Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia

by Paula Richman

Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Ramayanas .

While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society―Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh―have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists―all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.

Genres: Hinduism, Religion, Nonfiction, History, India, Mythology, Asia

290 pages, Paperback

First published July 30, 1991

About the author

Paula Richman is a professor of Religion at Oberlin College.

Reviews

[Harini Gopalswami Srinivasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of essays by Ramayana scholars, brilliantly edited! If you are a Hindu steeped in the Ramayana, this will open your eyes to its cosmopolitanness, and if you have never read or heard of the Ramayana, you will want to read it for its universal and eternal appeal. The essay on why Lakshmana laughed is one of my favourites, as also A K Ramanujan's take on the subject. A book to buy, cherish, reread and pass on to kindred spirits!

[S. Alberto ⁻⁷ (yearning) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The range of essays included is definitely thought-provoking, and it offers valuable insight into the multiplicity and regional diversity of the Ramayana tradition. However, I came to this collection with a specific research goal in mind—looking for material directly relevant to the Ramayana itself. While the book does contribute meaningfully to the broader conversation, I found it more useful as a secondary reference than as a primary source for my project. In the end, it didn’t quite align with the focus I needed and didn’t make it into my final bibliography. Still, for those interested in comparative mythology or the cultural diffusion of epic traditions, this book provides a rich and worthwhile overview. Just be mindful that it might not serve as a direct entry point into the text of the Ramayana itself.

[Pramod Pant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting bunch of essays on Ramayanas- particularly for those familiar with the ancient epic- their variance, their spread across languages and geography in South and South East Asia.

[cowluvr29 · Rating 2 out of 5]

For my religion class was kinda boring but if ur into it then yay!
The parts about Thailand SLAYED tho

[Sarah (TheLibrarysKeeper) · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book was very informative, I struggled to keep interest while working through this book. Many of the articles were a little dry and didn't seem necessary. This to me is like writing a term paper or an article on something that everyone knows. Other than the few that did that, the rest were great. I really enjoyed "The Raja's New Clothes: Redressing Ravana in Meghanadavadha Kavya" the most. I suppose with a book like this that covers a variety of topics, it makes sense to not find all of them the most interesting.

[Priya Phadtare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked it up to read AK Ramanujan's controversial essay on '300 Hundred Ramayanas', which blew me away, but was also delighted to find several other essays which gave details about the several Ramayanas written by authors other than Valmiki. It is mind boggling to know that numerous and unheard of interpretation of the text exists pertaining to different historical periods and political scenarios (essay on EVR's exploits in South India is particularly interesting).

[Krishna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book; offers a different perspective on the Ramayana.

I did not know that there were so many differences between different Ramayanas. This book also explains how different local circumstances led to different "tellings".

Better, this book is available for free from UC Berkeley web site.

[Claire S]

Sounds fascinating, from a discussion on Sepia Mutiny about variety is Dussehra rituals, and what the struggle between Rama and Ravana signifies.

[Warren Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richman's compilation is a nice set of lenses to place over the great epic.

[Joan Roughgarden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting survey of various renditions of the Ramayana and their social and political contexts.

[Santosh Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Read with great info. The chapter on Thailand part was bit boring but otherwise a good read.

[Aditya Raghav · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting essays to appreciate diversity in Ramayana traditions