Ravana (Enemy of Aryavarta)-Amish

Book: Ravana-Enemy of Aryavarta

Author: Amish

Publisher: Westland India

The long-awaited book in the Ramchandra Series, Ravana-Enemy of Aryavarta is the third book in the series.

To give you context of the plot, the Ramchandra Series is based on a multilinear narrative that explores the paths of the 3 main characters-Ram, Sita & Ravana in three separate books that culminate at one common point, which in this case is the abduction of Sita. The previous two books, Ram-Scion of Ikshvaku & Sita-Warrior of Mithila set the characters of Sita and Ram into the plot devised by Amish.

Ravana-Enemy of Aryavarta begins way before Ram & Sita were born. Starting with the childhood, we are introduced to the life of Ravana in the Ashram of Vishrava, his father. Being born a Naga, he faces constant ridicule of his father and starts to despise him. Things take a turn when Vishrava’s wife, Kaikesi delivers Kumbhakarna, another Naga. Facing ridicule from his clan, he had ordered them to kill Kaikesi and the child if he was a Naga. Saved by her brother, Mareech, they run to save their lives. What happens next, continues to mould Ravana’s life and his actions as we see them.

The book skips to specific instances in Ravana’s life. We see Ravana dissecting a live hare when he was barely a child, we see a brilliant strategist when he negotiates with Akampana for his ship and the way he deals with Kubaer in Lanka. We see an Artist who creates wonderful melodies with his Rudraveena. We also see an unrequited lover, paining to see the woman he fell in love with, A Kanyakumari he met in Vishrava’s Ashram when he was a kid. He continues to paint her portrait, imagining her age in his mind. We see Ravana as a devoted brother, who would do anything for Kumbhakarna.

Another point that Amish makes in the story is how Ravana was used as a pawn by Vishwamitra to catalyse the chain of events leading to Sita’s Kidnapping. Even though the actions of Ravana were truly his own, his being played by Vishwamitra turned things for the worse. The highlight of the book was the point where Ravana breaks and takes a severe vow that starts the domino effect.

Compared to other works by Amish, this one was not that exciting. Creating a character as complex as Ravana is difficult but the plots in Ram-Scion of Ikshvaku and Sita-Warrior of Mithila were better executed than Ravana-Enemy of Aryavarta. Jumping years at a time, each incident is wrapped up quickly, thus giving no time for the connection to sink in. The reference to Sabarimala was not required and it added no real material for the main plot. The change of name of the book is quite justified as we see how each incident turned him against his motherland. The characters are built properly with Kumbhakarna serving the voice of reason for Ravana. His contempt for his half siblings-Vibhishana & Surpanakha is shown though not much is dealt on it. Cunningness of Vishwamitra and the Malayaputras is depicted well.

Is he the greatest villain in history or just a man in a dark place, all the time?

Read Ravana-Enemy of Aryavarta by Amish to find out.

I would rate the book 3.5/5.