Book Description
One of IndiaÂ's great epics in a powerful new translation
The Ramayana (along with the Mahabharata) is to India what the epics of Homer and the stories of the Bible are to Western culture: works that cast a spell over an entire civilization. It is also one of the most entertaining of the great works of world literature. Populated with a cast of superhuman characters and imbued with a profound sense of moral purpose, the magical tale of the young prince RamaÂ's adventures as he seeks to find his abducted wife, Sita, has been central to Indian cultural life for centuries—told to children as bedtime stories and studied by philosophers and theologians. This version returns to the core story in its earliest written form, revealing a taut, vibrant, skillfully constructed heroic romance.
Book Description
Fascinating retelling receiving 1st class reviews. Choice wrote "Buck has succeeded better than anyone else in conveying the spirit of the original."
Customer Reviews:
the ultimate good versus evil.......2007-01-02
This is an incredibly poetic and beautifully told story.
It is easy to forget the story is ancient because its themes are so human - love, loyalty, greed and jealousy - and insightful.
Also, an understanding of Indian culture or religion, even limited, is not necessary to enjoy it because it is wonderfully imaginative.
My favorite character is Ravana, the best bad guy I've come across yet - a devilishly handsome ten-headed demon who strokes his black moustaches.
I like to think fiction itself sprang from stories like these.
Only for beginners.......2006-05-28
On reading this book I was disappointed. The author has changed and omitted some fundamental parts of the Ramayana. For example, in the original text when Rama saves Sita from Ravana, Rama initially rejects her because he questions her fidelity, although this was all part of a divine scheme to ultimately show her greatness - but these important events are recounted rather differently in this book. Buck has not really understood Rama, in my opinion, and he certainly does not show him to be an incarnation of the Supreme Godhead, one of the main aims of the original text. He thus fails to convey the book's spiritual import and message. He also omits many other details which tends to make the narrative hard to follow. He seems to have gone more for poetic effect than clarity in many places. The language is simple and it reads more like a fairy tale than a great epic. Good for beginners, otherwise only average. Find another edition if you want the complete story presented in the mood of the original.
Amazing.......2005-12-13
I was enthralled with this story years ago and continue to be. This condensed translation I think is excellent because it allows those who don't want to read an exhaustively long original version to experience this masterpiece of mythology. As an influencial piece in Hindu culture, understanding this writing is crucial for understanding human nature.
But I am appalled by the writer from October 2003 who ignorantly trashes the Ramayana and in doing so the whole Hindu culture. Sure there are parts of the Hindu culture that are hard to understand--but must I point out the Christianity is not the easiest to understand? A culture that promotes peace and loving thy brother only if they are Christian--if not kill them--is not one I find any easier to understand than culture that promotes turning away from a raped woman.
Oh, and let's not forget the Crusades. Christianity is chock-full of war, rape, and killing--it is called the Old Testament.
Importantly, if some readers are constantly turning their mind to their own lives while reading a delicious piece of historical art such as the Ramayana, maybe they should open their minds, realize that these were tales told to teach and build morals (like don't rape women or bad things will happen), and try to learn from other cultures--not to criticize everything your close mind cannot comprehend.
So, pick up a copy of this classic for a cultural experience that you'll be thinking about long after you have finished it.
Very enjoyable book.......2005-07-26
Although the book is sufficiently detailed it is very easy to read. Humorous at times and marvelously poetic it is expertly adapted for a Western reader. The old epic of Rama's life explores one's imagination with vivid pictures af far as the reader is ready to go.
If I was Rama, William Buck could be my press agent........2004-06-22
William Buck brings out the metaphysical aspects of the epic tale. Rama and his brother must perform a journey that allows them to grow and understand nature and the world on the way. They must overcome many hurtles and meet with the good and bad.
Two of the creatures I found fascinating is Hanuman who claims he is only a monkey and does not know any better. He is admonished and reminded if he is aware of that then it is no excuse. The second character is Ravana who knows in a world where there is no black and white that he is supposed to be an evil antagonist. But his role is important to the story and the world.
The illustrations by Shirley Triest are simple line drawings with shading to give an added richness to the story with out distracting from the writing.
I made the mistake of reading "RAMA" by Jamake Higwater first. That was a bad move, as I did not understand the richness of the story until I read this version. Now that I have a few more versions under my belt, I must say that this is my best. In addition, I have the audio tape now it is time to start the Mahabharata.
Book Description
"The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance."
—Willis G. Regier, The Chronicle Review
"No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience."
—The Times Higher Education Supplement
"The
Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes."
—New Criterion
"Published in the geek-chic format."
—BookForum
"Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs."
