The Book of Ram; Devdutt Pattanaik

The book of Ram is not a page by page account of Ramayana. This book is an after thought on Ramayana; an intellectual understanding of Ramayana. The discussions are crisp, to the point and enjoyable. 

This book is for the mass, so Devdutt Pattanaik has not gone too deep into the details; keeping the book a light and enjoyable read. Earlier never having given much thought to all the metaphors lying hidden in this epic, I found the book refreshing. The book takes the help of various sub plots as well as other epics like Mahabharata and Purana to explain the many aspects of Ramayana in its entirety. Ram is Maryada Puroshattam, the best king to rule the earth. He took care of his subjects and established norms of the civilized society. For Ram, the means are as important as the ends. Time changes, evils operating  on the earth changes. So later born as Krishna, he is Leela Puroshattam, not a king, but a king maker, a strategist who would bend laws to attain Dharma. For Krishna, the end justifies the means. 

Many times, Devdutta Pattanaik explains that an act happening in Ramayana would have its effect later, as can be seen in other epics like Mahabharata . For example, wrongs have happened at that time, which have been balanced out in Mahabharata. Thus the author brings in the concept of karma and destiny. Arjun (son of Indra) killed Karna (son of Surya) in Mahabharata. In Ramayana, Sugriva (son of Surya) has killed Bali (son of Indra). 

The metaphorical discussion on various characters of the epic is enlightening. The author explains Sita as a represention of the civilized mind, the civilized society. She is chaste, she is loyal to her husband. Surpankha represents wilderness. If she finds a man desirous, she goes for him without bothering about any code of conduct. Ram and Lakshman's refusal of her offer and her disfigurement represents attempt to initiate civilized norms in the wilderness. On another level, the author explains that if Sita is the mind, Ravana is the ego. These interpretations are interesting to read.

I have read another book by Devdutt Pattanaik; Jaya. It is an unbiased account of Mahabharata. The book of Ram is not so. This book is a eulogy of Ram; there is no doubt on that. However,to the author’s credit, he does not try to dodge the most controversial episode of Ram’s life when he abandoned his wife to appease his subjects, even after she has proved her chastity by walking on fire. The author does not try to justify this incident of Ram’s life, he merely emphasizes that Ram is first a king, than a husband; he always paid more importance to his duties as a king than to his passion as a husband. However, the author mentions several times about the gold statue that Ram built of Sita to represent his wife during the Ashvamedha Yagna, instead of remarrying as suggested to him at that time. Devdutta Pattanaik emphasizes that Ram built Sita’s statue with gold, the purest of metal to pass on the message to his subjects that in his mind, he did not have any doubt on Sita’s purity of character.

The author doesnot end the discussion of the book by merely reflecting on the characters and the metaphors embedded in Ramayana. He goes on to outline the presence of elements of this epic, specially of the avtaar Ram, in today's politics. Similarly Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana and Ashok Banker's various books on this epic find mentions in The Book of Ram. 

We have grown up hearing Ramayana, watching Ramayana. This book opens up a whole new world of thought to the already familiar epic. To people who loves reading modern mythological book, I would recommend this book with no hesitation :)