Ram: The Student

by Devdutt Pattanaik

Ram, the ideal man, is the result of two very different educations from two very different sages Vasishtha and Vishwamitra. While the former instills in him vast knowledge and theory about everything that a king must know, it is Vishwamitra's tutelage that lets Ram practise all that he has learnt, thus marking the end of his childhood and the beginning of his journey as a man.From debating moral conundrums, using dharma to make difficult decisions, facing dangerous rakshasas, and understanding human frailty, Vishwamitra's lessons are as much learnings for Ram as they are a way for us to understand the Ramayana. In The Student, Devdutt Pattanaik presents to his readers a side of Ram and his childhood that one rarely hears about. Complex yet straightforward, this is classic Pattanaik.

19 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2017

About the author

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik (born December 11, 1970) is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist and author whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, mythology, and also management. He has written a number of books related to Hindu mythology, including Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, a novel, The Pregnant King, and Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata (2010).
He is the Chief Belief Officer of Future Group, one of India’s largest retailers, bringing the wisdom of Indian mythology into Indian business, especifically in human resource management. He also writes a column for the newspaper MID DAY.
He has also written a novel based on a tale from the Mahabharata titled 'The Pregnant King' published by Penguin Books India

Reviews

[Pallavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up listening and watching Ramayana .Reading Ram: The Student added a fresh perspective about this epic story. Even with a few pages Devdutt Pattanaik conveys the birth of Ram as an erred human and a forgiving god.

[Sandeep Gautam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very short read but does manage to convey how Ram got educated under Vishwamitra and what he still needed to learn by going to Vanvas. Like all post hoc analysis, this may make sense though the reality might be that we are just trying to make sense of events that randomly happened.

[Hemant Mehar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb!




this book also answers the question, why Vishwamitra himself did not kill the Rakshsa's, even though he was having most powerful and deadliest missiles.