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Ramayana: Divine Loophole
Artist and veteran Pixar animator Sanjay Patel lends a lush, whimsical illustration style and lighthearted voice to one of Hindu mythology's best-loved and most enduring tales. Teeming with powerful deities, love-struck monsters, flying monkey gods, magic weapons, demon armies, and divine love, Ramayana tells the story of Rama, a god-turned-prince, and his quest to rescue his wife Sita after she is kidnapped by a demon king. This illustrated tale features over 100 colorful full-spread illustrations, a detailed pictorial glossary of the cast of characters who make up the epic tale, and sketches of the work in progress. From princesses in peril to gripping battles, scheming royals, and hordes of bloodthirsty demons, Ramayana is the ultimate adventure story presented with an unforgettably modern touch.
186 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2010
76 people are currently reading
1425 people want to read
About the author
Sanjay Patel
50 books70 followersSanjay Patel is an animator and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios, where he has worked on many features including A Bug's Life, Ratatouille, and the Cars series. Sanjay is also the creator of Ramayana: Divine Loophole, The Big Poster Book of Hindu Deities, and The Little Book of Hindu Deities. His modern interpretations of Hindu epics have been exhibited at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 211 reviews
January 25, 2022
7/10 stars
Highly enjoyable, with stylistically consistent, interesting illustrations and concise, clear text serving as a wonderful introduction to the Hindu classic.
Ramayana is a great ancient mythological text - which means it's also pretty long, convoluted, and with an overabundance of characters with not-easy-to-remember names. But Patel makes reading through his shortened and spiced up version a really tasty treat. It's obvious he loves the Hindu mythology, and that he treats his own work as an invitation for the readers to try out the long version if they liked his abbreviated, illustrated one, and not as something definitve.
Also, the sketches at the back and the short description of his creative process are very helpful and informative - as is the illustrated list of characters ;)
Highly enjoyable, with stylistically consistent, interesting illustrations and concise, clear text serving as a wonderful introduction to the Hindu classic.
Ramayana is a great ancient mythological text - which means it's also pretty long, convoluted, and with an overabundance of characters with not-easy-to-remember names. But Patel makes reading through his shortened and spiced up version a really tasty treat. It's obvious he loves the Hindu mythology, and that he treats his own work as an invitation for the readers to try out the long version if they liked his abbreviated, illustrated one, and not as something definitve.
Also, the sketches at the back and the short description of his creative process are very helpful and informative - as is the illustrated list of characters ;)
August 10, 2020
Gorgeous book!
September 7, 2021
Ramayana: Divine Loophole relays one of the greatest epic Hindu tales. It’s the story of Rama, an avatar of the blue god Vishnu, who preserves and protects the universe and makes up the Hindu trinity along with Brahma and Shiva. Vishnu reincarnated himself as Rama to defeat the powerful demon Ravana, whom no god or demon can defeat. But as a human and with the help of his brother Lakshman and his friends Hanuman (a flying monkey who is the son of the wind god, Vayu), Jambavan (a bear chief), and Sugriva (an exiled monkey king), Rama is able to defeat the demon to rid the world of a great evil and rescue his wife, Sita, who the demon had kidnapped.
Patel did a great job condensing the story and writing it in a way that would captivate and entertain a modern audience, especially kids, who are the intended audience. Despite the book being almost 200 pages long, it is a quick read brimming with illustrations (over 100 of them).
I immensely enjoyed my time reading this, both because of the story and the illustrations that accompany it. The story fascinated me, but it was also exciting because it includes a prince being banished from his kingdom by a jealous mom, fights with demons, a great war, and a powerful monkey transporting an entire mountain to help cure a friend of a fatal wound. The only thing that didn’t work for me is when Rama questioned Sita’s virtue and she had to walk through fire to prove her innocence. I’m sure much detail was probably left out and the prose isn’t flowery or poetic, but it still gripped me. I had a wonderful time with this and appreciated it introducing me to a Hindu tale.
In the extra pages at the back, the book contains brief descriptions of the characters — gods, animals, warriors, demons — who appear in the story, as well as maps that track the routes Rama took on his adventures. And there are also sketches and a note on Patel’s process working on the book (it took him 4 years to complete). I also think the introduction is worth checking out as well before getting into the story because Patel talks about his inspiration for the book and how working on it helped him to connect with a part of his cultural identity.
ART STYLE
Patel is a Pixar artist, and I think I could see influences of that in his work. The illustrations in this book are striking and stunning. There are a lot of geometric forms. The characters and surroundings are all drawn with very straight, precise lines, and there are more sharp angles and blockiness to the forms than curves. But I love this! I love this style so much. I love how clean it all is and the fine details and the patterns. The orderliness to it all is very pleasing to my eye.
