Prince of Ayodhya
Encyclopedia
Prince of Ayodhya is the first installment of a six-part series of books written by Ashok K. Banker, which chronicles the events of the Ramayana
in a modern retelling of the Indian epic. The series revolves around the stories of Rama
, Lakshman, and Sita
and their struggles against the demon-king Ravana
, highlighting the intense love of Rama and Sita and the young prince's adherence to Dharma.
, King of the Asuras, a race of evil beings who represent everything against that which mankind stands for. As he dreams, he is filled with images detailing the destruction and rape of his home city, Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala
, kingdom of Dasaratha
, Rama's father. The prince frantically slices through his room, demonstrating considerable martial skill, fearful of his dreams.
Meanwhile, the great seer Vishwamitra, one of the Seven Sages
of Hindu theology, proceeds towards Ayodhya. As he travels, he becomes aware of some strange disturbance, and changes his form to that of a Shudra
hunter, a low-caste marksman. As he walks, Jatayu
, leader of Ravana's air force, tracks his movement and inspects the city of Ayodhya. Only a few seconds before Vishwamitra walks through Ayodhya's massive gates, however, a second being who looks exactly like him is seen proceeding through it...
In the palace, First Queen Kausalya
, Dasaratha's first wife and mother of Rama, is paid a visit by the King. At first, she spurns him for not having stepped into her palace for the past year and spending all of his time at the palace of the Second Queen Kaikeyi
. Letting out her frustration and anger through sarcastic words, she describes the hurt that she feels. Dasaratha begs for her forgiveness, and tells her that in reality, he always loved Kausalya more as a wife and the mother of his eldest son. He tells her two pieces of information that shock her: the first, that her son Rama is to be crowned on his sixteenth birthday as the new King of Ayodhya, and the second being that he is terminally ill.
Vashishta and Dasaratha both make arrangements to greet the illustrious visitor, but while performing the prescribed welcoming ritual (known as arghya), they are rudely interrupted by the shudra hunter. Despite Dasaratha's attempts to peaceably (and then forcibly) remove him from the location, the hunter ignores him, claiming that the Vishwamitra they were about to welcome is a demon. The hunter changes back to his real form as Vishwamitra and exposes the hunter as Kala-Nemi, the uncle of Ravana
. They banish him to the netherworld, and Vishwamitra states that he needs to ask Dasaratha for a favor. He explains that Ravana has plans to invade the Indian subcontinent
from Lanka
, and has put spies in the court. He exposes the spies, who are locked away and interrogated.
Meanwhile, the sons Rama and Lakshmana have returned from the nearby woods, where they had encountered a band of pahadi warriors led by Bearface, all of whom were arrested. They find their brothers Shatrughan and Bharata
waiting for them at the gates, which have been inexplicably closed. They find out that the city has been completely closed off, cutting off the disappointed Holi
revelers who have come from across all of India to celebrate, because of an attack in the palace grounds. Rama is allowed to enter along with his brothers, who feel immensely guilty, but do not argue. He stops a riot on the way between a number of crazed tantric
s and palace guards. Upon entering the palace, he is introduced to Vishwamitra.
Vishwamitra explains his predicament to Rama; his 200-year sacrifice is coming to an end but unless the demons of the Bhayanak-van, the forest in which he resides, are destroyed, it cannot be completed in time. He claims that Rama is the only person necessary for the task and is the only one who can accomplish it. Dasaratha vehemently refuses to give Rama away, pushing away all rational reasoning in the love for his son. Incensed, Vishwamitra moves to leave but is pacified by Vashishta, who then says the matter will be put to a popular vote as decreed by the rules of Manu, since it is a conflict between two dharmas.
During the Holi parade, Dasaratha announces to the entire city that Rama will be crowned as crown prince and that he is to be his successor. The statement is met with an uproar of approval, after which Vishwamitra details the reasons for coming to Ayodhya. After demonstrating the potential effect of an invasion in Ayodhya to the people, he tells them that the only way to stop it is to allow Rama to be taken under his tutelage. The crowd roars their approval of the decision, saying in unison that Rama is the greatest champion of Ayodhya.
