Ganesh Kosuri

Ashraf Karayath's "Janaka and Ashtavakra: A Journey Beyond" is an inspiring story of Ashtavakra from the Ramayana. I have read so many iterations of Ashtavakra but many of them are so confusing and we could not interpret most of the metaphors used to describe his character. Ashtavakra is one complex character whose motivations cannot be easily described but Ashraf has done a tremendous job The character of King janaka and his arc is the best part of this book. We are able to see how he changes from being a pompous and aspiring ruler to conquer the world to a person who sees the world in a different light Although both the characters are great in their own way, the chemistry between them is what I have enjoyed the most in this book. We are able to see life changing lessons delivered by Ashtavakra and the respect janaka has on his guru will show how the values indians has towards our teachers hasn't changed from ancient times. I felt reading this book as a great self help in it's own way where it uses most tropes that are common in that genre and also telling a compelling story with likeable characters. Some of the lessons we learn are just a pure bliss to follow in our contemporary world. A highly recommended read from me