Bala Ramayana

Swami Chinmayananda'S Vision Of Teaching Values To Children Through The Scriptures

A retelling of the Ramayanam.

ABOUT THE BOOK The Ramayana has always been written, discussed, narrated, and filmed from Sri Rama's perspective. The other side of it, Ravana's angle is equally soothing and has abundant lessons to give, just that not many got the opportunity to explore this version. My Name Is Ravana retells episodes from the Ramayana from Jaya's view who came onto the Earth as Ravana. He narrates his experiences on this planet during Threta Yugh and discusses the very purpose of his arrival onto this Earth. The legendary history of Ramayana has been rewritten from Ravana's perspective, not something that has been attempted before. Explore the memories of one of the most ancient documented histories of all time. The book also provides useful information about Ramayana locations to tourists and pilgrims visiting Sri Lanka. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sri Bala Sankuratri is an extensive traveller by nature and writer by passion. His articles in various newspapers and his travel show on various domains are popular. His association with Sri Lanka, research on various local legendary memories on the island pertaining to the great book Ramayana and its acknowledgment by the respective government officials inspired the writer to re-ink the legendary history.

As the title indicates, this book is a critical study of an Indian epic, ëThe Ramayanaí. It proceeds in the same order as that of Sanskrit original consisting of : Bala kanda, Ayodhya kanda, Aranya kanda, Kishkindha kanda, Sundara kanda, Yuddha kanda and Uttara kanda. While Valmikiís Ramayana is composed of about 24,000 slokas (verses), ëRamayana the Poisonous Treeí consists of 16 stories, long and short, accompanied by 11 ëlinksí (narratives that ëlinkí the stories) and 504 foot-notes that show evidence from the Sanskrit original in support of the critique. Besides the main components of the text, this book has a long ëPrefaceí discussing the social essence of the epic in the context of history of evolution of human society from the ancient times to the modern times. The book also offers a critical review of the works of ësome earlier critics of Ramayanaí. The authoress describes Ramayana as a Poisonous Tree because it defends the autocratic rule of the kings against the people, their imperial expansion by invading other weak kingdoms, exploitation of the poor by the rich, oppression of lower castes by upper castes, aggression of the civilized non-tribal communities against primitive tribal communities, male chauvinism against women, superstitious beliefs against the rational thinking, fathersí domination over sons, elder brothersí superiority over younger brothers and so on. She substantiated her arguments by providing hundreds of foot notes from the Sanskrit original. She characterizes the culture of Ramayana as predominantly ëfeudalí in nature with an admixture of remnants of primitive ëtribalí culture. The book, it is hoped, will be of interest to both academic and non-academic circles. It is relevant to the students, teachers and researchers who are connected with such disciplines as South Asian Studies, Cultural Studies, Comparative Literature, Comparative Religions, Indology, Literary Criticism and so on. It is also relevant to the social and political activists who would like to disseminate ëprogressiveí ideas among the people who are subjected to various forms of inequality: Class, Caste, Gender, Race, Ethnicity. Ranganayakamma (born 1939) is a writer of novels, stories and essays in Telugu. She has published about 60 books.

The Valmiki Ramayana remains a living force in the lives of the Indian people. A timeless epic, it recounts the legend of the noble prince Rama and his battle to vanquish the demon king Ravana. Even before he is crowned king of Ayodhya, Rama is exiled to the Dandaka forests where he is accompanied by his beauteous wife Sita and loyal brother Lakshmana. Deep in the jungle, Sita is abducted by Ravana and taken to his island kingdom Lanka, setting into motion a dramatic chain of events that culminates in an epoch-defining war. Filled with adventure and spectacle, the Ramayana is also the poignant story of a family caught up in the conflict between personal duty and individual desires. In Bibek Debroy’s majestic new translation, the complete and unabridged text of the Critical Edition of this beloved epic can now be relished by a new generation of readers.

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