The Ramáyana epic centers around Rama, the crown prince of the city of Ayódhya, providing a profound meditation on the paradox of the hero as both human and divine. After rescuing a sage from persecution by demons. Rama attends a tournament in the neighboring city of Míthila where he wins the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of Míthila. But a court intrigue involving one of the king’s junior wives and a maidservant forces Rama into a fourteen-year banishment to the jungle with his wife, Sita, and his loyal brother Lákshmana. When Sita is abducted by the demon king Rávana, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkíndha to seek help in finding her. It is there that he meets Hánuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. In exchange for the assistance of the monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugríva win the monkey throne over his brother, Valin. In the final book of the set, Hánuman leaps across the ocean to the island citadel of Lanka, where he scours the city for the abducted Princess Sita. But when Hánuman reveals himself to the princess and offers to carry her back to Rama, she nevertheless insists that Rama must come himself to avenge the abduction.

Included in this set:

Ramáyana Book I: Boyhood

By Valmíki. Translated by Robert Goldman.

424 pages / 978-0-8147-3163-5

Ramáyana Book II: Ayódhya

By Valmíki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock.

652 pages / 978-0-8147-6716-0

Ramáyana Book III: The Forest

By Valmíki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock.

436 pages / 978-0-8147-6722-1

Ramáyana Book IV: Kishkíndha

By Valmíki. Translated by Rosalind Lefeber.

415 pages / 978-0-8147-5207-4

Ramáyana Book V: Súndara

By Valmíki. Translated by Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland Goldman.

538 pages / 978-0-8147-3178-9