Dasaratha receives this honored figure with great joy, which is dampened somewhat when Viswamitra explains why he has come: he wants Rama to kill the rakshasas who are defiling the sacred place where he lives. Viswamitra is deeply respected for his supernatural powers he has the ability to see things in other worlds, places, and times. He was a king who later became a rishi (wandering ascetic, holy man). One day, the commanding Viswamitra appears at the gates of Ayodhya. Dasaratha is deeply devoted to Rama, and Rama adores him as well. But it is his father Dasaratha with whom Rama has the deepest bond. He is very close with his brother Lakshmana, and the two are rarely parted. They learn the arts of war and ruling they excel at everything they attempt, but the greatest among them is Rama. The whole kingdom of Ayodhya is filled with delight at the births of the four boys. The third wife Sumitra gives birth to a set of twin boys, Lakshmana and Shatrughna, because she drank two sips from the cup of the sacred messenger. Shortly after, Kaikeyi gives birth to her son Bharata. Miraculous signs appear on the earth and in the skies when Kausalya gives birth to Rama, who is the avatar of Vishnu. The messenger vanishes.Ī few months after, the queens announce their pregnancies. Dasaratha brings the cup to his queens Kausalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi, who drink from it. Suddenly, out of the fire a holy messenger appears, and tells Dasaratha and Rishyaringa to have the queens drink from the vessel he holds. Vishnu accepts this task, and tells the deities that he will be born as King Dasaratha's son.īack on earth, Rishyaringa is chanting the final verses of the horse sacrifice. The gods beg Vishnu, the sustainer of the world, to accept birth as a mortal man in order to slay Ravana. However, Brahma points out that Rama foolishly forgot to ask for protection from human beings, and he will die at the hands of a mortal man. In return for great tapasya (meditation, ritual, penance) that Ravana performed in his youth, he received two blessings from the gods: great strength from the god Siva, and Brahma himself granted Ravana protection from death at the hands of any god or supernatural being. Ravana's demons commit terrible violence and pollute holy places, causing great evil on the earth. His guru Vasishta tells him to perform a horse sacrifice under the guidance of the rishi Rishyashringa, which the king does.Īt the same time, the king of the Devas, Indra, begs the great god Brahma to rid the world of the demon Ravana. The just and great King Dasaratha rules over this land, but he has one great sorrow in his life: despite his three wives and his advanced age, he has no children. The story begins in the city of Ayodhya, located in the land of Kosala. The two youths go forth and recite the Ramayana to kings, rishis, and common people. The holy Narada teaches the story of Rama to Valmiki, who commits it to memory and teaches it to two youths from his asrama, Lava and Kusha. Amazed at the appearance of this holy personage, Valmiki asks him a question he has long wrestled with: is there any man in the world who possesses all virtues? Narada tells him that there is such a man in these very times, and his name is Rama. Valmiki is a hermit sitting in meditation when he receives an unexpected visit from Narada, a divine figure. A definite must-read for children interested in getting introduced to the world of Hindu mythology.The poem begins from the perspective of Valmiki, the author of them poem. The author has presented the entire original Ramayana in a bite-sized book with a magical narrative style. This favourite epic is beautifully retold by the author and is accompanied by amazing illustrations by Sonali Zohra. Her ability to recreate the stories of Ramayana and adapt them to be palatable to children, shows her in-depth knowledge of the text and her skills as an author. Her retelling creates complex characters which leave children asking questions. Sattar’s wonderful narrative style brings to life stories which can sometimes feel boring to young children. Her goal for doing so is not to undermine the character of Rama, rather, is to avoid creating polarized characters – which tends to be the case with traditional tellings of the Ramayana. Rama’s unjustifiable actions of sneakily killing Vali, the monkey king and of abandoning his wife Sita are brought to light in this version retold for children. However, with the original revering Rama as the just and noble hero, this book shows Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana in a much better light. In this book, author and scholar Arshia Sattar remains true to Valmiki’s version of the Ramayana.
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