REMARKABLE STORIES ON FIVE UNFORGETTABLE WOMEN FROM THE RAMAYANA While the righteous Lord Ram is at the heart of Ramayana, his story is incomplete without the women Valmiki created, whose lives are closely tied to his. Would King Dasharatha even have his coveted sons, were it not for the sacrifice of his daughter, Shanta? Who would Queen Kaikeyi be had she not been nurtured by Manthara as a child? Which direction would the epic have taken had the sacrifice of a bird not moved the sage Valmiki to write? Best-selling author Anand Neelakantan invites readers to ask these questions as they delve into these stories of ambition, love, devotion and courage—the stories of the women of Valmiki’s epic.