Ancient Epic Research Articles

Relevance of Ramayana in our Daily Lives in the Context of the Present Situation

Rishi Valmiki was the first to forge the grand form of Itihasa and to create a unique prosodic pattern for the epic literary genre of the Ramayana. As time goes on, people experience stress, frustration, mental and physical illnesses, a lack of brotherhood, a lack of religious practice, a lack of love for the natural world and its creatures, and a lack of moral and ethical principles. Objectives: The study aims to determine how applicable the Ramayana is to modern society and how it affects our daily lives. Methods: This study has taken a qualitative approach and is descriptive, drawing on secondary data for its design. Results and Discussion: Several key takeaways from the Ramayana are examined, including how Dharma affects our lives. People acquire skills such as accountability, social duty, authenticity, and other related ones. Findings: The computerised lives of people in the modern era can be drastically changed by the timeless relevance of ancient epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Conclusion: In actuality, the Ramayana offers insightful lessons that we can apply to to our day-to-day existence without any complicity. All situations—individual, familial, and broader aspects of social and professional ambiguities—can benefit from these solutions.

NATION’S RESURGENT CULTURE THROUGH THE LESSONS OF ‘RAMAYANA’

People are focusing more of their time and energy on achieving economic freedom, probably as a result of commercialization and other so-called development agendas. We are on the verge of giving up all of our ethics and principles in the rush to make large profits quickly. Ancient epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana have the unwavering power to change people's computerised lives in the present era. Our appearance never deviates from our objectives since our lives are centred around achieving our unique aspirations. We need the guidance of such great individuals as Lord Ram or Lord Krishna in this situation. Objective: The study is to seek how to restore the resurgence of our rich culture through the lessons of Ramayana. Methods and Materials: The information is gathered from secondary sources of ancient Indian knowledge, including texts like the Ramayan, articles, websites, and online journals published over time. Result and Discussion: In addition to discussing the meaning of life, ‘The Ramayana’ is regarded by the Indian populace as a traditional and sacred text that imparts knowledge, wisdom, and the spiritual meaning of life. However, this tale offers numerous life lessons that apply to a range of circumstances and are suitable for everyone. Findings: One of the oldest books in Bharatiya history, the Ramayana is significant regardless of age, social status, sex, or level of income. Its significance has been acknowledged in many contexts and disciplines, such as politics, history, morality, and otherworldliness. Conclusion: The entire family can enjoy and learn a lot about their roles from the epic Ramayana. With stronger ties between families and society as a whole, the Ramayana can assist us in reestablishing those multigenerational family values.

Lessons on Strategic Thought and Military Manoeuvres from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Arthashastra

According to a saying, ‘All roads lead to Rome’. The epics Ramayana and Mahabharata on similar lines appear to be the first indigenous texts that show up when looking for literature that is widely cited as a source of knowledge about statecraft, governance, and military manoeuvres. Verses from the different parts of Mahabharata are quoted in Kautilya’s Arthashastra, and therefore also highlight the Mahabharata's influence and importance. The distinctive qualities of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Arthashastra are that they tell true tales of characters resolving conflicts with a range of morality and realism-based decisionmaking techniques. The research paper tries to offer insightful lessons from the two ancient epics and one treatise on statecraft in the world—the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Arthashastra about Indian strategic thinking and goal setting.

Narrative Techniques and Symbolism in the Ramayana: A Literary Analysis

For ages, academics have been fascinated by the epic poem known as the Ramayana, which is considered to be one of the most respected works of Indian literature. This study will conduct an extensive literary examination of the Ramayana, with a special emphasis on the Ramayana's storytelling strategies and symbolism. This research aims to discover the deeper levels of significance that are buried in the epic's verses by conducting an investigation of the complex narrative techniques that are used throughout the text. It explores the use of allegory, metaphor, and allegorical storytelling that the sage Valmiki, the epic's original author, and successive retellers utilised in their narratives. The look at the ubiquitous symbolism in the Ramayana and analyses how it functions as a potent vehicle for transmitting important philosophical, ethical, and cultural ideas. This research aims to shed light on the enduring literary significance of the Ramayana and its capacity to resonate with readers across a wide variety of cultural and temporal contexts by dissecting the text on both a structural and thematic level. The research was carried out in order to achieve this goal. As a result of this, it provides new insights into the ageless allure and everlasting significance of this ancient epic.