Lakshmana is granted permission by his mother Sumitra to leave with Rama, who both travel with Vishwamitra and leave the city during the height of the Holi celebration while everyone is distracted. Dasaratha makes his way up to the top of the Seer's Tower, where he is attacked by an enraged Kaikeyi and saved in the nick of time by Bharat. Kaikeyi, who had spent the day fuming at Dasaratha's announcement of Rama's coronation, her rage fueled by Manthara, threatens to kill Kausalya.
Rama and Lakshmana travel far from Ayodhya towards the Bhayanak-van without much delay (aside from being tailed by the Maharaja's personal guard) and stop for the night at an ashram in a location known as Kama
's Grove, a small Saivite hermitage. Before arriving, Vishwamitra endows both Rama and Lakshmana with the powers of Bala and Atibala, the two most powerful brahmanic mantras which grant them super-strength, speed, and power beyond that of any normal mortal being. Their powers develop separately, with different effects, but with equally satisfying results. Unbeknownst to them, the rakshasi Surpanakha
, the sister of Ravana, has witnessed the entire ritual, having followed them from Ayodhya. After reporting to Ravana, she is told to wait and follow them from a distance.
Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, Vashishta and Prime Minister Sumantra enter the prisons to interrogate the spies exposed in the court, only to find that their bodies have been dismembered and ripped to shreds by Ravana's mayavic power. Joining their limbs and heads together in a mockery of his own body, he tells Vashishta and Sumantra that he will destroy Ayodhya utterly for defeating Lanka in the Asura Wars. Vashishta battles the possessed body while Sumantra flees.
The boys and Vishwamitra leave in the morning and head towards the true Bhayanak-van, which Vishwamitra reveals runs through Narak, the lowest level of Hell
, exposed by a portal ripped by Ravana. They encounter a foul environment worse than that of any other on the planet. Vishwamitra gives them a simple goal - destroy the five hundred monsters or so that inhabit the Bhayanak-van and kill Tataka and her sons Mareech and Subahu. When the battle begins, Rama and Lakshmana together kill more than two hundred monsters back-to-back with their bows and arrows. When the second, more powerful wave attacks, however, while Rama remains unscathed and continues to wipe out monsters, Lakshmana is brutally murdered and torn to pieces.
Meanwhile, the King's guard, the elite Vajra regiment, has continued to tail Rama into the Bhayanak-van and enters the battle, at which point the remaining monsters are wiped out. Tataka, a beautiful yaksha rakshasi of towering height, arrives on the scene, entirely naked, distracting most of the soldiers. Rama realizes at this point that Lakshmana has been killed, and pleads with the Maharishi to revive him. Simultaneously he has qualms about killing Tataka because she is a woman, but Vishwamitra tells Rama that the only way to revive Lakshmana is to kill Tataka for her sins. Rama uses the power of the sun in his blood, and destroys her utterly.
Lakshmana is revived, but is not informed that he had died upon the battlefield. He and Rama arrive at Vishwamitra's ashram, where they spend a vigil of seven days guarding the yagna after receiving the divine power of the deva-astras, weapons which have the ability to call upon the power of any deva at will. At the end of the seven days, Subahu and Mareech, Tataka's two sons, attack the yagna, but are both dispatched by Rama and Lakshmana. After the completion of the sacrifice, Vishwamitra tells Rama and Lakshmana that they are now to travel to Mithila in order to complete the next task - attending a marriage. Perplexed, Rama asks whose marriage they are to attend, and he cryptically replies "... Yours."
The book finishes with the image of Jatayu flying over the massive navy of Lanka, which is preparing to invade the mainland in full force with the power of Ravana behind it. Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, Kausalya, Vashishta, and Sumantra all realize that the King's condition is most definitely fatal, but also find out that a spy exists in the royal family who may be destroying the country and court from within...
, Tulsidas
, and Kamban. He states his intent as a desire to portray the nature of ancient India and the epic story of the Ramayana through a medium that appeals to modern writing.
