Ebook: The Ramayana

Lakshmi Lal’s Ramayana recreates the absorbing story and the lyrical beauty of the original Sanskrit epic—the Valmiki Ramayana — written over 3,000 years ago. In rich and expressive language, she narrates the legend of Rama, the Ikshvaku prince, who embodies the ideals by which a man, a warrior and a king must live. Rama’s unquestioning adherence to duty in all the experiences that confront him—whether his banishment, or his wife’s abduction, or his eventual separation from her—makes the work not just an enthralling story but the ‘Indian book of values, in which the code is all’. Rama’s battles against demoniac powers are more than martial victories, they are triumphs of good over evil. Thus, as the story unfolds, ‘Rama becomes human, then superhuman and finally divine’.

Through the ages, the story and message of the Ramayana have continued to be a wellspring of creative inspiration as well as a joyous and abiding source of faith. Badri Narayan’s illustrations, while reflecting his deep involvement with the Indian tradition, enrich the story with their immense visual vocabulary,
and symbolic dimensions.