DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

SABBAVARAM, VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

PROJECT TITLE

BOOK REVIEW: RAMA – THE SCION OF IKSHAVAKU

SUBJECT

ENGLISH

NAME OF THE FACULTY

MRS. BEENA PUNJABI

Name of the Candidate: - PRAKHARDEEP

Roll Number: - 19LLB055

Semester I
 INTRODUCTION

 Name of the Author: Amish Tripathy

 Title: Rama – The Scion of Ikshavaku
 Year, 1st Published: May 13th 2015
 Theme: The book is based on the story about Lord Rama and the epic Ramayana.
However, the portrayal by the author makes you feel like the characters are real as he
has tried to connect everything with the evidences of our history with his sheer logic.
 Genre: Fiction
 Purpose: To narrate the story of Rama, in a realistic way, so that people can easily
connect to it.
 OVERVIEW

Ram Rajya. The Perfect Land. But perfection has a price. He paid that price.

3400 BCE. INDIA

Ayodhya is weakened by divisions. A terrible war has taken its toll. The damage runs deep.
The demon King of Lanka, Raavan (Fathered by one of the most illustrious sages of the time,
blessed by the Gods with talents beyond all, cursed by the fate to be tested to the extremes),
does not impose his rule on the defeated. He, instead, imposes his trade. Money is sucked out
of the empire. The Sapt Sindhu people descend into poverty, despondency and corruption.
They cry for a leader to lead them out of the morass. Little do they appreciate that the leader
is among them. One whom they know. A tortured and ostracised prince. A prince they tried
to break. A prince called Ram.

He loves his country, even when his countrymen torment him. He stands alone for the law.
His band of brothers, his Sita, and he, against the darkness of chaos.

Will Ram rise above the taint that others heap on him? Will his love for Sita sustain him
through his struggle? Will he defeat the demon Lord Raavan who destroyed his childhood?
Will he fulfil the destiny of the Vishnu?
 SUMMARY

The story starts with a war, The War of Karchappa. But why this war? The reason was that
King Dashrath of Ayodhya, Emperor of the Sapta Sindhu region in India, objects demands
made by Kubera, trader and ruler of Lanka. But the thing that he definitely did not know is
that Kuber was just a greedy trader who even cannot think of a war, and that to against
Ayodhya ( the most powerful kingdom in entire India), the person who forced Kubera to do
this was his general Ravana who had taken pledge to destroy the Aryavarta(the land of
Aryas). He declares war but is defeated by Kubera's general Raavan, at Karachapa. Dashrath
barely escapes with his life thanks to Kaikeyi, his second queen. At the same time in
Ayodhya, Dashrath's first queen Kaushalya gives birth to their son, Ram. Following the
defeat, Ravan monopolizes the entire trade system in India, causing economic crisis.
Dashrath blames Ram as the reason for his defeat thinking that his birth brought him bad luck
as this was the first time, he lost a war, and treats him apathetically.

