Ram - Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra Series Book 1) : Book Review

Ram - Scion of Ikshvaku By Amish Tripathi

Starting the discussion of Ram Chandra Series and not beginning it with the quote

‘Raghukul reet sadaa chali aayi, praan jaye par vachaan naa jaye’ is incomplete.

Amish Tripathi's persuasive style of writing would actually make you believe that Ram and Sita (like Shiva and Sati in Shiva Trilogy) are not deities of Hindus, but human beings who transformed and eventually through their acts became Vishnu (Mahadev in Shiva Trilogy).

And Ram Chandra Series is a journey of how Vishnu came up at the right time to guide his people and society and named this transformed kingdom, which was ruled by law and based on equality, as ‘Meluha’. And Meluha was the starting point in the journey of Shiva to become a Mahadev.

Thus, it’s a prequel to Shiva Trilogy in the sense.

But this time Amish took the big risk by dare writing fictional inspired by Ramayana, one of the greatest epics of Hindu mythology.

And here, I am wondering how come till now no communal group raised their voice against the events been portrayed in this book as a lot is deviated from what we were taught about Ramayana in our child hood. :)

Jokes apart, I would recommend this book, only, if you are not a blind follower of Hindu Mythology i.e. you are open-minded else you may end up criticizing the author for playing with your beliefs or sentiments.

Examples of few such instances, which I believe were deviated from what we all know about Ramayana or maybe, I was personally not aware about them are as below:

• King Dashrath had a fight with Ravaan in Lanka which he lost and this was Dashrath’s first ever defeat and as it happened on the day Ram was born, so he along with his nobility considered Ram’s birth as in-auspicious and Ram was ostracized and cursed for the same throughout his childhood.
• Sita was elder than Ram by around 5 years and had been projected as an explicit warrior. An independent and strong-minded lady who ruled Mithila very efficiently and was their beloved princess.
• Swayamvar held for Sita’s marriage involved an arrow to be hit in the eye of revolving fish by seeing its reflection in water below.
• Raavan attacked on Mithila, post Swayamvar to take avenge of his insult, and in order to save Mithilians, Ram broke the law by using Asuraastra (kind of devisastras and use of devisastras were prohibited as per Lord Rudra’s law) on Lankans, and then, punished himself with 14 years of exile, as per Lord Rudra’s law.
• Jatayu along with his 15 soldiers protected Ram, Sita and Lakshman throughout their vanvas period and stayed with them in jungle.
• Ram didn’t kill Tadaka (as taught to us: Tadaka Vadh) rather he enlightened her and requested her to leave India along with her community, and then,should come back in different form not as Asuras as that way of life was over.

G-O-D (generator, operator and destroyer)

Lord Brahma – the creator or generator. One of the greatest scientists ever. His disciples lived by the code; relentless pursuit of knowledge and selfless service to the society. Over the years, tribe of Brahma evolved as Brahmins.

Vishnu – Operator. When a way of life becomes inefficient, corrupt or fanatical, a new leader emerges who guide his people to an improved social order. So Vishnu is the title accorded to the greatest of leaders, idolized as propagators of good.

Mahadev - Destroyer. Ancient title accorded to those who were destroyers of evil. Their task was restricted to finding and destroying evil.

Qualities of a leader are well explained, every now and then, in this book and they are summarized as below:

• A true leader loves his people more than he loves his own soul.
• He would lie for the good of his people.
• A real leader doesn’t choose to lead only the deserving
• He inspires his people into becoming the best that they are capable of.
• A real leader takes upon himself the burden of dharma sankat, but ensures that his people becomes better human beings.
• A true leader will even take a sin upon his soul for the good of his people.
• He must practice what he preaches.

Two ways of Civilizations:

Feminine way of life – freedom, passion and beauty.At its best, it is compassionate, creative and especially nurturing towards the weak. But as feminine civilizations decline, they tend to become corrupt, irresponsible and decadent.

People are so divided that it takes a miracle for them to come together for any purpose, under a single banner. For Example: India before independence when all kingdoms were divided, which gave easy way to invaders Mughals, Persians and Portuguese and later Britishers who came as traders but ruled India and then, it was hunger for independence which became the only goal for every Indian and then, brought all people together to fight for Independence.

