A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1481

c5.1481

RĀMĀYANA. ‘The Adventures of Rāma.’ The oldest of the Sanskrit epic poems, written by the sage Vālmīki. It is supposed to have been composed about five centuries B.C., and to have received its present form a century or two later. The MSS. of the Rāmāyana vary greatly. There are two well-known distinct recensions, the Northern and the Bengal. The Northern is the older and the purer; the additions and alterations in that of Bengal are so numerous that it is not trustworthy, and has even been called “spurious.” Later researches have shown that the variations in MSS. found in different parts of India are so diverse that the versions can hardly be classed in a certain number of different recensions. Unfortunately the inferior edition is the one best known to Europeans. Carey and Marshman translated two books of it, and Signor Gorresio has given an Italian translation of the whole. Schlegel published a Latin translation of the first book of the Northern recension. The full texts of both these recensions have been printed, and Mr. Wheeler has given an epitome of the whole work after the Bengal recension. There is also a poetical version by Griffiths.