Ramayanam as told by Valmiki and Kamban

by K.S. Srinivasan

Prologue The story of Rama has been told many times, in many languages, ever since Valmiki's account of it shaped itself about two thousand years ago. The reader would, therefore expect to find a manifest justification for one more book, beyond that of the author's subjective satisfaction in handling the great story. What this book offers is a comparative study of Ramayanam as told by the adikavi, Valmiki, and as rendered by Kamban, the first poet to re-tell the epic in a regional language, viz., Tamil. Kamban came nearly ten centuries after his language, Tamil, endowed him with an inheritance that was rich and felicitous, yet distinct from Sanskrit. Thus, commonality as well as individuality can be discerned in every page, as the; two poets are held side by side. While Valmiki is the source and inspiration for Kamban, the difference in the cultural milieu that influenced the two poets is reflected in the many little points of linguistic and literary excellence that enrich the narrative, in either language. However, what has been a desideratum is a comparative view of the two classics; although translations in English are available of Valmiki in full and of Kamban in parts, a critical appreciation of the two is something which the earnest reader does not have. This work has its genesis in the belief that a binocular view of Valmiki and Kamban can open up unseen vistas of literary gratification belief which I had occasion to test in my book Kavya Ramayanam' that came out in Tamil. The response which that book has evoked has been such as to reiterate the importance of bilingual studies. The growing interest in Ramayana studies in the countries of S.E. Asia also warrants the assumption that a study of this kind can stimulate further interest in the literary aspect of the two classics in Sanskrit and Tamil.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Pawithra Ponnuthurai · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good story