Yaşamak İçin Savaşmak: Türk Kültüründe Boksun Tarihsel Gelişimi

Sports have been an integral part of Turkish culture since ancient times, with Turks valuing physical abilities, agility, and strength. This article explores the historical and cultural significance of sports in Turkish society, focusing specifically on boxing. It highlights the historical significance of sports as a means of physical and mental preparation for war, while also acknowledging the contemporary achievements and aspirations of Turkish boxing in the international arena. The article begins by explaining the connection between sports and warfare in Turkish culture. The nomadic lifestyle of Turks, which required them to be constantly wandering and on the verge of danger, led them to prioritize physical strength and combat skills. This emphasis on sports as a means of survival and preparation for war can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era, as evident in ancient epics and inscriptions. As an example, one of the great writers of the 16th century, Sudi's book "Hediyet-ul Irfan Fimahr-ul Gulistan" includes boxing. Sudi referred to the "punch shooters" game in his work and stated that some of the students who came to Samarkand to receive training after learning how the game was played while he was in Damascus were masters of boxing demonstrations. In Divanu Lugati't-Turk, the oldest known Turkish dictionary, written by Mahmud of Kashgar between 1072-1074 in Baghdad, it is reported that boxing can be observed in Turkish history in this period, based on terms similar to boxing. Furthermore, the body shapes of legendary figures like Oguz Kagan, depicted with images of powerful animals, reflect the importance placed on muscle strength in Turkish culture. Throughout different Turkish states, including Hun, Gokturk, Seljuk, and Ottoman, various sports branches such as hunting, archery, wrestling, horse riding, and sword handling emerged and developed. These sports evolved from practical war preparation to become inseparable parts of Turkish daily life. Sports were not only valued for their physical benefits but also played a role in children's upbringing, the selection of Khans and Sultans, and even wedding ceremonies and traditions. The paper then goes into the historical evolution of boxing in modern Turkiye. While boxing has roots in ancient Turkish civilizations, its modern form was introduced by Monsieur Goury, a French Literature Teacher, during the late Ottoman Empire. Boxing gained popularity during the occupation of Istanbul, as competitions between foreign soldiers took place. The interest in boxing continued to increase after the War of Independence, leading to the establishment of the first boxing clubs and the organization of competitions in the early 20th century. The establishment of the Turkish Boxing Federation in 1923 marked an important milestone for the sport. Turkish boxers began participating in national and international competitions and achieved success in the Olympic Games, including a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was the first Olympic gold medal in Turkish boxing history. The article concludes by acknowledging the progress made in Turkish boxing and highlighting the ongoing efforts to popularize the sport, train successful athletes, and increase the number of licensed active participants. While Turkish boxing has a rich history, there is still room for further development and modernization. However, the achievements in recent years and the commitment of the Turkish Boxing Federation point towards a promising future for the sport in Turkiye.

This Is Her Game: Indian Video Games and Gender

Abstract This article aims to contribute to academic discussions about mediatization and gender in general and video games and gender in particular. More specifically, it advances these themes in the regional context of India, which is understudied to date. The study of video games and gaming as related to India is still an emerging field, and research on games and gender in India is largely amiss to date. This article discusses portrayals of women and girls in two exemplary Indian video games, and it briefly touches on the public reactions to these games. The article briefly introduces Indian video games and their study and discusses the exemplary games Missing: A Game for a Cause (2016), developed to create awareness about the abduction and trafficking of girls, and Raji: An Ancient Epic (2020), which showcases a strong female main character and her journey.

“Raji'sBurden”

AbstractThis article uses a visual culture studies approach to examine how video games invoking non‐Western cultural specificities face heightened pressures to completely and “authentically” represent their cultures. Focusing on the independent Indian video gameRaji: An Ancient Epic(Nodding Heads 2020) as a key example, I employ art historian Kobena Mercer's concept of the “burden of representation” to show how race, ethnicity, and gender intersect in this game. I argue that there is more at work here than a superficial re‐skinning of characters and game space to suit national tastes and aesthetics and thatRajienters into much larger and ongoing debates about the function of representation. Through deep reading and critical analysis ofRaji'scharacters and spaces, I provide a context for its role at the center of cultural and even political struggles. Ultimately, I show what representational stakes are revealed when a video game is overburdened with the responsibility of standing in for a whole culture, and why such interventions matter.

