Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1) By Amish Tripathi

Avanthika

Bending and re-telling the actual story with whooping level of imagination is Amish’s usual way of entertaining and he strikes again, “The Scion Of Ikshvaku” is for the people who do not whole-heartedly believe in the Raamayan.

Ram. The prince of Sapt Sindhu. Son of Chakravartin Samrat Dasarat. Yet he is considered inauspicious and his birth year is marked as tainted 7032 for the defeat Dasarat faced. While Sapt Sindu is facing bankruptcy, Raavan’s Lanka is blooming with golden streets. Ram knows that his father’s ways of ruling are not efficient. But as ideal son, he refuses to rebel against Dasarat. He gains the hatred of elites to whom Bharat is dearly. Ram needs to regain back his misinterpreted name among his people. And Lakshman, Ram’s shadow, finds that their guru Vashista is associated with a naga. At the corner of his mind, he believes that Vashista could harm Ram.

Kaikeyi plays fair to make Bharat as the crown-prince and all the pieces of the puzzle are falling into her chamber with the wealthy Manthara’s guidance. On the other hand, Kausalya and Sumitra are trying to establish their statuses in Dasarath’s palace. While Ram stays idealistic, Bharat grows up to be practical and real. Ancient India had paved way for many civilizations that followed the two ways of living (rather rebelling): masculine & feminine ways. Ram needs to choose between the two. And the Vayuputra counsel is with the Asuras. While guru Vashista allies with Nagas, Guru Vishvamitra is allied with Malyaputras. Ram helps Vishvamitra in tackling the asuras who attacked Akatsyakootam. And yes, Ram seeks a woman to love and respect. He doesn’t believe in polygamous marriage and in his wife, he doesn’t want a soul to compete for equality but wants to be complimentary, completing each other. He finds his companion in Sita. And once again, the demon king Raavan crosses Ram’s path and Ram knocks him down with Daivi Astras after which he’s banished from Sapt Sindhu for 14 years following Dastrat’s orders. Kaikeyi plays her role perfectly.
Excellent remodelling of the ancient epic. I loved the efforts Amish has put to bring up the description of Ayodhya, Mithila & Lanka. You could actually imagine the way the cities were built and the organization of the people. Raavan comes here and there in few chapters, yet you can understand the mightiness and fear he had cultivated. The first part of RamChandra series ends with Sita’s abduction and in the second part, if am not wrong, we’ll be facing Ram’s hard hitting fate, Sita’s strong will, Lakshman’s incontestable support, Hanuman’s undisputed royalty and the furious Raavan en masse.

The parts I liked the most:
•The death of Roshini reminded me of Nirbhaya. And the juvenile who was spared by Ram reminded me of Kasab. It was very realistic and proved how rules are bended for the criminals to escape. Atlast, Manthara has got a strong reason to hate Ram.
•The part where Ram met Sita for the first time was hilarious. The short-tempered quick-witted Lakshman scores in that particular chapter.
•At many places, I found myself denying Ram’s ideologies and agreed with Bharat’s ideologies of ruling. Yes, he sounded diplomatic and dynamic.
•Ram and Sita names their piece of land as the “land of pure life” and the name Sita opted made me rejoice :D
•The meeting of Lankan Surpanakha and the Ayodhi brothers was bitter as expected. Jatayu’s death left me paralyzed.

Negative :
Sita’s suyamvar. Too much of imagination and the entire suyamvar has been modified.

Amish’s sophistication in the contemporary writing is lime-lighted through the thoughts he had expressed throughout the book... I would like to share few quotes that I cherished.
1. There is a school of thought which states that brute force can only be met with equal brute force. One fights fire with fire, Ram.
2. Dharma and death are interlinked. In a sense, a tally sheet was drawn at the end of one’s mortal life. If there was an imbalance, the soul would’ve to return to physical form in another mortal body; if the accounts were in balance and karma was in alignment with dharma, then the soul would attain ultimate salvation release from the cycle of rebirth, and reunification with the ultimate soul, the paramatma , the ekam, the brahma.
3. True leader will take sin upon his soul for the good of his people

P.S. Will be waiting to discover the dark side of the descendant of Ikshvaku clan. Oh Amish ! Release the second book of Ram Chandra series ASAP.

Charan Singh

Is there any particular reason for rewriting an epic that’s more than perfect in its own originality? Clearly Amish Tripathi thinks so, even if its futile effort that proves the lack of inspiration and simply demonstrates an inexcusable cheap dilution to which such an epitome can be reduced to.

Unfortunately, this blockbuster "Scion of Ikshvaku" is a clichéd, redundant, naïve, and pretentious presentation, where writing has relatively little character or style. Its evident from the starting few pages itself that Amish is failure at wannabe epic fantasy writer who had education and career rooted in altogether different sciences.

The fundamentals of handling a spin on Ramayana may require a profound understanding of its concepts and not just basic/broad-strokes idea and ‘modern’ twists. And its not about being rigid minded reader who can't expect to have a supposedly unique take or rehash of a legendary epic routed deep within Indian culture.
Ramayan 3392 AD, Vol. 1 By Shamik Dasgupta is one of my favorite takes on Ramayna even if it might be considered blasphemous by many.

