Valmiki's Ramayana

by Anant Pai

Valmiki's Ramayana is believed to be the first poetic work written in Sanskrit; it is, therefore, referred to as the Adikavya. It is said that Brahma assured Valmiki that "as long as the mountains stand and the rivers flow, so long shall the Ramayana be read by men".In the Puranas, Rama is described as an avatar of Vishnu, but Valmiki does not refer to him as God. The few verses which do so are considered interpolations.The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses. There are six The Bala Kanda, the Ayodhya Kanda, the Aranya Kanda, the Kishkindha Kanda, the Sundara Kanda and the Yuddha Kanda. The seventh section, the Uttara Kanda, is probably an interpolation.Valmiki's monumental work influenced other great poems on the same theme. Among these are the Hindi, Tamil and Bengali versions of the Ramayana written by Tulsidas in the North; Kamban in the South; and Krittivasa in the East. The Ramayana has made a deep and abiding impact. Bas reliefs and paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana are to be found not only in temples all over India but also in Indonesia and Angkor Vat, Kampuchea.

Paperback

Published January 1, 1980

About the author

Anant Pai popularly known as Uncle Pai, was an Indian educationalist and creator of Indian comics, in particular the Amar Chitra Katha series in 1967, along with the India Book House publishers, and which retold traditional Indian folk tales, mythological stories, and biographies of historical characters. In 1980, he launched Tinkle, a children's anthology, which was started under Rang Rekha Features, India's first comic and cartoon syndicate, that lasted till 1998, with him as the Managing Director.

Today, Amar Chitra Katha sells about three million comic books a year, in English and more than 20 Indian languages, and has sold about 100 million copies since it inception in 1967 by Anant Pai, and in 2007 was taken over by ACK Media.

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Physical Shelf: Unit 1 - Top Shelf | Series/Universe: Amar Chitra Katha Series | Category: Indian Mythology / Graphic Novel