Valmiki - The Ramayana of Valmiki : The Complete English Translation

THE RMYAA OF VLMKI

THE RMYAA OF VLMKI

The Complete English Translation

Translated by Robert P. Goldman, Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, Rosalind Lefeber, Sheldon I. Pollock, and Barend A. van Nooten

Revised and Edited by Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman

PRINCETON LIBRARY OF ASIAN TRANSLATIONS

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

PRINCETON AND OXFORD

Copyright 2021 by Princeton University Press

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Names: Vlmki. | Goldman, Robert P., 1942 translator. | Sutherland Goldman, Sally J., translator. | Lefeber, Rosalind, translator. | Pollock, Sheldon I., translator. | Nooten, Barend A. van, 1932 translator.

Title: The Rmyaa of Vlmki : the complete translation / translated by Robert P. Goldman, Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, Rosalind Lefeber, Sheldon I. Pollock, and Barend A. van Nooten ; revised and edited by Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman.

Other titles: Rmyaa. English

Description: 1st. | Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2021. | Series: Princeton library of Asian translations | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021009370 (print) | LCCN 2021009371 (ebook) | ISBN 9780691206868 (paperback) | ISBN 9780691225029 (ebook)

Classification: LCC BL1139.22 .E54 2021 (print) | LCC BL1139.22 (ebook) | DDC 294.5/92204521dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009370

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009371

Version 1.0

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

Editorial: Anne Savarese and James Collier

Production Editorial: Sara Lerner

Text Design: Carmina Alvarez

Cover Design: Layla MacRory

Production: Erin Suydam

Publicity: Kate Hensley and Amy Stewart

Copyeditor: Cynthia Buck

Cover images: British Library / GRANGER

For all of thosecolleagues, students, family, and friends without whose support and assistance the massive Rmyaa translation project could not have been completed

yvat sthsyanti giraya sarita ca mahtale /

tvad rmyaakath lokeu pracariyati //

The Vlmki Rmyaa: Critical Edition, 19601975, 1.2.35

As long as the mountains and rivers shall endure upon the earth,

So long will the tale of the Rmyaa be told among the people.

1. xi
2. xiii

The current volume, edited and revised by the general and associate editors of the original translation project, represents the complete text of the original Princeton University Press seven-volume translation of the Oriental Institute of Baroda critical edition of the Rmyaa of Vlmki. That translation, accompanied by extensive introductions and a dense scholarly annotation, was published serially as the flagship work in the Princeton Library of Asian Translations from 1984 to 2017.

The present volume, which includes a new general introduction and eliminates the originals extensive annotation, is intended for two audiences: the general reading public, who may be interested in gaining access to a little-known masterpiece of Asian literature, and high school and collegiate students and faculty. As discussed in detail in the introduction, the original translation, directed more toward an audience of academic specialists, has been considerably revised by Professors Goldman and Sutherland Goldman with a view toward making it more accessible to these two audiences.

Over the decades during which the original translation took form and during the period of the creation of the present one, the editors and translators incurred an immense debt of gratitude to many scholars in India and at Berkeley for their assistance. Space prevents us from naming them here, but they have been deeply thanked in the original volumes. Let us simply express our undying gratitude to Sanskrit scholar Dr. Kristi Wiley, who, through both avatras of the translation, has been unstinting in her help and unequaled in her eagle eye and good sense of the original text, without which neither form would have been possible. We would also like to express our profound thanks to Ms. Janet Um for lending her knowledge of Sanskrit to and her meticulous proofreading of the final versions of the volume.

All references are to The Vlmki Rmyaa: Critical Edition, 19601975.

To better appreciate the Rmyaa, it will be helpful for readers to have a sense of the pronunciation and prosody of the many unfamiliar Sanskrit names and terms they will find in the translation. Fortunately, although it may seem daunting at first, the pronunciation of Sanskrit is really not very difficult for English speakers. A few guidelines will serve to clarify the basic pronunciation of the sounds. English examples are based on hypothetical dictionary pronunciation.

Vowels

Consonants