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Three Indian Princesses: The Stories of Savitri, Damayanti and Sita
Princess Savitri happily leaves the palace to live with her husband, Satyvan, in the jungle. But beneath her joy lurks fear, for Savitri carries a dark secret. It is written in the stars that Satyvan will die within a year… Princess Everyone wishes to marry the beautiful Damayanti, including the gods. Even they, however, are happy to consent to her marriage to King Nala—all except the demon Kali, who lays a curse on the perfect couple… Princess Prince Rama is about to become king when he is banished to the jungle for fourteen years by his jealous stepmother. His loyal wife Sita follows, only to be kidnapped by Ravana, Lord of the Demons…
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
2 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Jamila Gavin
88 books65 followersJamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to an Indian father and an English mother. Jamila has written many books with multicultural themes for children and young adults. She won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award in 2000 and was runner-up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Her work has been adapted for stage and television. Jamila Gavin lives in England.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 10, 2013
Brief Plot Summary
A captivating trio of stories re-telling the adventures, trials and tribulations of the three Indian princesses as told in ancient mythology. The first story tells of Princess Savitri who devotedly follows her husband to live a life in the jungle instead of the palace, however she begins to live in fear when she finds out that her husband will die within a year. The second story is about Princess Damayanti who is admired by all, but a demon declares that she can't marry one King in particular and curses the couple. The last story tells of Princess Sita, who's husband Ram is banished from the kingdom and soon after Sita finds herself captured by the demon Ravana, Ram sets off to save her with the help of Hanuman.
Why I liked it?
The trio of stories were really captivating, the author was able to immerse me into an India full of fairy tales and adventure. Personally I love adventurous stories and this one was unique from other traditional Western adventure or mythological stories, which was probably what made this story even more engaging.
Appropriate Age Range:
6-10
How it could be used in the classroom?
This story is useful in Religious Education. The festival of Diwali is celebrated due to Ram and Sita's story, but children need to realise every religion has numerous other stories, often mythological in nature. Children can gain an understanding of the Hinduism as a religion and Indians as a culture, broadening their understanding of the world. This lesson could be followed by another lesson on a separate religion which has one known story and numerous other unknown stories for religious education.
A captivating trio of stories re-telling the adventures, trials and tribulations of the three Indian princesses as told in ancient mythology. The first story tells of Princess Savitri who devotedly follows her husband to live a life in the jungle instead of the palace, however she begins to live in fear when she finds out that her husband will die within a year. The second story is about Princess Damayanti who is admired by all, but a demon declares that she can't marry one King in particular and curses the couple. The last story tells of Princess Sita, who's husband Ram is banished from the kingdom and soon after Sita finds herself captured by the demon Ravana, Ram sets off to save her with the help of Hanuman.
Why I liked it?
The trio of stories were really captivating, the author was able to immerse me into an India full of fairy tales and adventure. Personally I love adventurous stories and this one was unique from other traditional Western adventure or mythological stories, which was probably what made this story even more engaging.
Appropriate Age Range:
6-10
How it could be used in the classroom?
This story is useful in Religious Education. The festival of Diwali is celebrated due to Ram and Sita's story, but children need to realise every religion has numerous other stories, often mythological in nature. Children can gain an understanding of the Hinduism as a religion and Indians as a culture, broadening their understanding of the world. This lesson could be followed by another lesson on a separate religion which has one known story and numerous other unknown stories for religious education.
November 4, 2018
Three lovely Hindu tales each depicting similar message throughout. Loyalty and strength are the overriding themes throughout each story. Provides a great insight into the values and beliefs of Hinduism, with an informative little glossary at the back.
July 27, 2020
I picked up a picture book that centers on stories about strong women. It got me thinking to another book I picked up years ago about three Indian princesses. They go through challenges and prevail. Thus, I thought this would be a good book to share with children.
September 29, 2014
These three Hindu tales are fascinating. I love the style of the book-whereby there are three stories in one. It enables an understanding of Hinduism and the beliefs of the religion. As someone who does not have a lot of knowledge in this religion I learnt a great deal from these tales, and enabled an understanding of names I have heard associated with the religion. Now I know the tales behind these. Therefore this book is fantastic for cross curricular purposes- with R.E. being an obvious subject this book can be used within.
The first tale is about Savitri, a rich princess who chooses her husband- a husband that is poor. This heart-warming tale shows the change Savitri goes through from the rich to the basic living conditions-and her happiness throughout. This tale shows the power of love. However her husband Savytan has only a year to live-this causes Savitri to live in some aspect of fear, particularly when the date is nearing. However the story is a happy ending- Yama is a figure that determines this-he grants Savitri’s wishes and consequently the promise of children revives Savytan. The story shows the power of certain people and the key aspect of God as the protector. Out of the three tales this one was my favourite. I loved how Savitri forfeited her luxurious life for love-as this was her priority. From this lessons can be learnt. The key part of happiness is crucial-happiness does not necessarily mean rich-in this case it is love.
