The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse

ValmikiProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.5

Word count: 2.2M words
Chapters: 225

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by ValmikiAuthor: Valmiki,Language: English, Class: PK: Language and Literatures: Indo-Iranian literatures, Release Date: Mar 18, 2008

Editor's review

This is a verse English translation of the Ramayana, presenting in poetic lines the core narrative of Valmiki's epic: Rama's exile, Sita's abduction, and the war at Lanka. The verse translation preserves the epic's rhythm and its characteristic rhetoric of repetition and refrain, giving readers a stronger sense of the oral epic's rhythmic quality than prose translations; however, concessions to rhyme and word order make some passages feel slightly stiff, requiring a slower pace. As one of India's two great epics, this book is an introductory text for understanding Indian religion, ethics, and narrative tradition, and is well suited for reading alongside the Mahabharata. The Gutenberg edition is a public-domain electronic text without notes or a glossary, so readers unfamiliar with the Hindu mythological system will need their own background materials. It suits reading volume by volume with a guide or in a course, and is not meant to be read in one sitting like a casual novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers who want to understand Indian epic and the foundations of South Asian culture
Students in comparative literature or religious studies who need to study an English translation of the Ramayana
Poetry readers who prefer verse translations and are willing to read a long poem slowly
Teachers preparing an Indian literature course who need a public-domain text

Not a good fit for

Readers who want a Chinese translation or need detailed annotations
General readers who seek fast-paced plot and are unaccustomed to the leaps of verse narrative
Those completely unfamiliar with Indian mythological figures and terms who are unwilling to consult background materials

Reading tips

First read a plot summary or introduction to clarify the main characters' relationships before entering the text
Advance week by week by book, reviewing each book's core conflicts and ethical questions after finishing it
Take simple notes when encountering dense names of gods and titles rather than verifying every one
You may read the sections on Rama's exile and the war at Lanka first, then fill in the surrounding context

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this English translation prose or verse?

As the title indicates, this is a version translated into English verse, presented in poetic lines rather than continuous prose. The verse translation preserves the epic's rhythm and repetition and refrain, but word order and diction are constrained by meter, so some passages read less smoothly than a prose translation and require a slower pace and tolerance for formal concessions.

Can I understand it without a foundation in Indian mythology?

You can read it, but you will need support. The book has many characters, and names of gods and titles recur, while the public-domain electronic text contains no notes or glossary. It is advisable to first read a reliable plot summary or introduction to the Ramayana and clarify the relationships among major figures such as Rama, Sita, and Hanuman before entering the text, which will make things much smoother.

Is it suitable for reading straight through from beginning to end?

Not really recommended. The epic is long, and the verse narrative contains much repetition and elaboration, so reading it straight through can be tiring. A more feasible approach is to proceed by book or by core plot, reviewing the conflicts and ethical questions after each part, and to use introductory materials, focusing on narrative structure and cultural ideas.

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About the author

Valmiki Author

Valmiki is the traditional author of the Indian epic the Ramayana, though public information about his life is very limited: his dates, nationality, and education are not reliably recorded. Works attributed to him circulate widely, and six are held in this collection. Besides an English verse translation of the Ramayana and a two-volume French edition, they include the third volume, part two, of The Yoga-Vasishtha Maharamayana of Valmiki. Works of Hindu literary compilation are also attributed to him, containing such pieces as The Book of Good Counsels and Nala and Damayanti, as well as Morte de Yaginadatta. These works largely take epic narrative and religious philosophy as their subjects, written in a solemn style steeped in ancient Indian literature, and they have had a profound influence on later Indian literature and religious culture.