—Tricycle
”Now an ambitious new publishing project, the
Clay Sanskrit Library brings together leading Sanskrit translators and scholars of Indology from around the world to celebrate in translating the beauty and range of classical Sanskrit literature. . . . Published as smart green hardbacks that are small enough to fit into a jeans pocket, the volumes are meant to satisfy both the scholar and the lay reader. Each volume has a transliteration of the original Sanskrit text on the left-hand page and an English translation on the right, as also a helpful introduction and notes. Alongside definitive translations of the great Indian epics — 30 or so volumes will be devoted to the Maha·bhárat itself —
Clay Sanskrit Library makes available to the English-speaking reader many other delights: The earthy verse of Bhartrihari, the pungent satire of Jayanta Bhatta and the roving narratives of Dandin, among others. All these writers belong properly not just to Indian literature, but to world literature.”
—LiveMint
”The
Clay Sanskrit Library has recently set out to change the scene by making available well-translated dual-language (English and Sanskrit) editions of popular Sanskritic texts for the public.”
—Namarupa
”By any measure the Ramáyana of Valmiki is one of the great epic poems of world literature. . . . Now the New York University Press is republishing the translations, without notes and with minimal introductions, in more accessible and less expensive editions, as part of the
Clay Sanskrit Library. So far the translators have been eminently successful.”
—The New York Sun [Refers to the nine volumes of the Ramáyana]
Rama, the crown prince of the City of Ayodhya, is a model son and warrior. He is sent by his father the king to rescue a sage from persecution by demons, but must first kill a fearsome ogress. That done, he drives out the demons, restores peace, and attends a tournament in the neighboring city of Mithila; here he bends the bow that no other warrior can handle, winning the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of Mithila.
ValmÃki's Ramáyana is one of the two great national epics of India, the source revered throughout South Asia as the original account of the career of Rama, ideal man and incarnation of the great god Vishnu. The first book, "Boyhood," introduces the young hero Rama and sets the scene for the adventures ahead. It begins with a fascinating excursus on the origins and function of poetry itself.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
Book Description
"The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance."
—Willis G. Regier, The Chronicle Review
"No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience."
—The Times Higher Education Supplement
"The
Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes."
—New Criterion
"Published in the geek-chic format."
—BookForum
"Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs."
—Tricycle
”Now an ambitious new publishing project, the
Clay Sanskrit Library brings together leading Sanskrit translators and scholars of Indology from around the world to celebrate in translating the beauty and range of classical Sanskrit literature. . . . Published as smart green hardbacks that are small enough to fit into a jeans pocket, the volumes are meant to satisfy both the scholar and the lay reader. Each volume has a transliteration of the original Sanskrit text on the left-hand page and an English translation on the right, as also a helpful introduction and notes. Alongside definitive translations of the great Indian epics — 30 or so volumes will be devoted to the Maha·bhárat itself —
Clay Sanskrit Library makes available to the English-speaking reader many other delights: The earthy verse of Bhartrihari, the pungent satire of Jayanta Bhatta and the roving narratives of Dandin, among others. All these writers belong properly not just to Indian literature, but to world literature.”
—LiveMint
”The
Clay Sanskrit Library has recently set out to change the scene by making available well-translated dual-language (English and Sanskrit) editions of popular Sanskritic texts for the public.”
—Namarupa
”By any measure the Ramáyana of Valmiki is one of the great epic poems of world literature. . . . Now the New York University Press is republishing the translations, without notes and with minimal introductions, in more accessible and less expensive editions, as part of the
Clay Sanskrit Library. So far the translators have been eminently successful.”
—The New York Sun [Refers to the nine volumes of the Ramáyana]
The king decides to abdicate in favor of Rama; but just as the celebrations reach their climax, a court intrigue forces Rama and Sita into fourteen years banishment; they dutifully accept their fate, and go off to the jungle. The other brothers refuse to benefit from his misfortune, which leaves nobody to run the city; eventually one of them is persuaded to act as regent, but only consents to do so on condition that he lives outside the city and acts in RamaÂ's name.
"Ayódhya" is Book Two of ValmÃki's national Indian epic, The Ramáyana. The young hero Rama sets out willingly from the capital with wife and brother for a fourteen-year banishment, which will entail great suffering and further difficult choices in the books ahead. Of the seven books of this great Sanskrit epic, "Ayódhya" is the most human, and it remains one of the best introductions to the social and political values of traditional India.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
Average customer rating:
|
The Iliad, the Ramayana, and the Work of Religion: Failed Persuasion and Religious Mystification (Hermeneutics, Studies in the History of Religions)
Gregory D. Alles
Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Hermeneutics
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ASIN: 0271013206 |
Book Description
"The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance."
—Willis G. Regier, The Chronicle Review
"No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience."
—The Times Higher Education Supplement
"The
Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes."
—New Criterion
"Published in the geek-chic format."
—BookForum
"Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs."
