“… saw the deep blue wave of brahman ripple outward from the tower itself, rolling harmlessly over humans and their animal friends and the city and its structures. But when it reached the Asura armies massed on the south bank of the Sarayu, the effect was numbing.
The dense black hordes of Asuras disintegrated as the wave touched them, turning them to powder…”
— Chapter 13, Kaand 3, Siege of Mithla
The above passage is towards the end of the book.
| Title | Siege of Mithila |
| Series | Volume-2 of the 8 volume Ramayana series |
| Author | Ashok Banker |
NOTE: Please read the comments on the whole series here , as the reviewer’s opinions on the series are expressed there.
The Story in Book-2
In this part of the series, Rama and Lakshman, having completed the task of cleaning up Bhayanak-van of the hordes of asuras start their journey back home to Ayodhya, along with sage Vishwamitra.
Vishwamitra decides that they need to make their way via Mathila, the city where princess Sita lives, because Ravana has amassed an army of asuras to invade Ayodhya and this army is about to trample Mithila on its way.
On their way to Mithila they encounter many adventures, meet Bearface and his gang of outlaws and befriend a mysterious duo of warriors. They liberate Ahilya, the wife of sage Gautama from an old curse by hacking through a settlement of vetaals (undead like creatures).
“Sita had downed six of the vetaals and was struggling to fend off the remaining four or five when they stopped dead in their tracks. She slashed one’s arm off at the elbow, her sword slicing through it as neatly as if cutting a sugarcane stalk. The amputated limb gaped blackly, oozing a thick syrupy goo…”
— Chapter 19, Kaand 2, Siege of Mithla
At Mithila, King Janak annouces a competetion and Swayamwar to win the hand of Sita in marraiage, and Rama participates in the competetion.
All this while Ravana and his huge armies of asuras are getting closer and closer to Mithila. And at Ayodhya, Manthara continues to work her evil plans.
I don’t want to reveal more and spoil the story for you, so please get hold of the book – it is fascinating.
NOTE: Please read the comments on the whole series here , as the reviewer’s opinions on the series are expressed there.
Here is the full list of the series with links to the reviews and online bookstores:
| Book 1 | Prince of Ayodhya (reviewed here) |
| Book 2 | Siege of Mithila (reviewed here) |
| Book 3 | Demons of Chitrakut (reviewed here) |
| Book 4 | Armies of Hanuman (reviewed here) |
| Book 5 | Bridge of Rama (reviewed here) |
| Book 6 | King of Ayodhya (reviewed here) |
| Book 7 | Vengeance of Ravana (reviewed here) |
| Book 8 | Sons of Sita (reviewed here) |
If you have not yet read any of the books in the series, go for the first one right away! You will not regret it.
Your comments are welcome!
I was not aware that Sita was a warrior herself (downed vetaals, her sword slicing thru…like sugarcane stalk).
Am a little more curious about how the swayamwar and subsequent marriage has been described. Is the marriage described in a typical North Indian custom or does it have shades of the south?
The book is now sounding more on the lines of the Harry Potter style narrative…
Thanks, Prakash. To know more, you will need to read the book. Revealing too much spoils the fun.