Rama the Steadfast: An Early Form of the Ramayana (Penguin Classics)

Warrior-prince Rama is about to be crowned Young King, when he hears the devastating news that his father, King of Ayodhya, has been tricked into banishing him to the forest. His devoted wife Sita insists on accompanying him in exile, but the evil ten-headed lord Ravana has fallen deeply in love with the beautiful princess and steals her away. Aided by Hanuman, mighty captain of the monkeys, Rama sets out across the world to find her and destroy Ravana in a deadly battle. Rama the Steadfast was composed in the oral tradition in about the fifth century BC and has been retold over the generations ever since. With its fantastical characters ranging from monsters to apes, a very human hero and its profound moral purpose, it is one of the greatest of all Indian tales. One of India's great epics in a powerful new translation The Ramayana (along with the Mahabharata ) is to India what the epics of Homer and the stories of the Bible are to Western culture: works that cast a spell over an entire civilization. It is also one of the most entertaining of the great works of world literature. Populated with a cast of superhuman characters and imbued with a profound sense of moral purpose, the magical tale of the young prince Rama's adventures as he seeks to find his abducted wife, Sita, has been central to Indian cultural life for centuries—told to children as bedtime stories and studied by philosophers and theologians. This version returns to the core story in its earliest written form, revealing a taut, vibrant, skillfully constructed heroic romance. Composed in the oral tradition in about the fifth century BC, this story, about the warrior-prince Rama, has been retold over the generations ever since. With its fantastical characters ranging from monsters to apes, a very human hero and its profound moral purpose, it is one of the greatest of all Indian tales