The epic tale of Ramayana has been told innumerable times. While most of you must have heard them with Ram as the protagonist, have you ever imagined the story from other characters’ perspective?
These books retell the tale of Ramayana giving you a different perspective of the same legend altogether.
1. Asura by Anand Neelakantan
The novel tries to repaint the tale of Ramayana through demon king Ravana and his people’s perspective.
In the pages of history, Ramayana seems to have been told only from the perspective of the victors. In Asura, one gets to learn the tale from the viewpoint of Ravana and Lanka’s people. The book finally makes us question if something was evil just because it was portrayed in that manner, or there’s another story behind it.
2. Sita’s Ramayana by Samhita Arni & Moyna Chitrakar
Told from the perspective of the queen, Sita, this novel talks about the fate of women, children, animals and nature stuck in the middle of a war.
This visually stunning graphic novel is a beautiful but simply written account of Ramayana from Sita’s perspective. The alluring illustrations in this book portray Sita as a strong and resilient woman and gives us a sneek peek into the lives of women who became pawns in wars between men and kingdoms.
3. The Queen’s Play by Aashish Kaul
The book revolves around Mandodari, the queen of Ravana and how she emerges as one of the most strong character influencing the war.
Mandodari, the queen of demon king Ravana, finds rare mention in the original Ramayana. Although the book doesn’t focus much on Ramayana, it picks up instances and intertwines them with the game of chess.
4. Hanuman’s Ramayan by Devdutt Pattanaik
This book has a humourous touch and tells the story of Ramayana as Hanuman would have told it.
This graphic novel has quirky illustrations based on Mithila folk paintings. This is Hanuman’s version of the Ramayana narrated humorously.
5. Sita’s Sister by Kavita Kane
The novel retells the epic tale of Ramayana through the standpoint of Urmila, a woman with a resolve and dedication that can find no parallel in history.
Urmila, Sita’s sister and Lakshman’s wife is one of the most overlooked characters in Ramayana. While Sita prepares to go into exile, she decided to stay back and take care of her in-laws. This book will tell you why she agreed to stay behind in the palace, waiting for her husband for fourteen long years.
6. Lanka’s Princess by Kavita Kane
The novel takes us through the life and times of Princess Meenakshi, popularly known as Surpanakha and her feelings of anguish, and revenge.
While we all know who Surpanakha is, most of us are unaware of her true name, Meenakshi. Daughter of Kaikesi and Vishravas and sister of Ravana, there is much more to know about the princess of Lanka. The readers can actually feel the anguish, anger, longing, and revenge within her, and she is very relatable in today’s world.
7. Sita’s Ascent by Vayu Naidu
For most of us who think that Ramayana ends with the triumph of Ram over Ravana, this novel begins with the six months pregnant Sita being driven to Valmiki’s ashram.
“Stories, apart from giving hope, must be told and shared so everyone can try to understand the experience of life from another point of view,” says Sita in Vayu Naidu’s debut novel Sita’s Ascent. The book gives us beautiful insight into the minds of different characters of Ramayana.
8. Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi
While Ram is shown as God in all the conventional books, this novel by Amish Tripathi takes a different view by portraying Ram as an ordinary prince.
If you know Ramayana as you’ve always known it, then this book which is also the first part of the Ram Chandra Series, will come as a shock to you. Amish’s Ram is very much a human hero just and the story is stripped of all its magical elements.
9. Sita by Amish Tripathi
A balanced amalgamation of the modern and the traditional, this book is the second part of the Ram Chandra Series and features Sita as the protagonist.
Set in 3400 BCE, near the Godavari river, the book revolves around the powerful personality of Sita. In this twisted version of the Ramayana, Sita is a warrior, an archer and a perfect administrator, instead of an ideal, shy, and obedient wife.
10. Sita by Devdutt Pattnaik
This book offers more detail about Sita and other women, than most other versions of Ramayana.
It is an illustrated retelling of Ramayana, focused on Sita and other women who lived during that time.
11. Warlord of Ayodhya
The book is a thrilling spinoff that delves into the challenges that Bharat, the king of Ayodhya, faced when Rama was in exile.
Set in the period when Rama, Laxman, and Sita go into exile for 14 years, and Bharat has to shoulder the responsibility of the entire kingdom, the book gives a new perspective to readers. How Bharat took on the role of the ruler of one of the largest kingdoms of the time and several other questions you might have never thought of are answered by the book’s author, Shatrujeet Nath.