The story takes significant liberties from the original Ramayana by Valmiki. The scene in which rishi Vishwamitra confronts Kala-Nemi is entirely non-canon. Kala-Nemi, in fact, does not appear in the original Ramayana until well near the end of the text and plays a very short (albeit important) role. Surpankha similarly does not play any role until the Aranyakaand of the Valmiki Ramayana, where she tempts Rama; and Ravana, who is the primary antagonist
in this book, does not appear to take any part in the everyday occurrences upon the Indian subcontinent until the Aranyakaand, at least on the surface level. Characters such as Manthara
in the original Valmiki Ramayana similarly had no association with Ravana and no indication was given that they were in fact working against the welfare of Ayodhya.
The book also makes numerous references suggesting that Rama and his brothers previously knew Sita
, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti as young children, which is absolutely false in the Valmiki Ramayana; the first time Rama met Sita was on his trip to Mithila
with Vishwamitra.
Also, no explanation was given in the original Ramayana for the extensive power that Rama and Lakshmana received to battle the rakshasas single-handedly in the text, despite the assertion that both boys were mortals.
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
in a modern retelling of the Indian epic. The series revolves around the stories of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, Lakshman, and Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and their struggles against the demon-king Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, highlighting the intense love of Rama and Sita and the young prince's adherence to Dharma.
Plot summary
The story begins with Rama's first encounter with the demon lord RavanaRavana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
, King of the Asuras, a race of evil beings who represent everything against that which mankind stands for. As he dreams, he is filled with images detailing the destruction and rape of his home city, Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala
Kosala
Kosala was an ancient Indian region, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Awadh in present day Uttar Pradesh. According to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and the Jaina text, the Bhagavati Sutra, Kosala was one of the Solasa Mahajanapadas in 6th century BCE and its cultural and...
, kingdom of Dasaratha
Dasaratha
Dasharatha was a king of Ayodhya of the Ikshvaku dynasty whose life story is narrated principally in the Hindu epic Ramayana...
, Rama's father. The prince frantically slices through his room, demonstrating considerable martial skill, fearful of his dreams.
Meanwhile, the great seer Vishwamitra, one of the Seven Sages
Saptarshi
The Saptarishi are the seven rishis who are extolled at many places in the Vedas and Hindu literature. The Vedic Samhitas never actually enumerate these rishis by name, though later Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so. They are regarded in the Vedas as the patriarchs of the...
of Hindu theology, proceeds towards Ayodhya. As he travels, he becomes aware of some strange disturbance, and changes his form to that of a Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
hunter, a low-caste marksman. As he walks, Jatayu
Jatayu (Ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Jatayu is the son of Aruṇa and nephew of Garuda. A demi-god who has the form of a vulture, he was an old friend of Dasharatha . He tries to rescue Sita from Ravana when Ravana is on his way to Lanka after kidnapping Sita...
, leader of Ravana's air force, tracks his movement and inspects the city of Ayodhya. Only a few seconds before Vishwamitra walks through Ayodhya's massive gates, however, a second being who looks exactly like him is seen proceeding through it...
In the palace, First Queen Kausalya
Kausalya
Kausalya in the Indian Rāmāyaṇa epic was the eldest of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā, she was the daughter of the King of the Kosala Kingdom. She was the mother of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, upon whom the story of the Ramayana is based....
, Dasaratha's first wife and mother of Rama, is paid a visit by the King. At first, she spurns him for not having stepped into her palace for the past year and spending all of his time at the palace of the Second Queen Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi
Kaikeyi , in the Hindu epic Rāmāyaṇa, was the second of King Daśaratha's three wives and a queen of Ayodhyā. She was the mother of Bharata...
. Letting out her frustration and anger through sarcastic words, she describes the hurt that she feels. Dasaratha begs for her forgiveness, and tells her that in reality, he always loved Kausalya more as a wife and the mother of his eldest son. He tells her two pieces of information that shock her: the first, that her son Rama is to be crowned on his sixteenth birthday as the new King of Ayodhya, and the second being that he is terminally ill.