I also love how colorful the book is. It’s so dazzling, and I’m beyond happy that I purchased myself a copy. It’s so beautiful. I hope Patel writes/creates more books like this.
OVERALL: ★★★★★
A concisely told epic tale that’s filled with several exciting moments and is accompanied by gorgeous, detailed, stunning illustrations.
As posted on Zezee with Books.
Patel did a great job condensing the story and writing it in a way that would captivate and entertain a modern audience, especially kids, who are the intended audience. Despite the book being almost 200 pages long, it is a quick read brimming with illustrations (over 100 of them).
I immensely enjoyed my time reading this, both because of the story and the illustrations that accompany it. The story fascinated me, but it was also exciting because it includes a prince being banished from his kingdom by a jealous mom, fights with demons, a great war, and a powerful monkey transporting an entire mountain to help cure a friend of a fatal wound. The only thing that didn’t work for me is when Rama questioned Sita’s virtue and she had to walk through fire to prove her innocence. I’m sure much detail was probably left out and the prose isn’t flowery or poetic, but it still gripped me. I had a wonderful time with this and appreciated it introducing me to a Hindu tale.
In the extra pages at the back, the book contains brief descriptions of the characters — gods, animals, warriors, demons — who appear in the story, as well as maps that track the routes Rama took on his adventures. And there are also sketches and a note on Patel’s process working on the book (it took him 4 years to complete). I also think the introduction is worth checking out as well before getting into the story because Patel talks about his inspiration for the book and how working on it helped him to connect with a part of his cultural identity.
ART STYLE
Patel is a Pixar artist, and I think I could see influences of that in his work. The illustrations in this book are striking and stunning. There are a lot of geometric forms. The characters and surroundings are all drawn with very straight, precise lines, and there are more sharp angles and blockiness to the forms than curves. But I love this! I love this style so much. I love how clean it all is and the fine details and the patterns. The orderliness to it all is very pleasing to my eye.
I also love how colorful the book is. It’s so dazzling, and I’m beyond happy that I purchased myself a copy. It’s so beautiful. I hope Patel writes/creates more books like this.
OVERALL: ★★★★★
A concisely told epic tale that’s filled with several exciting moments and is accompanied by gorgeous, detailed, stunning illustrations.
As posted on Zezee with Books.
June 14, 2022
The illustrations were amazing. And I’d never heard the full (though of course greatly abridged) story of the Ramayana, so it was fun to learn about it. My kids enjoyed it a lot too, and asked to read it every night. As far as plot goes, you can tell it’s from a huge rambling epic mythology, so it doesn’t always make all the sense (and things like Rama not accepting Sita because she’d been in the home of another man weren’t my cup of tea, BUT as far as mythologies go, Rama is a whole bunch better than Zeus haha). My kids liked learning about other mythologies. It’s worth picking up just for the cool illustrations (he’s worked for Pixar)
November 7, 2018
This famous Indian epic just surfaced in my life, as it is a part of my new curriculum. Sanjay Patel's telling of this story is abbreviated and lean, yet rich and fascinating. If you aren't familiar with the story, this interpretation is gorgeously depicted/ illustrated and extremely palatable. This is a "must read" for your personal, global cannon.
September 1, 2024
I love this book!!!!
The story and illustrations are beautiful!!!🤩
The story and illustrations are beautiful!!!🤩
March 8, 2010
The only familiarity I had with the Ramayana prior to reading this book was the names of some of the gods -Vishnu and Brahma and a few of the other characters, Sita and Hanuman, but I had no idea what their story was or how they related to one another. This is an epic tale and from what I gather from the introduction, the author of this version, Sanjay Patel, has streamlined the story. I have no idea what he's left out, but what he's left in makes a fun and exciting read. The author's great achievement is not his condensation of the story but his incredible illustrations, over 100 of them that he has created to accompany his retelling of the Ramayana. Patel has a great eye for color and composition and it comes as no surprise that he has worked on some of Pixar studios wonderful films. His talent is impressive and at times his work reminded me not of the Pixar films but another great example of animated storytelling - the wonderful series "Samurai Jack." I was especially reminded of "Samurai Jack" in his use of color, his 'widescreen' compositions and his elegantly designed backgrounds. I bought this book on a whim, after only seeing a few examples of the art, I'm glad I did. I know I'll be looking at it over and over, especially whenever I feel the need for a dose of artistic inspiration.
September 3, 2018
I really love this story (especially the characters Ravana and Hanuman) so to see it as a graphic novel was just wonderful! also has an interesting "who's who" in the back along with some comments on the creative process + sketches
Read
July 29, 2013The art is amazing. The text is okay, and also badly proofread.