But to produce a good story book, leave apart re-imagining of Ramayana, good literature is a minimal and obvious requirement. Scion of Ikshvaku then comes across as nothing but insult to both mythology and literature.

The book seems like total mockery of construct, execution of plot and character development. Even if I hypothesize this to be completely a book on its own, and not something that is poor derived version of Ramayan, it turns out to be amateurish at best, throwing at you clichés, stereotypes, purple prose, and forced narrative. Also, its more than evident that writer has some serious need to look into creativity classes. The editing-or lack thereof-is appalling; the grammar and syntax may not be unforgivably bad, but its bad alright; and the flow is uniformly dull and uninspiring. Its more like reading a weird concoction of rush-forced scenes.

To top that all, Amish wanted to link up the science and perhaps throw in some steam-punk sub-genre; all he could do with that idea was come up with rotary motors among other such poor stuff. Since war had to be part of Ramayana, he wanted to sound mature by talking about battle strategies. “Needle formation” was how he described armored spearhead (or boar-head as in Vikings history) battle charge. He wanted to have Scion's characters some personality, but guess its easier said than done when having a shot at writing some larger-than-life, most renowned and revered figures. Book wanted to connect with today’s generation, and it turns to Nirbhaya like rape tragedy. He painfully tried to make us believe about Dashrath as the greatest king (without fleshing out the character even remotely) and in next scene had him going into battle all arrogant and ignoring (or not knowing) very basic of war fundamentals. And wait- that is not all; the queen had to be waiting on battle side just because Kayikie gotta save Dashrath.

I have seen people applauding the author for explaining things scientifically. We obviously should have better standards- world believes Indians to be good scientists. No, I was not expecting Michael Crichton stuff over here, nor I was waiting for chapters of quantum physics to unfold. But then the absurdness of nilly-willy make up stuff made my eyes bleed.

I had to give up the book after some 35% cause I was afraid of getting brain dead.

Naturally, Amish is no author and he can't write. He tried and it turned out to be a best-seller in our country. He got encouraged and wrote Meluha series. Next, there were awards and rewards. Now, he conjured more of his "art" in form of Ikshvaku, and it is turning out to be bestseller. He will get further encouraged and write Scion series. Next, there will be....never mind, you must have got the idea.

Stay away- its mockery of originality, skills, creativity, literature, and fantasy genre

Ankit Saxena

Unexpected, Unwanted & Disappointing...

I never thought that someone could make such level of deviation to the Epic Literature, which is known for its remarkable Ethics. Quite, or can say, to very much level, it’s disappointing to me.
Story started so well and made its grip over my book-addicted head. I dose I need of the words to read, seemed to started working on my mind. The explanation given on the profile of the ‘Manthara’ and her virtuous daughter ‘Roshini’ was acceptable to its reasonable approach and also the conflict between ‘Vashisht’ and ‘Vishwamitra’ was quite understandable. But the time, the scene of swayamvar came within the reach of my reading pace, it completely ruined my whole interest and made me feel guilty for picking the novel. Nowhere, in any version of “RAMAYAN”, it ever depicted like the way he did in his this job. There was not a single theory given on or over the inclusion of ‘Raavan’ with his ten-thousand soldiers while him participating in the swayamvar of “Goddess SITA”. Also, there was no scene of picking the Bow and hitting the eye of a wooden fish; it was all the part of Arjun’s act while winning over ‘Draupadi’. The whole scene was of just picking the bow of “LORD SHIVA”. It was so made in this way because ‘Sita’ once I her childhood while doing some job, picked it up so casually that looking at that, ‘King Janak’ decided to organize the swayamvar for her marriage by inviting the warriors from all over the vast land of Indian Empire and nearby states to contest and to prove their worth for winning the hand of his highly virtuous and blessed daughter.
The whole contest was to just pick the bow and strung it tight, but no one was actually able to even pick it up except Ram & Raavan. However, Raavan was warned by Lord Shiva while he went to do the task that he could do that due to this Raavan not even touched it and let himself out. Then, Lord Ram accomplished the task and been selected for to marry the Princess of Mithila, Sita. Also, It never for once the meeting of Ram and Sita before the Swayamvar and there was no matter of Sita favouring Ram in the Swayamvar ever stated in any version of Ramayana; be it Valmiki’s Ramayana or Kambaramayanam (Tamil) or Molla Ramayanam (Telegu) or Ranganatha Ramayanam (Telegu) or even the most following one by Tulsidas, Ramacharitamanas (Awadhi).

His image with this writing is reflected of a person who is so obsessed with the capability of knowing the Mythology and cultural stories that he even forget that the Mahabharata was written after Ramayana. At some point while prefacing the exile period, he had given the hints of the times which actually happened a lot after this Epic Poem was written.
Amish, here, in my understanding is ultracrepidarian about the whole fact of this Epic, in deep. The way this sacred literature went through his hands, it seems, more twirled and twisted. My bibliosmia, however, helped me get over the frustration of reading the unfactual writing that published to sale all over the world. One thing which I appreciate to a point is his hold on the vocabulary. But somewhere he missed the proper practical usage of the jargon, as well. But still, I would like to read the sequel to this novel for to know his lack of knowledge on the further facts on this Holy Epic work, by Valmiki.

