book review on the scion of ikshvaku

1. communication skills
GEC bhavnagar
krunal chaudhari
Civil semester-1
Enrollment no:160210106033

2. Book Review
SCION OF IKSHVAKU
-amish tripathi
ABOUT AUTHOR
Amish is a 1974-born, IIM (Kolkata)-
educated, boring banker turned happy
author. The success of his debut book,
The Immortals of Meluha (Book 1 of
the Shiva Trilogy), encouraged him to
give up a fourteen-year-old career in
financial services to focus on writing.
He is passionate about history,
mythology and philosophy, finding
beauty and meaning in all world
religions.

3. Amish lives in Mumbai with his wife
Preeti and son Neel.
Name of Book : Scion of Ikshvaku
[Ramchandra Series]
Writer : Amish Tripathi
Publisher : Westland Publishers
Published on : 22 June 2015
Genre : Fiction, Mythology, Sagas
List of Characters and Important

4. Tribes
Arishtanemi: Military chief of the
Malayaputras; right-hand man of
Vishwamitra
Bharat: Ram’s half-brother; son of
Dashrath and Kaikeyi
Dashrath: The Chakravarti king of
Kosala and emperor of Sapt Sindhu;
husband of Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and
Sumitra; father of Ram, Bharat,
Lakshman, and Shatrughan
Janak: King of Mithila; father of Sita and
Urmila
Jatayu: A captain of the Malayaputra
tribe; a Naga friend of Sita and Ram

5. Kaikeyi: Daughter of King Ashwapati of
Kekaya; second and the favourite wife of
Dashrath; mother of Bharat
Kaushalya: Daughter of King Bhanuman
of South Kosala and his wife
Maheshwari; the eldest queen of
Dashrath; mother of Ram
Kubaer: Trader and ruler of Lanka
Kumbhakarna: Raavan’s brother; he is
also a Naga (a human being born with
deformities)
Kushadhwaj: King of Sankashya;
younger brother of Janak
Lakshman: One of the twin sons of
Dashrath; born to Sumitra; faithful to

6. Ram; later married to Urmila
Malayaputras: The tribe left behind by
Lord Parshu Ram, the sixth Vishnu
Manthara: The richest merchant of Sapt
Sindhu; an ally of Kaikeyi
Mrigasya: General of Dashrath’s army;
one of the nobles of ayodhya
Nagas: A feared race of human beings
born with deformities
Nilanjana: Lady doctor attending to
members of the royal family of Ayodhya,
she hails from South Kosala
Raavan: King of Lanka; brother of
Vibhishan, Shurpanakha and
Kumbhakarna

7. Ram: Eldest of four brothers, son of
Emperor Dashrath of Ayodhya (the
capital city of Kosala kingdom) and his
eldest wife Kaushalya; later married to
Sita
Roshni: Daughter of Manthara; a
committed doctor and rakhi-sister to the
four sons of Dashrath
Samichi: Police and protocol chief of
Mithila
Shatrughan: Twin brother of Lakshman;
son of Dashrath and Sumitra
Shurpanakha: Half-sister of Raavan
Sita: Adopted daughter of King Janak of
Mithila; also the prime minister of
Mithila; later married to Ram

8. Sumitra: Daughter of the king of Kashi;
the third wife of Dashrath; mother of the
twins Lakshman and Shatrughan
Vashishta: Raj guru, the royal priest of
Ayodhya; teacher of the four princes
Vayuputras: The tribe left behind by
Lord Rudra, the previous Mahadev
Vibhishan: Half-brother of Raavan
Vishwamitra: Chief of the Malayaputras,
the tribe left behind by Lord Parshu Ram,
the sixth Vishnu; also temporary guru of
Ram and Lakshman
Urmila: Younger sister of Sita; the
blood-daughter of Janak; she is later
married to
Lakshman

9. Plot synopsis
King Dashrath of Ayodhya, Emperor of
the Sapta Sindhu region in India, objects
demands made by Lankan trader Kubera.
He declares war but is defeated by
Kubera's general, Raavan, at Karachapa.
Dashrath barely escapes with his life
thanks to Kaikeyi, his second queen. At
the same time in Ayodhya, Dashrath's
first queen Kaushalya gives birth to their
son, Ram. Following the defeat, Ravan
monopolizes the entire trade system in
India, causing economic crisis. Dashrath
blames Ram as the reason for his defeat,
and treats him apathetically.