The second tale looks at the princess Damyanti and her journey of finding a husband. Nala is her chosen one however many misdemeanours happen along the way due to the demon Kali that sabotages Damyanti and Nala’s ‘happy ever after’. Nala is cursed and due to his behaviour and eventual disappearance it leads Damaynati nearly having to find another husband. However the power of love-the love Nala holds for Damyanti-overcomes Kali. The story is a ‘happily ever after’ scenario too with Nala winning back everything –including his wife.
The final tale looks at Sita. Her husband Rama is chosen as he is the one that is able to lift the Bow of Shiva. Rama was poised to become king however evil nurse Mathars had other ideas-she persuaded this not to happen which consequently contributed to Rama, Sita and Rama’s brother going into exile. They were watched over whilst in exile. Surpa-Nakha appeared, who was the sister of the demon Revana- and she showed her love for Rama. Rama reiterated his loyalty for Sita and suggested she married his brother, however he declined this offer. Subsequently revenge occurred which contributed in Sita being kidnapped. Rama eventually found Sita with the help of Hanuman; however he was not sure if Sita was partly to blame. Agni showed Rama that Sita was not to blame and there was a stage where they were reunited. Despite this, Sita had twins and Rama could not be sure they were his so consequently both lead a life apart unhappy. I found this story particularly interesting as this relates to the festival of Diwali and why it is celebrated by Hindu’s.
The major themes in all three stories are love and happiness. Although these tales are specifically Hindu tales, these themes can be connected to many other religions-showing the versatility of this book and how it can be utilised in the classroom. A feature of the book that was particularly useful is the glossary. This itself is a key resource and can be used, especially when teaching Hinduism. Due to the complex names I would suggest that this book is aimed at Key Stage Two pupils. Although my focus has been on R.E, the description and in particular the similes throughout the book are fantastic. The similes used in all three tales enriched the stories and provided more of a visual picture to the descriptions.
Overall I had not heard of this book prior to reading it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is excellent in gaining a better understanding of Hinduism, the Indian culture and the tales themselves are so captivating it was a real pleasure to read.
The first tale is about Savitri, a rich princess who chooses her husband- a husband that is poor. This heart-warming tale shows the change Savitri goes through from the rich to the basic living conditions-and her happiness throughout. This tale shows the power of love. However her husband Savytan has only a year to live-this causes Savitri to live in some aspect of fear, particularly when the date is nearing. However the story is a happy ending- Yama is a figure that determines this-he grants Savitri’s wishes and consequently the promise of children revives Savytan. The story shows the power of certain people and the key aspect of God as the protector. Out of the three tales this one was my favourite. I loved how Savitri forfeited her luxurious life for love-as this was her priority. From this lessons can be learnt. The key part of happiness is crucial-happiness does not necessarily mean rich-in this case it is love.
The second tale looks at the princess Damyanti and her journey of finding a husband. Nala is her chosen one however many misdemeanours happen along the way due to the demon Kali that sabotages Damyanti and Nala’s ‘happy ever after’. Nala is cursed and due to his behaviour and eventual disappearance it leads Damaynati nearly having to find another husband. However the power of love-the love Nala holds for Damyanti-overcomes Kali. The story is a ‘happily ever after’ scenario too with Nala winning back everything –including his wife.
The final tale looks at Sita. Her husband Rama is chosen as he is the one that is able to lift the Bow of Shiva. Rama was poised to become king however evil nurse Mathars had other ideas-she persuaded this not to happen which consequently contributed to Rama, Sita and Rama’s brother going into exile. They were watched over whilst in exile. Surpa-Nakha appeared, who was the sister of the demon Revana- and she showed her love for Rama. Rama reiterated his loyalty for Sita and suggested she married his brother, however he declined this offer. Subsequently revenge occurred which contributed in Sita being kidnapped. Rama eventually found Sita with the help of Hanuman; however he was not sure if Sita was partly to blame. Agni showed Rama that Sita was not to blame and there was a stage where they were reunited. Despite this, Sita had twins and Rama could not be sure they were his so consequently both lead a life apart unhappy. I found this story particularly interesting as this relates to the festival of Diwali and why it is celebrated by Hindu’s.
The major themes in all three stories are love and happiness. Although these tales are specifically Hindu tales, these themes can be connected to many other religions-showing the versatility of this book and how it can be utilised in the classroom. A feature of the book that was particularly useful is the glossary. This itself is a key resource and can be used, especially when teaching Hinduism. Due to the complex names I would suggest that this book is aimed at Key Stage Two pupils. Although my focus has been on R.E, the description and in particular the similes throughout the book are fantastic. The similes used in all three tales enriched the stories and provided more of a visual picture to the descriptions.