February 26, 2023
I read a shortened version of the Ramayana in college but don't remember much about it, so it was nice to revisit it this way, and my 2nd and 5th grader enjoyed this introduction to the Indian epic (paired with our History Quest: Early Times reading for this year). It was interesting to compare and contrast it with some of the Greek epics we'd read earlier in the year.
The author/illustrator is a Pixar animator, and it shows in the level of detail and action present in these illustrations. It did feel a bit like reading an animation, but the illustrations are large and expressive, not tiny panels with speech bubbles like a comic. There is a fair amount of violence and some very creepy-looking creatures, but it didn't seem to be too scary for my kids.
The story is told in three acts, and then includes a final section describing some of the different characters and types of beings that show up in the story. An awful lot has to be condensed into this version, and I can't speak to the level of accuracy with the original, but it does mean there isn't a dull moment.
One of the parts I remembered from college, due to the level of criticism it brought up (understandably), was Rama's refusal to reunite with Sita until her honor was proven. I thought it was well handled here (it mentioned her spending so much time in another man's house), but did feel the need to explain a bit about how different cultures may view "honor." (Edited to add: there is also at least one place where a character threatens to harm themself to get someone else to do something.)
My main quibble is how hard some of the text is to read. A lot of it is very small print, and it's sometimes just a slightly lighter shade of the color around it, which is probably nice for the aesthetics as it doesn't distract as much from the art, but the fact that it doesn't stand out well can make it difficult to see. Otherwise, we really enjoyed this book, and now we know more than we did before about Hindu beliefs.
The author/illustrator is a Pixar animator, and it shows in the level of detail and action present in these illustrations. It did feel a bit like reading an animation, but the illustrations are large and expressive, not tiny panels with speech bubbles like a comic. There is a fair amount of violence and some very creepy-looking creatures, but it didn't seem to be too scary for my kids.
The story is told in three acts, and then includes a final section describing some of the different characters and types of beings that show up in the story. An awful lot has to be condensed into this version, and I can't speak to the level of accuracy with the original, but it does mean there isn't a dull moment.
One of the parts I remembered from college, due to the level of criticism it brought up (understandably), was Rama's refusal to reunite with Sita until her honor was proven. I thought it was well handled here (it mentioned her spending so much time in another man's house), but did feel the need to explain a bit about how different cultures may view "honor." (Edited to add: there is also at least one place where a character threatens to harm themself to get someone else to do something.)
My main quibble is how hard some of the text is to read. A lot of it is very small print, and it's sometimes just a slightly lighter shade of the color around it, which is probably nice for the aesthetics as it doesn't distract as much from the art, but the fact that it doesn't stand out well can make it difficult to see. Otherwise, we really enjoyed this book, and now we know more than we did before about Hindu beliefs.
September 23, 2024
I would give this 6 out of 5 stars if that was possible. It's a truly creative, exciting retelling of an epic.
Despite reading thousands of pages himself, Sanjay Patel manages to condense the story to a much more manageable length AND to retain a lot of the beauty and complexity of the story.
He adds humor without changing the whole tone of the story - there is still room for sadness and grave bravery.
His illustrations are unique and dynamic, and I love his notes at the end of the book about his artistic process.
Despite reading thousands of pages himself, Sanjay Patel manages to condense the story to a much more manageable length AND to retain a lot of the beauty and complexity of the story.
He adds humor without changing the whole tone of the story - there is still room for sadness and grave bravery.
His illustrations are unique and dynamic, and I love his notes at the end of the book about his artistic process.
January 17, 2025
10/10 would recommend this to middle school students. Follows the stages of the hero’s journey and is filled with action and amazing illustrations. Great retelling of a classic Indian myth/traditional tale.
March 19, 2018
Such a great retelling of this epic tale with beautiful illustrations. I know that the students in my library will enjoy the story even more as the format and illustrations make it so accessible.
January 20, 2019
The illustrations work quite well to introduce Ramayana to a 2-year old.
December 28, 2019
Beautifully illustrated with engaging prose, my first grader thought this graphic novel version of classic Hindu mythology "sick."
January 29, 2022
The art is fantastic and although it reads as a summary of the 1,000 page story, it is still interesting and well told.
March 9, 2025
The illustrations were so cool!! I did really like it but I honestly wish it were longer
February 18, 2018
Alright so chose this book next to read along with my 6th graders as they are getting into symbolism and hero motifs and exploring this epic tale of gods, demons, sacrifice and a quest for love….okay I typed as I read as I need a summary of this to reference in classes so warning looonnngg review ahead LOL..
Act One: The Blue Prince
The story starts with a ten-headed scholar who studies and meditate for years to be granted a wish and after nine thousand years and his sacrifice of one head for each year-- the scholar is down to his last head when the god of creation Brahma grants his wish: to never be defeated by any god or demon which gave him all his heads back as well as fierce armor and weapons..he was indestructible and amassed an army of demons from hell (rakshashas) and dethroned the current ruler of heaven Indra. He became known as Ravana which means “one who makes the universe scream” which led to a convening of the gods to make an appeal to Vishnu, the god of preservation who exposed the loophole in Ravana’s plan—that gods or demons couldn’t defeat him but humans and animals can. Vishnu decided to reincarnate himself as a human to defeat Ravana, a human known as Rama the blue warrior. Vishnu as the human Rama is a prince with three brothers and one Lakshman who he was very close to and was prophesized by an old sage to be the duo to have a special mission. Lakshman and Rama train to harness their powers and strength and one day they encounter a demon and their rishi (high level sage) states he cannot fight back due to his vow of nonviolence-Rama however pulls out his bow and banishes the demon though he is warned his actions will have ramifications in the future…As Rama, Lakshman and their sage are headed home they encounter a challenge from the gods on lifting Shiva’s bow; Rama is able to do it on the first try and is rewarded with the hand in marriage of Princess Sita who is actually in incarnate of goddess Lakshmi and the two happily married...There were however those who disapproved and one included Rama’s stepmother who did not like that her son Bharata was not chosen as king and decided to call in one of her favors with the King to see to Rama’s exile. Rama, Sita and Lakshman leave the kingdom to live in the jungle and his father feeling his guilt dies soon after. Bharata who had no knowledge of what his mother had done runs into Rama in the woods and begs him to return and be king but Rama refuses as it was an official order and Bharata decides not to be king either and places Rama’s shoes on the throne until he returns to rule.
Act Two: Jungle Drama
The three exiled princes and princess roam the jungle and come upon kindly monks praying who tell them their forest is inhabited by demons they are powerless against. Lakshman and Rama vow to protect them and in return are given gifts: a sari of pure gold and jewels, a bow crafted for the God Vishnu and a single arrow that transform to any weapon and a sword that could take down any demon in their way with the warning the weapons only work in an attack and not to start violence The trio lived peacefully for thirteen years until Ravana’s sister and the demon Soorpanaka saw the blue Rama and fell in love with him. Soorpanaka turned into a beautiful maiden to tempt Rama and as she was dancing to seduce him Sita walks up and the demon vows to kill her. Lakshman shows up with the sword and is ready to kill Soorpanaka, though he is stopped by Rama he does cut off the demon’s nose after Soorpanaka says she will come for Sita when her guard is down. With a missing nose and injured pride Soorpanaka returns to her brother Ravana and demands justice as it would only be a matter of time before he comes to kill them. Ravana agrees and arms Soorpanaka with thousands of demon soldiers to go after Rama. ..Hearing about the demon army coming for him Rama hides Sita in a cave guarded by Lakshman and alone Rama fights the army with his bow and enchanted arrow and he wins. Defeated and embarrassed Soorpanaka returns to Ravana and comes up with another plan for Rama by telling her brother of Sita’s beauty—and Ravana always wanting another beauty for his harem decides to join in plan of kidnapping Sita and murdering Rama..
Meanwhile in the jungle Sita spots a golden deer she has never seen before and begs Rama to catch it for her..though Rama thinks there is something odd about that deer he follows it and then he shoots it. As the deer lay dying it transformed to its true demon form and revealed his plan for avenging his mother which was the demon Rama killed at his rishi’s house earlier, the deer then mimics Rama’s voice and calls for help. After hearing Rama’s cry Sita orders Lakshman to save him and while he promised to protect Sita he obeys her and leaves her alone and open to Ravana’s plan of kidnapping her. Ravana does steal Sita and the chariot flies her away screaming the God Jatayu in the form of an eagle tries to save Sita and Ravana chops off his wing and flies away. When Rama and Lakshman return Sita is gone and Jatayu is dead—the brothers go off to find her and encounter animals of the forest (a white monkey, brown monkey and a bear) that hear their story and agree to include their families and help them find Sita. The animals try to find her but it is the white monkey who has the power hidden inside him to find her; the white monkey locates Sita and renews her hope for freedom. As the white monkey is leaving he is captured and bound in chains to be set on fire starting with his tail not knowing the white monkey’s power. The tail grows and fire consumes the entire palace leaving Sita safe and burning Ravana’s palace down.
