The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayan is a modern prose retelling of the life story of Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu. In the story, Vishnu is born as a human, Prince Rama, in order to defeat Ravana and rid the world of the rakshasas (demons). The story tells of his birth, youth and early adventures, his meeting of and marriage to Sita (the incarnation of Vishnu's wife the goddess Lakshmi) and their exile to the forest for fourteen years as a result of a dynastic dispute. When Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, Rama and his brother Lakshmana search out his hiding place and wage a war that accomplishes Rama's purpose of destroying the rakshasas. Along the way they depose the monkey king Vali and put his brother on the throne, and meet the ever faithful Hanuman, who helps in their eventual victory.
The Ramayana is a bit like The Iliad in its scope and style. I enjoyed the plot and Narayan's writing style (I couldn't get through the older poetry version I first looked at). But the gender issues, oh the gender issues! Women are the instigators of all the bad things that happen in the story. Rama is exiled and his brother placed on the throne because his step-mother demands that as the unfulfilled promise that King has owed her for many years (she is manipulated to do this by her maid who was teased by Rama as a child for being a hunchback). Ravana kidnaps Sita because his sister Soorpanaka convinces him she is the most beautiful woman in the world and he must have her (she does this because she is in love with Rama and thinks she will have a chance with Sita out of the way). And when Sita is rescued at last, she must attempt to immolate herself to prove to Rama that she is still pure. All in all, a fascinating story if you can get past the misogyny.
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