Overall I had not heard of this book prior to reading it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book is excellent in gaining a better understanding of Hinduism, the Indian culture and the tales themselves are so captivating it was a real pleasure to read.
July 14, 2014
I really love Jamila Gavin. I love the elegance of her writing, the quiet subtlety of it and the way she tells rich and layered stories that never quite do what you expect them to do.
This slim compilation of three stories, each inspired by a different story of Hindu mythology, are intensely diverse, somewhat scary at times, vividly scenic, and all full of an almost aural texture that made me delight in them. I wanted these read out loud. I kept pausing to read them to myself, to taste the words and revel in her precision, her lovely lovely precision as a writer.
Basically, I wanted more of them than I had here but I think I get greedy with Gavin because what she does is so good, and so I hope you forgive me for that because this whole review will be shot through with that sentiment.
The first story is about Shanta and the Goddess Kali. It's gorgeous, eloquently told as ever, but with a twist that made me pause and realise the power at the heart of these stories. The same can be said for Amrita and the Goddess Lakshmi, where we see star-crossed lovers, galaxy wide fights, and the wars that occur in the night sky. The final story, about Anil, Kiki and the Goddess Durga is perhaps on a smaller scale but still rather gorgeously intense, taking place in the domestic sphere and featuring bullying.
I think, maybe, intense is the right way to describe these stories. They're so brief but rather wonderful, like flashes of fireworks in the night sky. They flare, brilliant, bright, before fading away.
I would like them to not fade away, but I am thankful for what we have. Everything from Gavin is a joy. This collection is no exception.
This slim compilation of three stories, each inspired by a different story of Hindu mythology, are intensely diverse, somewhat scary at times, vividly scenic, and all full of an almost aural texture that made me delight in them. I wanted these read out loud. I kept pausing to read them to myself, to taste the words and revel in her precision, her lovely lovely precision as a writer.
Basically, I wanted more of them than I had here but I think I get greedy with Gavin because what she does is so good, and so I hope you forgive me for that because this whole review will be shot through with that sentiment.
The first story is about Shanta and the Goddess Kali. It's gorgeous, eloquently told as ever, but with a twist that made me pause and realise the power at the heart of these stories. The same can be said for Amrita and the Goddess Lakshmi, where we see star-crossed lovers, galaxy wide fights, and the wars that occur in the night sky. The final story, about Anil, Kiki and the Goddess Durga is perhaps on a smaller scale but still rather gorgeously intense, taking place in the domestic sphere and featuring bullying.
I think, maybe, intense is the right way to describe these stories. They're so brief but rather wonderful, like flashes of fireworks in the night sky. They flare, brilliant, bright, before fading away.
I would like them to not fade away, but I am thankful for what we have. Everything from Gavin is a joy. This collection is no exception.
May 25, 2015
Three Indian Princesses: the stories of Savitri, Damayanti & Sita by Jamila Gavin
The story of Savitri is about a young princess who lived in a beautiful palace, encircled by family who loved her, servants who worshiped her and all the material riches and comforts you would expect. The princess, bored of her comforts and routine, escapes into the surrounding jungle for a day in order to experience life on the outside of the palace. Savitri encounters a young man called Satyvan who lives in the jungle and who turns out to be a prince whose father is a King who was wrongly ousted from his throne by his own wicked brother. Satyvan shows Savitri around and explains that he is the richest prince of all as there is no finer palace than that of the wealth the jungle can provide. Savitri and Satyvan eventually marry and through Savitri’s goodness and devotion to her family she is able to demonstrate to the gods that her husband should not die when he is fated to do so.
This book contains three stories with differing tails of love, destiny and intrigue, which combine to offer a wealth of moral, social and emotional material. Beautifully written and easily read, the stories contain topics for discussion suitable for RE, PSHE and P4C. I would recommend it to any teacher in KS2 looking for a cultural talking points that interest both boys and girls.
The story of Savitri is about a young princess who lived in a beautiful palace, encircled by family who loved her, servants who worshiped her and all the material riches and comforts you would expect. The princess, bored of her comforts and routine, escapes into the surrounding jungle for a day in order to experience life on the outside of the palace. Savitri encounters a young man called Satyvan who lives in the jungle and who turns out to be a prince whose father is a King who was wrongly ousted from his throne by his own wicked brother. Satyvan shows Savitri around and explains that he is the richest prince of all as there is no finer palace than that of the wealth the jungle can provide. Savitri and Satyvan eventually marry and through Savitri’s goodness and devotion to her family she is able to demonstrate to the gods that her husband should not die when he is fated to do so.
This book contains three stories with differing tails of love, destiny and intrigue, which combine to offer a wealth of moral, social and emotional material. Beautifully written and easily read, the stories contain topics for discussion suitable for RE, PSHE and P4C. I would recommend it to any teacher in KS2 looking for a cultural talking points that interest both boys and girls.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews