Starting off right, at
the beginning. This book starts off with the ancestors to Ravana, himself. The
story of the three brothers, and how they landed up in Naga-loka, makes for a
very interesting read.
Kaikasi, the daughter
of Sumali was sent away to Vishravasu and he was expected to marry her. But
from him, the secret of Kaikasi’s birth was kept. But, he knew of this. She also
has another problem, that whatever she would do now; she could not have any contact
between the two worlds.
She gives birth to Dashagreeva,
Kumbakarna, Vibheeshana and also Surpanaka. She falls ill, and one day when she wakes up from rather long swoon, she tells all to Dashagreeva. Dashagreeva, who takes over Kuber's
land, Kuber was his half-brother. So, Lanka which belonged to Kuber is now in
the hands of Dashagreeva and to enjoy it, the Pushpak, the superior flying
vehicle of Kuber’s too is within his reach.
On one of Dashagreev’s
trips on his Pushpak, he comes into contact with Vedavati, who is in deep
prayer, to wed Vishnu. But Dashagreeva, who protests this, is left behind by
Vedavati who tells him that she, who has been sullied by him, would be reborn. And
then a baby appears in Vedavati’s place. Dashagreeva is instructed to place it in
a casket and thrown into the ocean, which he proceeds to do.
Also the interesting parts include, a very engaging story between Saraswati and Narada. And also, the meeting between Vaali and Ravana. And
of Dashagreeva’s intense prayers to Shiva, and his unwavering dream of making Parvathi,
his wife. Also, the same Narada causes
Mandodari to be wed to Ravana.
Here are extremely interesting
stories, which have made me think back. But, they have not answered my questions, and
they remain doubts and reservations. Because, all these stories have remained just that, they have not been stitched together to give the one story of Ravana Leela.
And so, we have here
the entire stories of the odd man, Ravana. Of Ravana’s wife, of his sister, of
his brothers, of his sons and his many meetings with all the people and
finally, with Sita. Hanuman comes in then, and destroys Lanka, which was known
for its beauty, wonderful landscapes and stunning seas.
All for Sita and his
dreams, which turn into nightmares. He, who had it all ends up giving out instructions
of running the nation, administration and politics to Rama. It should run into the story, I felt, and that was missing.
But unfortunately, the
book does not serve its purpose. It ran quite well, till probably the last
part. Ravana’s end was not brought out properly, and it kind of leaves a large
part of me, wondering, where is it? And what happened? Of course, I did not expect the two to be similar at all, but still...
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