Act Three: Endless War
With the white monkey burning Ravana’s home and returning to tell Rama of Sita’s recovery Rama and Lakshman gather their army of animals to go get her without realizing the animals could not swim and even the God of water Varuna unable to help them as he is also a slave to Ravana. The bear was able to come up with a plan by remembering that if a god’s name is written on a rock it would float. After trying many gods they chose Rama’s name and the stones were afloat allowing them to build a bridge to Ravana’s home to bring Sita back. The animals and the remaining demons on Ravana’s home engaged in a long, bloody battle pretty evenly matched until Ravana decides to join the fight. With his ten heads and fearsome armor he is able to kill thousands and then set his sights on Lakshman and hit him with an arrow. As Lakshman lay dying the white monkey is summoned to dispatched to find a life saving plant in the mountains and he returns with the entire mountain and Lakshman is revived. Growing impatient Ravana decides to fight Rama one on one and it is epic. Ravana unleashes his most powerful weapon which is able to harness the fire of Shiva, a fire that could burn up the universe and at the same time Rama uses his magic bow and arrow to transform to the brahmastra or a divine power to end all of creation made by Brahma..the power of these two mighty weapons cancelled out and the universe remained in tact but Ravana was now drained of energy and Rama is now able to cut off all his heads however Ravana’s heads grew back as he seemed invincible. Upon reflection Rama realizes he knows the most vulnerable part of Ravana which is his bellybutton..after this Rama knows what he must do and he harnesses the brahmastra and aims at Ravana’s belly button and it is successful—Ravana is banished to the depths of hell and Rama revealed he is the avatar of Vishnu a god reincarnated as a human and therefore the loophole that could kill Ravana.
With Ravana gone Rama and Sita are reunited—though Rama is cold to her because she spent so long with Ravana. Sita tries to quell his jealousy by walking in flame and if she was innocent as she claimed come out unscathed. As Sita stands in the flames she is unharmed and the god of fire Agni appears and declares Sita untouched and perfect delighting Rama and uniting the lovers once again. As all this was going on the fourteen year exile has ended and the trio are on their way home with their animal friends to reclaim their throne which has been empty with his sandals in his place. He comes home and puts his shoes on, his two other brothers return and Rama and Sita rule long and happily as King and Queen. Rama’s return is even celebrated yearly in the Diwali festivals of Hindu.
I liked this story a lot—it was complex but entertaining and the illustrations really draw you in and engage you with the colors..As detailed as the story is there is also brief profiles of each of the Gods of Hindu and I was so glad to learn more of their holy trinity Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva..their stories are in here as well as others I liked and one Sumitra the mother of Rama’s twin brothers bound by loyalty to serve him always; the women were so beautifully drawn I found myself going back to their pages and just admiring their color and beauty…I would say my only complaint would be the font and color choices—whew the small print in white on orange backgrounds was hard to read jeez..but beautiful story with amazing drawings and a rich history of Hindu gods and goddesses worth reading..glad it is part of the curriculum!
Act One: The Blue Prince
The story starts with a ten-headed scholar who studies and meditate for years to be granted a wish and after nine thousand years and his sacrifice of one head for each year-- the scholar is down to his last head when the god of creation Brahma grants his wish: to never be defeated by any god or demon which gave him all his heads back as well as fierce armor and weapons..he was indestructible and amassed an army of demons from hell (rakshashas) and dethroned the current ruler of heaven Indra. He became known as Ravana which means “one who makes the universe scream” which led to a convening of the gods to make an appeal to Vishnu, the god of preservation who exposed the loophole in Ravana’s plan—that gods or demons couldn’t defeat him but humans and animals can. Vishnu decided to reincarnate himself as a human to defeat Ravana, a human known as Rama the blue warrior. Vishnu as the human Rama is a prince with three brothers and one Lakshman who he was very close to and was prophesized by an old sage to be the duo to have a special mission. Lakshman and Rama train to harness their powers and strength and one day they encounter a demon and their rishi (high level sage) states he cannot fight back due to his vow of nonviolence-Rama however pulls out his bow and banishes the demon though he is warned his actions will have ramifications in the future…As Rama, Lakshman and their sage are headed home they encounter a challenge from the gods on lifting Shiva’s bow; Rama is able to do it on the first try and is rewarded with the hand in marriage of Princess Sita who is actually in incarnate of goddess Lakshmi and the two happily married...There were however those who disapproved and one included Rama’s stepmother who did not like that her son Bharata was not chosen as king and decided to call in one of her favors with the King to see to Rama’s exile. Rama, Sita and Lakshman leave the kingdom to live in the jungle and his father feeling his guilt dies soon after. Bharata who had no knowledge of what his mother had done runs into Rama in the woods and begs him to return and be king but Rama refuses as it was an official order and Bharata decides not to be king either and places Rama’s shoes on the throne until he returns to rule.
