Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t7.3

v2.c10.s3.t7.3

“Biography of Rama”. Rama is a legendary sageking and has been gradually deified. Ramayana belongs to the genre of *itihāasa* (a narrative of past events). It is written in verses and “sloka” meters, each stanza has two lines, and each line has 16 syllables. Originally it was recited orally, and was written down only from about 3^rd or 4^th century BCE to 2^nd century CE. Its creation is attributed to Valmiki. Given its combination of old and new contents, Valmiki might be the last who had compiled the whole epic. It can be divided into seven books, and has a variety of manuscripts and numerous publications. A modern version has been reduced from nearly 24,000 to 18,700 “slokas”, was published in a series from 1960 to 1975, and was well received in the Indian and international academic circles.