Muni Valmiki, Ramayana

Sudeshna Kar Barua (Independent Scholar - Asia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.1.01: Indian Writing and Culture: Ancient and Classical, -600-1750.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège), Mali Skotheim (Ashoka University)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -400 - c. 200

Places

India (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Epic

Resources

Textual History

The Ramayana, consisting of 24,000 shlokas or couplets and more than 500 sargas or chapters/cantos, is an Indian epic, sacred particularly to the Hindus. The original book Srimad Valmiki Ramayana, attributed to Sage Valmiki, was composed at some point between the fifth and the first century B.C. in Sanskrit, a classical Indian language, matching perfectly the epic’s magnitude, theme, mood and purpose. This adikavya or the “first ornate poem” (Winternitz 1981, 454) is followed by translations and retellings of Rama’s story in many Indian as well as foreign languages, all differently titled. For instance, the version in Tamil by …

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5278 words

Citation: Kar Barua, Sudeshna. "Ramayana". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 March 2017 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23236, accessed 24 November 2024.]

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