The Iron Ring (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Iron Ring is a novel
by children's
fantasy novelist Lloyd Alexander
, written in 1997.
It is set in a fictional land with no name, though its culture strongly suggests India
n influences; the caste
system forms the prominent conflict in the novel, and names are strongly Hindi
. The story concerns humans as well as various talking animals.
The novel has never gained as much popularity as Alexander's Prydain Chronicles
. The narrative is split up into four parts.
h named Jaya. Jaya, disobeying the unwritten rules of courtesy, intrudes upon Tamar's house demanding an audience with Tamar for Jaya's own amusement. They play a fictional dice game
called aksha, increasing the wager
s placed on each successive roll. Finally Jaya calls the wager "life against life." Tamar loses the roll; therefore, his life is Jaya's to do with as Jaya sees fit. Jaya places a black iron ring
on Tamar's finger as a sign of his bondage. Jaya says that he has pressing matters to which to attend, so Tamar should come to Jaya's palace in Mahapura. Furious and screaming, Tamar lunges for the king, but because of the ring, he falls to the ground.
Tamar is woken by his sage mentor
Rajaswami, a brahmana
, and quickly discovers that none of his courtiers remember Jaya's ever having been there at all. He has no proof, save the iron ring on his finger, that the encounter was any more than a dream. As a kshatriya
, Tamar is honor-bound to make good on the debt he owes to Jaya because to him, dharma
is the most important thing in the world. He sets out with Rajaswami, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his military commander, Darshan. The pair ride north through the Danda-Vana forest. They happen upon an enormous talking monkey being attacked by a large river-snake. The monkey, Hashkat, king of the monkeys, has attempted to steal the sapphire atop the head of the snake prince Shesha. Tamar wrestles Shesha in the water and is dragged under then saves Shesha from the weeds in which the serpent is entangled. Shesha pulls Tamar to the realm of the Naga Raja (snake king), where Tamar is given his choice of any of the thousands of precious jewels
within the king's hall. He chooses a tiny ruby
called the Fire Flower.
When Tamar surfaces, he is no longer in the part of the river whence he had left Rajaswami. Instead he is standing naked before a group of beautiful cowgirls called gopi
s. The most beautiful, Mirri, brings Tamar clothing out of pity, and Tamar is told eventually of the village's traditional "Choosing," where young men compete in games of strength and skill for maidens' affections. Mirri has until this point elected not to take part in the Choosing, but when Tamar arrives, she announces she will choose a man. Rajaswami, after finding Tamar, reminds him that he should never challenge a lesser opponent; therefore, they leave at first light without Tamar being part of the Choosing. On the road through the forest, they reunite with Hashkat and are saved by Mirri when she discovers them stuck in thornbushes' cement-like sap. Mirri joins the party and travels north.
Another companion is found in Garuda, a pessimistic eagle
whose nests Tamar has accidentally destroyed twice. Garuda was once the messenger of a King Jaya whose job it was to retrieve a ruby with a lotus
carved on it. This is the same jewel Tamar carries! Garuda agrees to come with the group to look after the ruby because he is in no shape to fly well (he is referred to as a buzzard
before his true species is known). They continue north to a clearing where they meet Kana, a ruthless general of the kingdom of Ranapura who obeys no code of conduct. He and his men set upon Tamar in an unfair matchup, but the group is saved by Ashwara, exiled king of Ranapura.
Ashwara tells how his cousin Nahusha has usurped
the throne and exiled Ashwara and his brothers. Suddenly a suta
(royal crier) named Adi-Kavi emerges from an anthill and joins the party. They decide to travel north to Muktara to plead with the king, Bala, for intervention. Tamar declares that this mission is more important than his mission to Mahapura because treachery is a matter of supreme dishonor.
They leave the city cautiously, as Bala has warned Ashwara that Nahusha will only be unable to harm him inside Muktara, and are charged by a large talking elephant
named Arvati, who ran into them while fleeing from her captors. Adi-Kavi has a plan for dealing with the approaching soldiers who are trying to recapture Arvati. He ties up Hashkat and paints him with mud. When the hunters arrive, Adi-Kavi claims that the elephant was actually a demonic rakshasa
. He gets them to fall into a net trap to avoid being killed by the false demon.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by children's
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
fantasy novelist Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Chudley Alexander was a widely influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books...
, written in 1997.
It is set in a fictional land with no name, though its culture strongly suggests India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n influences; the caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
system forms the prominent conflict in the novel, and names are strongly Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. The story concerns humans as well as various talking animals.
The novel has never gained as much popularity as Alexander's Prydain Chronicles
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Chronicles of Prydain is a five-volume series of children's fantasy novels by author Lloyd Alexander...
. The narrative is split up into four parts.
Part I: The Iron Ring
Tamar, the king of the fictional realm of Sundari, is rudely awoken by the procession of a passing maharajaMaharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
h named Jaya. Jaya, disobeying the unwritten rules of courtesy, intrudes upon Tamar's house demanding an audience with Tamar for Jaya's own amusement. They play a fictional dice game
Dice game
Dice games are games that use or incorporate a die as their sole or central component, usually as a random device.-Collectible dice games:Patterned after the success of collectible card games, a number of collectible dice games have been published...
called aksha, increasing the wager
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
s placed on each successive roll. Finally Jaya calls the wager "life against life." Tamar loses the roll; therefore, his life is Jaya's to do with as Jaya sees fit. Jaya places a black iron ring
Ring (finger)
A finger ring is a circular band worn as a type of ornamental jewelry around a finger; it is the most common current meaning of the word ring. Other types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings....
on Tamar's finger as a sign of his bondage. Jaya says that he has pressing matters to which to attend, so Tamar should come to Jaya's palace in Mahapura. Furious and screaming, Tamar lunges for the king, but because of the ring, he falls to the ground.