—Tricycle
”Now an ambitious new publishing project, the
Clay Sanskrit Library brings together leading Sanskrit translators and scholars of Indology from around the world to celebrate in translating the beauty and range of classical Sanskrit literature. . . . Published as smart green hardbacks that are small enough to fit into a jeans pocket, the volumes are meant to satisfy both the scholar and the lay reader. Each volume has a transliteration of the original Sanskrit text on the left-hand page and an English translation on the right, as also a helpful introduction and notes. Alongside definitive translations of the great Indian epics — 30 or so volumes will be devoted to the Maha·bhárat itself —
Clay Sanskrit Library makes available to the English-speaking reader many other delights: The earthy verse of Bhartrihari, the pungent satire of Jayanta Bhatta and the roving narratives of Dandin, among others. All these writers belong properly not just to Indian literature, but to world literature.”
—LiveMint
”The
Clay Sanskrit Library has recently set out to change the scene by making available well-translated dual-language (English and Sanskrit) editions of popular Sanskritic texts for the public.”
—Namarupa
”By any measure the Ramáyana of Valmiki is one of the great epic poems of world literature. . . . Now the New York University Press is republishing the translations, without notes and with minimal introductions, in more accessible and less expensive editions, as part of the
Clay Sanskrit Library. So far the translators have been eminently successful.”
—The New York Sun [Refers to the nine volumes of the Ramáyana]
The skies darken for the exiles, who have taken refuge in forest hermitages. First one demon, then another, attempts to harm or corrupt them. When these efforts fail, an army of demons is sent, and then a bigger one, but each time Rama again defeats them. Finally Rávana, the supreme lord of the demons, decides to cripple Rama by capturing Sita; he traps her, and carries her off under heavy guard to the island fortress of Lanka. Rama is distraught by grief, and searches everywhere without success.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
Book Description
"The books line up on my shelf like bright Bodhisattvas ready to take tough questions or keep quiet company. They stake out a vast territory, with works from two millennia in multiple genres: aphorism, lyric, epic, theater, and romance."
—Willis G. Regier, The Chronicle Review
"No effort has been spared to make these little volumes as attractive as possible to readers: the paper is of high quality, the typesetting immaculate. The founders of the series are John and Jennifer Clay, and Sanskritists can only thank them for an initiative intended to make the classics of an ancient Indian language accessible to a modern international audience."
—The Times Higher Education Supplement
"The
Clay Sanskrit Library represents one of the most admirable publishing projects now afoot. . . . Anyone who loves the look and feel and heft of books will delight in these elegant little volumes."
—New Criterion
"Published in the geek-chic format."
—BookForum
"Very few collections of Sanskrit deep enough for research are housed anywhere in North America. Now, twenty-five hundred years after the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the ambitious Clay Sanskrit Library may remedy this state of affairs."
—Tricycle
”Now an ambitious new publishing project, the
Clay Sanskrit Library brings together leading Sanskrit translators and scholars of Indology from around the world to celebrate in translating the beauty and range of classical Sanskrit literature. . . . Published as smart green hardbacks that are small enough to fit into a jeans pocket, the volumes are meant to satisfy both the scholar and the lay reader. Each volume has a transliteration of the original Sanskrit text on the left-hand page and an English translation on the right, as also a helpful introduction and notes. Alongside definitive translations of the great Indian epics — 30 or so volumes will be devoted to the Maha·bhárat itself —
Clay Sanskrit Library makes available to the English-speaking reader many other delights: The earthy verse of Bhartrihari, the pungent satire of Jayanta Bhatta and the roving narratives of Dandin, among others. All these writers belong properly not just to Indian literature, but to world literature.”
—LiveMint
”The
Clay Sanskrit Library has recently set out to change the scene by making available well-translated dual-language (English and Sanskrit) editions of popular Sanskritic texts for the public.”
—Namarupa
”By any measure the Ramáyana of Valmiki is one of the great epic poems of world literature. . . . Now the New York University Press is republishing the translations, without notes and with minimal introductions, in more accessible and less expensive editions, as part of the
Clay Sanskrit Library. So far the translators have been eminently successful.”
—The New York Sun [Refers to the nine volumes of the Ramáyana]
Rama goes to the monkey capital of KishkÃndha to seek help in finding Sita, and meets Hánuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. There are two claimants for the monkey throne, Valin and SugrÃva; Rama helps SugrÃva win the throne, and in return SugrÃva promises to help in the search for Sita. The monkey hordes set out in every direction to scour the world, but without success until an old vulture tells them she is in Lanka. Hánuman promises to leap over the ocean to Lanka to pursue the search.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
Average customer rating:
|
Critical Inventory of Ramayana Studies in the World: Indian Languages and English
Manufacturer: South Asia Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 8172011008 |
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