Which ramayana translation

The Ramayana originated from an oral tradition. Some controversial segments were even excised from regional variants of the epic. They were, of course, also not based on the critically reconstructed text. Over the years, Goldman has been its director, editor and principal translator. It often was an uneasy job for all involved. It spells the end of the project led by Goldman and a consortium of Sanskrit scholars from around the world.

This illustration in a 17th-century copy of the Ramayana, part of a British Library collection, shows a scene in which the birds fall out of the sky in fright, while Rama and Laksmana and the other monkeys look on from the right.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. How can you, heroic prince, speak to me with such cutting and improper words, painful to the ears, as some vulgar man might speak to his vulgar wife? Srinivas Reddy is visiting assistant professor of religious studies and contemplative studies at Brown University. Such words befit the meanest hind, Not princely birth and generous mind.

Griffith Why dost thou, O hero, like a common man addressing an ordinary woman, make me hear those harsh and unbecoming words painful unto ears? Dutt How could you say such things to me, the kind of things a low, common man would say to his woman? Interpolations crept into the other five kandas too. At one level, it is about what is right and what is wrong, though such questions are difficult to answer in an absolute sense.

Thus, one asks, why did Rama do such and such? This volume is valuable because of the translation, but the illuminating essays make it even more so. However, if you expect clear- cut answers, your hopes will be belied. There are no clear-cut answers. However, there is one conclusion that is definitive. This is a wonderful and delightful book, even if you possess a copy of the translation.

Tryst with Mira Nair Kaveree Bamzai. Delhi and Lahore Madhulika Liddle. Not Guilty Chintan Girish Modi. Madhulika Liddle The prologue to Partition.