For me it deserved: 2.0/5.0 as in whole.

Saloni

Should be retitled "How To Give Mythology A Screw Over".

Mith

I want my money back.

Prabhjot Kaur

I had high expectations before reading this book which was the wrong thing to do. I just could not get into this book. I tried harder and harder to really like this but only some of the things stood out. It was pretty much like the actual Ramayan but badly written (if I may say so). Normally, I complain when authors don't write enough about world building but in this book, it was over done.

I mostly liked The Shiva Trilogy by Amish but this was just not for me. Having said that, I will still read the next book just to see what the author comes up with.

2 stars

Vishnu Chevli

Before I begin let me clear this was not a review copy. I actually bought it within the first month of release and I have received author signed steel bookmark with the book as well.

Now coming to the author, Amish Tripathi, I had three spans in last 15 years in which I was drawn towards reading. The first one was due to the Harry Potter series and that span continued for 2-3 months. Next two spans started with Amish Tripathi's Shiva Trilogy. And It is till date in my favorite top five book series. The series is also my wife's favorite. We have two sets of the trilogy. So it was obvious that we will buy the next series of Amrish. I know I am 3 years late to review the book.

"Scion of Ikshwaku" 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.

Detailed Review Link -
http://chevusread.blogspot.com/2018/0...

Rahul Khatri

Zip-Zap-Zoom Read ........ !

After re-introducing Lord Shiva in Shiva Triology , Amish Tripathi has pen down the Scion Of Ikshvaku , Ist of instalment in Ram Chandra Series .As the book was exclusively available on Amazon , I Recieved my Pre-ordered Copy Yesterday and once I start reading , it kept me hooked till the very end . Truly Spell Bounding Ist Instalment as The Immortal of Meluha was from Shiva Trilogy was .

FRONT COVER ~
Front Cover which is beautifully designed . Front Cover secures the scene of a jungle with a man holding his bow , his elbow aligned with arrow ,straight in air pointing towards a conical machine . After Reading I Realise that the pic depicts of Ram pointing his weapon towards the flying machine called Pushpak Viman .
BACK COVER ~
Back Cover holds the a short gist of the inside story embedded over the background showing a flying machine stood stationary on ground surrounded by green gas .

WRITING ~
Coming to inside view , First page holds a gist about author and a digital signature beneath it .One of the finest part of writing is that author has put List of Characters and Important Tribes in alphabetical order in the beginning itself .
The First chapter Rolled out with the Kidnapping of Sita but later details the way Characters reached on the actions that happened in chapter 1 . So As The Series called Ram Chandra Series , So the books are pen down on the life of Lord Rama, inspired by Ramayana . Like Shiva in Shiva Trilogy , Author has tried to revive Ram in this series as well .
As the name of first instalment of Series , Scion Of Ikshvaku , suggest , the plot revolves around Ram belongs to the Ikshvaku scion .
Story basically breaks after 1st chapter when Dashrath and his allies lost badly to Raavan , then Head of security of Trading Security Forces , with which he lost major wealth ,leaving Ayodhya weakend .With mere Coincidence , First Prince of Dashrath , Ram , was born on the same day and Dashrath believed that Ram's Birth was inauspicious . It was widely held that all the good deeds of Ram's Life would not succeed in washing away the 'taint of 7,032' , the year that Dashrath was defeated and Ram was born . Beside Ram , later three more Prince born from two other Wives of Dashrath . Ram , the eldest was born from Kaushalya , Bharat from Kaikeyi & Laxman and Shatrugan from Sumitra . Author had portrayed Ram as Idealistic , One who considered laws are meant to be followed and all are equal in front of law while Bharat was Practical and Real , who thinks freedom to citizens will lead to good living among citizens .Laxman is portrayed as the cutest character among all and loyal to Ram while Shatrugan is shown as the one who keep himself engaged in Books and always stand beside Bharat .
With Ram sticked to Laws , gets negative behaviour of Nobles but once backed from Gurukal , is associated as Chief of Police Force by Mynthra while Bharat was made Chief of Foreign relations . As the crime was on hike ,but as soon as Ram resume his duties , he led the rules inscribed on temples as many citizens aren't even aware of laws , which dips the crime rate to all time low and makes him popular among common folks .Author has also inked about the masculine & Feminine ways . And the Vayuputras Council is with Asuras while Rishi Vashista allies with Nagas and Maharishi Vishwanmitra is linked iwth Malyaputras .
Later on Request of Maharishi Vishwamitra , Dashrath send Ram & Laxman with him to protect his ashrams from asura attacks and while returning back to Ayodhya , Vishwamitra takes Ram to Swayambar of Sita which ended up with Ram as victorious and Wedded to Sita , Princess of Mithila . And events turns in manner that Ram knocks down Raavan from Asurashastra , a celestial weapon , whose usage cause a penalty of 14 year exile . While Ram sticked to law and self-imposed 14 year exile on himself and when went to Ayodhya to seek his father's permission prior leaving , Keykayi plays his game of activating two boons from Dashrath which includes sending Ram to 14 Year exile as per law and Declaring Bharat as Crown Prince . It was in the last year of exile when Sita was kidnapped .
Author has embedded the character of all four princes to show true love among all four brothers .
As wrote author has re-introduced Ram but with highlighting evils that are dwelling in our society .

