The Clay Sanskrit Library: Ramayana

The Ramyana epic centers around Rama, the crown prince of the city of Aydhya, providing a profound meditation on the paradox of the hero as both human and divine. After rescuing a sage from persecution by demons. Rama attends a tournament in the neighboring city of Mthila where he wins the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of Mthila. But a court intrigue involving one of the kings junior wives and a maidservant forces Rama into a fourteen-year banishment to the jungle with his wife, Sita, and his loyal brother Lkshmana. When Sita is abducted by the demon king Rvana, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkndha to seek help in finding her. It is there that he meets Hnuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. In exchange for the assistance of the monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugrva win the monkey throne over his brother, Valin. In the final book of the set, Hnuman leaps across the ocean to the island citadel of Lanka, where he scours the city for the abducted Princess Sita. But when Hnuman reveals himself to the princess and offers to carry her back to Rama, she nevertheless insists that Rama must come himself to avenge the abduction. Included in this set: Ramyana Book I: Boyhood By Valmki. Translated by Robert Goldman. 424 pages / 978-0-8147-3163-5 Ramyana Book II: Aydhya By Valmki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock. 652 pages / 978-0-8147-6716-0 Ramyana Book III: The Forest By Valmki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock. 436 pages / 978-0-8147-6722-1 Ramyana Book IV: Kishkndha By Valmki. Translated by Rosalind Lefeber. 415 pages / 978-0-8147-5207-4 Ramyana Book V: Sndara By Valmki. Translated by Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland Goldman. 538 pages / 978-0-8147-3178-9