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Welcome to Jaraan

Their world is so fleeting…
and yet they care so deeply about everything.

— The River Goddess

The Stories

The Rivers Daughter by Punita Rice

The River's Daughter

Amazon #1 Bestseller in Folklore
Amazon #1 Bestseller in Asian Myth & Legend

The River's Daughter is a mythic tale of forbidden love, resistance, ancestral memory, and the magic that stirs beneath the surface.

When Sahira Raazaan discovers powers tied to a mysterious stranger—and the river itself—she must choose between the life she was raised for and the truth in her blood. Inspired by the Punjabi legend of Mirza Sahiba.
Read Now
The River Goddess: A Prequel of Gods and Mortals and the legend of Naga. Prequel to The River's Daughter by Punita Rice

The River Goddess: A Prequel

Top 100 in Fantasy Short Stories

A standalone myth of gods and mortals, set generations before the story of Sahira Raazaan (The River's Daughter).

When Naga, a goddess who leaves the realm of the gods to live among mortals, falls in love with a mortal prince, the other gods grow jealous, and she’s faced with a devastating choice. The mythic, standalone prequel to The River's Daughter.
Read Now
The River Goddess - a gods and mortals myth by Punita Rice

The River Goddess Era

Living beings should not be wasted so recklessly.

— The Great Goddess

MEET THE PLAYERS

The Gods

The all-powerful gods of the first age.
Naga
Goddess of Water
In the First Age, Naga was water. She raced and played with her "siblings" for thousands of years before settling calmly into her role as goddess of water... until a wager that leads her to agree to a thousand years among the mortals, and changes everything.
Aag
God of Fire
Aag is the God of Fire. The oldest of the siblings, Aag's heat is all-consuming, and is the heart at the center of the earth. His seat in his fire-mountain fortress gives him a view of the mortal world below. He is possessive, jealous, and unforgiving.
The River's Goddess characters - Havaa, Goddess of Wind
Havaa
Goddess of Wind
Havaa, the goddess of air and wind, breathed life into the earth and the mortals themselves. She, the youngest goddess, built her wind-temples on clouds and mountaintops, their pillars open to sky and storm.
Zamin, Goddess of Earth
Zamīn
Goddess of Earth
Zamīn, the goddess of the earth and second-oldest sibling after Aag. She is ruler of the tunnels and caves she carved into the earth itself. Hers is always the most measured, thoughtful, grounded perspective.
The Twins: Raat & Din Twin Gods of Night and Day
The Twins: Raat & Din
Twin Gods of Night and Day
Locked in an eternal tug-of-war between shadow against light are the youngest of the divine siblings, Raat (night) and Din (day). They speak and laugh in unison and delight together in chaos.
The Great Goddess The Creator of All Worlds
The Great Goddess
The Creator of All Worlds
The greatest god of them all is the Great Goddess, the matriarch of the gods who call themselves siblings. She shaped this mortal world, and others beyond it.

The Mortals

The humans of the mortal realm.
Rajan of Jaraan
A mortal prince. Thoughtful, emotionally intense, and far more curious than he should be. Rajan encounters Naga, and his fascination quickly turns to fixation, and then devotion. He represents mortal devotion to the divine.
Adhiraj of Jaraan
Rajan's older brother and the heir to the throne. Adhiraj represents the structured mortal world in contrast to Rajan's more fluid, emotional nature.
The Half-Mortal
The beginning of a lineage that bridges the eternal with the impermanent.
The First Mehr'an
The beginning of a lineage tied to sacred ground, and to the river goddess herself.
Maya, Wife of Adhiraj
The first in a lineage that will eventually grow in power in Jaraan.
Unnamed Mortals of Jaraan
The many villagers, children, warriors, and the sick, through whom Naga first begins to understand the mortal world.

The River Goddess: A Prequel

Out everywhere April 2026

A standalone myth of gods and mortals, set generations before the story of Sahira Raazaan (The River's Daughter). Can be read before, after, or separately from The River's Daughter.

When Naga, a goddess who leaves the realm of the gods to live among mortals, falls in love with a mortal prince, the other gods grow jealous, and she’s faced with a devastating choice. The mythic, standalone prequel to The River's Daughter.
Read Now
The River Goddess: A Prequel of Gods and Mortals and the legend of Naga. Prequel to The River's Daughter by Punita Rice
The River's Daughter Chapter Guide All Parts

The River’s Daughter Era

Remember what flows in your blood.

