Across South-East Asia, in every country except Vietnam, it is celebrated in dance, drama and ballad, in art and craft. It has been written about and discussed by personalities as eminent as C Rajagopalachari and RK Narayan. Akbar had it translated into Persian, the manuscript completed in 1584 CE. It has been hotly debated, its nuances and characters, its plot elements and poetry dissected, for many centuries. Millions, both in India and outside, can quote freely from it.
The Ramayana, the story of Rama––loved, respected, venerated. And when an epic is of such epic proportions, it is hardly surprising that there will always be something more to be said about it, as Ami Ganatra sets out to do in her Ramayana Unravelled: Lesser-Known Facets of Rishi Valmiki’s Epic.
At the start of the book, Ganatra explains the ‘varied’ nature of the Ramayana as most people know it: how there are supposedly some 300 versions of it, besides the many retellings that are abound. She goes on to emphasise the pre-eminence of the version composed by Rishi Valmiki, and then devotes the book to examining Valmiki’s Ramayana, from different aspects and angles.
After an introduction to the Ramayana, Ganatra presents a brief summary of the epic, before going on to the bulk of her book, which she divides into three parts.
The first part, ‘Context and Settings’, explains how Valmiki came to compose the Ramayana. Beyond this, Ganatra explains the bloodlines of some of the main characters in the epic. The lineages of Rama, Sita, Ravana and the vanaras are discussed here, along with rudimentary family trees to illustrate them. With reference to the settings, Ganatra describes some of the main spaces that form the setting for the epic––Ayodhya, Kishkindha and Lanka.
The second part of the book, ‘Personalities, Events and Eventualities’, is its biggest section, covering over 250 pages. Ganatra begins by discussing some of the important yet (relatively speaking) peripheral figures of the epic, such as Vishwamitra and Ahalya. She then delves into the main characters, from Dasharatha to Kaikeyi, to Sita, Sugreeva, Hanuman, Ravana, Vibhishan, and, of course, Laxman and finally Rama. This section ends with a brief discussion of Rama rajya, and what it meant.
To explain the character of each of these personalities, Ganatra dives deep into the text, providing a detailed insight into the incidents and dialogues that help define the individual in question.
She quotes extensively from Valmiki’s epic, providing a translation as well as (at times) some of the original Sanskrit text written in Devnagari. This is where a more nuanced understanding of characters, their motivations and considerations come through, especially as Ganatra is able to provide back stories or alternate insights that reveal character traits. For instance, there is the much- discussed episode of Sita, in the aftermath of the battle and the death of Ravana, stepping into the fire (agni) to prove to Rama her chastity and fidelity.
To explain the context, Ganatra provides some interesting background on why and how Agni came to be regarded as the paramount witness—and how that tradition carries through to this day. In the same episode, she dwells on the motivations of both Rama and Sita in this context, and is able to provide a plausible rationale for each of them behaving the way they did, as well as how it highlights their relationship.
Similarly, when it comes to explaining Rama’s willingness to abide by Dasharatha’s decision, Ganatra uses a section from the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita to illustrate her point. Using Krishna’s explanation of what governs the success or the failure of an enterprise, Ganatra shows how and why Rama reacted
the way he did.
The third and final part, also the shortest section of the book, is the ‘Epilogue’, in which Ganatra discusses somewhat tangential, but pertinent episodes that have a bearing on the understanding and interpretation of the epic.
All said and done, this is a competently crafted, annotated (and abridged) version of the Ramayana. Ganatra provides interesting insights into the epic, its characters and its relation to other Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas and the Mahabharata. Ramayana Unravelled does not provide path-breaking insights too different from what most people with an interest in mythology would already
know or be able to surmise, and it could have benefited from some more thorough editing. But, on the whole, it’s a readable, insightful book for anyone who only has a basic knowledge of the Ramayana and would like to know more.
By: Ami Ganatra
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 337
Price: Rs 499