Act Two: Jungle Drama
The three exiled princes and princess roam the jungle and come upon kindly monks praying who tell them their forest is inhabited by demons they are powerless against. Lakshman and Rama vow to protect them and in return are given gifts: a sari of pure gold and jewels, a bow crafted for the God Vishnu and a single arrow that transform to any weapon and a sword that could take down any demon in their way with the warning the weapons only work in an attack and not to start violence The trio lived peacefully for thirteen years until Ravana’s sister and the demon Soorpanaka saw the blue Rama and fell in love with him. Soorpanaka turned into a beautiful maiden to tempt Rama and as she was dancing to seduce him Sita walks up and the demon vows to kill her. Lakshman shows up with the sword and is ready to kill Soorpanaka, though he is stopped by Rama he does cut off the demon’s nose after Soorpanaka says she will come for Sita when her guard is down. With a missing nose and injured pride Soorpanaka returns to her brother Ravana and demands justice as it would only be a matter of time before he comes to kill them. Ravana agrees and arms Soorpanaka with thousands of demon soldiers to go after Rama. ..Hearing about the demon army coming for him Rama hides Sita in a cave guarded by Lakshman and alone Rama fights the army with his bow and enchanted arrow and he wins. Defeated and embarrassed Soorpanaka returns to Ravana and comes up with another plan for Rama by telling her brother of Sita’s beauty—and Ravana always wanting another beauty for his harem decides to join in plan of kidnapping Sita and murdering Rama..
Meanwhile in the jungle Sita spots a golden deer she has never seen before and begs Rama to catch it for her..though Rama thinks there is something odd about that deer he follows it and then he shoots it. As the deer lay dying it transformed to its true demon form and revealed his plan for avenging his mother which was the demon Rama killed at his rishi’s house earlier, the deer then mimics Rama’s voice and calls for help. After hearing Rama’s cry Sita orders Lakshman to save him and while he promised to protect Sita he obeys her and leaves her alone and open to Ravana’s plan of kidnapping her. Ravana does steal Sita and the chariot flies her away screaming the God Jatayu in the form of an eagle tries to save Sita and Ravana chops off his wing and flies away. When Rama and Lakshman return Sita is gone and Jatayu is dead—the brothers go off to find her and encounter animals of the forest (a white monkey, brown monkey and a bear) that hear their story and agree to include their families and help them find Sita. The animals try to find her but it is the white monkey who has the power hidden inside him to find her; the white monkey locates Sita and renews her hope for freedom. As the white monkey is leaving he is captured and bound in chains to be set on fire starting with his tail not knowing the white monkey’s power. The tail grows and fire consumes the entire palace leaving Sita safe and burning Ravana’s palace down.
Act Three: Endless War
With the white monkey burning Ravana’s home and returning to tell Rama of Sita’s recovery Rama and Lakshman gather their army of animals to go get her without realizing the animals could not swim and even the God of water Varuna unable to help them as he is also a slave to Ravana. The bear was able to come up with a plan by remembering that if a god’s name is written on a rock it would float. After trying many gods they chose Rama’s name and the stones were afloat allowing them to build a bridge to Ravana’s home to bring Sita back. The animals and the remaining demons on Ravana’s home engaged in a long, bloody battle pretty evenly matched until Ravana decides to join the fight. With his ten heads and fearsome armor he is able to kill thousands and then set his sights on Lakshman and hit him with an arrow. As Lakshman lay dying the white monkey is summoned to dispatched to find a life saving plant in the mountains and he returns with the entire mountain and Lakshman is revived. Growing impatient Ravana decides to fight Rama one on one and it is epic. Ravana unleashes his most powerful weapon which is able to harness the fire of Shiva, a fire that could burn up the universe and at the same time Rama uses his magic bow and arrow to transform to the brahmastra or a divine power to end all of creation made by Brahma..the power of these two mighty weapons cancelled out and the universe remained in tact but Ravana was now drained of energy and Rama is now able to cut off all his heads however Ravana’s heads grew back as he seemed invincible. Upon reflection Rama realizes he knows the most vulnerable part of Ravana which is his bellybutton..after this Rama knows what he must do and he harnesses the brahmastra and aims at Ravana’s belly button and it is successful—Ravana is banished to the depths of hell and Rama revealed he is the avatar of Vishnu a god reincarnated as a human and therefore the loophole that could kill Ravana.
With Ravana gone Rama and Sita are reunited—though Rama is cold to her because she spent so long with Ravana. Sita tries to quell his jealousy by walking in flame and if she was innocent as she claimed come out unscathed. As Sita stands in the flames she is unharmed and the god of fire Agni appears and declares Sita untouched and perfect delighting Rama and uniting the lovers once again. As all this was going on the fourteen year exile has ended and the trio are on their way home with their animal friends to reclaim their throne which has been empty with his sandals in his place. He comes home and puts his shoes on, his two other brothers return and Rama and Sita rule long and happily as King and Queen. Rama’s return is even celebrated yearly in the Diwali festivals of Hindu.