How Not to Play an Indian Mythic: Raji: A Modern Fantasy

AbstractThe current paper analyses the video game Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Head Games 2020) to determine the accuracy of its representation of historical Indian experiences, in the domains of architecture, aesthetics, spatiality, technology, and so on. The ludic elements of the game, including weapon or enemy design and their compatibility with reflecting an Indian ethos in video game mechanisms have also been discussed. The treatment of Indian mythology is extensively explored, with an eye to locating its space in Indian mythic tradition. Through an analysis of narrative storytelling in the game, aspects such as the foregrounding of a female protagonist and the apparent progressive feminist attitude of the game have been scrutinised. The sociocultural depiction of India and its implications and contexts relating to contemporary understanding of the space of the subcontinent has also been taken into consideration. A careful study of the game within the contemporary post‐colonial discourse constitutes a part of the article. We also undertake a comparative study with another Indian mythic video game, Unrest (Pyrodactyl 2014), to better understand the issues surrounding the treatment of mythic and historical elements. The article both contemplates the missed opportunities and future potentials, for example, in terms of more nuanced and accurate representation and the balance between ludic execution and representational possibilities, as experienced in the ludo‐narrative experience offered by the game.

THE EXPRESSION OF ANCIENT MOTIFS IN THE EPIC POEM «DOTAN BATYR»

The ancient epic is composed of mythical, fairy-tale, and legendary events, which to a certain extent artistically imagine the thinking, consciousness, beliefs, and worldview of the people of the first community. In the network of heritages of this category, there are fantasy scenes, mythical concepts about creation, plots during the transition from the era of matriarchy to the era of patriarchy, hunting profession, belief in witchcraft, dreams and visions, praying for children from saints, rapid growth of heroes, suitable choosing a horse and going on a long journey, encountering difficulties on the way, marrying heroically, etc. events are reflected. Folk works such as "Kulamergen", "Surmergen", "Kubygul", "Dotan batyr", "Edil-Zhaiyk" have been preserved among the epics that have reached the form of eposes. If we focus on the epos "Dotan batyr" among them, this epos is an example of an ancient epic enriched by the later epic tradition, although mythical and fairy-tale motifs predominate in this epos. Therefore, in the content of the work, a significant place is given to the events that describe the warring times between the Kazakhs and the Kalmyks. However, these plots arise and develop due to the motif of the hero's journey in search of a bride, which is very common in ancient epics, and passing the test during that journey. The ancient way of life in the work, the long stay of the hero in the land of the bride, and the remnants of the matriarchal society, testify to the primitive nature of the epic. Therefore, our task is to determine the specific manifestations of the ancient motifs in the epos during the analysis of the epic work.

