tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
3.0
It has always been a little difficult for me to comprehend a character like Ram. There is always the point to be considered that he is too good to be true in terms of how he acts in the face of tremendous odds. There are only two instances in the entire Ramayana when Ram breaks out of his otherworldly calm and makes what appears to be errors in judgement when seen from a common man’s POV. The first is when he shoots an arrow to the back of Vali and kills him and the second is his expulsion of his fully pregnant wife into the jungles. There are explanations galore on the nature of dharma in these two instances but the banishment of Sita has been rankled me ever since I came to know of the Uttara Kanda in the Ramayana. Keeping in line with the expectations of audiences, a lot many interpretations of the Ramayana on screen do not take up this part of the epic. It’s almost always ‘they lived happily ever after’ and not the bitter scenes that follows it. And it is also the Uttara Kanda that made me totally admire Sita and of all the trails she had to endure before the earth took her back into her bosom. Devdutt Pattanaik explores these intricacies of Ram and the characters who surround him in this book.
Each chapter in the book tells of one of Ram’s roles : a son, a prince, a student, a husband, a brother, master to Hanuman, enemy to Ravana, King of Ayodhya, an incarnation of Vishnu and finally a little piece on him being the icon of Hindutva. Pattanaik puts together a compelling enough picture of this character through this mode of analysis. The adherence to dharma can sometimes make Rama appear superhuman and sometimes make him look like he is too stubborn for his own good. The times he is said to have lived which according to the Hindu mythology was known as the Treta Yuga were also not the least bit flexible when it came to adherence to rules and laws and the position of each individual in their own social strata. Rama emerges from all these as a shining beacon into a world that was slowly losing belief in morals and sound judgement. Citing tales from folk tale versions to vocal renditions, Pattanaik brings to light a lot many faces of Rama that aren’t common knowledge. It is also necessary to understand that the Hindu mythology is one that thrives on balance even when it comes to gods. Hence it is that Vali who Rama kills in his time is reborn as Jara, the hunter who shoots the arrow that ends the life of Krishna in the next yuga. The one piece of this book that is most timely is the one which talks about casting Rama as in the icon of militant Hindutva and how a King who had once made it his ideology to treat his every subject as equal is now touted as an image of pure strength.
A detailed look at a famed character. While it is not necessary that you need the Ramayana before approaching this book, having read the epic would help you connect the dots faster.
Each chapter in the book tells of one of Ram’s roles : a son, a prince, a student, a husband, a brother, master to Hanuman, enemy to Ravana, King of Ayodhya, an incarnation of Vishnu and finally a little piece on him being the icon of Hindutva. Pattanaik puts together a compelling enough picture of this character through this mode of analysis. The adherence to dharma can sometimes make Rama appear superhuman and sometimes make him look like he is too stubborn for his own good. The times he is said to have lived which according to the Hindu mythology was known as the Treta Yuga were also not the least bit flexible when it came to adherence to rules and laws and the position of each individual in their own social strata. Rama emerges from all these as a shining beacon into a world that was slowly losing belief in morals and sound judgement. Citing tales from folk tale versions to vocal renditions, Pattanaik brings to light a lot many faces of Rama that aren’t common knowledge. It is also necessary to understand that the Hindu mythology is one that thrives on balance even when it comes to gods. Hence it is that Vali who Rama kills in his time is reborn as Jara, the hunter who shoots the arrow that ends the life of Krishna in the next yuga. The one piece of this book that is most timely is the one which talks about casting Rama as in the icon of militant Hindutva and how a King who had once made it his ideology to treat his every subject as equal is now touted as an image of pure strength.
A detailed look at a famed character. While it is not necessary that you need the Ramayana before approaching this book, having read the epic would help you connect the dots faster.
More...