— The River’s Daughter

Key Characters

The central players in the story of The River's Daughter
Sahira Raazaan
A nineteen-year-old girl living under the Covenant of Stillness in Jaraan. As her arranged marriage to Tavin Daraio draws nearer, Sahira meets the gaze of a forbidden stranger—a Mehr'an musician—and everything begins to change.
Ameera Raazaan
Sahira's mother, who shared a secret understanding of the river with her daughter. Her disappearance and absence haunt the story. Her story is inextricably tied to her daughter's.
Tavin Daraio
Sahira's betrothed. Charming, respected, and newly returned after years away. He represents everything Jaraan values: status, power, Covenant-approved masculinity. Yet there may be more to Tavin than meets the eye.
Syfir / The Mehr'an Musician
A mysterious outsider from the river-worshipping Mehr'an people... A musician, and an engineer whose gaze awakens something in Sahira that sets in motion a series of events that change everything.
Tharima Bua
Sahira's widowed paternal aunt and the the de facto matriarch of the Raazaan household. Deeply invested in reputation, order, and propriety.
Tahir Raazaan
Sahira's father: a proud man burdened by the shadow of his wife's disappearance. He views Sahira's marriage not only as redemption for and stability for the Raazaan name but as destiny.
Leela
Sahira's younger cousin and Tharima's daughter. More observant than she seems, Leela is yet another girl under the Covenant, following its rules and understanding what they cost. Her eyes offer a different understanding of Sahira.
Elder Nefret
Elder Nefret is one of the most powerful matriarchs of the Covenant and embodies the system's watchfulness. Nefret is dangerously perceptive, and takes a particular interest in Sahira.
The River
The River Bakki itself is a key character in The River's Daughter both literally and figuratively. It serves as a source of Sahira's power and growing agency, but also as a reflection of the story itself.

Other Characters

Other noteworthy players in the story of The River's Daughter
Elder Margani
A Covenant elder responsible for training girls in ritual stillness. Margani represents the everyday disciplinary machinery of Jaraan's control over girls' bodies and their autonomy.
Elder Malik
Elder Malik is an aging knowledge-keeper. He speaks in riddles and half-truths, offering Sahira glimpses of history that do not fit neatly into the Covenant's version of events.
Dasha
An eccentric woman who sells herbs and exists at the periphery of society. Dasha speaks in in strange refrains that unsettle Sahira but also hint at knowledge no one else in Jaraan would share.
Neelma Daraio
Tavin's mother Neelma represents the role of tradition in marriage, and of woman as wife and household daughter-in-law.
Dafar Daraio
Tavin's father and one of Jaraan's elite. His friendship with Tavin Daraio and his commitment to bind their families is will restore the Raazaan family name.
Maru
An elderly servant in the Raazaan household who is quiet, but is always watching. He has seen Sahira grow up.
Kaya Muktan
A young woman inside Jaraan's system whose story reveals how dangerous it is to be a girl under the Covenant.
Chatti
Chatti represents stability and maternal love that exists in defiance of the Covenant's definition.
Fateh Bibi
A pillar of strength and wisdom who has been shaped by a life beyond the Covenant.
The Rivers Daughter by Punita Rice

The River's Daughter

Amazon #1 Bestseller in Asian Myth & Legend

The River's Daughter is a mythic tale of forbidden love, resistance, ancestral memory, and the magic that stirs beneath the surface.

When Sahira Raazaan discovers powers tied to a mysterious stranger—and the river itself—she must choose between the life she was raised for and the truth in her blood. Inspired by the Punjabi legend of Mirza Sahiba.
Read Now

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Key Places

Why should a god want to walk among mortals?

— Aag, God of Fire

The Mortal World

Jaraan (Town)
The town of Jaraan would one day take its name from an old kingdom, once ruled by the sons of the house of Jaraan.
Bakki River
The Bakki is the river that flows through Jaraan, and was created by the river goddess Naga. Bakki is the river that remembers...
The Forest
For hundreds of years after descending to the mortal world, Naga walked alone through grasses and tree cover...
The Mouth of the Serpent
Deep in the heart of the forest, the Mouth of the Serpent is a threshold between the divine and mortal.
The Ruins
When rivers reversed course and oceans rose, vast territories were flooded. The Covenant teaches that these ruins are the consequence of women's selfishness and excesses.
Bakki Village
A place that comes into existence after the events of The River's Daughter

The Realm of Gods

The Gods' Realm
The divine realm from which Naga and her siblings rule from afar. The gods live in vast, elemental palaces.
Naga's Waters
The goddess of water flows through all the water, rainfall, oceans, and rivers throughout the mortal world.
Aag's Fire-Mountain Fortress
The god of fire's stronghold, and a seat of dominance, surveillance, and heat.
Zamīn's Tunnels and Caves
The underground realms carved by Zamīn, forming the hidden architecture under the mortal world's surface.
Havaa's Wind-Temples
Sacred spaces of wind and air high above mountaintops.
The Twins' Floating Sky Palaces
The airy and unreachable twin palaces of Din and Raat.

Extras

The River’s Daughter and The River Goddess Reading Order

Wondering what order to read The River's Daughter and The River Goddess?
Here are three reading order options, including a fun tandem read option.

→ Decide Your Reading Order

The River’s Daughter Playlists

Music that inspired the tone, atmosphere, and emotional arc of the novel, and the novella, organized by chapter!

→ Listen to the Playlists

The River’s Daughter Chapter Guide Series

Watch or listen to the love story of Sahira & Syfir read aloud by the author.
Follow the full chapter-by-chapter video companion series by clicking below for the chapter guide page.

→ Watch All Parts

The River’s Daughter Bonus Content

Sign up for my newsletter for behind-the-scenes look at what's happening in Jaraan, along with bonuses, including a map of Jaraan and a secret scene from Syfir’s perspective.

→ View Bonus Content

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my Zarouni girl.

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Punita Rice

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