![]() In his famous essay, Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation, A K Ramanujan talks about hundreds of versions of the epic which exist in folk, poetic and dramatic traditions. While some versions challenged Brahmanical authority, most were the result of adapting a universal heroic figure to fit their social-cultural context. These versions were not created to be sacrilegious. However, different social needs call for different kinds of heroes and the Ramayana has been adapted in varied ways through centuries. It is the story of familiar moral stereotypes, that is deeply entrenched in mainstream society. It is the story of a virtuous Sita being abducted by the evil Ravana, and her valiant husband Ram rescuing her with the help of his devoted brother Lakshmana and the monkey army after an epic battle. Ramanand Sagar's televised version, which was adapted from Tulsidas's Ramacharitamanas is the one we are most familiar with. Nor is it the Amar Chitra Katha version we read, or the one we watched on television in the 1980s. India's famous epic is not necessarily the one Valmiki composed. This is merely letting you know that in a society just a little different from yours, the Ramayana exists differently. ![]()
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