Legacy, Learning, Lineage

Blending mythology, history, and razor-sharp intrigue in his trademark style, Sanghi crafts a story that is as thought-provoking as it is unputdownable.

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Speaking about his new work, he says: “What if the answers to today’s biggest questions were buried in the secrets of our past? The Ayodhya Alliance is a thriller that delves into legacy, legend, lineage and learning—told in my usual trademark blend of fact and fiction. It is my most ambitious project to date, and I hope that it will be relished by my readers.”

And now, here’s an exclusive excerpt from the book:

Saketa, Kosala

Present-day Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India

Around 2,000 years ago

No one knew precisely when Saketa had come into existence. Valmiki’s Ramayana indicated that Manu had established the city on the banks of the Sarayu river thousands of years before Rama. Even five millennia after Rama’s era, the town overwhelmed its visitors with its size, scale, sophistication and splendour.

Built as a perfect rectangle following the precepts of Vastushastra, it was 60 miles long and 15 miles wide—almost four times the size of that other magnificent ancient city, Rome. A deep moat encircled Saketa, its waters routinely replenished from the Sarayu. Hundreds of highly territorial hippopotamuses populated the moat, deterring any trespasser from attempting to swim across. Beyond the moat lay dense sal forests, planted during the reign of Rama's father, Dasharatha. Sentinels in tall turrets could quickly observe imminent threats. Each turret was equipped with a powerful catapult, capable of hurling massive stones at any approaching intruders. Saketa was unconquerable, hence the alternative name bestowed on it during Dasharatha’s time was a-yuddha—‘that which could not be battled’.