Asura
Tale of the Vanquished: The Story of Ravana and His People
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Asura
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Narrated by:
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Denzil Smith
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Written by:
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Anand Neelakantan
About this listen
The epic tale of victory and defeat
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 voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence.
But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3,000 years. Until now, no Asura has dared to tell the tale. But perhaps the time has come for the dead and the defeated to speak.
For thousands of years, I have been vilified and my death is celebrated year after year in every corner of India. Why? Was it because I challenged the gods for the sake of my daughter? Was it because I freed a race from the yoke of caste-based Deva rule? You have heard the victor's tale, the Ramayana. Now hear the Ravanayana, for I am Ravana, the Asura, and my story is the tale of the vanquished.
I am a non-entity - invisible, powerless and negligible. No epics will ever be written about me. I have suffered both Ravana and Rama - the hero and the villain or the villain and the hero. When the stories of great men are told, my voice maybe too feeble to be heard. Yet, spare me a moment and hear my story, for I am Bhadra, the Asura, and my life is the tale of the loser.
The ancient Asura empire lay shattered into many warring petty kingdoms reeling under the heel of the Devas. In desperation, the Asuras look up to a young saviour - Ravana. Believing that a better world awaits them under Ravana, common men like Bhadra decide to follow the young leader. With a will of iron and a fiery ambition to succeed, Ravana leads his people from victory to victory and carves out a vast empire from the Devas. But even when Ravana succeeds spectacularly, the poor Asuras find that nothing much has changed for them. It is when that Ravana, by one action, changes the history of the world.
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 95
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 78
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,578
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,365
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,366
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5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting
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What listeners say about Asura
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 27-07-20
A perspective that is debatable yet logical.
Loved the conclusion. Who the world belongs to?..Is it the Raavans...the Ramas..or the catalysts. ...A must read/ listen i think..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shaji
- 07-10-19
An epic retold from the oppressed persons view.
Truly an epic told from the eyes of the oppressed with a cynical humour connecting to today’s politics. A great listening experience.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-02-21
Exceptionally written and read
The book an insight into the other side of the story. I really like how the author portrays every important event from Ramayna. An exceptional listen worthy book. loved it thoroughly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anrag Chtrje
- 03-09-20
Exceptional
Great narrative, great narration, thoroughly keeps your interest bound in the story till the very last chapter!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Saravanan
- 24-06-22
Ten Heads of Ravan
Ten heads of Ravan... I think those are the possession of his life. No one I known had given such an acceptable explanation. We are shedding some of them in the ways of life but still wish it was there to live a full life.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Pranesh
- 12-10-20
only for a perspective hearing
the book is quite different to the thought of Ramayana as read and seen by most of us. book tries to give a sneak peek into the life of ravana.
however, there are a lot of points where it seems references are taken from the Indian version of Ramayana and colour it with that of the Asura. e.g. Sita giving the Agni test, death of Laxman, Ram/Laxman getting healed miraculously when hurt
in fact, the Hindu version of Ramayana gives a lot more praise to ravana as a bhakt of Shiva, Brahma and the shiv tandav; whereas this book proclaims ravana to be a mere human
at best a good one time read..
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-05-21
Great perspective of the other unknown side!
Its a great book with such detailed and interesting perspective of looking the Asuras from a perspective different from the one we are commonly accustomed to hear. History favors the victors.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shrutika
- 05-01-20
Beautifully narrated
The story is narrated so beautifully with all the drama, action happening. So many parts were relatable to the current world problems and issues. Well written and narrated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Santhosh Kumar
- 01-11-20
excellent book must read for Indians
This book is an unbiased interpretation of Ramayana, narrated the from Ravanan's & Bhadra s perspective. Bhadra is a common man ( Asura) who is being played by those having power. This book is a slap on the absurd cast system and all the adharmas which gods are privileged to perform. you can very well relate it to the contemporary politics.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-09-23
A different perspective to the popular Indian epic
Two things that I realised very early in my life:
1. Victorious write history in their favour.
2. There is no right or wrong. It's the perspective, the background of events, ones belief system and whose version is more convincing that people believe in.
This book gives a different perspective to the popular Indian epic. Loved the narration. A good write.
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