Book Review: Ram: Scion of Ishvaku by Amish Tripathi

 

Do not rush to the “right answer”,’ clarified Vashishta. ‘The key, always, is to ask the “right question”.

– Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku

"Scion of Ikshvaku" is the story of Rama, one of the most prayed gods among Hindus. Well like Shiva Trilogy the story is not plain Ramayana. Amrish has used his magical touch to repaint it. Just like Shiva from Meluha, Rama is also shown as a mere human. Amrish has shown how a human was got the title of a God. Timeline of the story is around 3500 BC when the old order of Malayputras (previous Vishnu) and Vayuputra's (previous Mahadeva) were maintaining harmony. Dashratha was the supreme leader of Bharatvarsha. He lost to Kubera and his general Ravana. Treaty cost Ayodhya and whole Bharatvarsh heavily. Rama and his three brothers were being trained and educated by Vashistha (an ex-Malayputra) Vashishta wanted to bring new Vishnu to the society, he found the qualities of ideal Vishnu in Rama and he trained Rama thoroughly. Rama wedded Sita, a strong character who hold an equal ground with Rama in all situation.

Talking about comparisons, similar to Shiva Trilogy, the same concept of society rebuilding, law and order discussed in the book. You can think of this book as a prequel to the timeline. The author has wonderfully shown the importance of the law-abiding. The way Amrish has shown male and female nature of society and its ruling is fundamental and realistic. The book is not up to the mark compared to Shiva Trilogy, but if you want to dwell in the world of ancient modern India, similar to Meluha then there is nothing better than this book.