I liked this story a lot—it was complex but entertaining and the illustrations really draw you in and engage you with the colors..As detailed as the story is there is also brief profiles of each of the Gods of Hindu and I was so glad to learn more of their holy trinity Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva..their stories are in here as well as others I liked and one Sumitra the mother of Rama’s twin brothers bound by loyalty to serve him always; the women were so beautifully drawn I found myself going back to their pages and just admiring their color and beauty…I would say my only complaint would be the font and color choices—whew the small print in white on orange backgrounds was hard to read jeez..but beautiful story with amazing drawings and a rich history of Hindu gods and goddesses worth reading..glad it is part of the curriculum!
January 8, 2019
Simply " Maza aa gaya.."
February 9, 2017
This is a great illustrated book on the Ramayana.
I learned why they celebrate Diwali in India.
I learned why they celebrate Diwali in India.
July 31, 2012
This is spectacular. Engaging summary of some epic Hindu mythology, with really great illustrations. The author didn't pretend to anything more, and his hope that this book would be a good entry point to a more intensive study of Hindu myths is spot on -- I definitely want to read more now.
November 2, 2013
One of the most amazing children's books I have ever read.
August 23, 2014
Gorgeous Gorgeous gorgeous Illustration
and concise snappy down-to-earth re-telling of a Classic Indian Myth
make this a book that I want to OWN!
and concise snappy down-to-earth re-telling of a Classic Indian Myth
make this a book that I want to OWN!
October 4, 2020
Bought this for my son’s half birthday and we devoured it! Such beautiful illustrations and helps make the epic more accessible to younger and older audiences alike!
May 28, 2021
“Rama’s the GOAT!” -Sixth grade student
February 19, 2025
I am a retired teacher who enjoys substitute teaching once in a while. I came in to sub teach when the students were about 1/2 way through the book. These sixth graders for the most part were pretty confused with this Hindu mythology. I am surprised it has such high ratings. I was at school early that day and had a planning period. I used that time to read/skim this 200+ page book. I and was able to help the students a bit.
Granted there is an aid to help in understanding the story in the extra pages in the back of the book--(there're so many characters to keep track of.) These pages give brief descriptions of the characters — Gods, animals, warriors, demons — who appear in the story, as well as maps that track the routes Rama took on his adventures.
We are told that "Ramayana, Divine Loophole" is based on one of the great epic Hindu tales. I would have liked to have a Hindu child in the room to tell us if they knew of this tale. I'm guessing they would be familiar with it. I have no background in this religion, and admit it was a bit confusing and difficult to understand.
It’s the story of Rama, an avatar of the blue god Vishnu, who preserves and protects the universe and makes up the Hindu trinity along with Brahma and Shiva. Rama is reincarnated as an earthly human prince . He is banished from his kingdom by his jealous "mom", who fears he will take over the kingdom in the place of her older son.
Vishnu reincarnated himself as Rama to defeat the powerful demon Ravana, whom no god or demon can defeat. Rama is the "loophole" as a reincarnated human who is able to defeat the evil antagonist, Ravanva. With the help of his beloved brother Lakshman, and his friends Hanuman (flying monkey and son of the wind god, Vayu), Jambavan (bear chief), and Sugriva (exiled monkey king), Rama is able to defeat the demon to rid the world of a great evil and rescue his wife, Sita, who the demon had kidnapped. After this kidnapping, Rama gives her a real guilt trip by questioning Sita’s virtue. Sita had to walk through fire to prove her innocence.
Finding a positive to end on here, the students did enjoy the part in which Rama fights with demons along side his monkey ally. This powerful monkey transports an entire mountain filled with medicine to help cure his wounded soldiers injured in the battle.. This is done as t!he monkey carries the whole mountain in the palm of his small monkey hand.
Granted there is an aid to help in understanding the story in the extra pages in the back of the book--(there're so many characters to keep track of.) These pages give brief descriptions of the characters — Gods, animals, warriors, demons — who appear in the story, as well as maps that track the routes Rama took on his adventures.
We are told that "Ramayana, Divine Loophole" is based on one of the great epic Hindu tales. I would have liked to have a Hindu child in the room to tell us if they knew of this tale. I'm guessing they would be familiar with it. I have no background in this religion, and admit it was a bit confusing and difficult to understand.
It’s the story of Rama, an avatar of the blue god Vishnu, who preserves and protects the universe and makes up the Hindu trinity along with Brahma and Shiva. Rama is reincarnated as an earthly human prince . He is banished from his kingdom by his jealous "mom", who fears he will take over the kingdom in the place of her older son.
Vishnu reincarnated himself as Rama to defeat the powerful demon Ravana, whom no god or demon can defeat. Rama is the "loophole" as a reincarnated human who is able to defeat the evil antagonist, Ravanva. With the help of his beloved brother Lakshman, and his friends Hanuman (flying monkey and son of the wind god, Vayu), Jambavan (bear chief), and Sugriva (exiled monkey king), Rama is able to defeat the demon to rid the world of a great evil and rescue his wife, Sita, who the demon had kidnapped. After this kidnapping, Rama gives her a real guilt trip by questioning Sita’s virtue. Sita had to walk through fire to prove her innocence.
