Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams Book Review

Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams Book Review
About the Book
  • Author: Shubha Vilas
  • Paperback: 404 pages
  • Publisher: Jaico Publishing House; First edition (23 January 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 8184955316
  • Lowest Price: Rs. 263
  • Available On:  Amazon and Flipkart
Summary

Shattered Dreams is the sequel to the national bestseller, Rise of the Sun Prince, in the new spiritual and motivational series Ramayana - The Game of Life. Twelve joyful years have passed in Ayodhya since the wedding of Rama and Sita at the end of Book 1.
Now, in Shattered Dreams, Shubha Vilas narrates the riveting drama of Rama’s exile. Through tales of Rama’s unwavering and enigmatic persona, the book teaches us how to handle reversals positively; through Bharata’s actions, it teaches us to handle temptation; and through Sita’s courage, to explore beyond our comfort zone. This complicated family drama provides deep insights on how human relationships work and how they fail.

 With Valmiki’s Ramayana as its guiding light, Shattered Dreams deftly entwines poetic beauty from the Kamba Ramayana and Ramacharitramanas, as well as folk philosophy from the Loka Pramana tales, to demonstrate how the ancient epic holds immediate relevance to modern life. Experience the ancient saga of the Ramayana like never before.

Review

Having already read the epic Ramayana book in school, I didn't think that the Ramayana – The Game of Life : Shattered Dreams book would be much different than the original Ramayana. But I was grossly mistaken. I did not read Ramayana - The Game of Life: Rise of the Sun Prince - Book 1 but I was aware of its favorable reviews. So when I got the chance to review the second book, I applied instantly and got the book for review from BlogAdda.

 While reading the book, I felt like I was reading a completely new book. The author has done a great job of delving into the sub-plots, significance of little known events and the stories within stories in Ramayana. By reading this book, I got to know how Lord Rama's father, Dasharatha got his name, Ravana’s name was Dasagriva but lord Shiva called him Ravana because of his courage and sincerity on knowledge of Vedas. I also got to know according to Indian mythology why peacock's feathers have different shades, why crows are given importance in our Shastra’s, why Bharata refused to become king,etc. The language was lucid and simple to understand.

 This book is aptly named "Shattered Dreams" because this book is the story of how dreams of Dasharatha and citizens of Ayodhya get shattered due to exile of Rama who was about to get crowned as the King of Ayodhya. I liked how the author reveals the character of Bharat who sacrificed the throne and remained loyal to his brother Rama. Bharat got his due importance in this book who gets sidelined in other tellings of Ramayana.

 The best thing about the book was the section of footnotes. They added more engagement in the story and I enjoyed the life lessons shared by the author. Whether Triple Virtues or Six Anarthas to Conquer or Management Mantras, I found each footnote full of tiny source of wisdom. The comparisons made were apt and made the story suitable for contemporary world and how one can apply that knowledge in today's world. The footnotes make this book a self-help guidebook which can be consulted from time to time in times of  misery.

 I am now waiting for the third book in this series !

 Rating by me: 4 / 5 (4 out of 5)

Verdict: This book is a must read for everyone since everyone can get important life lessons from this book and imbibe them in life.

Buy Now from: Amazon | Flipkart
  
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