As the princes grows from an infant and becomes a child, Ram and his half-brothers, Bharat
(son of Kaikeyi), Lakshman and Shatrughan (twin sons of Dashrath's third wife Sumitra), are
sent to live at the hermitage of sage Vashistha. Under his tutelage, Ram, along with his
brothers, becomes a skilled warrior, and gains knowledge about India's predicament. The
ashram of Rishi Vasishtha was the place he decided that Ram will become the next Vishnu.
All the brothers had different qualities. Ram was always obedient to law. For him law was
above all and cannot be broken under any circumstances. Bharat, however, had a different
approach, his thoughts were that laws should change according to the need of the
administration. Laxman, the healthiest among the four brothers, was a devotee of his elder
brother, Ram. For him Ram was no less to any god. Shatrughan, different from all three, was
less interested in warfare but had a sharp mind which he utilized properly. In the small age he
had memorised a lot of sacred books which even the senior most students of his ashram can’t
memorise. After training, Ram is given the job of maintaining law and police in Ayodhya,
which he considerably excels. One day Roshni, daughter of the wealthy trader Manthara and
sister-like to the four brothers, is gang raped and murdered. The culprits are all executed
except one, Dhenuka, who is underage. A strict follower of the law, Ram is forced to
imprison the boy although others request him for Dhenuka's execution. Manthara bribes
Kaikeyi into influencing Bharat, who secretly murders Dhenuka, much to Ram's chagrin.
In the meantime, Dashrath's attitude towards Ram changes and he names Ram as the crown
prince. Shortly afterwards, Ram and Lakshman help sage Vishwamitra—head of the
Malayaputra tribe who serve the next Vishnu—to stop the Asura attacks on his hermitage.
Ram convinces the Asuras to go to Pariha, the land of Lord Rudra, the previous Mahadev.
The purpose of Rishi Vishwamitra was not to stop the attack of the Asuras, if it had been so,
he could have easily defeated the Asuras. Next they travel to the remote kingdom of Mithila,
where Ram meets princess Sita, the adopted daughter of King Janak. Like Ram, Sita also
strongly believes in following laws, thus earning Ram's respect and love. During a
Swayamvar for Sita, Ravan and his brother Kumbhakaran arrive on the invitation of uncle of
Sita and king of the neighbour kingdom of Mithila, Sankhasya, but storm out when
Viswamitra announces Ram's name as the first suitor. Ram wins the Swayamvar and marries
Sita, while Lakshman marries Janak's biological daughter, Urmila.

The next day, Raavan besieges Mithila with 10,000 soldiers, Mithila, the city which was
known for its knowledge and spiritual capital of India was not capable enough to fight back
and Ram is forced to use the biological weapon Asurastra by Viswamitra, even though its
usage is forbidden and not authorized by the Vayuputras, Lord Rudra's tribe. The Lankan
army is defeated and Raavan escapes on his helicopter, Pushpak Viman. Ram returns to
Ayodhya and decides to take a 14-year exile as punishment for breaking Rudra's rule about
the weapon. A begrudged Manthara asks Kaikeyi to substantiate the matter by using two
boons given to her by Dashrath for saving his life. Thus, Ram undertakes the exile with Sita
and Lakshman and moves beyond the Narmada and moves further south and after sometime
settles in a place named as Panchavati. After Dashrath's death, Bharat declares Ram as King
of Ayodhya and decides to rule the kingdom as a regent. Sita makes a secret deal with the
vulture-like Naga Jatayu and his men, to protect Ram and supply the trio with the anti-ageing
drink, Somras.

Thirteen years pass and one day, Ram's camp is approached by Raavan's siblings, Vibhishan
and Shurpanakha, who seek refuge from their tyrannical brother. Ram is sceptical but accepts
them as guests. One day, Shurpanakha attempts to drown Sita, but the latter overpowers her
and in the ensuing scuffle, Lakshman instinctively cuts Shurpanakha's nose. Ram and his
group flee from there fearing Raavan's retribution. One day, Ram and Lakshman return home
from hunting and are shocked to find Jatayu and his men slain. Before dying Jatayu tells Ram
that Ravan has kidnapped Sita. Ram looks up to see the Pushpak Viman flying away and is
filled with rage. Why was Sita kidnapped? Was Ravana seeking revenge of War he lost in
Mithila or was he seeking revenge of his sister’s insult? Or is there anything else which made
Ravana to kidnap Sita? The answers are all here but in the later parts of the series.

CONCLUSION

The book is the work of brilliance of the author Amish Tripathy. He connects the myths with
the historical evidences so nicely that for a while the reader forgets that he his reading a
fiction. The logical explanation behind the each and every incident or myth, which we think
as impossible, makes it feel real. Amish’s writing is unique when compared to other authors
of India. BBC stated his writings as “a fine blend of history and myth………. gripping and
unputdownable.”

CRITICAL COMMENT

The book is a brilliant piece of writing by the author Amish Tripathy but having read his
earlier book series i.e. Shiva Triology, this book had failed to cross that bar as the writing of
that series connects on a greater level than the current series ‘Rama Chandra Series. If my
ratings are taken into consideration, I will rate it 4/5.