Finding a positive to end on here, the students did enjoy the part in which Rama fights with demons along side his monkey ally. This powerful monkey transports an entire mountain filled with medicine to help cure his wounded soldiers injured in the battle.. This is done as t!he monkey carries the whole mountain in the palm of his small monkey hand.
December 16, 2020
What happens when you mix one of the main epics of Hinduism with illustrations from a Pixar animator? You get Ramayana: Divine Loophole. Now I'm not someone who was very familiar with Hinduism, I probably would have been able to name some of the gods and goddesses, but the story is very well done. Now this is clearly a book that is a summary of the Ramayana, but I still enjoyed the story and the beautiful art.
The basic story is that Vishnu, one of the Hindu gods, who comes to earth as a human, Rama, to defeat the demon Ravana. You see Ravana became this demon due to a wish to Brahma that he would be unable to be beaten by any god or monster. For some reason Brahma thought this a good wish to grant, but the wish left a loophole that Ravana was able to be defeated by a human, hence our "divine loophole."
As I said I'm not one who is very familiar with Hinduism at all, but I have always enjoyed learning about other religions and their myths and stories. This was an enjoyable tale pared down so even kids could enjoy it, but combined with the amazing artwork makes me really glad to have this book. It is a story of love, betrayal, loyalty, kidnapping, ten headed demons and monkey gods who lift whole mountains. It is quite the fascinating tale and if you're also learning about the history of India, as we are for our homeschool, it is a very good addition to that. I know that both of my kids enjoyed it just as much as I did.
The basic story is that Vishnu, one of the Hindu gods, who comes to earth as a human, Rama, to defeat the demon Ravana. You see Ravana became this demon due to a wish to Brahma that he would be unable to be beaten by any god or monster. For some reason Brahma thought this a good wish to grant, but the wish left a loophole that Ravana was able to be defeated by a human, hence our "divine loophole."
As I said I'm not one who is very familiar with Hinduism at all, but I have always enjoyed learning about other religions and their myths and stories. This was an enjoyable tale pared down so even kids could enjoy it, but combined with the amazing artwork makes me really glad to have this book. It is a story of love, betrayal, loyalty, kidnapping, ten headed demons and monkey gods who lift whole mountains. It is quite the fascinating tale and if you're also learning about the history of India, as we are for our homeschool, it is a very good addition to that. I know that both of my kids enjoyed it just as much as I did.
July 26, 2021
This book is So. Pretty. So so so so pretty. The illustration style is dynamic and evocative and dramatic and fun. The character design and the action scenes and the poses and the movement. My favorite spread is probably the bears and monkeys searching for Sita, though every page is amazing and worth staring at for a good long while. I think my students will love looking through this. I certainly did.
Patel 's prose condenses an epic story down into manageable chunks in a way that both preserves the story and doesn't make the book 500 pages long. You can get through the book in an hour if you're not dwelling on the illustrations (but why would you not?!). The narrative voice is engaging and rather than going for the high, mystical storyteller narrator, Patel goes for the guy-just-telling-you-a-story vibe. And the illustrations! It was a really interesting way to tell this Hindu myth and I hope Patel adapts more stories in this manner.
Patel 's prose condenses an epic story down into manageable chunks in a way that both preserves the story and doesn't make the book 500 pages long. You can get through the book in an hour if you're not dwelling on the illustrations (but why would you not?!). The narrative voice is engaging and rather than going for the high, mystical storyteller narrator, Patel goes for the guy-just-telling-you-a-story vibe. And the illustrations! It was a really interesting way to tell this Hindu myth and I hope Patel adapts more stories in this manner.
March 14, 2023
Way back in my university days my comp lit professor had us read an abridged version of the Ramayana, so this wasn't my first time encountering the story of Rama and Sita. I really liked how this book laid the major plot points out so simply. Yes, I know there is a lot missing, but it still gets the gist across. Hanuman is still my favorite character. And I still think it is fucked up that Hence why I will never, ever, be a Rama stan. Even so, that's a fault with the source material, not this wonderful adaptation. And seriously, the art in this book is 10 out of 10, beautiful!
June 9, 2018
What’s a great book. I’m glad I read the intro- this does make me want to read the 1000 page legend. Great for anyone interested in illustration, Hindu legends, or artistry & the creative process. This is a book you could have read to you as a kid, rediscover as a teen, then pick up again as an adult & find fascinating & just plain cool at all those stages. It’s pricey if bought new so check sales at the Carlos Museum Shop (where I found it), or online. I’m leaving it out for a few weeks to flip through several more times. PS- some great tattoo ideas here too!
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