The epic tale of victory and defeatƒ 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 3000 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. ñFor 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.î ñI 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.î 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.
#119411 in Books Warren H Carroll 1996Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .70 x 5.50l; .65 #File Name: 0931888670240 pagesLast Crusade Spain 1936
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy CustomerClearly written; well documented; excellently organized: a revelation of truth amidst the cultural smog-history of the 30's.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A must read!By Yolanda GurriesTo understand the Spanish Civil War this book is most inlightening. It is a must read for anyone interested in the truth of what really happened.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Carroll: The west has had a 'dim-out' of the truth about this Catholic crusadeBy JeriCertainly Caroll has a point. Have you ever heard about about what happened to Catholics in the 1930s in Spain? In Carrolls' blistering words: "Almost no one outside the Catholic church now knows about the nearly seven thousand priests and religious martyred during the Spanish Civil War" (p 180).From the first city they took; the collection of communists/socialists/atheists were viciously anti Catholic. Revolutionary mobs burned churches; destroyed ancient statues; books; and Catholic schools and slaughtered any religious they found.Here were the scenes: "Armed rioters massacred their opponents; including many priests and nuns; in the glare of burning buildings. The crash of falling masonry...of firearms...the shrieks of the victims; and the ferocious cheering of their executioners..." (p 65).Elderly; ailing bishops and nuns were harried from their hiding places; or forced to leave their hospital beds; to be sent to prison and then murdered. For no purpose other than hatred; they could hardly be called combatants. When Bishop Asenio was wrenched from prison; he said; "'What a beautiful night...I go to the house of the Lord'" (p 106). After being shot he lived for two hours in great agony; on a pile of corpses. And then the revolutionaries mutilated his body.Revolutionary newspapers; such as the Workers Solidarity in Barcelona screamed "DOWN WITH THE CHURCH...Bishops and cardinals must be shot" (p 111).One Irish volunteer on the Catholic side wrote of his fellow soldiers: "'Pinned to their breasts are little red cloth badges of the Sacred Heart....This is not an army; it is the Church Militant on the march" (p 131).Yet today; who has heard of it?