With Roshni , Amish re-minds the memories of Heinous Delhi Rape case . How cast system is a serious threat to our society . How anger is the root cause of self-destruction . With his writing , Author has also flagged the matter of Polygamy , Reveals the true meaning of Relationships by Ram's Thought about Marriage and His Wife .

Scion Of Ikshvaku ended with Sita's kidnapping and Hanuman still on his way with other Parihans to meet Ram .
From all , I found most amazing is the hilarious Laxman , when he was kid who keeps lisping and is loyal to his elder brother Ram .

" ......it's more important to be right than to be first . "

" This soil is worth more than my life to me . I love my country . I love my India . I swear I will do what must be done . Give me courage , My Lord ."

Shravanthi

Hmmm....Yeah, so I read this 'Ramayana remake'. Didn't like it. Well okay....maybe I liked only tiny portions. Kinda-sorta okayish book I'd say.

Ram is born on the day of Dhasharath's first defeat against Raavan!(preposterous, and ridiculously twisted) This victimizes Ram in Dhasharath's eye. The King blames his first defeat on the new born. How is a baby responsible for a king's blunders in war? I don't know. But it says a lot about how much we suck. As a community that buys into such idiotic beliefs, and as an audience who hasn't raised riots for infantile injustice.

Okay. Maybe that was too strong.

The plot and sub-plot:

Ram, Lakshman (I'd like to call him Lakky from now) Bharat and Shatrugnan are brothers from different wombs. They grow up in a gurukul. They have different gurukul names, sorta like these fake reddit usernames. This is to protect the royal family from danger. Totally unnecessary if you ask me. Can't remember any of those now.

The boys are trained under Saint Vashishta (or should I say Shady Vashishta?!) Because Vashista seems to have mysterious dealings with the Nagas (deformed people according to Amish Tripathi) Why is Vashishta associated with the Nagas? And why are they interested in Ram and Co. ? A sub-plot arises.

The boys grow up, unawares of this other face of their guru. Over the course of 16 years, they are trained in fighting, archery and other life skills. They learn about vedhas, dharma and history.

Ram is especially interested in Dharma. Bharat is especially interesting in girls. Both of them are equally interested in politics and ruling the kingdom.

They do spend a good part of their time in the gurukul, learning about their ancestors. Their guru talks a lot about sociology concepts like the feminine and the masculine ways of life, what are their benefits, the disadvantages, so on and on. After a while I began wondering if Amish was talking about society 5000 years ago, or if he is taking a satirical hit on today's system. Because most of the social constructs seem like they are new-age. Whatever it was, it was all very boring for me.

I can only say that Amish made some fatal flaws in the name of humor. Pay the bills?!! Like really? That was something that made me stop reading and go... Whaaaat??? Likewise there are just too many modern terms - pain killers, operation theatres, business woman, police force etc. At this point, I'm beginning to dismiss this as a retelling of the epic.

Now, either Ram or Bharat could become the crown prince of the Kingdom of Ayodhya. That decision totally depends on King Dhasharath. But is King Dhasharath in the mood to favour Ram, after his most embarrassing defeat against Raavan? (still preposterous!!)

Is Ram worthy of becoming the crown prince? The main plot of Scion of Ikshvaku rests on this point.

Being potential crown princes and all, the brothers start discussing politics in their early teenage. Ram staunchly adheres to the laws and is mesmerized by the historical (?!?) masculine society of their ancestors. Bharath (when his is not fooling around with girls) has some strong opinions about how to run a kingdom. BTW while Ram is toiling away to become Dhasharath's pet son, Bharat is having a love affair with the daughter of the Tribal chief of the forests near their gurukul.

The story suddenly jumps from the gurukul to Ayodhya. Apparently Ayodhya is in a state of moral and economical decadence, after Raavan defeated Dhasharath (remember? like 20 years ago...when Ram was born).

If Amish being confused wasn't enough, the people of Ayodhya are too. First they hate Ram because the King hates his own firstborn. Next thing you know the King loves Ram for saving his life in a singular hunting expedition. So the people love him. Kyu? Why? Why u no clarity?

Characterization:

The one thing I really liked in this book is contrasting characters. Ram, easily beguiled, strict follower of rules and a one-woman man (this phrase is repeated multiple times in the book itself) At one point, Ram claims that he would only fall in love with a woman who earns his respect.

Lakky is a lovable fellow. Kinda reminds me of the breed Irish Setter. He is huge, he doesn't know his own strength, is extremely lovable and just wants to play. Kiddo Lakky is the cooooootestttt <3 Even when he's all grown-up and married. Lakky comforts his wife, that was the most touching scene in the whole book. Lakky and Urmila make a cute pair... <3

Bharat is more practical. A playboy, a true friend and brother. Don't-care-to-break-rules types. We don't see much about Shatrugnan, except that he's a studious fellow and in always immersed in his books forever.

The actual story...

All this is fine, but when does Ramayana begin? Those were exactly my thoughts.

Fortunately, the story moves on, but not really in the way we want it to. When it's time to choose a crown prince, Dhasharath is confused. So he ends up making Ram the commander of the police force of Ayodhya and Bharat, the external affairs minister (do you see why I called this societal structure new-age?). After a gross incident of gang rape (alluding to the Nirbhaya case), Ram is left feeling devastated at his incompetency as the chief of police. Then stuff happens and blah blah...and then I don't remember how, but Ram ends up in Mithila.

Mithila is a progressive kingdom in terms of their culture and architectural proficiency. Not so much coffers-wise. Mithila is struggling to maintain its political ties with kingdoms nearby. Their Prime Minister is Sita.

Ram falls in respect, I'm sorry , he falls in love with Sita.

Sita likes him back. Swayamvar takes place. Here's the crazy part...

The Swayamvar is from MAHABHARAT!! Yep, that scene where Arjun has to shoot at the fish's eye above, by only looking into its reflection, that's what happens here. Wrong epic, Amish. Maybe you fell asleep during your research?

If that was shocking then get this: Kaikeyi should've been the one to banish Ram, but Ram banishes himself for nuking Raavan's troops. Yeah, Raavan makes a reappearance. But not even this time it's the real one from Ramayan. Amish has been using Raavan as a threatening villain, who occurs only twice in the story but annoys us.

I'm an action person. I wants wars. :(

By the end, I felt that I'd be more interested to read about Bharat and Shatrughna instead of Ram and Lakky. Ram was only interested in building an utopian society. He was like that one attentive student in the lecture hall, listening to speeches and furiously taking notes. I didn't think he had the empathy for his subjects. Plus, I also think that the real Ram wasn't this stuck-up.

Scion of Ikshvaku was only a prelude to Ramayan. The story begins only at the end.I'm officially disappointed. Hmm, and I also didn't have any goosebumps-worthy moments.

Overall feeling - Meh.

On a totally unrelated note, is this Ikshvaku person even real?

Shwetha Anand

Less said the better. Forget acceptable standards of literature, is it too much to ask for a decent read that doesn't involve inane statements like" Shukracharya was from Egypt"?? Well apparently it is..

Sookie

The book is set in same universe as that of the Meluha trilogy. And like Meluha trilogy, this novel has to be read without constant comparison to Ramayana as we have come to know. Treat this story how you treat any other characters that are loosely based on popular mythology. If done well, this can be an interesting trilogy, even better than Meluha perhaps.

Amish delivers his own (not entirely original) brand of philosophy as he explains Gods and their roles in the world. It would have given the story a depth had he taken that thought process throughout the novel instead of sprinkling it here and there when necessary.

The continuing use of modern colloquial terms can be awfully off putting. Amish writes "angvastram" and "India" in the same breath. Even though I was expecting to encounter words and phrases from modern times, it didn't become any less jarring. Maybe that's why the book is such an easy read. The story more or less remains the same; Amish doesn't change any major story arc from Ramayana but he gives different nuances to the character. Though the characters and their agency seem to be vastly different from the story we know, their actions and decision always fall in line with the plot.

Its an easy read for a boring or a lazy day. The book reads itself and you are kinda riding along with the fast paced narration. Have to give credit to Amish for that!

Ashish Iyer

Amish's Shiva Trilogy - The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas and The Oath of the Vayuputras has attracted a wide and devoted audience since its publication.

Scion of Ikshvaku is Amish's version of the Ramayan. It's Amish fictional and interpretation of the tale of Lord Ram and Lady Sita. Book is fast-paced adventure based on several versions of the Ramayan, melded with historical theories and imagination. The story tracks the journey of Ram, the son of Dashrath and the founder of what is known today as Ram Rajya, the perfect empire. It traces his struggle, his love, his destiny as he set about creating this perfect empire. All of his books have a core philosophy, with the story to convey it. The philosophies are usually drawn from his understanding of Indian scriptures and life experiences. In the Shiva Trilogy, the core philosophy was built around this question: What is Evil? The answer is not simple. In Scion of Ikshvaku,he is trying to explore this question: What is an ideal society? And in this case too, the answer is not simple. Amish's point of view is so believable and practical.

Worth a read.
waiting for the next books.
Happy Reading.

Bhanuj

You can also read the review here
Argumentative Watermelon

Ramayan was written over a period of more than 1200 years, it went through so many changes and interpolations that what came out (its many versions included) was a masterpiece.

Sadly the same can’t be said about the Scion of Ikshvaku. It is a retelling of the great epic with its own moderation and revisions. The core of the story is the same, Amish chiseled the outer surface to remodel it his own way, but fails miserably.

The story reads like a first draft that has been chucked straight to publishing without proper revisions and editing that it desperately needed.

Sadly not a single scene or sentence makes an impact. The dialogues are penny plain unornamented. No strong character emerges out of the story, even the protagonist struggles to find firm ground. If that was not enough, the story takes a 360 degree spin from its main theme and launch itself into a rape and revenge drama right in the middle, which ends with no conclusion, just the way it was taken up.

The chronological misplacement of words like doctor, operation theater, missiles and small pox highlights the amateurish writing. At times the author uses appropriate aboriginal jargon to describe the body-wear as ‘angvastram’ while at times he uses colloquial expressions like ‘wow’ to express joy and astonishment. It makes one wonder what prevented the author to use more chic words like ‘bae’.

