Ancient India. Approximately 7 thousand years ago. The Kingdom of Kosala.
A dutiful crown prince exiled from his kingdom for fourteen years. A loving wife who follows him, and is captured. A demon king who threatens the entire mortal population of t...
So, even if you clicked on this book, you might be wondering-What's the Ramayan?
The Ramayan, if we're talking technical terms here, is like the Odyssey for Greek Mythology and Gilgamesh for the Mesopotamians, except people (including me) believe in it today! The Ramayan is an epic, which is, according to Google:
a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
Which is exactly what it is. The Ramayan narrates the story of Ram, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Kosala, and his very heroic journeys. Ram is so heroic, Hindus (people who follow Hinduism), worship him today as a God!
The Ramayan was originally scribed by Valmiki (a sage and apparently the oldest Baldacci there ever was) in about 7 B.C.E, but people believe the actual story to have originally taken place about 1.6 million years ago in Ancient India. Don't worry, the people were very civilized.
Now, you might be wondering-SO I GET IT. But what's the story? I'll tell you! I might as well, seeing as the Author's Notes already spoil the entire thing.
But if you don't want it to be spoiled (though you may be very confused during the story), skip to the next bold area.
There are many Gods in Hindu Mythology, one of whom is named Vishnu. Vishnu sustains the three worlds, keeps then alive and thriving. Occassionally, he decides to take birth on Earth to vanquish any potential problems. He has four arms, and usually is found sitting up on his giant bed, also known as the King of Snakes . Uh-here's a picture.
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Not five snakes. One snake with five heads. He's the King, okay? He needs to be unique.
Anyways, one day in this heavenly abode, Vishnu notices the demon king Ravan. Ravan is a rakshas (the Hindi word for demon), and a very powerful one at that. He drinks the blood of mere mortals (like moi), and overall just causes terrible terror for everyone.
Vishnu senses a global threat, and so he decides to be born as someone who shall kill Ravan. Ravan has received a boon ( a blessing from a God) that he cannot be killed by a rakshas, God, or animal, but since he did not ask to be immune from mortals, Vishnu has to be born as a mortal.
Enter Ram, a mortal prince and the son of King Dasharath, who rules over the Kingdom of Kosala, and resides in the capital of Ayodhya. Dasharath lives heirless with his three wives; Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra (in order of marriage). Ram is the firstborn son of Kaushalya, followed by Bharat (son of Kaikeyi), and Lakshman and Shatrughan (sons of Sumitra).
Ram is known to be righteous and good, and at the mere age of nineteen, he, with his closest brother Lakshman, defeat giants and rakshasas and rakshasis (male demons and female demons), and other demons who terrorized the sacrifices and penance of sages.
He soon marries Sita, daughter of King Janak, and princess of the kingdom of Videha. They live this happy life until Ram's father decides to crown him king.
Queen Kaikeyi's mind becomes poisoned against Ram, and she invokes two wishes she had been promised by Dasharath long ago. Her first boon? Crown her son, Bharat, King. The second? Exile Ram for fourteen years.
The story of the Ramayan is basically how Ram lived his life, along with his wife and helpful Lakshman who has also decided to tag along, in the forest where he is exiled. And if you read the description, you know what happens next!
Alright, I'm back! I want to warn the people that skipped that when I did write this story, I assumed the people reading knew the jargon I used. Little hindi-english phrases that could be used in passing.
Now I might make a chapter just explaining these little Hinglish words so you don't become extremely confused throughout this book, but I don't know yet.
My book is just retelling the Ramayan. The original form of the story was this hecka long poem that barely anyone can make heads or tails of. So I'm writing it in short, funny stories, because I love the characters in the epic, and I need to do it as best justice as I can!
Anyways, this was your guide to the Ramayan story! Happy reading
