Ayodhya - War and Peace by D K Hari and D K Hema Hari is a book that looks into the time, people and thoughts from Ayodhya, through the millennia. The book, which was conceived as a part of the Bharath Gyan, a not for profit research organisation’s effort to bring out knowledge and wisdom of history in relevance to current day topics of interest, trial and tribulations faced by Indians and the world, is a compilation of data on Ayodhya through times.
From the compilation, what comes to light is that, the ancient kingdom of Kosala, with Ayodhya as the capital, as described in literature and the present day city of Ayodhya, are one and the same. This makes the Ayodhya of today, one of the most ancient cities of the world, with a long historical record of an unbroken, continuity of civilization over 7000 years.
The book delves in the unfortunate scenario of Ayodhya in the last few centuries when it witnessed a lot of turmoil. The book also tries to answer questions like can Ayodhya’s inspirational prominence pave way to help overcome the imbroglio that it has been beset with in the last couple of hundred years? Can the true values as espoused by Rama, be a guiding spirit in overcoming this impasse, so that Ayodhya can once again be a city of peace as it was named to be? Can there emerge a solution to Ayodhya that can become a beacon to the society at large, to come out of its morass and look up to Ayodhya, to lead it in all spheres of peace, love, compassion, ethics, uprightness?
The book’s clearly tries to state that instead of passing Ayodhya to the next generation, like a mutation in our gene, leaving behind a festering wound in our civilisation, we can choose to steer it towards a resolution once and for all with fortitude. It offers a Pan Theo solution not just to disentangle ourselves from the present imbroglio alone but more importantly to rejuvenate Ayodhya once again as an inspirational city for values to live by, in times to come.
It is evident that the authors have done their part in getting the details right and have not used assumption in any statement. Decorated with simple but profound words, which is necessary for a subject that they have chosen the authors have done complete justice, enticing the readers with history and a comparison study on the present times. It metes out an array of topics which shows the strength of their knowledge about the subject and never leaves one in isolation by having the right tempo and flow throughout. For sure, it is one read, which must indulge in when the mind if free and ready for some intense involvement with the subject.