Paula Richman, editor
Many Ramayanas
The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia
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280 pages,
August 1991, Available worldwide
Categories: Religion; Hinduism; Cultural Anthropology; South Asia
August 1991, Available worldwide
Categories: Religion; Hinduism; Cultural Anthropology; South Asia
Free online edition (eScholarship)--available only to University of California faculty, staff, and students (List of public titles)
"An engaging introduction to the 'Rama tradition.'"—Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"A rich collection of Ramayana scholarship in which the varieties of Ramayana analysed are matched by the variety of interpretative approaches from the several contributors."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies
"A rich collection of Ramayana scholarship in which the varieties of Ramayana analysed are matched by the variety of interpretative approaches from the several contributors."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies
Throughout Indian history, many authors and performers have produced, and many patrons have supported, diverse tellings of the story of the exiled prince Rama, who rescues his abducted wife by battling the demon king who has imprisoned her. The contributors to this volume focus on these "many" Ramayanas.
While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society—Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh—have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists—all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.
While most scholars continue to rely on Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana as the authoritative version of the tale, the contributors to this volume do not. Their essays demonstrate the multivocal nature of the Ramayana by highlighting its variations according to historical period, political context, regional literary tradition, religious affiliation, intended audience, and genre. Socially marginal groups in Indian society—Telugu women, for example, or Untouchables from Madhya Pradesh—have recast the Rama story to reflect their own views of the world, while in other hands the epic has become the basis for teachings about spiritual liberation or the demand for political separatism. Historians of religion, scholars of South Asia, folklorists, cultural anthropologists—all will find here refreshing perspectives on this tale.
Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition, by Paula Richman, editor
Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, edited by Sheldon Pollock
The Two-Headed Deer: Illustrations of the Ramayana in Orissa, by Joanna Williams
Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia, edited by Sheldon Pollock
The Two-Headed Deer: Illustrations of the Ramayana in Orissa, by Joanna Williams