(Box Set) The Valmiki Ramayana

Bibek Debroy’s translation and presentation of the Valmiki Ramayana aims to make the oldest Sanskrit version of the epic accessible to contemporary readers while retaining narrative detail and the epic’s moral weight. Unlike modern retellings that shorten or adapt episodes for children, Debroy’s edition preserves the sequence of the seven k???as (books) and offers a clear, literal-leaning English prose that keeps the story’s formal cadence. Readers follow Prince Rama from his youth and marriage to Sita through exile, the abduction by Ravana, the alliance with Hanuman and Sugriva, the epic war and the eventual return to Ayodhya. Debroy’s notes and editorial apparatus contextualize names, geography and cultural terms, helping non-specialist readers understand ritual references and historical layers. This edition is valued by readers who want a full-length, carefully edited English text of Valmiki’s Ramayana for study or pleasure reading rather than a heavily abridged children’s retelling. [Source: publisher/retailer listings]