Includes bibliographical references and index

Three hundred Rāmāyaṇas : five examples and three thoughts on translation -- Rāmāyaṇas, Rāma Jātaka, and Ramakien : a comparative study of Hindu and Buddhist traditions -- Mutilation of Śūrpaṇakhā -- Fire and flood : the testing of Sītā in Kampaṉ's Irāmāvatāram -- Rāmāyaṇa of their own : women's oral tradition in Telugu -- Raja's new clothes : redressing Rāvaṇa in Meghanādavadha Kāvya -- Creating conversations : the Rāma story as puppet play in Kerala -- E.V. Ramasami's reading of the Rāmāyaṇa -- Rāmāyaṇa exegesis in Teṉkalai Śrīvaiṣṇavism -- Secret life of Rāmcandra of Ayodhya -- Personalizing the Rāmāyaṇ : Rāmnāmīs and their use of the Rāmcaritmānas

Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Rāmāyaṇas. While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Rāmāyaṇa as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Rāmāyaṇa by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society--Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh--have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists--all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale

A digital reproduction is available from E-Editions, a collaboration of the University of California Press and the California Digital Library's eScholarship program