10. Ram and his half-brothers, Bharat (son of
Kaikeyi), Lakshman and Shatrughan (son
of Dashrath's third wife Sumitra), are
sent to live at the hermitage of sage
Vashistha. Under his tutelage, Ram
becomes a skilled warrior, and gains
knowledge about India's predicament.
After training, Ram is given the job of
maintaining law and police in Ayodhya,
which he considerably excels. One day
Roshni, daughter of the wealthy trader
Manthara and sister-like to the four
brothers, is gang raped and murdered.
The culprits are all executed except one,
Dhenuka, who is underage. A strict
follower of the law, Ram is forced to
imprison the boy although others request

11. him for Dhenuka's execution. Manthara
bribes Kaikeyi into influencing Bharat,
who secretly murders Dhenuka, much to
Ram's chagrin.
In the meantime Dashrath's attitude
towards Ram changes and he names Ram
as the crown prince. Shortly afterwards,
Ram and Lakshman help sage
Vishwamitra—head of the Malayaputra
tribe who serve the next Vishnu—to stop
the Asura attacks on his hermitage. Ram
convinces the Asuras to go to Pariha, the
land of Lord Rudra, the previous
Mahadev. Next they travel to the remote
kingdom of Mithila, where Ram meets
princess Sita, the adopted daughter of
King Janak. Like Ram, Sita also strongly

12. believes in following laws, thus earning
Ram's respect and love. During a
Swayamvar for Sita, Ravan and his
brother Kumbhakaran arrive, but storm
out when Viswamitra announces Ram's
name as the first suitor. Ram wins the
Swayamvar and marries Sita, while
Lakshman marries Janak's biological
daughter, Urmila.
The next day, Raavan besieges Mithila
with 10,000 soldiers, and Ram is forced
to use the biological weapon Asurastra
by Viswamitra, even though its usage is
forbidden and not authorized by the
Vayuputras, Lord Rudra's tribe. The
Lankan army is defeated and Raavan
escapes on his helicopter, Pushpak

13. Viman. Ram returns to Ayodhya and
decides to take a 14-year exile as
punishment for breaking Rudra's rule
about the weapon. A begrudged
Manthara asks Kaikeyi to substantiate the
matter by using two boons given to her
by Dashrath for saving his life. Thus
Ram undertakes the exile with Sita and
Lakshman. After Dashrath's death,
Bharat declares Ram as King of Ayodhya
and decides to rule the kingdom as a
regent. Sita makes a secret deal with the
vulture-like Naga Jatayu and his men, to
protect Ram and supply the trio with the
anti-ageing drink, Somras
Thirteen years pass and one day, Ram's
camp is approached by Raavan's siblings,

14. Vibhishan and Shurpanakha, who seek
refuge from their tyrannical brother. Ram
is skeptical but accepts them as guests.
One day, Shurpanakha attempts to drown
Sita, but the latter overpowers her and in
the ensuing scuffle, Lakshman
instinctively cuts Shurpanakha's nose.
Ram and his group flee from there
fearing Raavan's retribution. One day,
Ram and Lakshman return home from
hunting and are shocked to find Jatayu
and his men slain. Before dying Jatayu
tells Ram that Ravan has kidnapped Sita.
Ram looks up to see the Pushpak Viman
flying away and is filled with rage.
About the book

15. Scion of Ikshvaku, the first book in the
Ramchandra Series by Amish Tripathi,
would appeal to those who want to know
the story of Ramayana told through the
modern eyes. Its key characteristics are
its conversational language, strong
women characters and debates on moral
Overall it’s a story which keeps past and
present side by side and together
combines to a great story which will
entertain you, inspires you and once
again take you to the RamRajya
The characters of this book were taken
from the great epic Ramayana but totally
changed according to the present
scenario of society. The best part of the

16. book is that in this book Rama is shown
as a king, not as a Lord who is a
complete man and knows everything.
Ram the hero of the story is assumed
Inauspicious to king Dashratha. Since the
time he took birth, king Dasharaths had
lost the war against the then Vaishya’s
General Raavan. And After losing that
war SaptaSindhu turns towards misery,
Bankruptcy, and Corruption.
After losing Sita’s Swayamwar Raavan
attacks Mithila with his 10,000 soldiers
and in counter attack, Ram is forced to
used the biological weapon Asurastra
whose usage is forbidden to them. After
realising his mistake Ram accepts the 14
years of exile as a punishment to break

17. the rule of Rudra.