The big conspiracies being hatched in the forests are not exciting enough, the battle scenes are hurried, the humor fell short and the romance is a dud. Overall, I believe the story is written with a set audience in mind. India is a country where the majority is not in a habit of reading, the novel caters to that mass who may not be too proficient in English and hence the plain writing but sadly it fell short of a gripping fantasy tale.

Arunita

Regretting those hours of my life that will never come back.One of the worst books I have read in a while.Ramayana is already viewed as less interesting than the Mahabharat(Edit: Since someone has taken this as me thinking 'epic' Ramayan 'less interesting,please note I have implied no such thing.A lot of people around me while reading mythology based FICTION prefer Mahabharat to Ramayan b'coz Mahabharat has many 'not sonoble and ideal' characters who are much more relatable.Hence the comment.I have absolutely no intention to disrespect the Ramayana.Plz do not attack).Amish has just drove the point home.Can't remember the last time I have read so much mundane characterization of Lord Ram.And don't even get me started with the whole Nirbhaya incident projection.It was so much forced through the throat that I kinda choked on it.what a caricature of Lord Ram!!!He was an ardent follower of rules no doubt but he also killed Vali in a so called unfair manner while he was fighting with Sugrib.He just let the pathetic excuse of human pass through the net while the lady was his 'rakhi sister'(as per Amish's potrayal)!But let me stop here.The word'law' alone is going to hurt my head for a while.Ashok Banker's interpretation was Much better compared to this mess.

Swathi Kiranmayee Manchili

Amish Tripathi, the master story teller, does it again!
Scion of Ikshvaku is a retelling of Ramayana. This is Amish's version of the Epic. The story starts with the birth of Lord Ram, hardships he faces and how he tries to establish the perfect society, the RAM RAJYA. The narration is pacy and the author keeps us interested throughout the book. The way Lady Sita character has been etched is what stands out for me. The bond between the brothers is depicted in a very convincing way.
I went for 4 stars instead of 5 as at a few places I felt like the author inserted things forcefully like Nagas, Somras to connect it to the Shiva Trilogy. But I will read the next part and hope that the insertions are organic rather than forceful. In the beginning, I did the common mistake of comparing this book with Shiva trilogy, as trilogy is one of favorites. As the book progressed, I was completely engrossed.

I definitely recommend this book. Go for it!

Anmol Rawat

Scion of Ikshvaku Detailed Book Review

All hail Amish! This is such a beautiful book that I was disappointed it ended so soon. Excellent narration, excellent character development and excellent emotions. Scion of Ikshvaku is one of the best books I have read this year and I highly recommend it to all my friends. Eagerly waiting for the next installment now.

Manpreet Kaur

I really liked the book.
it has heavy doses of philosophy and political discussions mixed with the normal plot about Ram's life.
You get to know and admire the main characters and you find your spiritual self happy about what you read.
by the end of the book, your 'crazy for an interesting and exciting tale' self dances with joy and makes you look forward to book 2 of the Ram Chandra series.

Mondit

The moment I opened the book, following words stared at me.

Parents are like a bow, and children like arrows. The more the bow bends and stretches, further the arrow flies. I fly, not because I am special but because they stretched for me

The words, which are so apt for a book about an Archer, who is the apostle of a culture where Parents are worshipped above gods, where a prince renounces throne and embrace the life of wild people for his father.

Amish’s Ramayana is the Ramayana where Sita is strong and powerful. Amish’s Ramayana is the Ramayana where Ram does not born to be godlike but earns his respect. Amish’s Ramayana is the genesis of his world; the world of Meluha.

The author continues his tryst with the fantasy. The Somrasa, rules of Rudra, Vayuputra,parihas all plays important part in the book and one needs to be familiar with that world to fully enjoy the book. As with the earlier books he approaches the legend with as much rationality as possible and strips down all divinity from the story. Ravana the Demon becomes an exploiting business tycoon. Manthra, the poor maid in Ramayana becomes a powerful merchant. Vishwamitra, the sage, becomes a conspiring sarcastic leader of a clan, while Sita becomes the primeminister of Mithila. The continued depiction of various demigods with special features as Naga is interesting. Jatayu becomes a Naga and so would anyone with any resemblance to other animals (any guess on other important characters?). A visible improvement from his earlier books can be seen in the way the archery or swordsmanship is described. The author jots down minute details about the skills of Archery or the muscular movement in swordsmanship. The philosophy from the previous books is also sprinkled here and there but here author does not go deep in establishing the institution of Ram as he did with the Neelkanth.

At times reading through the book it feels like Tolkien. There are points where the creative brilliance shines bright. The description of the city of Mithila is breathtaking.

However as with most people writing mythology, the choice of words becomes a challenge for Amish. For instance author’s use of India and Angavastram in the same sentence is quite contradictory. Similarly “Police” is a thing which was never heard of before 15th century, yet he goes on scribbling about the police force of Mithila. Repeated use of the wordDada is also quite inappropriate. (Dada is a relatively new non Sanskrit word. Use of Dada on Ram is like Aurangzeb calling Shahjaha as Dad ).And of course Roshni?? Can someone be called by a Hindi name at least 2000 years before the existence of the language?

