Valmiki - Rama the Steadfast

The translators wish to thank various friends and colleagues for support and advice, in particular James L. Fitzgerald and the late Alison Smith. John Brockington also gratefully acknowledges the award of a Leverhulme Research Fellowship which greatly assisted work on this translation.

(Readers are warned that elements of the plot are discussed in this Introduction; for necessary background information see the Note to the Reader.)

Rma, the hero who became God

Ever since about the twelfth century AD the warrior-prince Rma has been widely recognized and revered in India as God. This understanding did not result from a single, sudden, historical revelation like the birth of Christ or Mohammed; it developed over many centuries, and it will continue to develop. As faith in Rmas divinity has grown, devotees have turned for spiritual insight and revelation to the tale of his earthly heroism, the tale of Rma the steadfast mortal hero, of his selfless preservation of his fathers integrity, of his quest for his lost wife and his triumphant battle to rescue her.

This tale had by then already been being told, heard and retold for many centuries in a long Sanskrit narrative poem known as the Rmyaa belonging to that diverse category of early literature collectively labelled anonymous. Indian tradition and most Western scholars are united in believing that it was originally composed orally, and transmitted for several centuries by oral recitation, but opinion is divided about the date of composition: Indian tradition would place it several millennia ago, while scholars have proposed various later periods. Based on the language, style and content of the work, we suggest a date of roughly the fifth century BC . The Mahbhrata, an even longer Sanskrit narrative poem, probably originated at much the same time. It is the earliest levels of the story that have been translated in this book, that is to say, those passages which can be identified as the work of the original author as augmented by his immediate successors; these passages, detailed in the Note on the Text Translated, which have been identified by careful evaluation of the linguistic evidence, together represent the first stage of development of the tale.

Scholars are in the habit of referring to the Rmyaa and the Mahbhrata alike as epics, but their origins are cast in very different genres, and in the case of the Rmyaa the term epic can justifiably be applied only to its later, developed form; the story lying at its heart would in Western literary terms best be classified as a heroic romance, for it is the personal story of the Prince, a lone figure, supported in his adventures only by a younger brother who functions merely as his squire or confidant, and the outcome affects only himself and the individuals he encounters: no wider or national interests are involved. It is the struggle for integrity and happiness of one man, not a war of conquest. Victory for Rma twice involves transfer of sovereignty merely between bad and good members of the same family, and while defeat for him would be a private grief for those close to him, the destiny of his subjects would be unaffected. In the Mahbhrata the situation is quite different: that text chronicles a bitter struggle for sovereignty between two groups of cousins, with the fate of several kingdoms depending on the outcome, and explores the issue of how far it is permissible for the heroes to compromise their integrity in pursuit of their legitimate claim and still remain fit to rule. Indian tradition too distinguishes between the two works, designating the