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Five Seats of Power

 This book has been on my mind for a while. I was a little sceptical about it - thinking that "I know the Mahabharata (as most of us do), so what new thing will I learn". The reason i share this is it is possible that this is the reason many might have to not read this book. 

But as I read the book, I was pleasantly surprised. The author has drawn on the Mahabharata to create an elaborate leadership archetype - and there were many aspects I did not know about. In the story of the Mahabharata Arjuna and Bheema have been in the centre, Yudhisthira as well but the role of Nakula and Sahadeva have been minimal - almost like background figures. Duryodhana, Bheeshma, Karna and others also have a lot of space as compared to Nakula and Sahadeva. So that comes in the way of looking at 5 archetypes. And the author ties it all together as leadership archetypes. 

The Mahabharata is one of the Indias foremost epics. And it is one of those stories that lend itself to so many retellings and interpretations - it has so much depth and layers. And the author has brought out the nuances of the protagonists and some of the antagonists while constructing a Leadership archetype theory around it.  

Personally I found the leader reflections a little boring. 

But each story, the definitions and the contemporary mapping is fleshed out very well. Definitely worth a second read and more. 

This book is a not a one time sit and read. It takes a while to go through it simply because the work is a summary of deep work. And beyond the Mahabharata, it dives into a few more concepts and constructs that will take time to understand and assimilate. I do intend to do a deep dive into it later. 

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