Crown Shyness

Crown Shyness A. E. Stallings (bio) The ancient epics do not overlap.Hector dies. Achilles is a ghost.The wooden horse is backstory at most,Or hasn't happened yet. A witch's trapTurns men to swine. A living river burns.A dog lies pining on a heap of dung.A woman waits, and is no longer young.A ransom's paid. A wanderer returns. So great trees grow, they tell us, putting downA map of roots that chart the underworldAs deep as topmost leaves reach up, unfurledInto the blue sublime, and side by side,Though deep and tall, they only grow so wide,And hold aloof, not touching at the crown. [End Page 352] ________ They hold aloof, not touching at the crown.Walking between their columns, look aboveTo see how sky's a river delta ofBlue leaking through, as puzzled light sifts down.How do they know—how do they sense the touch?We call it shyness. Is it courtesy,An antique courtliness of tree to tree,That somehow knows the border of too much? When Priam in his laden wagon cameUnder the veil of night to meet his foe,And buy the body of his son, laid low,Achilles drew back from his savage brinkTo courtesy, and said, "We are the same:Though princes, we are mortals. Eat. Drink." ________ "Though princes, we are mortals. Eat. Drink."So all that bloodshed ends, in a shared feast,Stories, tears. Dawn kindles in the East,The westering stars go ashen as they sink.As neutral birds erupt in morning choirs,Mules shake their ears, their hides atwitch with flies.There's nothing for the living but to riseAnd to prepare the wood for funeral pyres. The forest groans and braces for the axe:So many trees it takes to burn a man! [End Page 353] Nine days they gather wood from every side.Between the trees, there open up dirt tracksFor mules and sledges. Now the thwacks elideIn rhythms that no bard has ever scanned. ________ In rhythms that no bard has ever scanned,The timber falls. It's timber when it fallsAnd crashes into silence with its callsOf birdsong and its rustling sarabande,A library of turning leaves; its ringsA record of the years no needle traces,Shade the annihilating sun erases,Torn from the catalogue of living things. (It started with the catalogue of ships:Whole forests felled for keels, masts, spars, oars, hullsMade black and waterproof with tar and pitch.The sight of the armada stirred the pulseOf men more than the hair, the skin, the lipsOf beauty's queen men later called a bitch.) ________ The beauty queen men later called a bitch(She called herself that sometimes) stood aloftUpon the ramparts, while the old men coughedAnd young men died, and thought how it was rich—No wedding could go off without a hitch!— [End Page 354] Men blamed her for their bloody-minded slaughter.She missed her ex sometimes. She missed her daughter.She'd go to Egypt, and become a witch. There on the wall a fig tree grew. Its shadeIn summer made the city street a parkWhere all the little Trojan children played,Chasing each other round the wall, all gamesUntil their mothers called as it grew darkAnd they became a litany of names. ________ The shades become a litany of names.They creep up to the trough of blood to drink.And now the fog clears—they can speak and think.His mother nears to say she never blamesHim for her death of—here her sigh is sharp—A mother's broken heart. His father, well,He lives in squalor, half a man, a shell.His wife—she plays those "suitors" like a harp. (Someday he'll show his father as he grievesThe orchards he was promised: thirteen pears,Ten apple trees, two scores of figs, and vinesThat make the best home brew a vineyard bears,Not strong as Agamemnon's sea-dark wines,But sweet and bright, like light through olive leaves.) [End Page...

Current status and diversity of water birds in Jogmaya Sarovar (Ranjan Dih), Purulia District, West Bengal

Waterbirds are generally understood to be birds that use wetlands for breeding, foraging, and roosting. In addition to being excellent markers of a wetland's health, wetland birds have a substantial impact on human culture, society, science, and food availability. These birds are clearly attractive to humans and have been mentioned in numerous ancient epics. The purpose of the current communication is to provide information on the water birds that can be found in the Jogmaya Sarovar or Ranjandih of Purulia district. Those birds who use this man made water body as a feeding and foraging ground are the subject of this communication. According to surveys undertaken on the Jogmaya Sarovar between January 2022 and March 2023, there are 33 species under 27 genera, which are divided into 15 families belonging to 10 orders. There are thought to be 12% local migrants, 18% migratory birds, and 70% resident birds. Moreover, 79% of the bird species of this lake reported from edge of the waterbody and rest (21%) found inside the waterbody.)

«Георгики» Вергилия в переводе А.Ф. Воейкова: История создания и забвения.

The article reconstructs three stages of A.F. Voeikov’s translation of Georgics by Virgil, undertaken by him “in competition” with the translations of the ancient epic poetry of A.F. Merzlyakov and N.I. Gnedich. Initially (around 1813), Voeikov translated the Latin poet in iambic 6-foot with cross-rhyming, largely focusing on the French translation of Jacques Delisle (1769), which was considered “exemplary.” But under the influence of S.S. Uvarov’s “polemics about hexameters,” Voeikov joined the winning point of view — about the priority of the transmission of the ancient epic by Russian dactylic hexameter, and reworked his translation, counting on success and imperial favor, similar to those that Gnedich’s Iliad won. But despite the intermediary efforts of V.A. Zhukovsky, Voeikov did not receive any royal favor. At the end of the 1810s for the third time he radically changes the strategy of his translation of Georgics, striving for equilinearity and refusing to look back at Delisle’s experience. This last edition is published from the archival manuscript in the Appendix to this work for the first time.

