The Naraka Cycle · Book OneRavan's TrialYoung Readers Edition
Ravan's Trial is Book One of The Naraka Cycle, Sundar Nathan's Indian-mythology fantasy adventure. The Young Readers Edition follows a fifteen-year-old prince into the jungle of Naraka and is written for ages 10 to 13.
Seven days. One jungle.
Everything bites.
“The story is gripping, familiar characters in new roles with new destinies.”
Viswanathan Anand, five-time World Chess Champion
The story
A prince. A monster. A secret the gods can't afford.
Fifteen-year-old Ravan, crown prince of Asurapura, has to survive the Trial of Seven Days alone in the Aranya, a jungle where pretty much everything wants to eat him.
Then he rescues a hungry, very bitey baby simurgh named Sharabha, and his Trial gets a lot more complicated.
Back home, his fearless little sister Surpanakha has a daring plan of her own, and the Devas who rule Naraka are taking its people away in chains. Ravan is about to find out that being a prince was never really the test.
Step into Naraka
Explore the world of the book
The interactive map
Tap a kingdom to see who rules it, who lives there and which chapters happen there.
Meet the characters
Hear every name said out loud. A spoiler slider keeps later surprises hidden.
Which Naraka hero are you?
Eight questions. One hero. A result card you can download and share.
Myth vs. Story
How the book's Ravan, Surpanakha and Kumbhakarna compare with the Ramayana you may know.
Read a free sample
The Prologue and Chapter 1, “Never Interrupt a Monster's Lunch.”
Teachers & librarians
Discussion questions, vocabulary, a printable glossary and school-visit requests.
Where the stories began
Told first by a grandmother
When Sundar Nathan was a boy in India, his grandmother Namagiri and his mother Saroja told him stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, full of heroes, demons and magical creatures. Ravan's Trial takes some of those famous names and gives them new roles and new destinies.
Join the readers' list
Be first to hear about Book Two
Get news about The Naraka Cycle: new books, extras and launch days.