King of Ayodhya (Ramayana) [Paperback]

Ashok Banker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ramayana | Publication Date: September 30, 2006

The original Ramayana—a classic tale of war between absolute Good and Evil—was written 3,000 years ago by Valmiki, a reformed thief-turned-sage. Now, with breathtaking imagination, Indian novelist Ashok K. Banker has recreated this epic tale for modern readers everywhere. Rama, king-in-waiting, has crossed the ocean, and the great war has begun. Ravana, lord of demons, unleashes terrible sorcery to deal a crushing blow to Rama’s forces. Before they can recover, he sends forth a legion of warbred rakshasas more terrible than any seen before, and the soil of Lanka runs red with the blood of Rama’s warriors. Still, the brave vanars and bears rally and fight on, despite the formidable odds. The war descends into a brutal maelstrom as champions die and heroes sacrifice their lives for Rama’s cause. And then Ravana commits the most dreaded act of all: rather than surrender Sita, he executes her before Rama’s eyes. On this darkest day, it hardly seems to matter that Rama’s exile is ended, and that he is now free to return to his homeland to claim his rightful place—as King of Ayodhya.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ashok Banker is a full-time writer living in Bombay. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (September 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143099671
• ISBN-13: 978-0143099673
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,318,116 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Ended..., July 11, 2006

By 

sonals (Cincinnati, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: King of Ayodhya (Ramayana series) (Paperback)

well begun is half the work done.. and A.Banker has done a good job of the other half, finishing the series in well rounded manner with pithy comments on current world affairs, snuck in the middle..

A little too much violence, but then is the book about THE WAR.. the ultimate battle between Ram & Ravana, Good & Evil. He's set up the stage for the Luv-Kush story and the seeds of doubt in Ram's heart, looking forward to hearing that tale - perhaps Mr. Banker can take up the "tale of the twins" next! Also he's done a marvellous job of bringing the various shades of Ravana to life. Wish the book dealt more with the characters, Sita comes to mind, there are such tantalising glimpes into the personalities but nothing more.. other than a LOT of gore and the battles. Perhpas he was thinking about it as a movie (pity the actor who does Ravana though, hell of a challenge that one!)
Still all in all a good book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping through all four thousand+ pages..., September 30, 2006

By 

Hemant Bhanoo (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: King of Ayodhya (Ramayana series) (Paperback)

This is book 6 in the six-part series Ramayana written by Ashok Banker. It's phenomenal.

The only Hindu mythology I knew was from reading Amar Chitra Katha comics. But this is like reading Lord of the Rings mixed with Harry Potter. It's easy reading and has just the right mix of action and description. It's definitely a more 'adult' retelling of the epic both for its gore and bloodshed, as well as for the way in which Ravana, the antagonist, is given a chance to explain himself (though maybe not quite enough).

Ashok Banker very deliberately portrays Rama as a righteous falliable mortal, rather than as a demi god - which I feel appeals much more to todays generation.

I gave it four stars only because, by the sixth book, Mr Banker's style had become a little too predictable. That said, changing his style too much may not have resulted in a cohesive series so I may be penalizing him unfairly.

I've now started telling my mum stories from the Ramayana! :)

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in one word--AWESOME!, June 22, 2006

By 

S.G. Bose (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King of Ayodhya (Ramayana series) (Paperback)

Just read the sixth book of Ramayana....To put it one word, AWESOME!!!!

earlier i thought that each book was awesome, but the fact that each succeeding book is MUCH better than the previous one... I had found Bridge of Rama brilliant, but compared to King of Ayodhya, its nothing... King of Ayodhya is that good!!!!

i've read various abridged versions of the Ramayana, and recently bought the English translations of Valmiki Ramayana and the Kamba Ramayana that are recommended in the introductions to Banker's Ramayana (Indian editions), but those books tend to glorify things, unlike Ashok's books where the events are said ,"as it might have been"

And this approach is exquisite- we can feel the emotions of the characters, as if we were them. This is what makes the Banker Ramayana series so much better than the traditional retellings [no offense intended to those greats who created them, but i dont think the current generation is interested in the cumbersome poetry].

And this continues in Kin g of Ayodhya. War is not glorified- it is depicted in its entirety. It is the only means to get Sita back, and so Rama has to do it. The pain, the sadness, the rage, the jubiliation of victory, the horror of dying- everything seems so right, when we read them.

I loved the passage in the 12th chapter in which Rama thinks whether genocide of a rakshasa race [eventhough its created by Ravana's sorcery] is morally justifiable. To me, that passage is a fitting summary of the Banker Ramayana series- its a story, yet it teaches us how to live as righteous people like Rama.

No matter how many times i've told people about this series [hence, now my friends dont talk to me much nowadays, for fear that i'll launch into another pravachan about the greatness of this Ramayana, but thats another story ], i simply cannot stop saying this:

I believe that just as the Valmiki Ramayana is accepted as THE Sanskrit version, just as the Kamba Ramayana is revered by Tamil speaking people, just as North Indians worship Tulsidas Ramacharitramanasa, all English speaking Indians will fall in love with this series... Its only a matter of time. Nobody can ignore the labour of love that constitutes Ashok Banker's Ramayana series- its so brilliant!!!!

after reading King of Ayodhya, i cant think how he will be writing the Mahabharata. I have read somewhere he said that his Mahabharata would be much much better than his Ramayana. If thats so, then the Mahabharata would have to be better than the best [King of Ayodhya]... Frankly speaking, I've trouble imagining a book better than this!