The Ramayana of Valmiki, Vol.4: Kiskindhakanda: An Epic of Ancient India

This is the fourth volume of a translation of India’s most beloved and influential epic tale—the Ramayana of Valmiki. As befits its position at the center of the work, Volume IV presents the hero Rama at the turning point of his fortunes. Having previously lost first his kingship and then his wife, he now forms an alliance with the monkey prince, Sugriva. Rama needs the monkeys to help him find his abducted wife, Sita, and indeed, by the end of this book, they have at least discovered where her abductor has taken her. But first Rama must agree to secure for his new ally the throne of the monkey kingdom by eliminating the reigning king, who is none other than Sugriva’s detested elder brother, Valin. The tragic rivalry between the two monkey brothers is in sharp contrast to Rama’s affectionate relationship with his own brothers and formsa self-contained episode within the larger story of Rama’s adventures.

This volume continues the translation of the critical edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, a version considerably reduced from the vulgate on which all previous translations were based. It is accompanied by extensive notes on the original Sanskrit text and on several untranslated early Sanskrit commentaries.

Contents and Sample Pages

ROSALIND LEFEBER is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at McMaster University. RoseRT P.GOLDMAN is Professor of Sanskrit at the University of California, Berkeley.

Contents and Sample Pages

IN A SENSE, the history of this volume began many years ago. My early teacher, Daniel H. H. Ingalls, often rewarded his students for classwork efficiently completed by reading aloud his own fine translations from the Mahabharata. They differed so dramatically from what was available in print that all of us who heard them understood the need for modern translations of the great Sanskrit texts. So when the present Ramayana project began, I was happy to accept Jeffrey Mousaieff Masson’s invitation to collaborate in translating the fourth book. Though he withdrew from the project while the work was still in its raw beginnings, it is entirely due to his encouragement that I decided to continue on my own when Robert P. Goldman asked me to do so.

Along the way, an early draft was submitted at the University of Toronto as a doctoral dissertation, prepared in part with the help of a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. When my thesis supervisor, Bimal K. Matilal, left for Oxford, R. Morton Smith kindly agreed to take his place, even though the time and circumstances were most inconvenient for him. For that and for his continuing interest in my progress since then, Iam deeply grateful.

During all the years this work has been in preparation, many others have been kind enough to offer comments and criticisms. Though any remaining mistakes are my responsibility, I want to thank the triends and colleagues who have read preliminary drafts or offered specific suggestions, most particularly Radhika Herzberger of the Kishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh, and Stella Sandahl of the University of Toronto.

I am indebted to Robert P. Goldman for many of his editorial sug- gestions, and to his indefatigable assistant, Sally J. Sutherland. Other members and associates of the project, including P. S. Jaini, Leonard Nathan, Sheldon Pollock, and Barend van Nooten, were especially supportive at the outset.

Above all, I must express my gratitude to Phyllis Granoff of McMaster University, upon whose erudition and generous help I have so often relied.

Finally, I thank my husband, Louis Lefeber, who took the trouble tv read and reflect on everything I wrote and gave me his invaluable advice and unfailing support. Thanks should also be given to Kristi Wiley of the University of California at Berkeley, research assistant to the Translation Project, whose dedicated labors over countless hours helped make this publication possible.

Contents and Sample Pages