Published Paper Details:

Along with a mythic tale of exile, fighting, and return, the epic Ramayana portrays a complex network of interregional political alliances spanning multiple ecological zones, terrains, and social domains. This study examines the formation and functioning of these cross-regional alliances through the interwoven lenses of geography (lands, forests, rivers, coasts, and islands), polity (kingdoms, forest/domains, and non-state actors) and social networks (alliances, reciprocity, and boundary crossing). It illustrates how the main character Rama mobilizes the support of forest tribes, vanaras, island kingdoms and local monarchs in a manner that transcends simple territorial dominance and instead depicts a networked polity adaptable to many geographies and social groups. A detailed case study of alliances with Sugriva (vanara-king of Kishkindha), Vibhishana (defecting king of Lanka) and forest/tribal rulers (like Guha) illustrates the combined role of topography and social connectedness in alliance building. The findings suggest that the alliance logic of the Ramayana anticipates a flexible type of government that stresses reciprocal duties, network relationships and geographic adaptation rather than rigid territorial dominance. Thus, the study promotes the use of GIS and network analytic methods in epic geographies and increases our understanding of how models of interregional social and political integration are encoded in mythological narratives.