I'll therefore say a bit about the latter in comparison to the former. Of the two (Ramayana and Mahabharata) I very slightly prefer the Mahabharata in terms of pure storytelling and characterization, and feel that it is important to read both of them in order to gain an appreciation for how the second is a continuation of the same epic. Thus when he finally meets Rama in battle he goes down to his doom.
Ravana is spiritually crushed and thereby morally weakened just when he needs his greatest strength. Sita rejects him, shames him, causes him to see his own evil and his own willfullness in continuing to try to seduce her and fight a running battle against gods and men when he is sufficiently advanced and enlightened by his great acts of penance and meditation that he might instead have become one of the great lights of the world. However, as the author of this particular retelling puts it, Ravana had already been spiritually slain not by Rama but by Sita. Rama and Lakshman (who are victims of scheming that takes his kingdom away from him) go after Sita to rescue her and slay Ravana, with the help of Hanuman the monkey god.Īfter much travail, many a good battle, lots of demon slaying, a certain amount of holy meditation and miracle working and magic, they succeed and Rama indeed wins the day and slays Ravana to the enthusiastic cheering of the gods (devas). Sita is of course perfectly chaste and resists his advances with perfect chastity. Finally, Rama hangs out with his younger brother Lakshman, who is the perfect friend and perfect brother.Īnyway, Ravana (the demon) sees Sita and falls madly in love with her and kidnaps her. Rama marries Sita (a princess, naturally) who is the incarnation/avatar of the goddess Lakshmi and hence Rama's inevitable perfect partner.
Oops, bad idea (note well that Tolkien "borrowed" this same theme for the witch-king of Angmar, head of the Nazgul, in LOTR, except he failed to armor himself against women and hobbits). However, he forgot to specify invulnerability to mere humans as they were so puny as to be beneath his notice. Rama is a prince who just happens to be the incarnation (avatar) of the Mahavishnu, who chooses to be born on Earth as a mere human in order that he may save mankind and the gods themselves from a demon who cleverly obtained invulnerability against all other gods and demons by means of fasting, penance, and sacrifice. It is a tale of transcendent love and friendship.
The Ramayana is one of the world's great epics - easily the equal of the Iliad or Oddessy or the Eddas. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and think it would be quite accessible to those who lack any real knowledge of Indian history, mythology, religion. It doesn't attempt to translate the verse form it rather tells the epic story as plain prose in a modern style, while preserving much of the charm and even some of the religious character of the original. The one I selected and am reviewing here is nearly ideal.
THE RAMAYAN FULL
I already have an excellent copy of the Mahabharata (although one that I'm sure is utterly out of print) but I never got a full length version of the entire Ramayana while we lived there. The Ramayana, in particular, is the basis for Diwali, one of my favorite Hindu festivals. I grew up in India, and learned the story told in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, India's great epics, literally back in first and second grade. Now novelist Ramesh Menon has rendered the tale in lyrical prose that conveys all the beauty and excitement of the original, while making this spiritual and literary classic accessible to a new generation of readers. But previous English versions have been either too short to capture the magnitude of the original too secular in presenting what is, in effect, scripture or dry, line-by-line translations. Throughout the centuries, countless versions of the epic have been produced in numerous formats and languages. The epic of Prince Rama's betrayal, exile, and struggle to rescue his faithful wife, Sita, from the clutches of a demon and to reclaim his throne has profoundly affected the literature, art, and culture of South and Southeast Asia-an influence most likely unparalleled in the history of world literature, except, possibly, for the Bible. Still an integral part of India's cultural and religious expression, the Ramayana was originally composed by the Sanskrit poet Valmiki around 300 b.c. India's most beloved and enduring legend, the Ramayana is widely acknowledged to be one of the world's great literary masterpieces. The great Indian epic rendered in modern prose
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