The Ramaya?a of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India, Volume II: Ayodhyaka??a

by Princeton University Press

Overview

This is the second volume of a translation of India's most beloved and influential epic saga, the monumental Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki. Of the seven sections of this great Sanskrit masterpiece, the Ayodhyakāṇḍa is the most human, and it remains one of the best introductions to the social and political values of traditional India. This readable translation is accompanied by commentary that elucidates the various problems of the text—philological, aesthetic, and cultural. The annotations make extensive use of the numerous commentaries on the Rāmāyaṇa composed in medieval India. The substantial introduction supplies a historical context for the poem and a critical reading that explores its literary and ideological components.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691173818
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Series:	Princeton Library of Asian Translations , #143
Edition description:	Translatio
Pages:	584
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Robert P. Goldman is the William and Catherine Magistretti Distinguished Professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and general editor of the Rāmāyaṇa Translation Project. Sheldon I. Pollock is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University. His books include The Language of the Gods in the World of Men and A Rasa Reader.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations ix

Preface xv

Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation xvii

PART I INTRODUCTION

1 Prelude to the Ayodhyakanda 3

2 Synopsis of the Ayodhyakanda 6

3 The Central Issues 9

4 A Problem of Narrative and Its Significance 25

5 The Philosophy 33

6 Aesthetic and Literary-Historical Considerations 37

7 The Characters 48

8 The Women of the Ayodhyakanda 53

9 Dasaratha 58

10 Rama 64

11 The Text, Annotations, and Translation 74

PART II AYODHYAKANDA 77

PART III NOTES 325

Glossary of Important Proper Nouns and Epithets 529

Emendations and Corrections of the Critical Edition 533

Bibliography of Works Consulted 535

Index 549

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher