Giradhara Ramayana
Composed in Gujarati by Giradhara, the Great Son of
the Soil in the Eighteenth & Nineteenth Centuries A.D.
Translated into English by Shanti Lal Nagar & Tripta Nagar
October 2003
Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers
ISBN: 81-215-1030-9
516 pages, 6 1/2" x 9 1/2"
$49.50 Hardcover
The Ramayana or the story of Rama, has been dominating the Indian religious scene from the time immemorial. Before composition of the work of poetic excellence by the sage Valmiki, who is considered to be the pioneer of the same, the story was available in fragments in different parts of the country. Though the sage Valmiki was inspired by the sage Narada for composing the Ramayana but Valmiki had to collect several fragments of the story from various regions of the country. Once the story was composed in poetic form, there was a great boost in the popularity of the theme and soon there arose the urge with the people to listen or to recite the Ramayanas in the languages they spoke. As a result of this, several Ramayana in the regional languages were brought out from time to time in the past particularly in the medieval period. The Giradhara Ramayana in Gujarati comes under such types of works, which was composed by Giradhara, a great son of soil, in Gujarati language. The most astonishing aspect of this work has been that it provides occasionally the study of the selected events as discussed in other works, which highlights its unique nature. The English version of the text now produced, will surely interest the readers in country and abroad.
Literature
Ramayana in Regional Languages Series, Vol. 3Return to Coronet Books main page