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Author: Krishna Dharma Dasa
Publisher: Torchlight Publishing
LA, 1998
ISBN: 1-887089-14-4
Reviewer: Owen
Cole
The Ramayana is a very long epic. This abridged
translation is over 400 pages long. Krishna dharma has provided
a good read, and this is important if non-Hindus are to be encouraged
to give time to a book that they will find somewhat culturally alien.
I have read this book during train journeys and can say no more
than that the hour long journeys from Chichester to London have
passed almost unnoticed. This is a well written work that captures
very successfully the Ramayana's epic quality.
The philosophy underlying the story may be unfamiliar to readers with
no knowledge of Hinduism. I must say that I have studied the religion,
taught it, and written about it for some years, and by reading this
version of the epic the nuances of the Ramayana kept rising to the
surface like bubbles in a boiling saucepan.
Behind the victory of light over darkness, good over
evil, there is the struggle of wisdom and ignorance. The demoniac
powers have no chance of triumphing over the prince and God Rama
and his devotees, anymore than the 'nice guys' in Thomas Hardy's
novels can expect to live happily ever after, as they do not realise
the invincibility of the forces aligned against them. In the course
of the battles of Rama against the demon Ravana, there are many
exciting fights and they are described by a master of the use of
words. The style of the book throughout is one that fits the subject
matter, and although the book is written in accessible language,
colloquial English is carefully avoided, and one is always aware
that there is a serious purpose to the epic.
This is the kind of book that Hindus might give to one
another as a present for the festival of lights, Diwali or
at another special occasion. It would also be a good book for teenagers
who only have access to their written heritage in English, and for
non-Hindus who have an interest in Hindu religion and culture. This
book deserves to be popular and widely read. I am thankful for a
good and thought-provoking read.
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