‘Imaginative, intense and insightful … After Ahalya, Kunti *and *Draupadi, Koral Dasgupta brings us Mandodari, the fourth of the Pancha Kanyas in the Sati series. Narrated in Koral’s signature style, the exchanges of Mandodari and Sita (and their implications for Ravan and Ram) are absolutely fascinating.’ Ashwin Sanghi **The untold story of the queen of Lanka, torn between two conflicting ideologies – Ram Rajya and Ravan Raj! ** Mandodari, a significant yet oft-forgotten figure of the Ramayan, has long been eclipsed by her infamous husband, Ravan – the epic’s great antagonist. Celebrated for her beauty and piety, Mandodari’s remarkable talents and pivotal role in shaping the mystical kingdom of Lanka have languished in obscurity, until now. Koral Dasgupta’s enthralling tale of power, love and loyalty grants a rare and intimate glimpse into one of the Ramayan’s most enigmatic female characters. As the queen of Lanka, Mandodari confronts a myriad challenges – from her frustration with Sita’s captivity, to Surpnakha’s deceitful ways, and the daunting task of steering an impossible dream for her husband. In this fourth book of the bestselling Sati series, Mandodari’s formidable inner mastermind is unleashed, revealing how powerful women must navigate the intricate balance between the calls of the heart and duties of leadership. * In the Sati series, Koral Dasgupta explores the lives of the Pancha Kanyas from the Hindu epics and reinvents them with a feminist consciousness. * Praise for the Sati series ‘Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, Mandodari – each of the Pancha Kanyas is fascinating ... Koral Dasgupta’s wonderful retelling adds to this corpus, with a lyrical and poetic quality’ BIBEK DEBROY ‘Magical and thought-provoking’ CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI ‘Enigmatic’ NAMITA GOKHALE ‘A must for those wishing to know about our past and the dialectics of gender within it’ PAVAN K. VARMA
