The story of Rama and Sita spending 14 years in exile and the war between Rama and Ravana to bring Sita back to Ayodhya is the story that we have heard from our elders. But what was the situation in Lanka after Ravana was assassinated? How learned and scholarly was Ravana? These are stories that many don’t know. The authors D K Hari and D K Hema Hari have endeavoured to tell this story which is scattered in various forms like books, manuscripts and oral traditions in their book Ramayana in Lanka.
The book relates the story of not only Rama and Sita but also of Ravana. Ravana is usually projected as a negative character but here the authors through their research portray Ravana not just as a great scholar, but a versatile king who was well versed in Veda and various fine arts such as playing the Veena and also in the art of warfare. Ravana is also considered to be one of the first exponent and pioneer of the Naadi Vignana technique in Ayurveda. Their extensive research on the local topology, language, customs and beliefs of people in Sri Lanka has added credibility to this book.
In their book, they go on to explain how Ramayana is geographically correct and how Valmiki has travelled extensively to make his story believable and has captured minute details of the folklore that was practiced and is still practiced in both India and Sri Lanka. The ancient temples in Sri Lanka still describe the reign of Ravana and Vibhishana.
Authors here skilfully describe the beauty of nature at Ashoka Vatika grove where Sita was kept after she was kidnapped. The description of the place allures the readers to visit the place. While highlighting about the hobbies of Ravana, the authors say that Ravana was fascinated with aircrafts. In their book, they explain that Ravana besides the popular Pushpaka Vimana, also owned several other aircrafts and built several aerodromes in Lanka. The specialty of the flower shaped Pushpaka Vimana lies in the capability of expanding or contracting in size, which depended on number of passengers.
The excellent capability of the engineers of that civilization is well explained by the authors as they interpret the architectures of the caves and tunnels.
The appealing description keeps the readers interest on. This book serves as a guide for those who visit Sri Lanka to know more about Ravana and his reign.