Vashishta and Dasaratha both make arrangements to greet the illustrious visitor, but while performing the prescribed welcoming ritual (known as arghya), they are rudely interrupted by the shudra hunter. Despite Dasaratha's attempts to peaceably (and then forcibly) remove him from the location, the hunter ignores him, claiming that the Vishwamitra they were about to welcome is a demon. The hunter changes back to his real form as Vishwamitra and exposes the hunter as Kala-Nemi, the uncle of Ravana
Ravana
' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
. They banish him to the netherworld, and Vishwamitra states that he needs to ask Dasaratha for a favor. He explains that Ravana has plans to invade the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
from Lanka
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
, and has put spies in the court. He exposes the spies, who are locked away and interrogated.
Meanwhile, the sons Rama and Lakshmana have returned from the nearby woods, where they had encountered a band of pahadi warriors led by Bearface, all of whom were arrested. They find their brothers Shatrughan and Bharata
Bharata (Ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...
waiting for them at the gates, which have been inexplicably closed. They find out that the city has been completely closed off, cutting off the disappointed Holi
Holi
Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
revelers who have come from across all of India to celebrate, because of an attack in the palace grounds. Rama is allowed to enter along with his brothers, who feel immensely guilty, but do not argue. He stops a riot on the way between a number of crazed tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
s and palace guards. Upon entering the palace, he is introduced to Vishwamitra.
Vishwamitra explains his predicament to Rama; his 200-year sacrifice is coming to an end but unless the demons of the Bhayanak-van, the forest in which he resides, are destroyed, it cannot be completed in time. He claims that Rama is the only person necessary for the task and is the only one who can accomplish it. Dasaratha vehemently refuses to give Rama away, pushing away all rational reasoning in the love for his son. Incensed, Vishwamitra moves to leave but is pacified by Vashishta, who then says the matter will be put to a popular vote as decreed by the rules of Manu, since it is a conflict between two dharmas.
During the Holi parade, Dasaratha announces to the entire city that Rama will be crowned as crown prince and that he is to be his successor. The statement is met with an uproar of approval, after which Vishwamitra details the reasons for coming to Ayodhya. After demonstrating the potential effect of an invasion in Ayodhya to the people, he tells them that the only way to stop it is to allow Rama to be taken under his tutelage. The crowd roars their approval of the decision, saying in unison that Rama is the greatest champion of Ayodhya.
Lakshmana is granted permission by his mother Sumitra to leave with Rama, who both travel with Vishwamitra and leave the city during the height of the Holi celebration while everyone is distracted. Dasaratha makes his way up to the top of the Seer's Tower, where he is attacked by an enraged Kaikeyi and saved in the nick of time by Bharat. Kaikeyi, who had spent the day fuming at Dasaratha's announcement of Rama's coronation, her rage fueled by Manthara, threatens to kill Kausalya.
Rama and Lakshmana travel far from Ayodhya towards the Bhayanak-van without much delay (aside from being tailed by the Maharaja's personal guard) and stop for the night at an ashram in a location known as Kama
Kama
Kāma is often translated from Sanskrit as sexual desire, sexual pleasure, sensual gratification, sexual fulfillment, or eros54654564+more broadly mean desire, wish, passion, longing, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, without sexual connotations.-Kama in...
's Grove, a small Saivite hermitage. Before arriving, Vishwamitra endows both Rama and Lakshmana with the powers of Bala and Atibala, the two most powerful brahmanic mantras which grant them super-strength, speed, and power beyond that of any normal mortal being. Their powers develop separately, with different effects, but with equally satisfying results. Unbeknownst to them, the rakshasi Surpanakha
Surpanakha
Surpanakha or Shurpanakha is one of the most important characters in the Ramayana. Indeed, Valmiki comes close to claiming that if there had been no Kaikeyi and no Surpanakha, then there would have been no Ramayana and no war with Ravana...
, the sister of Ravana, has witnessed the entire ritual, having followed them from Ayodhya. After reporting to Ravana, she is told to wait and follow them from a distance.
Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, Vashishta and Prime Minister Sumantra enter the prisons to interrogate the spies exposed in the court, only to find that their bodies have been dismembered and ripped to shreds by Ravana's mayavic power. Joining their limbs and heads together in a mockery of his own body, he tells Vashishta and Sumantra that he will destroy Ayodhya utterly for defeating Lanka in the Asura Wars. Vashishta battles the possessed body while Sumantra flees.
