Dhruvadevi By Sarvajeet Dinesh Chandra

History remembers Chandragupta as one of the great kings of ancient India. But what if the story of his rise has left out one of the most consequential figures at its centre?

Set in 377 CE, Dhruvadevi: The Queen Who Made Chandragupta by Sarvajeet Dinesh Chandra is an epic historical and political thriller that brings to life the forgotten queen whose courage, alliances and choices could have shaped the rise of one of India’s greatest rulers.

The Gupta Empire is teetering on the brink of collapse. Ramagupta, son of the celebrated Samudragupta, has inherited the throne of Magadha but lacks his father’s military and political acumen. His marriage to the Licchavi princess Dhruvadevi secures a crucial political alliance, even as the formidable Saka ruler Rudrasimha threatens the empire from the west.

Meanwhile, in Malwa, Ramagupta’s half-brother Chandragupta is quietly building his own network of influence. He infiltrates the Saka capital of Ujjayini, gathers intelligence and courts discontent within enemy ranks, gambling that strategy and subterfuge might succeed where conventional warfare cannot.

Caught between them is Dhruvadevi.

Trapped in a loveless and violent marriage, the queen refuses to become a political bargaining chip. When Ramagupta attempts to trade her to save himself, she chooses resistance. Her alliance with Chandragupta sets in motion a chain of events involving assassination, espionage, rebellion and civil war and ultimately changes the course of the Gupta Empire.

But Dhruvadevi is more than a story about a king’s rise. It is an attempt to ask why some people become central to history while others disappear from it.

The novel grew out of author Sarvajeet Dinesh Chandra’s longstanding fascination with the past. The son of the late Dr Dinesh Chandra, a PhD archaeologist and published author, Sarvajeet spent his childhood surrounded by archaeology and history. Years later, while pursuing his postgraduate studies at MICA and running a theatre group, he encountered Jaishankar Prasad’s Dhruvaswamini. Its heroine stayed with him and eventually became the inspiration for this novel.

About The Author

Sarvajeet Dinesh Chandra is a Mumbai-based business strategist, entrepreneur and brand builder with over 25 years of experience, who brings a rare blend of narrative instinct and strategic insight to fiction. Sarvajeet’s fascination with history began under the influence of his father, a PhD in archaeology and published author, and was nurtured during childhood summers in the library of Delhi’s National Museum. While pursuing his master’s at MICA, he founded a theatre group, where he encountered Jaishankar Prasad’s play Dhruvaswamini (1933). In its pages, he discovered Dhruvadevi, a woman whose story refused to leave him alone. His debut novel, Dhruvadevi: The Queen Who Made Chandragupta, is an epic historical thriller set in the Gupta Empire, reimagining the forgotten queen whose courage and political genius shaped the rise of one of India’s greatest empires.