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Ramayana: A Tale of Gods and Demons
Rare Book
- GenresReligion
144 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 31, 2023
What a book man!
April 23, 2015
It's almost impossible to escape the story if you are even remotely tied to Indian culture. The story is so wide spread and inculcated at an early age that people take it in and breathe it out like air.
So, even though I'd never read it, I knew about Rama and Sita and Hanuman. I knew about the trials and the battles and the sacrifice and devotion. But Prime's prosaic translation may be an underwhelming way to take in the powerful poetry and epic scale of it all it is just as effective in conveying the characters, and themes.
Most importantly for me, the introductory note provides invaluable context, though I was glad to only read it after the fact. The adoration of Rama and blind devotion to men as women scrabble for power and sully themselves is hard to reconcile with modern life. But put within a divine doctrinal context, rather than an earthly gender politics context it's easier to understand. Rather than seeing the simplistic good and bad of heroes and villains the slim appreciation of talent and value of all is well appreciated
So, even though I'd never read it, I knew about Rama and Sita and Hanuman. I knew about the trials and the battles and the sacrifice and devotion. But Prime's prosaic translation may be an underwhelming way to take in the powerful poetry and epic scale of it all it is just as effective in conveying the characters, and themes.
Most importantly for me, the introductory note provides invaluable context, though I was glad to only read it after the fact. The adoration of Rama and blind devotion to men as women scrabble for power and sully themselves is hard to reconcile with modern life. But put within a divine doctrinal context, rather than an earthly gender politics context it's easier to understand. Rather than seeing the simplistic good and bad of heroes and villains the slim appreciation of talent and value of all is well appreciated
November 10, 2019
Let's be real: I WANT to read the Ramayana in full, and even put it on my Kindle…but lingered it did. It's hard to make time to read the epic poem in full…so I read this beautiful and illustrated explanation of the true story of the Ramayana. It made me angry at the true ending of Sita (that people don't always talk abt - how can Ram be Ram if he allowed her to do that and treated her like that?!?!) but it's a beautiful story of devotion and love. Oh, Hanuman.
August 6, 2021
It was homework so I really didn't like that aspect and the points in the story moved really quickly. It was also vague. But, overall the plot and the story behind it was pretty good.
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August 4, 2022Best book
November 12, 2024
The cliff notes version of the Ramayana. Well enjoyed!
September 7, 2017
"Whoever hears the noble story of Rama's deeds will be blessed with success in this life and peace in the next."
December 8, 2015
A story of love, honor, pain and desire, the "Ramayana" delves into the mystic world of ancient Hindu mythology, influencing the majority of Hindus and those who read it. This version of the story, "Ramayana- A tale of Gods and Demons" by Ranchor Prime, is translated into english, and is simplified with added illustrations, making it readable and enjoyable, including for children.
The story has a very mystic view on things, with no science backing up the events in this story, which as a result engenders two types of interpretations: Those who actually believe in the story, from Rama killing a demon with ten heads, to a Pushpaka Vibana(the flying palace of Ravana, king of Lanka), and those who look at the morals of the story, and see it more as a work of philosophy. I very much enjoyed the moral aspects of this beautiful work of literature. Because of Hindu beliefs, killing something bad, such as demons is morally correct, because you would be killing bad Karma, therefore in return there will be good Karma for the killer, and for the demon, he or she will be reincarnated and given a chance to redeem him/herself.
When looking at Rama's actions throughout the story, rarely any of them are for self-benefit. For example, after Dasaratha, Rama's father, banishes Rama, Dasaratha takes it back and tells Rama to take the throne by force, but Rama left Ayodhya, staying loyal to his father. This tells readers that you should try to act to benefit others, and not yourself. This applies to people who are both selfless and selfish, because if you are selfless, you will do good things to others for their benefit, and if you are selfish, you could do good things to others so that good Karma will come back to you.
The illustrations, done by deceased painter B.G. Sharma, are VERY helpful because they engrain the reader with the image when the action is taking place, which is why it is also very kid friendly.
I felt that this story was a bit clichéd with many other parable-like stories (e.g. "this happened, therefore I shall do this action"), but I really liked how this version of the story has everything broken down, and only the necessary concepts are used. Children can enjoy this as a fun read, and those who are older can look more at the philosophy. This was a great read, and I definitely recommend it to everyone. I rate this story a 4/5.
The story has a very mystic view on things, with no science backing up the events in this story, which as a result engenders two types of interpretations: Those who actually believe in the story, from Rama killing a demon with ten heads, to a Pushpaka Vibana(the flying palace of Ravana, king of Lanka), and those who look at the morals of the story, and see it more as a work of philosophy. I very much enjoyed the moral aspects of this beautiful work of literature. Because of Hindu beliefs, killing something bad, such as demons is morally correct, because you would be killing bad Karma, therefore in return there will be good Karma for the killer, and for the demon, he or she will be reincarnated and given a chance to redeem him/herself.
When looking at Rama's actions throughout the story, rarely any of them are for self-benefit. For example, after Dasaratha, Rama's father, banishes Rama, Dasaratha takes it back and tells Rama to take the throne by force, but Rama left Ayodhya, staying loyal to his father. This tells readers that you should try to act to benefit others, and not yourself. This applies to people who are both selfless and selfish, because if you are selfless, you will do good things to others for their benefit, and if you are selfish, you could do good things to others so that good Karma will come back to you.
The illustrations, done by deceased painter B.G. Sharma, are VERY helpful because they engrain the reader with the image when the action is taking place, which is why it is also very kid friendly.
I felt that this story was a bit clichéd with many other parable-like stories (e.g. "this happened, therefore I shall do this action"), but I really liked how this version of the story has everything broken down, and only the necessary concepts are used. Children can enjoy this as a fun read, and those who are older can look more at the philosophy. This was a great read, and I definitely recommend it to everyone. I rate this story a 4/5.
September 7, 2010
This is the most wonderful story of love, loss, duty, honor and devotion. This version is short, concise and easy to read but still maintains the messages of this beloved story that has had a profound impact on everyone who has read it over the centuries. Read it again and again - it's like the bedtime story that you asked your parents to read to you every night.
March 9, 2015
Very beautiful and sophisticated illustrations but the literature itself is cut down a little too much, so you can't really appreciate the story without some background knowledge of the actual novel beforehand. If you already read Ramayana, then this one is a very good choice I guess, as again, the focus of the whole book is all the paintings, not the story itself.
November 12, 2012
A strange, beautiful tale. I imagine much has been lost in translation, but it's still a fantastic story.
March 5, 2011
The story is ancient, which always makes it difficult to relate to. However, the illustrations are fantastic, which makes it easier to slip into the world of the story.
May 26, 2011
Haha that arrogant monkey got what he deserved.
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September 3, 2016I just wanted to get the basic story and I enjoyed this easy-to-read retelling of this great tale. The illustrations were a lot of fun.
March 10, 2015
Beautiful book full of amazing illustrations! Story is awesome and an absolute pleasure to read.
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July 7, 2021Part philosophical, part fairy tale ish, simply told .
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews