| Title | : | Sita: Warrior of Mithila (Ram Chandra, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 9386224585 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9789386224583 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 361 |
| Publication | : | First published May 29, 2017 |
India is beset with divisions, resentment and poverty. The people hate their rulers. They despise their corrupt and selfish elite. Chaos is just one spark away. Outsiders exploit these divisions. Raavan, the demon king of Lanka, grows increasingly powerful, sinking his fangs deeper into the hapless Sapt Sindhu.
Two powerful tribes, the protectors of the divine land of India, decide that enough is enough. A saviour is needed. They begin their search.
An abandoned baby is found in a field. Protected by a vulture from a pack of murderous wolves. She is adopted by the ruler of Mithila, a powerless kingdom, ignored by all. Nobody believes this child will amount to much. But they are wrong.
For she is no ordinary girl. She is Sita.
Continue the epic journey with Amish’s latest: A thrilling adventure that chronicles the rise of an orphan, who became the prime minister. And then, a Goddess.
This is the second book in the Ram Chandra Series. A sequel that takes you back. Back before the beginning.
Sita: Warrior of Mithila (Ram Chandra, #2) Reviews
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Okay, why did I even start this book in the first place? Because I got a free copy of this book and the cover was so tempting that I just thought of giving it a try. My Bad! Usually, I refrain from reading interpretations of our great epics but I thought with a bit of open-mindedness I can at least try this out as some fantasy-fiction with no connection to the epic. I kept reminding myself throughout that the Sita in this story is just another character and not Ramayana’s Sita but I failed miserably. I almost gave up on this when Hanuman met Sita before Rama and gave up on this completely when Hanuman was teased as ‘Hans’ by some character...Really author? Is this your level of interpreting Ramayana? I really don’t know why Indian authors like to spoil our mythology for the rest of the world? Why can’t they create their own world and use their creativity on that rather than ruining a great epic using their crappy imagination? I had read and enjoyed Meluha book maybe because I was unaware of Lord Shiva’s story but, having known, read, watched, Ramayana N-number of times, I just could not digest this book.
https://varshasbookshelf.blogspot.com/ -
I never liked Ramayan (or Ramcharitmanas). The main reason being the treatment of character of Sita . Though I have never read the original Ramayan , I have heard stories and read about Ramayan . Almost in every story Sita's character is depicted firstly as an obedient wife who follows her perspective lacking husband (Ram in my opinion is a character without his own perspective )for a fourteen years exile , than a helpless kidnapped wife waiting for her husband to rescue her , then when her husband rescue her she had to give agnipariksha - trial by fire to prove that she is pure , and later in the epic a woman who is abandoned by her husband to uphold his fake honour.
Ironically because of all the things she suffered , Indian people consider her as "Adarsh Bhartiya Nari". The ideal Indian Woman .Indian women are always told to get inspired from Sita . But to be inspired from what - the sufferings she got from the decisions taken by her perspective lacking husband ? Yes , women should be inspired by Sita , but not by Sita characterised by Valmiki or Tulsidas but by Sita characterised by Amish .
It was 2012 when Amish changed my view about Lord Shiva and he does it again in 2017 when he changed my perspective about Sita . Great character building infused with a wonderful storyline and enriched with great philosophy , 'Sita - Warrior Of Mithila' is far batter than the first book in the series . The book starts when Sunaina discovers Sita and later follows Sita's journey of becoming an empowered woman . The usage of every character is very apt and all the supporting characters were very well built .
Apart from the wonderful character building what I liked most was tension building throughout the book . The internal tussles in the tribes , Raavan's economical exploitation of India , especially the way the rivalry between Vishwamitra and Vashistha used . The pace was very good and was maintained till the end . The twists were at right places some of which are still not completely revealed . The book sets a grand stage for the upcoming books in the series . Needless to say that the writing style was compelling and the new hyperlink narrative is impressive .
Waiting eagerly for 'Raavan - Orphan Of Aryavarta' .
Perfect 5 Stars . -
Not at all impressed with this story line and narration. I did the mistake of re-reading Scion of Ikshvaku before starting this one. Half the conversations, plots , narrations are exactly the same.. word to word. Even if I ignore the replication of scenes , narrations from Ikshvaku to Sita ; given that Sita is an (alleged) sequel ; I can not ignore the superficial and unintelligent character build ups and conversations. I found myself holding the book and re-reading few lines just to understand author's need of accommodating them but I just could not understand the need of ingenuous conversations among our revered mythological figures. May be my cause of disappointment has to do with my expectations from the author of famous Shiva trilogy ! I still would be waiting for the other 2 books of this series , something to do with the faith in author. Fingers crossed !
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Better disappointment than earlier.
I have been thinking of this book as the cover-up for the mistakes Amish did in his last book of this series. But Alas! No such thing seen, instead since starting there were many mistakes that one goes irritate counting and stop concentrating on the content which elsewise is not aptly put in reference to the real scripture. Deviation is allowed up to a level where one can think of its presence in any other version of the writing, but when you unnecessarily add things which are just for fun and meant to make you bestseller instead of retelling the facts; You messed up the whole work. Different perspective can go very well but you can’t change the fact that something is there and something is not and vice-versa.
From the very starting there are things that are not written in any version of Ramayan; be it the original Maharishi Valmiki’s or Kambaramayanam or Saptakanda Ramayana or Vilanka Ramayana or any other among many. I will point out the mistakes that have been done profoundly by author and in very proud manner like his fiction mind is writing about some fantasy script rather than keeping the base original and move the perspectives to change the course of an Epic.
1.) Makrant was roaming around with Mata Sita like some random servant. This utmost impossible and never mentioned in any part of Original texts.
Reason: No servant meant to be there with the Trio as they were on exile. They are not allowed to have servants or be in connection to any other empire in complete exile period of 14 Years. Only Jungles or Rishi’s (Sage) Ashrams are they allowed to be in.
2.) Before the abduction of Sita Ji, she never saw Raavan, but there here shown the fight in front of him with his armed men. Utmost corrupt thought.
3.) “Sita, along with her husband Prince Ram of Ayodhya and her brother-in-law Lakshman, had been racing through the Dandakaranya, or forest of Dandak, to escape the expected vengeance of the demon-king of Lanka, Raavan. Captain Jatayu, leading a small company of the Malayaputra tribe, had sworn to protect the three Ayodhya royals.” Mind here the underlined words. It shows that Lord Ram was scared of Raavan which again is utmost corrupt thought to put in words, but he did because many here don’t even know their own culture and scriptures. Also, Jatayu never lead the Trio ever. Yes, he owed to protect them. And even they were shown preparing food by hiding and make sure there was no smell or smoke came out just to save themselves from Raavan, utter nonsense.
4.) Kumbhakarna never went to look for trio.
5.) Two Soldiers mentioned looking for Sita Ji. One killed by her, then to whom he was talking? “Move! Move! There’s nobody else!” Also, Sita arrested in the End, how could he normalized Sita Ji to that much extent?
6.) Jatayu was called Naga tribe, though he was a bird. They were called deformed, quoted as; ‘Naga was the name given to people of the Sapt Sindhu born with deformities. Jatayu’s malformation gave his face the appearance of a vulture.’
Fact: Jatayu, sibling of Sampati both were from bird species. They were not humans with vulture faces, but vultures who could transformed to human figure.
7.) Sita Ji found over the ground which was again a big messing with facts. And named Sita, directly, which was wrong as well. She was found on the quest of King Janak of Mithila while digging the earth surface, buried under it. Hence, she was named as “BHUMIJA”, born from the earth. That was her first given name. Mithila was liberal in thoughts when it comes to gender equality, but Queen Sunaina never sought the responsibility of the Throne. Kushadhwaj had always been devotee to his elder brother Janak, therefore there was no dispute regarding the armed forces or resources for their citizens. An unnecessarily created diff. between both the bothers mentioned.
8.) Lord Hanuman never met with Goddess Sita prior to his meeting with Lord Ram. Radhika was created out of nowhere. Hanuman Ji always used ‘Gadaa’ (Mace), never ever a knife or modern ‘Khukari’. Places were named like it’s a today’s world; Assam (Her father was from Assam) & India (We cannot allow our beloved India to suffer endlessly). ‘Bhaaratas’, that was not even a term used for the descendants of King Bharat. And he was never being contemporary to Lord Rama. As per Author, Ramayan dates back to only 3400BC, but in reality it happened to be taken place in
Treta Yug which lasted for 1296000 years; somewhere around 21,63,000 years back, In front of which 3400BC looks like a first step backwards.
9.) Vishwamitra had clashes with Rishi Vashishtha, when he was a king, but later, much prior to the Happening of Ramayan, in the Era of Siya-Ram, all those previous clashes summed up to a way back closure. Even then here Amish had shown their conflicts. And the language of abusing their contemporary but senior Sage was never meant to be the part of Hindu culture and customs. ‘Sanyaas’ is 4th among the four stages of Hindu system ‘Ashram’; a concept of “Dharma” itself. ‘Sanyaas’ derived from Sanskrit word ‘nyas’, which simply means “Complete Purification”; but author due to his race of getting famous and lack of knowledge in & for the subject, missed entirely. Thus, any one sage can never use corrupting and abusing words for another Human being forget his counterpart like ‘That backstabber … I did so much for him …’ and ‘That snake has taken the Ayodhya princes to his gurukul,’ said Vishwamitra, anger boiling within.’
10.) Concept of Making someone “Lord Vishnu”, again was wholesomely wrong. As written; ‘Yes, I am the chief of the Malayaputras. But I cannot be the Vishnu. My task is to decide who the next Vishnu will be.’; was not happened to be Vishwamitra’s decision to make/create or decide who will the next ‘Vishnu’ be. Lord Vishnu took incarnation himself, he was ‘not created’ by anyone.
11.) Sunaina died even before Sita’s Marriage. Sita called as ‘troubled child’, seriously? And she screamed on Janak, her father; It is like some rich American brat or some spoiled child of modern rich Indian society. What an idiotic writing by Amish.
12.) Vyomkesh was from folk tales much before Ramayan, seriously? Factually, this detective character created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, an Indian writer, in Early 30s of 20th century. And whole chariot brought upon in the Chambers of Sita; was it a really a chamber or premises of market/ground/etc.??? that much big room to look upon damaged chariot? Wow. Hats-off to this silliness of an Author.
13.) Sita made Vishwamitra to bring along Ram and Laxman; and she was sure to convince the former in getting Ram to get her married with him. Seriously, is it some cheap drama? Amish stooped down to the level of drain weed. He made the whole purity of their relationship looks like some roadside show. He must be banned from writing mythologies. And, she went to meet Ram and Samichi, her chief of Police was addressing Ram like he is some local boy and not the Prime guest of Mithila, more importantly the Prince of the Largest Empire of that Epoch. What a shame. Ram was leaving Mithila on hearing Raavan’s arrival, SERIOUSLY? Is this some joke or melodrama? To brought upon his next book titled Raavan, Amish uplifted the level of that Asur above the incarnation of God himself. Facts kept aside when it comes to money and fame for author. Bogus writing.
14.) “Jallikattu” the Bull racing sport was in tradition in India ever since around 700BCE. This is what later became base for the ‘Running of the Bulls’ event of San fermin.
Facts vs Author: -
• Fermin was a Spanish saint lived around 4th CE.
• Jallikattu as mentioned above was around 700BCE.
• Ramayan (according to Author) is around 3400BCE.
• Ramayan (as per real event) happened in “Treta Yug” (Kalpa) around 5000 BCE.
Now let’s see the calculation in short;
Treta Yug (Time of Ramayan happening in real): Lasted for 1296000 years
Dwapar Yug (third of Yug Cycle): Lasted for 864000 years
Kali Yug (Fourth/current Yug Cycle): Lasts for 432000 years started around 5000 BCE.
In Nutshell, if we go as per logic and knowledge-less research of Author, then, Ramayan happened for real just 5400 years back (wrong); It fell as per his calculation in Dwapar Yug (wrong); Jallikattu was before actual Ramayan time(wrong).
Basic thing is this complete work was waste that presented before us for just the purpose to misguide the learning Youth and unknown readers about the facts to make his sell better rather than presenting the Ancient Scripture with facts which are the live evidence to the Ramayan Era.
What I observed while reading this book, is that, it’s all about rags and rubbish thoughts of Author carried along with his lack of knowledge on the subject. His main Motive is just to add spice to the content even in which he failed miserably. His thought as it seemed clear from the book is just to made hero out of Raavan so that he could sell his next book in the series. Whole writing is trash.
For us being the Part of Sanatan Dharma (by birth and Karma), this is indigestible from start till End. I have been through this just to know what else he had written after spoiling the contents of ‘Ram (#1 book in series)’. I’ll for sure read next in series (#3 Raavan) for finding deep-rooted bigotry that accompanied with lack of research and knowledge-less mind.
Same he did while writing his another Series about ’Mahadev aka Lord Shiv’ (Shiva Trilogy).
Such writings are “Venom” to the current age of youngsters which consistently feeding to them to spoil their very culture and distract them from the reality towards fake fantasy and fiction. What he has written was just from the POV of him getting famous by adding spicing stories and manipulate the original and real EPIC. He seemed more prone to prove that what happened all-over in that time of Treta-Yug was myth even when there was nth no. of evidences to prove that it was reality and not some myth evolved from writing only. “RAM SETU” is the biggest live evidence; so are the distance and path equivalent to the present day Places, even their geographical stature. Movement in Exile period from Ayodhya-chitrakoot-dandakaranya-kishkindha-rameshwaram-lanka; all were evident to be the correct path to cover distance from first to last place and back. Availability of resources mentioned in real epic were still shows their growth at those places. In spite of making it more real, all he did was just to show his writing skills in English, even which was not up to the mark. These works definitely affect the youth with no knowledge on the subject and hence they marked such novels as the base for their religion and hold the flag of fake Hinduism, which eventually hurt the sentiments of many as well as evident the path of lost culture in Hinduism. These ‘Epics’ along with ‘Vedas’ and ‘Upanishads’ and many other works are plinth to our culture; not just Hinduism but for ‘the way of Life’. I am very much disappointed and felt failed as a follower of such glorified religion for not been able to change what’s he did. It was to me a debris, litter, sentimental rubbish. I expected for the eternal verities but not every person comes up with writings that are necessarily veridical.
Such Authors must be banned. Not for writing but misguiding the Youngsters with delusional stories instead of putting facts on their table to let them feed themselves and learn to grow better with more knowledge and research base to acknowledge word with ‘Spirit of Divinity’ and ‘Path to Dharma (righteousness)’; which eventually help them groomed as a better human, that always yielded later as a better citizen of the Nation and the world.
For me its deserves negative markings but due to no optional possibility of such kind here, I have to rate it with the minimum most allowed here; 1.0/5.0 else ∞/10. -
What an amazing book. Waited so long for this book. As always book Amish's books are very interesting. Book started with a suspense which will be uncovered in Raavan (next book). I found this book better than previous one. I don't know why some readers are comparing with other version of Ramayana.
This book is Amish's interpretation of Ramayana. The author has exemplary built the structure of linear story-telling, linking incidents from the 'Scion of Ikshvaku', and running both the books parallel to each other. This book might be a let down for some readers, because there is some repetition from the book 1 because both books(story) are going in parallel.
The story is very interesting and the book focuses on the power of women. The portrayal of Sita, as the prime minister of Mithila, was portrayed an independent, brave and self-righteous woman. While in the previous book Scion of Ikshvaku, Amish try to explore this question: What is an ideal society? And in that case too, the answer is not so simple. Amish's point of view is so believable and practical.
There are many mystery still left unanswered . Especially about Maharshi Vishistha and Vishwamitra, Nandini and Samichi.
A revelation is made at the end of the book.
Waiting for book 3 Raavan Orphan of Aryavarta. -
Twisting the delicate fabric of an epic and then writing it down to suit the modern times is a tough task. But Amish Tripathi has always been brilliant in this genre. In his recent novel, Sita: Warrior of Mithila, he has yet again given a new life and meaning to a celebrated character of Ramayana. In the prequel of the book, Scion of Ikshvaku, Amish was not able to convince the audience that much. Has Sita done that job?
Since the beginning of time, Sita has been celebrated as an ideal wife, one who follows her husband, even gives a character test to the world by burning herself. We have been listening to stories about how she was kidnapped, how she kept faith in her husband. But Amish's Sita is not the typical Sita we know.
She is the Princess of Mithila, and a warrior, and The Chosen Vishnu who will eradicate the world from all devilish elements, including Raavan. When I started with the book, it seemed like a regular story of Sita's background, but when it reached the point where she was chosen to lead the Vayuputras and Malayaputras in a war towards Raavan, I sat up straight in my chair, awestruck and silently applauding the genius, Amish Tripathi, for bringing out such a different side of this celebrated woman.
In Sita: The Warrior of Mithila, you also get to read the background of the Ikshavaku series. How two powerful tribes, protectors of the divine land of India came together to find the one who would eradicate the land of all devils and diseases. How Guru Vishvamitra and Guru Vashishtha parted ways, and cannot see eye to eye. You get to meet a new Ram, a true Kshatriya but with a feminist point of view, who doesn't mind if Sita is the Chosen Vishnu. Even when Sita shares the secret with him, he shows trust and shares that if required, he will follow her lead towards their ultimate goal in life. You get to meet Hanuman, who is a silent protecting shadow, and Jatayu, who is entitled to Ram and Sita's protection during their exile in Dandak forest but has a dark past. There's Bali, who is hurt during a Jallikattu program when Ram and Lakshman try to save him. You also get to meet Maya, the coolest Assasin I've come across ever since I started reading mytho-fiction!
For me, Sita: Warrior of Mithila started out as perfect read. But slowly and gradually as I was nearing the climax, I could feel my interest go down in the story. The magic of Amish's writing was not completely there. Something somewhere was definitely missing, maybe because I was reading the same chapters which I have read before in Scion of Ikshvaku?
I understand that some of the chapters were important to be placed so that if somebody who hasn't read Scion of Ikshvaku, could pick up Sita: Warrior of Mithila and enjoy it thoroughly. But what about people who have ardently read the first part and had to go through the same chapters again?
Also, the structural detail of ancient cities has always been there in Amish's writing which is important for a reader to imagine the whole background setting where the scene is taking place. However, too much of structural detail may also make the reader lose interest in the story. And that's what happened with me.
I would have loved to know this new Sita more, but somehow she got lost in the narration which was generally dominated by discussion on law, governance, and morality.
All in all, Sita: Warrior of Mithila is a good book that could have been great! It can definitely win a spot on your summer reading list. I had huge expectations out of it, especially after how the first part went. I won't say that I absolutely detested it, but something could have been done.
Now I am really looking forward to Raavan: Orphan of Aryavarta since the first look and chapter of the book is thrilling, and I am silently praying that please let the third part be a 5* for me. -
"Below expectations" and that's not good at all as my expectations were already low after reading the first book of the series.
I think the biggest drawback of this series is RAMAYANA itself. No... I am not criticizing Ramayana, in fact it’s the exact opposite. Ramayana is no doubt the most followed and most famous creation ever in INDIA but it has a definite start, certain set of characters and a definite end as well. Now in my opinion these factors probably acted as the limitations for Amish, which wasn't the case with SHIVA Trilogy.
SHIVA is ETERNAL, INFINITE; He neither took birth nor does he die. He exists in every timeline so he is not limited to any one particular story arc. This gave Amish the freedom and flexibility which is almost impossible with any other mythological character. Because of this he was able to choose and develop the plot as per his ideas without much of a limitation. This also gave him the possibility to include some other well known mythological characters such as Brhaspati, Bhrigu, Kali, Parashurama etc. Plus I think the “Mytho+Fiction” concept was quite refreshing when he wrote Shiva trilogy but since then it's been explored by numerous writers so it has lost its charm quite a bit.
Anyway, all the above mentioned factors collectively made Shiva trilogy what it is today. Now with this series though Amish can take the creative liberty but he is bound to follow the bigger picture, important characters and their final destiny. This not only takes away the critical surprise element but also the uniqueness or freshness a long series requires.
Having said all these I think Amish still could have done a better job. The idea of putting half of the story in three different novels with different characters' perspective is okay if you have that much to elaborate, which isn't the case with these initial two parts. It stretched the series unnecessarily and few pages or sometimes the minor details felt forced and quite boring.
I think it would have been much better if he had put Sita and Ram's story in a single book as they are closely linked, especially Sita's Swayamvar onwards. After that the story is same in both the books including dialogues, just the Point-Of-View is different. Thankfully there is a gap of almost 2 years between the two books so the repetitions are not that annoying. But at the same time it’s not a good thing for some small events which were kind of incomplete in the first book and got completed in this book.
I can digest the idea of narrating the story with Ravan's POV as it will be quite different but I think Amish missed the trick by dividing Sita and Ram's story in two separate books. It made some important events boring after 1st description, for example - now we have to read Ravan's participation in Sita's Swayamvar for the third time in next book. Similarly just imagine reading the event of Sita Haran for the 5th and 6th time in next book as it was mention twice (in first and last chapters) in both the books. That's a complete waste of a lot many pages.
Ironically this is not the only complain I have with this book. The book is very slow paced and there aren't enough twists and turns to keep you invested. The supposed twist in the last page was quite obvious and doesn’t make any impact. Since the timeline of this series is prior to that of SHIVA trilogy we already know some answers which could have been interesting otherwise.
I literally had to force myself to finish this one and I really hope that the series would pick up from here otherwise I may have to leave it unfinished. -
Do you expect the terms like India, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc., to be used by mythological figures in their conversation? The point that those stories occurred some 7000 years ago, I question how Amish could perform such implications in a casual dialogue among the actors. I would have agreed if he presented it as a hint for the readers to co-relate the sites, one of those times to that of today, but it wasn't, and it got me unhappy.
Growing up, I am convinced all Indians remember Sita's tale either by seeing or hearing Ramayana on television or from our parents. Amish's take on Sita provides a more practical take on how human she was and like one of us. To decipher their travels clearly, I wish the author had introduced a map. Overall, an okayish read. I especially had higher expectations from Amish after the Shiva Trilogy. -
If thinking out of box is an art, Amish is definitely Picasso of it.
Entire India idolizes Sita, and women of India are reminded time and again to be pure, devoted and all-suffering like Sita.
Amish's sita has got an aura of self-respect and confidence for herself. Sita is neither a silent martyr nor she is a victim. Loved the entire plot!
Looking forward to read more about the orphan of Aryavarta. -
I don't know if I liked this better than the first book in the series but I have certainly given it a higher rating and that is mainly for two reasons. One is that I really liked how Amish handled Sita's character, even though she was shown to be a manipulator, I liked how she was also shown as this fierce warrior and this amazing female who when fights gives hell to her opponents. Second reason is that the book got really intense and interesting in the second half. First half was very slow in my opinion but the second half kept me on an edge. It was thrilling.
A lot happened in the second half and everyone had their own agendas and I just couldn't wait to find out who was up to what. Like I said, a vast improvement from the first book. I liked other characters as well but they didn't have much to do. They were only there to steer the story I suppose. One character that I have always liked the most and I feel has always sacrificed the most but doesn't ever get enough credit is Lakshman. He was there in the story obviously but not enough as usual. I wish Amish could write more about Lakshman. Overall, it was not a bad book to read.
3 stars -
This is what happens when you write for money and without passion, and surrounded by Yes men. This is a lame attempt of an age old story trying to be retold to the pop culture of today.
Amish trying desperately to connect to today's youth has gone way too far and stretched the story however he wants by introducing Nirbhaya case and Jalikattu into Ramayana., which was unnecessary and is totally lazy on his part.
Calling Hanuman as Hanu and Hans, calling Shurpanaka as shurpu, using the reference and stating ' Manthara is not interested in the (... wait for it) Game of thrones is way to far fetched and cringe worthy.
Amish with this book is as cringe worthy as a drunk middle age uncle at a wedding dancing and talking rubbish using the teen lingo he had heard somewhere to impress his teenage nephew and nieces 😬😬😬 -
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Runs with the Speed of FGFA !!!
After the long wait of 2 years, finally yesterday, "Sita - Warrior Of Mithila " was delivered to me ( at 1556 hours ) and I started the book in the late evening and wrapped it in a single sitting. Like the spell bounded the first installment of the Ram Chandra Series, Sita-Warrior of Mithila "reads with the speed tantamount to any fifth-generation fighter jet. The depiction of a woman warrior justifies the title of the book.
Plot launched with Sita's fighting spirit while her abduction but after the initial chapter, the story went back to the making of the Sita as the warrior princess. And before I write further, let me get one thing clear: Ram Chandra Series is delineated on the epic Ramayana and major anecdotes are taken from it but Amish, as we expect, have weaved a world of fantasy on the basis of that outline.
Subsequent floods had changed the course of river Gandaki, which earlier flows from Mithila, and the rains also failed which caused huge economic damage to Mithila. But Mithila's loss was Sankashya's gain. Mithila was ruled by a devout and spiritual man named Janak who's married to a pragmatic woman Sunaina while the kingdom of Sankashya was ruled by Janak's younger brother Kushadhwaj. But the woes like rainfall-failure makes the Kushadhwaj rose in stature as the de facto representative of the clan of Mithi. After seeking the blessings of Kanyakumari , Child Goddess, Janak and Sunaina came across a quaint scene. An injured vulture was surrounded by the pack of wolves and watching this unfair act of aggression, Sunaina spurred her horse to protect the bird and from some distance that the vulture was protecting a baby from the pack of the wolves.Goading her horses into a fierce gallop, Sunaina pressed forward to protect the child and the vulture. Sunaina's arrival scared the wolves to run away and with an approval from Janak, that abandoned child was named as Sita çause she was found in a furrow in Mother Earth and raised as the princess of Mithila. Unlike other princesses, Sita was made to study not just science and philosophy but also learned the martial arts and warfare combat. Later Sita was nurtured as the person who will play a crucial role in making India as the brightest nation again. And in her quest to complete her mission, she chose Ram as her partner. Sita ruled with pragmatism while Ram sticked to the laws. In sita, Ram found an "Ardhangini ", a life-partner who wishes to bring the glory to India.
As wrote above, Amish has re-introduced Sita but with highlighting evils that are dwelling in our society against the woman. For instance the following conversation between Sunaina and Janak, "Sunaina looked at her husband and smiled as she caressed the baby's head. 'How can anyone abandon a child like her ?' Janak Sighed. 'Many People are not wise enough to count life's blessing. They keep focusing instead on what the world has denied them '", depicts the unfortunate truth of Indian societies in which Girl child are abandoned. Although many women have achieved what men failed to but in some societies girl child is still considered as an ill omen and Amish has rightly depicted how a girl child is a blessing.Apart from raising the tacit issue that Woman should be treated equally, Amish has bolted anecdotes that remind the citizens of their individual duties towards the Nation. In our urban society, there is a very common myth that poor are usually bad and avaricious people but Amish has bolted some logical words that will make readers understand that why and how, many times, a poor man is forced to be indulged in crime. "The Criminals among the rich are mostly driven by greed. One can negotiate with greed. But the criminals among the poor are driven by desperation and anger. Desperation can sometimes bring out the best in a human being. That's why the poor can often be noble. But desperation can also bring out the worst. They have nothing to lose.......But we should not be blind and assume that all poor are noble. Not everyone has the spirit to keep their character strong when their stomachs are angry. " said Sunaina while giving governing lessons to her daughter, Sita. Bitter relation of Vashishta & Vishwamitra, as well, keep the plot completely gripping part from the philosophical talks that are mentioned above. -
Modern retelling of age old mythology in the point of view of women is a concept I am quite intrigued with. It takes a lot to botch it for me and Amish did it. With subpar writing that has been lifted cleanly from the first book and the most cliched "twist", I am beginning to wonder why am I torturing myself like this.
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Detailed review will follow shortly
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Modern Depiction of a great mythological history! Thoroughly enjoyed.
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Are you allowed to copy your own content from one book and paste it onto another? More than 60% of this book is copy-pasted from book#1 of the series. It’s not even rephrased and presented from a fresh perspective, but simply replicated as is. Made the whole experience extremely boring and annoying!
For the rest of the 40%, the narrative sucks! There is no character buildup; all characters including the primary ones, are one dimensional and unrealistic. The whole series has a textbook vibe!
2.25/5🌟. -
Amish Tripathi and Ashwin Sanghi are the two guys because of whom I started reading mythological fictions big time and have actually discovered some really fantastic books (Palace of Illusions and Karna's wife). Shiva Trilogy (from Amish) was a fantastic read, no doubt, first being the best and second still was able to hold my interest unfortunately the third one didn't work (wonders) but when I heard him writing another couple of books on Ramayan, I was excited. The prequel to this one (Sita) was "Scion of ikshvaku" was a good read I will say but the way he finished it and kept the readers hanging asking for more (a closure) which again unfortunately doesn't come in the shape of Sita as this book exactly ends at the same point where the first one ended, how sad it is. Why? because he wants to make it a trilogy or may be a fourology or something. Sita for first is a drag just because he has to write the whole book on her character - he tries his level best to make it interesting which it isn't. He has actually tempered so much with the Epic that it doesn't even works like a fiction even for someone as easy to please as me who loves fictions. This was a complete disaster, although he has tried all the tricks in the trade to shatter the image of Sita I had in my mind but no ways I am going to remember this book six months down the line nor I will recommend it to anyone. Yes, he is definitely going the Chetan Bhagat way by writing a book which can be made into a superb action movie starring Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider minus leather plus cotton and replace guns with knives) as Sita as no one can do what his Sita does in the book, totally ROFL stuff this is.
How much liberty is too much in the name of fiction? that is one question that kept coming to my mind as I kept going forward as I am one of those people who would not leave a book half read, however tuff the book could be or whatever sort of disaster it may turn out to be. But this has some serious crap that I really need to name here like using the words like "Lady Sita" as if I am reading some western epic and then the characters will be mouthing the lines like "You got to do what you got to do". Sita being five years elder then Ram was a revelation if thats true. He has actually made her a superb Warrior in his book and story, not only she is a perfect warrior but she doubles up as an Architect too. If thats not enough he actually lets her do a sort of Chariot race (Gladiator style). Vyomkesh the detective and his stories existed in the then era again was an eye opener of sorts for me (me poor unread soul). Hanuman happens to be Sita's moohn bola brother of sorts and they knew each other prior to Ram developing a connection with the great Hanuman and it doesnt end here can you believe that? Do you remember why Ram, Lakshman and Sita go for 14 years exile? Amish has a different theory for it altogether. If Draupadi can be in love with Karn in a work of fiction why cant Raavan be in love and awe with Sita? He definitely can and so does Amish's Raavan, he has feelings for Sita The Warrior. Shit just keeps getting deeper I tell you. And then they all keep calling the country "India" that was like a WHOA!! Did I read it correctly? Time was already invented as they calculate everything in hours like I will see you in half hour or may be an hour and a half later - my foot. Area names like Kerala, Mizoram, Colaba etc keep popping here there and everywhere. At one point of time imagine they actually go to a place called Mumbadevi the seven island city :) I was so looking forward that he will call it Mumbai but he doesn't.
But the best was when Sita meets Ram before marriage mind it and says somethings like "you have got to be joking" I felt like this was some NRI Sita he was talking about and she even says "I love you" to Ram before even she gets married to him. Bravo Amish Tripathi, this is the height of Fiction I should call it. There is this epic line I need to mention before I forget (the entire book) there comes a moment when someone says "Manthra is not interested in game of thrones". Can you beat that? And you know what? Pushpak Viman was actually a 737 Aircraft which can bloody take 100 Lankans for a ride at a time with Raavan and his brother Kumbhakaran on board too. Amish had actually run out of the ideas I guess while writing this one as his detailing had such an uncanny resemblance to the scenic beauty of "Lord of the rings" that I just couldn't believe it. I am sure I will not be the only person pointing this out, the caves, waterfalls, mountains and palaces etc. The similarity was so much that for once I though Mr. Frodo may pop out and ask where he should go to destroy the ring :). This is I guess one of the worst botched up version of an Epic that we all have loved at one point of time. He has made it a joke but yes a thrilling ride but pointless and I am not even looking forward to the final book of the series now which will be based on Raavan. That's going to be another joke I guess as he is going to leave no stone upturned in making him a sort of a Hero. So if you have read this one already, do let me know how you liked it and if you haven't, I guess you should stay away.
PS: I was furiously angry while composing the review and I unfortunately do not read again before posting, so please excuse if I have gone overboard. -
Too many forces are in play, forces you can't control, forces beyond your reach, the god of fire, one true God, Iraiva, the malayaputhras,vayuputhras,vaanars, kumbakarna, Raavan, ram, sita, and much more. the book opens with a shocking truth, new Vishnu had been chosen and it's not ram.
Amish is back with his second installment of Ramchandra series, sita warrior of mithila, and it is brilliant. There has been many retelling of Ramayana especially sita's perspective, but all tried to make her a victim, even those with feminist views cornered sita, giving her no choice. but this book is not about retelling the old epic, its about rewriting with common sense. The whole book is lined with strong female characters from sita's mother, her friends samichi, radika, her mother in law koushalya. there comes a time when all the characters must choose a path or make a decision that will change their life and karma.
This book serves as an origin story for sita. her journey from being adopted by sunanina and Janak and her path to becoming the next Vishnu and ends in the abduction by Raavan. This is the sita, classical literature forgot to show, not as a sweet innocent damsel but a brave fierce ferocious warrior. This is Amish own version of sita, not the one you have read or seen in movies.
The story has a hyperlink narrative and it doesn't matter which book you read first, each is meant to be a standalone book. as a writer Amish had evolved so much when looking back to "immortals of mehula". he carried so such stuff and storylines maintaining the balance with each other.
The book has a foundation layer that is all about freedom and rules. on which Amish build Ramayan with three hyperlinked stories that conclude at one point and all these are made to fits in his Shiva trilogy universe. he reinvented many ideas in terms of scientific and logical way. there is a mystery throughout the book which made it intriguing and page-turning.
Writing is nonlinear, language is simple and compelling when needs to be, I do get the feeling that one should read Shiva trilogy to understand the Ramchandra series better even though both are meant to be a separate series. many concepts has been explained in Shiva trilogy which isn't done in Ramchandra, for example, prahars
I don't like the portrayal of vaali, he's a big deal in original Ramayana, but he had just a few pages and one dialogue in this book, I really hope he will return in upcoming books.
Overall the book is so compelling, has so many characters, so many storylines, so many mysteries, so many questions, can't wait for next installment and I'm going to read again the scion of ikshvaku.
P.S :
As a tamizhan, i want to thank amish for explaining the difference between jallikattu and wester bull fight in a most elegant way possible.
For more reviews :
http://readersrejoice.blogspot.in/ -
*3.25 out of 5 stars
I'm pretty disappointed with this one so I'll keep it short:
- It wasn't as engaging as the first book had been.
- There were several times when entire paragraphs and scenes seemed to have been copy-pasted from the first book word for word - it was super annoying.
- Around halfway through, I started skimming because otherwise, I would have taken another couple of days to get through it or have DNF'd it. :(
- The writing was kind of juvenile, like the first one. Didn't wow me.
- Things did pick up a bit towards the end and I'm curious about certain events and characters so I may continue on with the series but I'm not holding my breath.
This might be one of my harshest reviews yet but I really had high hopes with this one and it was quite underwhelming. I also lost over 4 days of this month trying to read this book and that makes me mad because it isn't even that long and it wasn't worth spending 4 days on. :/
So, anyway, I might change the rating later for both the books but for now, they were just okay. And I may read the next one but I don't expect much from it now. -
Quote from the Book I Liked - The best laid plans always have a tendancy to get spoiled. There have always been surprises. (Para 5 , Page 335)
Stars - 3.5/5
Synopsis - India, 3400 BCE.
India is beset with divisions, resentment and poverty. The people hate their rulers. They despise their corrupt and selfish elite. Chaos is just one spark away. Outsiders exploit these divisions. Raavan, the demon king of Lanka, grows increasingly powerful, sinking his fangs deeper into the hapless Sapt Sindhu.
Two powerful tribes, the protectors of the divine land of India, decide that enough is enough. A saviour is needed. They begin their search.
An abandoned baby is found in a field. Protected by a vulture from a pack of murderous wolves. She is adopted by the ruler of Mithila, a powerless kingdom, ignored by all. Nobody believes this child will amount to much. But they are wrong.
For she is no ordinary girl. She is Sita.
Continue the epic journey with Amish’s latest: A thrilling adventure that chronicles the rise of an orphan, who became the prime minister. And then, a Goddess.
This is the second book in the Ram Chandra Series. A sequel that takes you back. Back before the beginning.
About The Book - So finally after a wait of 2 Year, Author Amish has come up with the 2nd Instalment of The Ram Chandra Series, 'Sita - Warrior of Mithila'. The Book starts with Discovery of an abandoned Child Deep in the Forest by Queen Sunaina and King Janak. The Story revolves around the same plot as that of the 1st book 'Scion of Ikshvaku'. Many of the Story felt the same as that told in the 1st Book, which was indeed Good as it refreshed the Memory and Old Storyline but was at the same time felt like rereading the 1st part (You Don't have to Re-Read the first part in order to refresh the Storyline just Grab the Copy of 2nd Book and Read On).
There were a lot many Plot and Side stories left Untold which made me excited more for the 3rd Part of the book like The Relation between Vishwamitra and Raavan, The Original Reason for the Sourness between Vishvamitra and Vashishtha. The Major plot twist was left untold in the last line of the 2nd Book which made me wonder WHY? I also felt that the Upcoming Books must be written in a way that the 3rd Book Depicts the Life of Raavan, 4th Part should tell the Story till the Death of Raavan and 5th Should be about what happens after the death of Raavan, as the part after the Death of Raavan is often left untold in Other Books and Movies.
The whole book delivered Quiet a Great Adventure and Insights from the Life of Sita and the Best part was the way Amish Portrayed the character of Sita as a Fierce Warrior which is essential for the present context of Time. Amish is back again with another Epic Retelling of The Great Ramayan with a New Perspective required for the current time.
Eagerly waiting for the 3rd Instalment, 'Raavan - Orphan of Aryavarta' to Release in 2018.
Verdict - The 2nd Installment of 'The Ram Chandra Series' is as Epic as the 1st Part, with Sita depicted as a warrior in 2nd Part. A Must read for all Amish's Fan and also a Nice and Interesting read for all The Mythological-Fiction Lovers out There. -
A major letdown. But the series still keeps me invested
Scion of ikshvaku hit a major chord with me, a chord that stood apart from those hit by the shiva trilogy. Because the philosophy had a softer, and a broader tone to it as opposed to the sharper and radical tone adopted in the shiva trilogy. It was the injection of serene flow of themes more than the fantasized storyline that made it satisfying. So naturally I had expected more of the same and much more from the second book of the series. All the broad philosophical themes are still there, the epic vision and imagination still exists but they don't work in harmony. They seem like individual set pieces that don't quite fill up the final storyboard, thus the attempted emotional mileage fell short most of the times and there are supposedly times when Amish dives more into the details, which is fine but you can't help but feel like he is pondering over these details to keep the pieces stitched together, in more straightforward terms, it felt draggy, especially the latter half of the book. But I'm still going to pick up the third book with almost the same enthusiasm, as I like the idea of providing a backdoor to all the three main characters before assembling the final showdown, and I'm genuinely interested in how Amish will be handling the extremely strong and enigmatic character of ravana in the next book, and i think he has thrown in a major clue right at the end with regards to what will be coming between raavana and sita. -
Sita The warrior of Mithila
Amish Tripathi
Genre- Mythological Fiction
I have read Amish tripathi’s Shiva Triology 6 years ago. I was quite mesmerised with the first two parts of the series – Meluha and Nagas. Long after, Amish comes up with this Ramachandra series, in which the book sita was hyped by the public as well as the celebrities. I wasn’t sure if I would love his books after 6 years. But the book cover and the title of Sita had attracted and coerced me to snatch the book, read it. The concept of portraying Sita as a warrior and powerful on par with Ram is the most appealing point in this book.