Masculine way of life - truth, duty and honour. They are law abiding people. At its peak, masculine civilizations are efficient, just and egalitarian. But as they decline, they become fanatical, rigid and especially harsh towards the weak. They become intolerant and rigid towards different beliefs. And this rigid intolerance creates mortal enemies with whom negotiation is impossible.

For Example: in current scenario, terrorists are living with adverse effect of masculine way of life;they have become rigid and intolerant towards people of different beliefs this has turned them into mortal enemies to the extent that they kill those who have different religious beliefs.

So when feminine civilization declines, masculine is the answer and vice-versa.

Extracts from the book which I liked the most:

When Guru Vashishta was giving his viewpoint to Ram on truth and lie:

‘Not revealing the truth is not lying. Sometimes, truth causes pain and suffering. At such times, silence is preferred. In fact, there are times when a white lie or even an outright lie, could actually lead to a good outcome.’

Conversation between Guru Vashishta and the four Dashrath’s sons when Vasishtha was explaining the downfall of two great civilizations, that existed in India(Dwarka and Sangamtamil) during the Ice Age, brings out new perspective to look Ravaan and Dashrath as kings. An excerpt from that conversation:

‘Even honorable men sometimes prove to be terrible leaders. Conversely, men of questionable character occasionally be exactly what a nation requires.’

Which raised the question for all of the four Dashrath’s sons to think over that Raavan, who brought prosperity to his kingdom and whose people loved him, is a good king for his people?

And Dashrath, the good man but a king who went into depression because of one defeat and converted his personal loss to his people and his kingdom suffered because of his personal misery, is a good king for his people?

Ram’s opinion about marriage,how it’s not a political alliance for him and is not a necessity. In his opinion, there should be no compulsion to get married. And, there’s nothing worse than being married to the wrong person. You should only get married, if you find someone you admire.

 Ram’s opinion how he doesn’t favor polygamy (and if polygamy is allowed so should be polyandry), however, he supports monogamy as according to him, it’s an insult to your wife by taking another.

What he looks for in his life partner is also thoughtful and admirable:  

‘I want a woman who is better than I am; a woman who will compel me to bow my head in admiration.’

Conversation where Ram and Sita were discussing about the ideal society meant, and the manner in which a perfect empire must be governed. Sita eloquently described what true equality is and said it exists only at the level of the soul. No two created entities are exactly the same. She believed that society would be perfect only if people are free to do what they actually want to do, based on their karma, rather than following the caste they are born to. And, the solution to build such a society is complicated. And new kingdom ruled by law and based on equality would be named as ‘Meluha’ (a land of pure life).

Guru Vashishta was telling Ram about Shukracharya and Asuras and what led to the downfall of Asuras:

'Maharishi Shukracharya was the guru of the Asuras. Asuras were the great masculine empire till then.As it often happens, the very reason for your success, over a prolonged period of time, can lead to your downfall.Shukracharya united Asuras( Asuras were the poorer weaker cousins of Devas; scorned and half-forgotten members of extended family. Devas and Asuras, both have descended from common ancestors, known as Manaskul.) with the concept of the EKam , the One God.

Rig Veda states clearly that while EKam is the One God, he comes to us in many forms, to help us grow spiritually, in the hope that we will eventually understand Him in His original form.

However, Shukracharya said that all other manifestations of the EKam were false, leading us to maya, the illusion  EKam was the only true God. This would make all human beings equal. It worked well for some time. Even some oppressed Devas joined Asuras too.But as is rightly said, Giving a sharp sword to a child is not an act of generosity, but irresponsibility.So Asuras who didn’t have any knowledge about the scriptures about the EKam demanded undivided devotion; their God was true, other gods were false. And ultimately began killing those who didn’t believe in One God. Violence was till the extent that even some Asuras moved over to Devas.Exclusivist thoughts lapsed into intolerance and rigidity. Rigid intolerance creates mortal enemies with whom negotiation is impossible.’

 The lines which I liked the most are:

‘Wisdom lies in moderation, in balance.’

‘It’s more important to be right than to be first.’

‘Life is cyclical.’

‘Some stories are best left untold.’

‘Dharma is above all, even the king.Dharma is above the Gods themselves.’

‘Justice in terms of right or wrong is a man-made concept.it is entirely up to us to define justice in new terms of what is fair or unfair.’

‘Universal principles too need to adjust themselves to a changing universe.’

‘If karma is giving you the negative signal repeatedly, then, it is not testing you, it is trying to teach you.’

Rating : 3.5/5