Anand Neelakantan

Audible presents Many Ramayana, Many Lessons, an Audible Original. Written by best-selling writer Anand Neelkanthan.

Audible presents Ramayana: Anek Kathayein Aur Sandarbh, an Audible Original. Written by best-selling writer Anand Neelkanthan. The show is in Hindi.

The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors that lives on....

The Mahabharata endures as the great epic of India. But while Jaya is the story of the Pandavas, told from the perspective of the victors of Kurukshetra, Ajaya is the narrative of the ‘unconquerable’ Kauravas, who were decimated to the last man....

The dark age of Kali is rising, and every man and woman must choose between duty and conscience, honour and shame, life and death....

The story of Ravana and his people has been told innumerable times. This is the Hindi translation of the number one national best seller. This saga is of victory and defeat - a story that has been tainted by India's oppressed and exploited caste for 3,000 years....

This is an epic tale of victory and defeat...of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3,000 years. Unlike Ramayana, the story of Ravanayana has never been told...until now....

Rama promises the scavengers of the forest that in his next life he will compensate them for cremating Jatayu and thus denying them sustenance. The cycle of life is discussed….

Bharata, the son for whom Kaikeyi sought Rama's exile, goes to Rama to beg him to take back the kingdom. Rama refuses, and Bharata returns, carrying Rama's paadukas on his head. These he places on the throne and prays to while ruling Ayodhya on Rama's behalf….

Across the sea from Lanka, Rama crowns Vibhishana King of the Asuras. Ravana sends spies into Rama's camp, but they are caught….

Rama conducts the funeral of Jatayu, the vulture/eagle that was killed while trying to stop Ravana abducting Sita. Can human morality be applied to birds and beasts? Folk versions say Rama went against nature by conducting a funeral for a bird, thus denying food to other creatures….

Rama is crowned King of Ayodhya and begins his rule. Sita becomes pregnant. The news delights Rama until he hears the slander being spread regarding Sita's chastity….

There are various versions of Rama marrying Sita. The Upanishadic concept of the union of prakruti and purusha is discussed here, as are the Shakteya, Jain and South Indian versions of Rama and Sita's marriage….

Ravana tries various methods to entice Sita. He even appears as her father, Janaka, to persuade her, but she sees through his disguise….

This is the tale of Ravana's sister, Soorpanakha, a woman wronged by all the men she has ever loved – her brother, her husband, her lover….

Different stories about the origin of Hanuman, the superhero of India, are discussed. The Ramayana is also a tale about orphans, and how each of them is linked to form a beautiful tapestry….

The Maya Sita concept in various Ramayanas is discussed in detail, as is Rama's anguish and why in moments of deep despair, no amount of intellectualization works. It is Rama's vulnerability and flaws that make him both human and humane….

Why did Rama have to take the help of the monkeys? A prank Vishnu once played on Narada, making him into a monkey, and Narada’s curse, is retold here….

Broken-hearted, Dasaratha lies on his deathbed. He finally understands that he is paying for his karmas – for giving away his daughter for a son; killing the only son of an old couple; and giving Kaikeyi his word from a false sense of ego and pride….

Hanuman and the other Vanaras go further south in search of Sita. They face various impediments in their quest. They pass the barren land of Kaandu, and the fertile valley of Swayamprabha….