Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

They must complete their quest in nine days’ time, before the new moon, or else the Sleeper will emerge.

Here, they will learn how to defeat the Sleeper from the Pool of the Past and will also collect celestial weapons to fight him. The girls receive gifts from their fathers-a golden orb for Aru and a purple compact mirror for Mini-and Urvashi details their quest: They are to collect the three keys that will enable them to enter the Kingdom of Death without actually dying.

A skeptical Urvashi forces the girls to prove they are Pandavas through a Claiming, and Aru and Mini are revealed to be the daughters of Indra, king of the heavens and lord of thunder, and Dharma Raja, god of justice and death, respectively. Urvashi, the celestial dancer, and Hanuman, the Monkey God, are the only two members currently in residence. The trio travels to the Otherworld to meet the Council of Guardians, a council formed of celestial beings from the Hindu epics, to receive instructions on the girls’ quest to stop the Sleeper.

They travel through a portal to meet Aru’s “sibling,” another 12-year-old girl, Yamini “Mini' Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez, yet another Pandava reincarnation. With her friends and mother now frozen in time, Aru is visited by a pigeon who calls himself Subalu, and Aru nicknames him “Boo.” Boo informs Aru that she is the reincarnation of one of the Pandavas, the five warrior brothers fathered by gods, from the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. On their urging, she lights the lamp, which releases the Sleeper, an ancient demon who freezes time wherever he goes and is destined to awaken Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction, who will end all time with his cosmic dance. A panicked Aru shows them the cursed lamp to save face and not lose popularity.

One Monday afternoon during autumn break, Aru is visited at the museum by three students from her school who accuse her of lying and pretending that her life is more extravagant than it is. One of the museum’s artifacts is a cursed lamp. This guide is based on the 2018 Scholastic Kindle Edition.Īrundhati “Aru” Shah is a 12-year-old girl who lives in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, which is run by her mother, Krithika P. She was awarded the Southern Book Prize in 2020 for The Gilded Wolves (2019) and named Georgia Author of the Year in the Young Adult category in 2022 for The Bronzed Beasts (2021). Chokshi is an award-winning author of Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction in the fantasy genre, including the New York Times best-selling series, The Star-Touched Queen.

Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi