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Ramayana: Ayodhya Book 2 (Clay Sanskrit Library)
Ramayana Ayodhya Book 2 - Clay Sanskrit Library Author:Valmiki, Sheldon I. Pollock The Clay Sanskrit Library will consist of 100 major works of classical literature. Each book in the Clay Sanskrit Library is published in the original Sanskrit, in Roman script, on the left-hand page, and in English translation on the right. Twenty-seven leading scholars from eight countries are cooperating to produce fresh new translations tha... more »t combine readability and accuracy. The projected list of Clay Sanskrit Library volumes will include all books of the two Indian epics: the Ramáyana and the Mahabhárata, as well as a rich selection of classical Indian literature (Kavya). Each book will be published in a jacketed hardcover edition, in a compact 4.5" x 6.5" format, designed to bring the great literature of India to the general public, scholars, and students. Richard F. Gombrich is the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at Oxford University and the author of On Being Sanskritic and The Perfect Generosity of Prince Vessantara. Ramáyana Book Two, Ayódhya, by Valmíki Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock "Ayódhya" is Book Two of Valmíkis national Indian epic, The Ramáyana. The young hero Rama sets out willingly from the capital with wife and brother for a fourteen-year banishment, which will entail great suffering and further difficult choices in the books ahead. Of the seven books of this great Sanskrit epic, "Ayódhya" is the most human, and it remains one of the best introductions to the social and political values of traditional India. The king decides to abdicate in favor of Rama; but just as the celebrations reach their climax, a court intrigue forces Rama and Sita into fourteen years banishment; they dutifully accept their fate, and go off to the jungle. The other brothers refuse to benefit from his misfortune, which leaves nobody to run the city; eventually one of them is persuaded to act as regent, but only consents to do so on condition that he lives outside the city and acts in Ramas name.« less