DEVANGANA (The God's Maiden)

<p class=ql-align-justify>In 12th-century Vikramashila merchant Dhananjaya Seth offers his beloved son Divodas to the Buddhist order. Renamed Dharmanuj the young monk's piety soon clashes with the sinister tantric practices of Acharya Vajrasiddhi who schemes to seize wealth and power. Cast into a subterranean prison Dharmanuj is aided by his loyal steward Sukhdas disguised as a monk and drawn to Manjughosha a temple dancer revealed as a lost Licchavi princess. Their forbidden union defies tradition even as corrupt monks and sorcerers conspire to possess them. Through perilous forests divine revelation and dramatic confrontation the Goddess Vajratara's manifestation exposes hypocrisy and restores justice. Acharya Chatursen Shastri's <em>Devangana</em>-translated into English with lyrical precision-unfolds as a sweeping epic that interlaces romance faith and political intrigue against the backdrop of Buddhism's decline capturing the end of an era.</p><p class=ql-align-justify></p>