The book could not justify its premise- the weak political stature of India in “3400 BCE” as the author intended to. The chaos among people, the rise of crime, poverty, reducing control of the monarch, all these finds only some oblique reference while the author chose to show the King instead of the kingdom as weak and degenerating. The underlying political conspiracy (as suggested by repeated meeting between Vasistha and the Naga) also remains half built. The story is told entirely on third person objective and most of the inner struggle faced by the greatest character Mariyada Puroshottam Ram remains untold. Similarly the book’s handling of the entire Urmila saga in just one page left me disappointed.

But on an overall basis the creative genius of Amish is at play. The books clearly creates a parallel Ramayana and many interpretations of known beliefs are intriguing. All in all this is a light read and interesting book. The fast paced narration will keep you occupied for hours. The twisting and the interesting characters sets a strong stage for the remaining books. The book is a pure enjoyment and will leave you refreshed and wanting.

A Man Called Ove

2015 -"At a Literature Festival in Mumbai, a reader asked me why we use the word `Lord’ for Ram. And she went on to say some very rude things about Lord Ram. That upset me enough to write an article explaining why I respect Lord Ram, while readily accepting that what he did with Sita Ma was unfair. And I also decided that day that I will write my next book series on Lord Ram."
And thank you Amish for that.
2018 - yesterday I was telling my wife, how "Rama" was my most loved and respected figure from Hindu mythology. Moralist, but unlike Yudhistira who has few fans, Lord Rama was also one of the finest warriors of his times, like Arjuna. As Dinkar said -
"सहनशीलता, क्षमा, दया को तभी पूजता जग है
बल का दर्प चमकता उसके पीछे जब जगमग है."
Pat came the reply - "He is my most disliked figure. Why ? Because he tried to be too perfect (and failed) and because what he did to his wife." Agreed, that is a sore point but there is a lot to learn and admire especially since I am also interested in liberalism and constitutional philosophy etc. and Lord Rama was "Maryada Purushottam" which according to Amish means "the ideal follower of laws".
I have an author-signed pre-ordered copy but I delayed reading it looking on the negative reviews. But if u liked the Shiva trilogy, go for it. Was pleasantly surprised because Ramayana is a black-and-white story and such stories can be boring unlike the Mahabharata. I have read a re-telling of Ramayana by my fav author Narendra Kohli in Hindi and it was disappointing.
And if you didnt like his earlier books, the least u can do is stop being a spiteful troll who hasnt read this book and r assigning 1-star ratings. Yeah, one of the top reviews for this book on goodreads is from one such petty idiot.

Anshu Sharma

While I am all for retelling of ancient stories, I too believe there are some structures that should not be messed with which includes tweaking the Ram/Sita swayamvar to resemble that of Arjun/Draupadi. Each had their meaning and the change nullifies that. Also, I found the invocation of the Nirbhaya case pretty heinous to be honest. Playing with sentimentalism, eh?

Other that these two, this book is a pretty lackluster retelling of the original Ramayan. It id bland and the characters seem like cardboard cutout who have been programmed to utter a few choice phrases in random interval - Ram utters law while Lakshman utters "... protect you Dada...". I will stick with the next two books to see where this will lead but I have no high hopes.

Gayatri

Something is missing in this book. I loved Amish's previous work and was super excited to read this one but this book disappointed me. In this book, Lord Ram doesn't leave a solid impression on the reader and maybe that's why its not as great as The Shiva Trilogy.

Girish

3.5 stars more like. To be honest, the book started as a 'getitoutofthesystem' read for me. In parts, you could taste the essence of what the author was capable of, that made his earlier books a bestseller, before he became a 'literary popstar' who had to sell brand "Amish'

Amish Tripathi is the Rohit sharma of books - Talented but frustratingly distracted. This book had definite strong points like the masculine and feminine societies, the smritis, the trade economy etc which made the reader think. And then there were sections that are pandering to impress the readers with current concepts (not new to Amish, mind you). Bringing in a gang rape by juvenile, biological weapons, pushpak viman with sliding doors and glass etc is unwarranted. Creative licence could have been taken for explaining the how than reinventing the events/timeline.

Some of the concepts retained from the previous series like the Nagas, Somras etc is a plus making sure Amish owns the world he created. That the series has potential is not in question, just hoping the author does a honest job than a popular one. And a bit more responsible attitude could help.

PS: After reading
Asura: Tale Of The Vanquished, it is impossible to 'unthink' Raavana as the noble guy. Hope Amish reads too!

Vikalp Trivedi

The first book in the Ramchandra Series 'Scion Of Ikshvaku' is set in the same arc in which the Shiva trilogy was set . The book is a fast paced book , the characters are bit changed than their conventional forms and are well built . It is true that the series is Amish's version of Ramayana . The only character which I felt remained underused was of Raavan . In many of the episodes Amish has used resemblenses with the contemporary incidences , especially in the Roshni episode and in the backdrop story of the Asuras .

Problems associated with the book are the story of the Yadus and Dwarka used throughout the book many times . The Yadus emerged in the Dwapar Yug , the Dwapar Yug is the Yug after the Treta Yug . And it is a very well known fact that Krishna built Dwarka in the Dwapar Yug . Means this all happened after the times of Ram . Then how are the characters telling the story of the Yadus and Dwarka ? And it is just a different perspective of the Ramayana and lacked the twists which were the highlight of the Shiva trilogy .

