Ramáyana III: The Forest

The Valmiki Ramayana #3

by Vālmīki, Sheldon I. Pollock (Translator)

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

Genres: Poetry, Philosophy, Religion

522 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 501

About the author

Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself.He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e. first verse, which set the base and defined the form to Sanskrit poetry. The Yoga Vasistha is attributed to him. A religious movement called Valmikism is based on Valmiki's teachings as presented in the Ramayana and the Yoga Vasistha.
At least by the 1st century AD, Valmiki's reputation as the father of Sanskrit classical poetry seems to have been legendary. Ashvagosha writes in the Buddhacarita,
"The voice of Valmiki uttered poetry which the great seer Chyavana could not compose."
This particular verse has been speculated to indicate a familial relationship between Valmiki and Chyavana, as implied by the previous and subsequent verses.

Reviews

[فؤاد · Rating 3 out of 5]

به روز جنگ، چون "راوانا"ی عفریت پوشیده در سلاح پا به میدان گذاشت، لشکریان انسان‌ها و میمون‌ها بر او هجوم آوردند و از هر سو هزاران تیر و نیزه به سمت قلبش پرتاب کردند، اما راوانای عفریت بی آن که خم به ابرو بیاورد، ‍پیش می‌آمد و گروه گروه انسان‌ها و میمون‌ها را می‌بلعید و می‌کشت. همه از رویین‌تنی او حیران شده بودند.

تا آن که حکیمی فاش کرد: در قلب راوانا، "سیتا" جای گرفته است، و هر جا که سیتا باشد، همچون معبدی مقدّس نفوذ ناپذیر می‌گردد و به خاطر همین، تیر و نیزه در آن راه ندارد. برای کشتن او، باید کاری کنید که اضطراب در قلبش بیفتد و از یاد سیتا غافل شود. هر لحظه از یاد سیتا غافل شد، همان لحظه به قلبش تیر و نیزه ببارید.

[Avinash K · Rating 1 out of 5]

As good as the first two volumes of the translation were, this one is a poor translation. Omits too many Cantos, saying it's similar and so one. This is the reason why this volume is so small.
Honestly, the translator should have quit while he was ahead.

[Reece · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Aranya Kanda provided lovely portrayals of ideas on dharma and overall good conduct. It showed a version of the brothers at their most mortal, which still looks pretty immortal relative to me (seriously, but to stop being facetious, this is an epic and I’m aware haha), but we see Rama at his most vulnerable. Even the humanized form of Vishnu must receive counsel from those closest to him when calamity strikes. We see how even the invincible require the attentiveness and knowledge of their loved ones, whether that be in the ways in which one grieves over their significant other being abducted by a 10-headed demon, or in the form of having that strong next of kin who can remind us of our value, and of our strengths. We see the importance of acting in conduct with our role, and not with our emotions. We are also privy to the fact that friendship, common ground itself, is all the better. This is a beautiful third chapter of the Ramayana epic, and is provocative of many inquiries. And surely, there are many more to come.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far the best of the first three volumes of this long epic. It lacks a lot of the depth of emotion as the second volume and marked a return to the action of the first, which was mostly lacking in Ayodhya. Not so repetitive as volume two and easier to follow than volume one. Thus, the first to deserve the five star rating.

[JD Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of THE great epic works of India, read, recited, and remembered by millions.

[Aaron Schuschu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a little bit a few weeks ago, then the past few days I flew through it. Ravan abducts Sita, Lakshman tells Rama, Rama doesn’t want anything to do with Lakshman anymore, Rama loses his shit. Meanwhile Bali dies somehow- actually killed by Rama for being a tyrant- and is replaced by Surgiva because Angand is still a boy, at which point Rama and Surgiva get together a monkey army and that’s where Hanuman becomes the hero of the story- jumps across the ocean and finds Sita at which point Ravan’s giants attack them. Five cantos were omitted for the mere fact they were repetitive.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, this is the weakest book in the Ramayana... it starts off well, with Sita's abduction, but Rama's 4-month weeping through the rainy season (waiting with his new talking ape allies till the monsoons are done) strikes me as out-of-character. I know this is an ancient epic, but there is a problem with logic here as well... if Ravana has conquered heaven, hell and now earth, wouldn't everybody know where his kingdom was? What was the narrative need for the search? Hanuman's leap at the end rescues the floundering middle section. More Hanuman, please!