„Sbigneis” Mikołaja Kotwicza ze Żnina, czyli niedokończone dzieło epickie o prymasie Zbigniewie Oleśnickim

Mikołaj Kotwicz of Żnin (c. 1440–1507) studied law at the Jagiellonian University and probably graduated in Bologna, where he earned a doctor’s degree. Having returned to his country, he was ordained a priest and found employment at the court of Zbigniew Oleśnicki, the Primate of Poland. In Renaissance Italy, where the works of ancient writers drew much scholarly interest, he acquired a wide knowledge of ancient history and literature, as well as mastered Latin and learned poetic art. His command of the latter is evident in his unfinished work “Sbigneis”. It was the only epic poem in medieval Poland, unfortunately made only as an exposition, with the narrative cutting off at the mid point of the hexameter. The poem, modeled on ancient epics such as Greek Iliad by Homer, Roman “Punica” by Silius Italicus, or “Pharsalia” by Lucan, was supposed to narrate a long-standing armed conflict between the related houses of Oleśnicki and Gruszczyński. The idea to embark on such an interesting social issue, albeit touched upon in an exposition only, attests to Kotwicz’s considerable talent and unusual poetic art. The conflict and the composition are clearly outlined; the Latin lan - guage and dactylic hexameter are impeccable. The style of the narrative and the rhetorical figures featured therein are well suited to the epic genre. Only an elaboration of the topic and the ending are missing. The talented author would probably have finished the poem if it had not been for the unfortunate external circumstance following the real-world death of the main character (Zbigniew Oleśnicki), a difficulty that Kotwicz was unable to surmount. Therefore, the epic muse Calliope did not spread her wings in the Polish Middle Ages, even though she was on the right way thanks to a poet from Żnin.

Albanian songs of frontier warriors and their antiquity

Albanian heroic songs with a range of values and peculiarities, with the thematic and poetic world, as rich as independent and ancient, and with different layers, could not be created immediately and only in one period. It took time and skill for singers and oral conductors to create, spread and carry from one individual to another, from one generation to the next. Albanian heroic songs are not only important for the many linguistic expressive values that the rich thematic and motivational world has, but they also enable the best knowledge of the oral epic of the peoples of Southeast Europe and especially of the epic of the peoples of the Balkans. What justifies the antiquity, but at the same time the great importance of our heroic songs, is the fact that they express the world of the singers who sing them, their worldview and the world they belong to. They express the honor, manliness, faith, virtues, customs and habits that our man has used over the centuries. Dealing with the comparison of Albanian songs of frontier warriors with ancient epics, I have noticed a series of similarities with some ancient epics, especially with the "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which directly testify to their antiquity.

EXPLORING FILIAL PIETY AS AN INSPIRATIONAL MORAL VALUE FROM MAHABHARATA

The Mahabharata (Mbh) is a well-known ancient epic that is seven times longer than the Iliad and Odyssey combined. It has been a key source of moral ideas and education for Indians. The story centred around the Kauravas and Pandavas, two branches of the same family. Through the family story, the author draws all aspects of human existence, namely Dharma (Virtue and Social Righteousness), Artha (Acquisition of Wealth), Kama (Enjoyment and Sensual Pleasure) and Moksha (Spiritual Liberation). This study seeks to identify moral values associated with family life, especially love for parents. Though many scholars studied this epic, love between children and parents is underexplored. This epic is also often misconstrued as a spiritual text, which limits its application to moral living. Textual analysis, is employed for data extraction and interpreted through Hermeneutic Approach. Four steps were used for analysis, namely, Identifying and Documenting, Investigation and Categorisation, Interpretation and Analysis, and finally Integration and Conclusion. Murray Bowen's Family Systems Theory is used to determine how human interaction in a family operates in Mbh and Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory has been chosen as it outlines an individual's moral development in stages.The findings reveal that the children such as Pandavas demonstrated unconditional and selfless love to their parents. They believed that their parents were Gods and should be worshipped.The findings also suggest that the Mbh epic could be an insightful resource in moral teaching and learning and, more importantly, as a guide in building a strong relationship between parents and children.

