The Ramaya?a of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume I: Balaka??a

by Princeton University Press

Overview

This is the first of seven volumes of a translation of the Valmiki Ramayana, the great Sanskrit epic of the life of Rama, ideal man and incarnation of the great god Visnu. This renowned work of ancient India has profoundly affected the literature, art, religions, and cultures of countless millions of people in South and Southeast Asiaan influence that is perhaps unparalleled in the history of world literature. Balakanda, the opening portion of this first translation to be based on the critical edition (Oriental Institute, Baroda), is presented here in a compact volume without the section of notes that appears in the hardcover book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400884551
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Series:	Princeton Library of Asian Translations , #45
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	456
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations ix
Preface xiii
Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation xix
PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1 General Introduction 3
2 History and Historicity 14
3 Introduction to the Balakanda 60
4 The Ramayana Text and the Critical Edition by Sheldon I. Pollock 82
5 Translating the Ramayana by Leonard E. Nathan 94
6 The Translation and Annotation 96
PART II BALAKANDA 119
Glossary of Important Proper Nouns and Epithets 271
Bibliography of Works Consulted 277
Index 291

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the 2017 World Sanskrit Award, Indian Council for Cultural Relations

"Goldman has chosen a translation style that is simple, direct, and very close to the text, without being prosaic. He has avoided the twin pitfalls of preciousness and pedantry. The Ramayana, as he reminds us, is a poem in a sense we have almost lost touch with: intended to be heard, easily understood, chanted in a loose and repetitive meter that permits the lapidary phrase."—-Edwin Gerow, Journal of Asian Studies

From the Publisher