Tamar is woken by his sage mentor
Mentor
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus or Anchialus. In his old age Mentor was a friend of Odysseus who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odysseus left for the Trojan War.When Athena visited Telemachus she...
Rajaswami, a brahmana
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
, and quickly discovers that none of his courtiers remember Jaya's ever having been there at all. He has no proof, save the iron ring on his finger, that the encounter was any more than a dream. As a kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
, Tamar is honor-bound to make good on the debt he owes to Jaya because to him, dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
is the most important thing in the world. He sets out with Rajaswami, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his military commander, Darshan. The pair ride north through the Danda-Vana forest. They happen upon an enormous talking monkey being attacked by a large river-snake. The monkey, Hashkat, king of the monkeys, has attempted to steal the sapphire atop the head of the snake prince Shesha. Tamar wrestles Shesha in the water and is dragged under then saves Shesha from the weeds in which the serpent is entangled. Shesha pulls Tamar to the realm of the Naga Raja (snake king), where Tamar is given his choice of any of the thousands of precious jewels
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
within the king's hall. He chooses a tiny ruby
Ruby
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum . The red color is caused mainly by the presence of the element chromium. Its name comes from ruber, Latin for red. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires...
called the Fire Flower.
When Tamar surfaces, he is no longer in the part of the river whence he had left Rajaswami. Instead he is standing naked before a group of beautiful cowgirls called gopi
Gopi
Gopi is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning 'cow-herd girl'. In Hinduism specifically the name gopi is used more commonly to refer to the group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion to Krishna as described in the stories of Bhagavata Purana and...
s. The most beautiful, Mirri, brings Tamar clothing out of pity, and Tamar is told eventually of the village's traditional "Choosing," where young men compete in games of strength and skill for maidens' affections. Mirri has until this point elected not to take part in the Choosing, but when Tamar arrives, she announces she will choose a man. Rajaswami, after finding Tamar, reminds him that he should never challenge a lesser opponent; therefore, they leave at first light without Tamar being part of the Choosing. On the road through the forest, they reunite with Hashkat and are saved by Mirri when she discovers them stuck in thornbushes' cement-like sap. Mirri joins the party and travels north.
Another companion is found in Garuda, a pessimistic eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
whose nests Tamar has accidentally destroyed twice. Garuda was once the messenger of a King Jaya whose job it was to retrieve a ruby with a lotus
Lotus (plant)
Lotus identifies various plant taxa:* Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers** Nelumbo nucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus** Nelumbo lutea, the American or Yellow lotus...
carved on it. This is the same jewel Tamar carries! Garuda agrees to come with the group to look after the ruby because he is in no shape to fly well (he is referred to as a buzzard
Buzzard
A buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.-Old World:In the Old World Buzzard can mean:* One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings....
before his true species is known). They continue north to a clearing where they meet Kana, a ruthless general of the kingdom of Ranapura who obeys no code of conduct. He and his men set upon Tamar in an unfair matchup, but the group is saved by Ashwara, exiled king of Ranapura.
Ashwara tells how his cousin Nahusha has usurped
Usurper
Usurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...
the throne and exiled Ashwara and his brothers. Suddenly a suta
Suta
Sūta refers both to the bards of Puranic stories and to a mixed caste. According to Manu Smriti the sūta caste are children of a Kshatriya father and Brahmin mother. The narrator of the several of the Puranas, Ugrasrava Sauti, son of Lomaharshana, was also called Sūta. Authorities are divided on...
(royal crier) named Adi-Kavi emerges from an anthill and joins the party. They decide to travel north to Muktara to plead with the king, Bala, for intervention. Tamar declares that this mission is more important than his mission to Mahapura because treachery is a matter of supreme dishonor.
Part II: In The Forest and the raiders
The party arrives in Muktara to engage in durbar with King Bala, only to find that Nahusha is already there. There is nearly a violent confrontation between Ashwara and Nahusha before Bala restores order to the durbar. Nahusha is a hateful man with no respect for anyone save himself, not even for the revered brahmana. He reveals that one of Hashkat's faithful subjects, Akka, has been captured and cruelly enslaved for Nahusha's amusement. Finally Bala reaches the decision that he will take neither side in the struggle, giving neither military support to Nahusha nor protection to Ashwara.They leave the city cautiously, as Bala has warned Ashwara that Nahusha will only be unable to harm him inside Muktara, and are charged by a large talking elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
named Arvati, who ran into them while fleeing from her captors. Adi-Kavi has a plan for dealing with the approaching soldiers who are trying to recapture Arvati. He ties up Hashkat and paints him with mud. When the hunters arrive, Adi-Kavi claims that the elephant was actually a demonic rakshasa
Rakshasa
A Rakshasa or alternatively rakshas, is a race of mythological humanoid beings or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist religion...
. He gets them to fall into a net trap to avoid being killed by the false demon.