Nugae on the Block: Maffeo Vegio (1407–1458), Virgil, and the Early Quattrocento Polemic over Light Verse

Studies on the Renaissance reception of Virgil as an epic, georgic, and bucolic poet typically overshadow Virgil’s reception as an author of light, ludic verse. In 1428, Maffeo Vegio (1407–1458) wrote his Supplementum to Virgil’s Aeneid, an earnest attempt to complete the revered ancient epic. A decade later, however, Vegio was alluding to Virgil’s poetry irreverently in distichs and epigrams, regarding Virgil’s example as justification for poetic frivolity. The vogue for such poetic trifles sparked controversy between Vegio and his literary associates over poetic decorum and the moral limits of poetry. This article situates Vegio’s short poems within this literary-historical context, showing how the reception of Virgil intersected with a fierce polemic over the status and legitimacy of light verse. It sheds new light not only on Vegio’s poetics of Virgilian allusion, but also on the role of literary networks in shaping the theory and practice of Renaissance imitation and the construction of poetic identity.

Homer and the Epic Cycle

Abstract How can the ancient relationship between Homer and the Epic Cycle be recovered? Using findings from the most significant research in the field, many ancient and modern assumptions are questioned and alternative perspectives offered that are better aligned with ancient epic performance realities and modern epic studies. This volume addresses a number of related issues: the misrepresentation of Cyclic (and Homeric) epic by Aristotle and his inheritors (including the part played by mythographers like Proclus); the role of the epic singer, patron/collector, and scribe/poet in the formation of memorialized songs; the relevance of shared patterns and devices and of other traditional connections between ancient epics; and the distinct fates of Homeric (Iliad, Odyssey) and Cyclic epic. The volume provides new answers to an age-old problem.

Mary R. Bachvarova: From Hittite to Homer. The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic.

Mary R. Bachvarova: From Hittite to Homer. The Anatolian Background of Ancient Greek Epic.

POSTMODERN POETICS OF M. ATWOOD’S NOVEL “PENELOPIADА”

Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous modern English-language writers. She has won numerous literary awards, including the Booker Prize twice. Her novel “Penelopiada” (2005) did not attract the attention of researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this article is a detailed analysis of the main features of the poetics of the novel as a model of postmodern prose.
 The source of inspiration for the writer were the ancient myths and heroic poems “Iliada” and “Odyssey” by Homer. In ancient texts, Penelope is a minor heroine. She was the wife of Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, who fought for ten years under the walls of Troy, and then travelled for another ten years. And all this time his wife has been waiting for him, so Penelope is a symbol of marital fidelity and patience.
 Canadian author Margaret Atwood rethinks this image. Without disturbing the plot of the ancient epic, she psychologically motivates the actions of Penelope, shows the image of a lonely strong woman who is trying to survive in a cruel male world. This text reflects the feminist views of the author.
 The article focuses on aspects of intertextuality, allusions, and creative dialogue with prototexts. The figurative structure of the novel, the semantic overemphasis of the images of Odysseus, Penelope and Elena, who fled to Troy, are analysed. The events of the Trojan War are considered from the point of view of a woman who was not directly affected by the hostilities, but whose life changed radically. Genre-compositional features of the novel are revealed. The originality of the narrative in the novel is clarified: the story is told on behalf of Penelope, which adds psychological credibility to the image. The article also notes the techniques of irony, parody, which represent the text as a model of postmodernism.

Counter-narrating: Re-constructing “Sita” in Amish's Sita: Warrior of Mithila

Counter-narration re-casts existing narratives and foregrounds the marginalised by giving them agency and performativity. They are narratives that challenge and provide resistance against dominant and hegemonic grand narratives which have been instrumental in formulating a social ideology over a long period of time making them normative. The Ramayana, an ancient epic is a multi-layered story of Prince Rama and Princess Sita and their role in the politics of power, state and patriarchy. It is a grand or master narrative that presupposes the passivity of the female as normative. It portrays Sita, King Rama’s wife, as someone who experiences marginalization and oppression and is a victim of the dominant narrative of patriarchy. This paper will use the theory of counternarrative and analyse Amish Tripathi’s novel Sita: Warrior of Mithila (2017) in order to show how he has recast Sita deconstructing the myth of passivity. Here, Sita resists prescriptive norms of the dominant narrative, wherein she has been projected as the silent receptor and problematizes the patriarchal ideology propagated through the master narrative. This paper will show how counter storytelling or counter narrating by Amish Tripathi has challenged and defied the narrative silence and hegemony in The Ramayana, while making the female powerful and capable in education, warfare and state governance.