A delightfully straightforward and lyrical retelling of the ancient Indian epic of loyalty, betrayal, redemption, and insight into the true nature of life -- one of history's most sacred ethical works, rendered with completeness and sterling accuracy for the modern reader. Here is one of the world's most hallowed works of sacred literature, the grand, sweeping epic of the divine bowman and warrior Rama and his struggles with evil, power, duplicity, and avarice. The Ramayana is one of the foundations of world literature and one of humanity's most ancient and treasured ethical and spiritual works. Includes an introduction by scholar Michael Sternfeld.
It is significant that the only character in Hindu mythology, a king at that, to be given the title of ekam-patni-vrata, devoted to a single wife, is associated with the most unjust act of abandoning her in the forest to protect family reputation. This seems a deliberate souring of the narrative, made even more complex by Ram’s refusal to remarry despite the pressure on royalty to produce an heir. The intention seems to be to provoke thought on notions of fidelity, property and self-image. And so mythologist and illustrator Devdutt Pattanaik narrates the Ramayan, drawing attention to the many oral, visual and written retellings composed in different times by different poets, each one trying to solve the puzzle in their own unique way. This book approaches Ram by speculating on Sita—her childhood with her father, Janak, who hosted sages mentioned in the Upanishads; her stay in the forest with her husband who had to be a celibate ascetic while she was in the prime of her youth; her interactions with the women of Lanka, recipes she exchanged, emotions they shared; her connection with the earth, her mother; her role as the Goddess, the untamed Kali as well as the demure Gauri, in transforming the stoic prince of Ayodhya into God.
The Ramayana is an epic poem by the Hindu sage Valmiki, written in ancient Sanskrit sometime after 300 BC. It is an allegorical story that contains important Hindu teachings, and it has had great influence on Indian life and culture over the centuries. Children are often encouraged to emulate the virtues of the two main characters -- Rama and Sita. The Ramayana is frequently performed as theater or dance, and two Indian festivals -- Dussehra and Divali -- celebrate events in the story. This version of The Ramayana is told from the perspective of Sita, the queen. After she, her husband Rama and his brother are exiled from their kingdom, Sita is captured by the proud and arrogant king Ravana and imprisoned in a garden across the ocean. Ravana never stops trying to convince Sita to be his wife, but she steadfastly refuses his advances. Eventually Rama comes to her rescue with the help of the monkey Hanuman and his army. But Rama feels he can't trust Sita again. He forces Sita to undergo an ordeal by fire to prove herself to be true and pure. She is shocked and in grief and anger does so. She emerges unscathed and they return home to their kingdom as king and queen. However, suspicion haunts their relationship, and Sita once more finds herself in the forest, but this time she is pregnant. She has twins and continues to live in the forest with them. The story is exciting and dramatic, with many turns of plot. Magic animals, snakes, divine gods, demons, sorcerers and a vast cast of characters all play a part in the fierce battles fought to win Sita back. And in the process the story explores ideas of right vs. wrong, compassion, loyalty, trust, honor and the terrible price of war.
An epic fantasy based on the ancient Hindu classic finds young Rama, heir to the throne of Ayodhya, called upon by the legendary mage Vishwamitra when two powerful demons raise an army to defeat the human world. 20,000 first printing.
THE RAMAYANA IS NOT A STORY. IT IS A WAY OF LIFE. IT IS THE GAME OF LIFE. How one responds to difficult situations when faced with challenges determines the outcome. The ability of Rama’s army of vanaras to envision building the bridge from the mainland to Lanka to rescue Sita is one of the many lessons on faith. Here are some invaluable lessons on overcoming obstacles. Think big. The tiny squirrels contributed in their small ways to build the mammoth bridge to Lanka. Aim high. Sugriva, leading a vanara army, dared to win a war without any armor or training against a sophisticated demon army. Recognise opportunities and adapt. Hanuman could expand his size or contract, focusing on his goal to serve Rama. Are you thinking big to succeed in life? THINK BIG TO WIN is the sixth book in Ramayana: The Game of Life series. A modern retelling of the Yuddha Kanda of Valmiki’s epic, this book highlights the efforts of the various characters who irrespective of their size, stature or abilities, succeeded in helping Rama rescue Sita from Lanka. Teeming with lessons in self-belief and daring to take up tasks which may seem beyond your capacity and accomplishing them, the book evokes progressive attitudes to help you overcome self-perceived limitations and achieve your dreams.
Ramayana is the story of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya. Poet Valmiki describes Rama as a dutiful son, loving brother, devoted husband, fierce warrior and wise statesman, of pleasant manners and speech. Rama is above all an upholder of Dharma so it is no wonder that he is hailed as an avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
Chandrabati, the first woman poet in Bangla, lived in the sixteenth century in Mymensingh district in present day Bangladesh. She was also the first poet in the Bangla language to present a retelling of the Ram story from the point of view of Sita. Idolised as a model of marital obedience and chastity in Valmiki’s Ramayan, Chandrabati’s lyrical retelling of Sita’s story offers us a fresh perspective. Written in order to be sung before a non-courtly audience, mainly of womenfolk of rural Bengal, Chandrabati’s Ramayan adds new characters and situations to the story to provide new interpretations of already known events drawing richly on elements of existing genres. Its location in the tales of everyday life has ensured that Chandrabati’s Ramayan lives on in the hearts of village women of modern-day India.
The Ramayana is certainly one of the world's oldest legends.Modern scholars claim that it was first composed around 300 BC.The devout hindu believes that Rama lived many hundred millenia ago,in the treta yuga, and that was also when the Valmiki first told his immortal story.The epic is called the Adi Kavya,the world's first poem.The God Brahma himself is meant to have inspired Valmiki to creat his classics,in twenty-four thousand slokas. The sages of India have always said that thye true purpose of the Ramayana is to awaken its reader spiritually, and to send him forth on the great journey that leads to moksha,to God. These masters of old held that listening to the Ramayana washes one's sins and purifies the body and the mind. They also believed that hearing or reading the epic with faith will give a man anything at all that his heart desires. Besides,the legend is a literary masterpiece in every sense,full of enchantment,mystery and wisdom. Hardly a handful of books in any language, from any age or part of the world, can be compared to it. The epic came through the mists of time in the ancient oral tradition of guru and shishya, before it was first written down. Alonng the way, surely, numberless variations and embellishments were introduces into it by a host of now forgotten rishis, pauranikas, and even grandmothers telling Rama's story to their grandchindren- in so many different languages and folk traditions. There is also a comparatively recent traditions of retelling the Ramayana in English, to which this volume belongs. Though he takes no liberties with the story, Ramesh menon's Ramayana is a novelist's lush, imaginative rendering of the epic, rather than a scholar's translation. Yet, even if the language he uses is modern and exciting, his book remains, first and last, a work of worship, of bhakti. As he wrote and rewrote it for ten years, this was his offering to Rama.