Philosophy in the book is great and deep , the trademark Amish style . Overall a great read .Waiting for the further books in the series .

Pratip Vijayakumar

This book is Set in the backdrop of Ayodhya and the Tale is portrayed as it happened before Lord Shiva's appearance.
Amish has paid more attention not to seem like his previous series (Shiva Trilogy) but he fails because he portrayed Ram as a confused person or he was left confused by the happenings.
Though the book was Racy and very descriptive. I could indulge myself into the book but at times I couldn't avoid the feeling of the Shiva Trilogy because Nagas and Somras are all over again.
A good read and Amish didn't fulfill the expectation created out of his previous books and if, you read the book without expectations. It is an amazing attempt.

Aparna

Amish's writing is pure magic !

Asha Seth

Let’s write a book. Choose an epic mythological tale; one that every Indian knows by the tip of his tongue. Prise out the main figures, perhaps, ones religiously worshipped. Stick to the original settings, how else will readers relate? Throw in some 21st century slangs and expletives. Add few not-so necessary war scenes. And of course, Google the synonyms for every damn word. Why? Well, because you know why. And lastly, let’s have some sorry-ass frivolously stupid damp-humoured dialogues. Voila! We have a book.

To be honest, I could write a ridiculously lengthy spoiler review but I’m going to save myself the trouble.

When Amish Tripathi began with the Shiva Trilogy, he did not merely write a book inspired by famous mythological figures. He wasn’t the first. But twisting away the tales creating whatever he created, he must have been fritty. And yet, the first book in the Shiva trilogy was good; the rest two, please don’t even get me started. If that wasn’t unbearable, the first in the Ramchandra series is just paltry reworking of the epic Ramayana we've grown up listening to.

Ram is the first-born son of King Dashrath and Queen Kaushalya, but he’s something akin a bad-omen because the day Ram is born is the only day in history of Ayodhya that Dashrath lost a battle. Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughan - Ram’s brothers have distinct roles to play. Ram is the ethical law-abiding brother, Lakshman is the bold angry young man. Bharat is the pragmatic and quite the ladies' man, and Shatrughan is the bookworm.

Raavan, the demon king quite steals the show. Vashishtha, the gurukul teacher takes part in raising the young princes while sage Vishwamitra has a certain mission for Ram. It’s on this mission that Ram meets Sita, the Mithilan princess and wins her over as wife in a traditional swayamvar. Crux of the story follows Ramayan very closely.

You find characters that struggle for recognition and in the process end up looking like C-grade imbecile halfwits, a plot that begs for fundamental space, petty war scenarios which look thoroughly forced in, the story simply dragged to a cliff from where from the reader can jump off and finally end the tale. But Amish has different plans as he is worked up a sequel – Sita, the warrior. Bless my heart! Wasn’t the torture enough?

Amish might soon be the next Chetan Bhagat. With the promise of a classic Bollywood masala mix of action-romance-adventure in the rewritings of some of the legendary tales in Indian mythology, he sure is a tough competition for Bhagat.

Many devoted readers have cluttered the internet with raving reviews about the book. Did they get sick after reading the book, or perhaps, weak in the head? They obviously did, otherwise no one in their right mind would’ve rated it a 5 or even 4. Or are these reviews paid for? I’m left to wonder. In any case, it’s shameful to have replicated one of the legendary tales into something this abysmal.

I'd urge you to read ‘The Scion of Ikshvaku’ only if you are as piqued as I was to find out who Ikshvaku is. I ain't tellin' ya! That's all folks!

Asha Seth

Akash (Turtle)

Raghukul Reet Sada Chali Aayi Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye

A fresh and different perspective towards Ramayan and Lord Ram. Amish does it brilliantly without tarnishing the actual feel of Ramayan. Instead makes it more relatable to this generation!!

It's a must-read for mythology lovers.

Jai Shree Ram.

Priya

DNF in July, skimmed the rest yesterday to find out that oh-my-god-no, oh-my-god-NO !!

Subham

This is a retelling of Ramayana from the Authors perspective and he tells the story of Ram and his upbringing and how he suffered disdained from Ayodhya people due to some events at his birth, his growing in gurukul with his brothers under Guru Vashisth and then the swayamvar and him marrying sita and their exile leading upto her abduction while we have mythology, political conspiracy and there is one heartfelt scene of Roshni, Ram's sister and what happened to her testing his character of law vs practicality and there are many such scenes questioning his morals and are like philosophical and presenting good arguments from both ends and we also have it tying perfectly to the Shiva Trilogy. Plus the character development here is really well done and I like how it shows Sita as a strong woman and also shows the ethical dilemmas might face and captures the character of Ram perfectly. Though some stuff might feel changed but its a fictional retelling from the authors POV and I enjoyed it.

Title	:	Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1)
Author	:	Amish Tripathi
Rating	:
ISBN	:	9385152149
ISBN-10	:	9789385152146
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	354
Publication	:	First published May 13, 2015

Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1) by Amish Tripathi

Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1) Reviews

Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1) Reviews

Releated on Scion of Ikshvaku (Ram Chandra, #1)