“The dazzling mythology of ancient India has always delighted and fascinated me… India’s national epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are profound, powerful masterpieces that rival the Iliadand the Arthurian legend. Admittedly, this mythology may seem alien, strange, even forbiddingly complex. As in any encounter with a different culture, what appears difficult or incomprehensible quickly grows familiar. The farther we journey through its rich landscape, the more we understand that what lies beneath the brilliant, exotic surface is, in essence, a world we recognize. The warrior’s code of honor, for example, is nearly identical with the knightly code of chivalry. Earth-shaking clashes between good and evil, courageous heroines and gallant heroes, steadfast love, daring rescues, loss and recovery, these are elements in our universal heritage of story” – from Lloyd Alexander’s Author’s Note in The Iron Ring