Bharatha was the second son of the Emperor of Kosala, Dasaratha. When his older brother Rama was exiled to the forest, the responsibility of the entire empire fell on Bharatha. Sage Rishya-Sringa once told him that he needed to be ready to sacrifice and suffer. Bharatha did not know then, how extensive his sacrifices were to be as time went by.
Bharatha's Destiny tells you the story of Ramayana through the eyes of Bharatha. He calls himself the reason for all tragedies that ever fell upon Ayodhya. His intricate relationships, his boundless sorrows and sacrifices, his knowledge, his emotional strength, his unshakable belief in ethics, his immeasurable respect and obedience to his older brother - Bharatha's life has been a roller coaster.
Shathrughnan, the pen-name of V. Govindankutty Menon, is an award-winning short story and novel writer in Malayalam, He has scripted many serials and movies in Malayalam language. He had held the position of Sub editor in Mathrubhoomi weekly before he ventured into movies. His notable works in movies, "Ee Puzhayum Katannu", "Kaliyoonjaal", "Nakshathra Thaaraat", "Niram" etc. were commercial hits. He has won the Kerala Sahithya Akademy Award for short story collection of 1994 (Samantharangal) and Kendra Sahithya Akademy Award for translation (Mathurapuri) in 1998. Some of his Malayalam short stories are, "Aakashathinte Mounam", "Eeshwaranum Indiayum Mattum, "Seetha Varendathaayirunnu", "Kadal Pole Kamini Shathrughnan's Complete Short Stories", "Shathrughnan's Novelletes" etc.
Ramayana is one of the most revered epics in Indian civilization sung and written about five thousand years back. It is assumed that there are around four hundred different versions of Ramayana.
All the Ramayanas talk about Bharatha as an important character. But the story is always around Rama, Seetha and Lakshmana. Their journey through the forest, the misfortunes suffered by them and their valiant win over terrible battles constituted most part of this epic.
What went on in the Kingdom of Ayodhya at that time was only slightly brushed upon.
According to Valmiki's Ramayana, Ayodhya was given as a wedding gift to queen Kaikeyi. This could be the reason why Dasaratha decided to conduct the coronation of Rama when Bharatha was away from the country. (Ayodhya Kanda: 4/25).
Bharatha spent 14 years as a saint living in a hermitage and ruled the Kingdom on behalf of Rama. He excelled in economics, public health and social issues during this time. The wealth of the Kingdom increased tenfold on his rule. Bharatha's character has the potential to be explored deeply. however, his mightiness always hid behind his elder brother's shadows.
This is what led me to the creation of this novel, "Bharatha's Destiny"
This novel travels through the complexities of his inner thoughts and the ups and downs in his relationships. Bharatha's mother Kaikeyi who ridiculed him all his life for rejecting the kingdom plays an important role in this novel.
This Sufi parable is worth recalling when we approach any interpretation of the Ramayana. Its infinite implication which has relevance from domestic matters to statecraft, from human relationships in its amazing multiplicity to diplomacy, has relevance to day-to-day living in our digital age.
It is worth quoting from Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation by the late scholar-poet A.K. Ramanujan. In that seminal essay presented at the University of Pittsburgh in 1987, he wrote: "The number of Ramayanas and the range of their influence in South and Southeast Asia over the past twenty-five hundred years or more are astonishing. Just a list of languages in which the Rama story is found makes one gasp: Assamese, Balinese, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Gujrati, Javanese, Kannada, Kashmiri, Khotanese, Laotian, Malayasian, Marathi, Oriya, Prakrit, Sanskrit, Santali, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan-to say nothing of Western languages. Through the centuries some of these languages have hosted more than one telling of the Rama story. Sanskrit alone contains some twenty-five or more tellings belonging to various narrative genres (epics, kavyas or ornate poetic compositions, puranas or mythological stories, and so forth).
If we add plays, dance-dramas, and other performances, in both the classical and folk traditions, the number of Ramayanas grows even larger. To these must be added sculpture and bas- reliefs, mask plays, puppet plays, and shadow plays, in all the many South and Southeast Asian cultures."
The comprehensive enumeration listed above is testimony to the all-pervading appeal of this classic text down the ages breaking the barriers of geography and time. It is this very timeless charm of the narrative that has made artists re-create it after their own creative fashion.
To this canon belongs the novel Bharathajaathakam by the renowned Malayalam writer Shatrughnan, which has been ably rendered into English by V.M. Kutty for a universal audience. The recounting of the well-known episodes in the epic in a lucid language would definitely help in spreading the tale of Rama among a new generation of Indians, especially those residing outside, as well as those interested in Indian mythology.
In thirty three chapters it captures the agonising experiences of Rama's younger brother, Bharatha, the son of the sage Rishya-sringa, and queen Kaikeyi through Puthrakameshti yajna performed by King Dasharatha in his barren olda age. The sage with antlers was the husband of Dasaratha's daughter Santha Devi adopted by the King of Anga. These versions are as narrated in this work of art.
Using the technique of flash-back the plot weaves back and forth among past, present and future to narrate the eventful life of Bharatha from his earliest idyllic recollection of enjoying the luxury of sitting in Dasaratha's lap as an innocent child.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
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