Review- Raavan by Amish Tripathi

 Review- Raavan

by Amish Tripathi

Raavan Book Review

The third book of the Ram Chandra Series- Raavan, given to us by our favorite Amish Tripathi, is a phenomenal addition to the epic. The text contains ups and downs, adventure, drama, turns, twists, suspense, and secrets. Through it, the author has given us an insight into the character of Raavan - how he became what he became, and why he did what he did without justifying his actions.

The story is set in Treta-yug. It describes Raavan’s journey from his birth, and how brilliant his mind was brilliant even in his childhood, probably because of his father who was a genius. However, even Raavan’s genius could not please his father for a reason. Which pressurized and agitated him, and he started to hate his father and eventually his mother too.

Kumbhkaran is the only one whom he loves dearly, except for another person (shhh…) for whom his respect even surpasses God. Later on, he would also be fond of Inndrajit- his son. Other than these, he has no regard for anyone else.

I really became fond of Kumbhakaran’s character, he’s like a lotus that is blooming in mud but is perfectly clean. He does everything in his power to show Raavan the right path, constantly asking him to stop with his greed and turn towards ‘Dharma’, balancing between his mother and brother. His only weakness is his utter, pure, and unconditional love for Raavan which becomes the reason for his downfall. 

By drawing a parallel to Raavan and Kumbhakaran’s character, it is understood that our situations do not define us but how we react to those situations, and our choices are what determine our character.

Apart from this, the book is further filled with mind-numbing suspense that awaits us in the end.

Moreover, the most important feature of a good book is that it clarifies all our doubts and questions that occur in our minds while reading it and this book did that for me. By the time I was done with it, I was in complete awe and full of enthusiasm to read the next one, i.e. War Of Lanka!

Things I loved

I liked how the author has not glorified or diminished any incident or person

Humanized characters - The author has written the characters and story in such a way that it does glorify or fantasize things, he has given the logic of everything. The Ramayana being as holy as it is we always associate it with some divine element, characters are often considered holy and hold a stature far higher than humans. However, due to this, it becomes difficult for people to connect with their lives and learn from them. They get away by saying that he/she was a god/goddess, I can’t do what they did, or that they already knew what was going to happen, or I’m just a mere human I don’t have divine powers like them, etc.

However, through this book, we can connect with the characters on a human level. We would know that the Gods we worship today were kind, helpful, people-loving beings, who lived for the good of humanity.

I liked that the book is written in such a manner that it is completely logical and believable.

Everything that is interlinked- All incidents that happened in Book 1 - Ram- Scion of Ikshvaku, Book 2- Sita - Warrior of Mithila, and this; one is interconnected, which makes it an utterly thrilling experience.

Things I did not Like (Spoiler Alert)

Stretched scenes- While reading I felt that there were some scenes that were far more stretched than required.

Raavan did not kidnap Sita in Bhagwa clothes- What made Raavan’s kidnapping of Sita, even more heinous is that he did it wearing Bhagwa/saffron-colored clothes. The reason is that he defamed the saints- people of God, whom people gave food to. These saints were well respected and trusted among the people. However, this incident defamed them and people could not trust them fully. Hence, we can see that Raavan wearing Bhagwa clothes has a lot of context which makes it an important detail. 

Though how the scene of Sita’s kidnapping is described makes total sense, I really think that this important detail should have been included in the scene.

What do you think?