whistling & clapping for his rajathanthiram. NarasimhaVarma Pallavan, Paranjothi, Sivakami, Nagananthi, Pulikesi, Satrugan & Gundotharan, Aayanar will remain with me for ages to come. Super awesome.
Only Kalki can blended fictional characters - Naganandhi and Sivakami - with real history (though his reading at that point in time, it correlates well with Tamil literature of that time) the way he has done. Not withstanding that, the intensity he has built into Mamalla Narasimha Varma Pallavan and Sivakami is amazing. Though a deep love story, i was able to read and explain to my son without any hesitation. Such literary class is rare to see.
Epic!! Thoroughly enjoyed reading. Historical Fiction itself is interesting and involving our ancestors?? OH Mind blowing, I say. I really explored the past. Each and every characters are very familiar now. I know them very personally. I dream about them and now feeling bad that I completed it all. Regret. Will definitely read it at least once a year!! Ponniyin selvan, Sivagamiyin Sabatham and Parthiban Kanavu are such masterpieces of Kalki Krishnamoorthy. RESPECT.LOVE.
The way kalki describe each scene eloborately and simple language of writing is what I liked about this book as this is the first Tamil book I have read completely. This story is awesome with mind blowing twist where you should not have expected. As the story unfolded I felt I was traveling along with the story. This book is simply amazing.
Very lively and good characterisation. But thought it ended abruptly... And realised that I had read only 2 parts! On 3d part right now. Finished the 3d part in Oct 2012, and now the heat begins... Eager to grab part 4.