Epics

Pleased upon hearing the story of Rāma, the sage Vālmikī eulogised Nārada, bid him farewell, and proceeded to the banks of the river Tamasā. Pointing at the clear waters of the river, the sage told his student Bharadvāja – “Look at the divine river!  The water is pure and delightful just like a noble man’s heart!” Before taking a dip in the river, the sage walked around the woods and spotted a krauñca couple that sweetly sang in a duet. Even as the Vālmikī watched the couple, a hunter with an evil mind, shot an arrow at the male, which fell to the ground drenched in blood.

[Starting this Rāmanavami, every Friday, Prekshaa presents a condensed prose rendering of the Vālmīki-rāmāyaṇa based on the critically constituted text. We attempt to present the best aspects of the grand epic and also capture as many poetic details as possible. As envisioned by literary stalwarts like Prof. A R Krishnasastri and Dr. D V Gundappa, we hope this English rendering of the Rāmāyaṇa serves to be an easily accessible pen-picture of the vast landscape of the epic, with all its nuances.]

Bāla-kāṇḍa

The literature related to the Great Epic is legion – be it commentary, translation, adaptation, or literary criticism. We give but a tiny sample here—largely English works—in addition to the primary sources, which are in Sanskrit. Mahābhārata scholars differ in their view on several topics. Needless to say, we do not subscribe to all the opinions presented in the treatises and essays given below. We have enumerated them simply because they are worthwhile references.