The origins of religion, no matter how old, can be traced to the
fundamental premise of good versus evilâ€"with good triumphing, eventually.
Religions like Buddhism rely on the inherent goodness of man. Other
religions, however seek a higher power; an almighty that epitomizes the
good and strives to fight for his (her) believers against any force of
evil. Hinduism is a unique religion in that it is pantheisticâ€"belief in
many Gods and their reincarnations, each God representing different facets
of the human personality and also with varying levels of power. The
Ramayana is one such epic. (Tandon and Giri, 1982) It depicts a classic
struggle of good over evil with Ram as the center of the struggle. Ranchor
Prime has condensed this six volume (originally penned by the sageâ€"and one
time criminalâ€"Valmiki (Ray Choudhury, 1930)) into an enjoyable read while
sacrificing none of the religious, cultural or moral aspects of the story.
Naturally, a perusal of the book opens its contents to arguments. Most of
the details take on mythic characteristics. The Ramayana however, mirrors
humanity perfectly. Each of its main role players, including the monkey-
king Hanuman, the King of Birds, Garuda, and even the lowly squirrel that
helps Ram build the bridge to Lanka, are embodiments of the human
characteristics of goodness. In this work, the character of Ravana will be
explored. Ravana is the demon king who is the very epitome of evil. His
exploits within the scope of the book's narrative is to kidnap Sita, Ram's
wife and take her away to his palace in Lanka. There he imprisons her,
until in the final showdown where Ram, with the help of his brother
Ravana is a leading figure of the dark forces and the exact opposite of
...