The Clay Sanskrit Library: Ramayana

The Ram¿na epic centers around Rama, the crown prince of the city of Ay¿dhya, 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 M¿ila where he wins the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of M¿ila. 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 L¿hmana. When Sita is abducted by the demon king R¿na, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishk¿ha to seek help in finding her. It is there that he meets H¿man, 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 Sugr¿ win the monkey throne over his brother, Valin. In the final book of the set, H¿man leaps across the ocean to the island citadel of Lanka, where he scours the cit