The boys and Vishwamitra leave in the morning and head towards the true Bhayanak-van, which Vishwamitra reveals runs through Narak, the lowest level of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, exposed by a portal ripped by Ravana. They encounter a foul environment worse than that of any other on the planet. Vishwamitra gives them a simple goal - destroy the five hundred monsters or so that inhabit the Bhayanak-van and kill Tataka and her sons Mareech and Subahu. When the battle begins, Rama and Lakshmana together kill more than two hundred monsters back-to-back with their bows and arrows. When the second, more powerful wave attacks, however, while Rama remains unscathed and continues to wipe out monsters, Lakshmana is brutally murdered and torn to pieces.
Meanwhile, the King's guard, the elite Vajra regiment, has continued to tail Rama into the Bhayanak-van and enters the battle, at which point the remaining monsters are wiped out. Tataka, a beautiful yaksha rakshasi of towering height, arrives on the scene, entirely naked, distracting most of the soldiers. Rama realizes at this point that Lakshmana has been killed, and pleads with the Maharishi to revive him. Simultaneously he has qualms about killing Tataka because she is a woman, but Vishwamitra tells Rama that the only way to revive Lakshmana is to kill Tataka for her sins. Rama uses the power of the sun in his blood, and destroys her utterly.
Lakshmana is revived, but is not informed that he had died upon the battlefield. He and Rama arrive at Vishwamitra's ashram, where they spend a vigil of seven days guarding the yagna after receiving the divine power of the deva-astras, weapons which have the ability to call upon the power of any deva at will. At the end of the seven days, Subahu and Mareech, Tataka's two sons, attack the yagna, but are both dispatched by Rama and Lakshmana. After the completion of the sacrifice, Vishwamitra tells Rama and Lakshmana that they are now to travel to Mithila in order to complete the next task - attending a marriage. Perplexed, Rama asks whose marriage they are to attend, and he cryptically replies "... Yours."
The book finishes with the image of Jatayu flying over the massive navy of Lanka, which is preparing to invade the mainland in full force with the power of Ravana behind it. Meanwhile, in Ayodhya, Kausalya, Vashishta, and Sumantra all realize that the King's condition is most definitely fatal, but also find out that a spy exists in the royal family who may be destroying the country and court from within...
Commentary and Differences from the Valmiki Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic that has gone through many retellings and versions in different languages and styles, including a live-action TV serial and a film (currently in production for release in 2008). Banker, in his foreword to the text, remarks that his version is by no means authoritative, and it merely follows in the footsteps of other authors of the Ramayana, including ValmikiValmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
, Tulsidas
Tulsidas
Tulsidas , was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion for the god Rama...
, and Kamban. He states his intent as a desire to portray the nature of ancient India and the epic story of the Ramayana through a medium that appeals to modern writing.
The story takes significant liberties from the original Ramayana by Valmiki. The scene in which rishi Vishwamitra confronts Kala-Nemi is entirely non-canon. Kala-Nemi, in fact, does not appear in the original Ramayana until well near the end of the text and plays a very short (albeit important) role. Surpankha similarly does not play any role until the Aranyakaand of the Valmiki Ramayana, where she tempts Rama; and Ravana, who is the primary antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in this book, does not appear to take any part in the everyday occurrences upon the Indian subcontinent until the Aranyakaand, at least on the surface level. Characters such as Manthara
Manthara
Manthara , in the Hindu epic Ramayana, is a servant who convinced Kaikeyi that the throne of Ayodhya belonged to her son Bharata and that Rama should be exiled from the kingdom....
in the original Valmiki Ramayana similarly had no association with Ravana and no indication was given that they were in fact working against the welfare of Ayodhya.
The book also makes numerous references suggesting that Rama and his brothers previously knew Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
, Urmila, Mandavi and Shrutakirti as young children, which is absolutely false in the Valmiki Ramayana; the first time Rama met Sita was on his trip to Mithila
Mithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...
with Vishwamitra.
Also, no explanation was given in the original Ramayana for the extensive power that Rama and Lakshmana received to battle the rakshasas single-handedly in the text, despite the assertion that both boys were mortals.