The epic changes with time

The story of Ramayana has been subject to changes by authors, yet the beauty, rhythm and precision of Valmiki’s Ramayana are unmatched

The main story of Ramayana as told by Valmiki has remained the same down the ages in all the versions. In terms of the details, however, there have been many changes in the translations and oral traditions. For instance, the popular impression is that Sage Gautama cursed Ahalya to turn into a stone and remain so until Rama touched it.

Valmiki’s Ramayana depicts that Ahalya was cursed to be invisible. She could see everyone but none could see her. Clearly, that was a more fitting punishment for one who was vain of her beauty. Another difference is that Ravana abducted Sita after she crossed the Lakshmana rekha. Valmiki’s rendering of the epic has no such line.

Yet another variation is that Vibhishana asked Rama to kill Ravana by striking at the pot of nectar in Ravana’s belly. In Valmiki’s Ramayana, Rama kills Ravana by deploying the unerring Brahmastra. Beside such differences which are many, the beauty, rhythm, precision and logic in Valmiki’s Ramayana are unmatched and unsurpassed.

The above are some of the instances in the book entitled ‘Valmiki Ramayana’ by K Chandrahas, published by Pegasus India Publishers. The book captures the essence of Valmiki’s Ramayana in simple English. The book is well designed. The cover pages by Srinivas Bobbili are attractive and eye-catching. The illustrations by Sri Bapu, especially the small line drawings are precious.

They are evocative of the story. In fact, no other artist could have captured the mood and the emotions of the narrative so vividly and as beautifully as Bapu did. The book excludes explicit references to Rama as god, and that makes the book more relevant and appealing. After reading the book, the young reader may even ask why Ramyana is labelled as a religious text.

Indeed, in essence, Ramayana is a story of values and relationships and it is full of incidents that commonly occur in joint families. The book portrays the conflicts aptly and espouses the values ably. The writer’s attempt to render such a great epic in a readable form in so few pages omitting nothing of importance in an attractive format is commendable.

The beauty of the book is that even at a leisurely pace it can be read under two hours. The author states in his foreword that the book is meant for young readers and beginners. This reviewer is familiar with the story having read Ramayana before in translation into English by the likes of Rajaji and RK Narayan, to name a few. Yet, he found to his utter delight that this little book made a refreshing reading.