The story line seems quite basic. Raavan had already defeated the great Kosala and the kingdom needs revival. The malayaputras and Vayuputras, two major clans should choose a leader and saviour, the ultimate protector of India. Ram and Sita, individually, had been trained for this purpose.
I would say that this book doubtlessly, is not a page turner. Few parts of the book got so dull and prolonging. My most cherished part of the book is when Sita meets Ram for the first time. Of course, the characterization of Ram, even in bits and pieces was described to the mark. That moment when Sita realises her love for Ram leaves you splendid. The Indian Geography and the social issues were well depicted. Most importantly, the jallikattu festival, which was so much in news (a controversy) was very well explained. Over all it was mediocre read. -
I am utterly disappointed after reading this book. There is absolutely nothing new to this book other than the first and last chapter. The major twists as the author says. There is a sense of Deja Vu throughout reading this book. If you have read the Shiva Trilogy, Then a lot from those book has been put into this Ramchandra series. And this book, You feel like you are reading the first part. To get the exact sense of this, Try reading the books back to back.
One of the laughable things is that author has tried to put the current burning issues in the book as if they would happen in that era. The repeated conversations on caste system, love of Indians to break the laws, freedom of speech, taking a dig at Modi(the leadership) , the hunger for war... Etc.. You aren't writing a contemporary novel but a retelling of an epic. He forgot this while writing the book.
I did not expect this from the author. I hope he brings some novelty in next books. The 2 stars are only because of the writing style which keeps you engaged irrespective of the weak storyline. -
Amish has certainly redefined the way India will look at its beloved Goddess. This according to me is the most fascinating and unparalleled achievement of this book.
Read the detailed review here -
http://www.bookgeeks.in/sita-warrior-... -
Incarnation of sacred feminine to create an upsurge in dharma was not only required in ‘Ram yuga’ but is also a prime necessity in the present-day society. The book Sita is a revelation of how a female can fight all the evil and restore the lost good in society.
The book begins with King Janak and his wife Sunaina, royals of Mihthila saving an infant from wild animals and adopting her. The baby was named as Sita. Sita was inquisitive child, she received education in history, royal administration and also warfare. She grew out to be a strong and empirical person. Following the death wish of her mother she performed her role as the prime minister to revolutionize Mithila. Sita was assigned as the ‘Vishnu by ‘guru Vishwamitra’. Later she married Ram but soon has to go on a fourteen-year-old exile since Vishwamitra tricked Ram in firing a ‘Devi sastra’. The novel ended with Sita fighting till her last breath with Lankan soldiers but being outnumbered she was kidnapped by king of Lanka, Rawan.
Positives: -
Initially I thought it was going to be boring because it’s the same story as ‘Ram’, the only difference being that it was from Sita’s perspective. To my surprise there was not a single scene I felt bored, Author left clues and in his first book, there were surprises and twists rightly placed in the narrative. Some unsolved puzzles are there in this part also making me keen to read the next part.
For me Sita was portrayed as brave and independent lady, she was a perfect example how a female should be in the present-day society. Her quick-witted character inspired me. The best scenes for me were Sita’s days in gurukul. Relationship with her mother was lovely.
The end was magnificent, the way she fought with the Lankan soldiers alone and still there wasn’t an ounce of fear in her eyes. She fought till her last breath, she was a true portrayal of bravery and compassion.
Negatives: -
There were times Sita was rude and self-centered.
The fact that Sita meets Hanuman before Ram was most bizarre to me.
The author should have focused on the soft and calm side of Sita a bit more.
Amish Tripathi
Sita: Warrior of Mithila -
Well.. Well... A long wait indeed and I Pre-ordered this book for two reasons. Reason One I thought Amish would have done enough research because of the 2 damn years? Duh! and the Reason two being its Sita and in his Shiva Trilogy he kept Parvathy in a high pedestal and the character was narrated in a much better way.
I really felt the narrative style to be way too sloppy with this book. Initially, I admired this guy for bringing in a perspective for the so-called Indian way of life to Mythologies but he is royally screwing it up for the sake of it and I also feel that he dragged the plot for some 200+ pages and took up speed in the last 160 or so pages and following the same template.
I am still looking forward to the Third book in this series and I may not pre-order and waste my money but will wait and read it later. I started feeling that he has also gone into the popular tag and started writing for money instead of passion or telling stories. I couldn't tolerate the Lingo's he brought in with this series and atleast it was not much evident in his previous Series. Grow up Amish and do more research and produce good books for the goodness sake. ufff! -
The second instalment in Ram chandra series has sweetened plot. This was a riveting read for me. The potrayal of Sita as a warrior is one of the least surprise the book has to offer. Eventhough the time line of this book is same as that of the first book, it was still a thrill to watch these forming a complimentary pair. This
book was the viewpoint of sacred faminine incarnate. I certainly enjoyed the hyperlink story telling technique and am transfixed at the ease with the author handles the story.
I am eagerly waiting for the next instalment - Raavan, The orphan of aryavartha. The title has already animated my interest. Eagerly waiting!
Jai Lord Rudra!
Jai Lord Parashuram! -
Disappointed. Everyone expects a lot from you. This book is not something that should come out as a sequel. Second half of the book is almost same, word by word reprint of it's predecessor. One would think that the author had not put in his honest efforts. Apart from that the accounts are logical and explicable, providing more meaning to the previous book. But the repetition of exact pages kill the fun.
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Yet another masterpiece from Amish and a completely different take on Sita. Amish has worked on the historical background, combined it with geographical facts and cultural traditions to give this blockbuster
