Ramayana - Hardcover

Buck, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520043944 ISBN 13: 9780520043947

Publisher: Univ of California/, 1981

Synopsis

Few works in world literature have inspired so vast an audience, in nations with radically different languages and cultures, as the "Ramayana and "Mahabharata, two Sanskrit verse epics written some 2,000 years ago.

In "Ramayana (written by a poet known to us as Valmiki), William Buck has retold the story of Prince Rama--with all its nobility of spirit, courtly intrigue, heroic renunciation, fierce battles, and triumph of good over evil--in a length and manner that will make the great Indian epics accessible to the contemporary reader.

The same is true for the "Mahabharata--in its original Sanskrit, probably the longest Indian epic ever composed. It is the story of a dynastic struggle, between the Kurus and Pandavas, for land. In his introduction, Sanskritist B. A. van Nooten notes, "Apart from William Buck's rendition [no other English version has] been able to capture the blend of religion and martial spirit that pervades the original epic."

Presented accessibly for the general reader without compromising the spirit and lyricism of the originals, William Buck's "Ramayana and "Mahabharata capture the essence of the Indian cultural heritage.

About this title

About the Author:

William Buck died in 1970 at the age of 37 after more than 15 years of work on the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the unfinished Harivamsa. Of the two finished books, he wrote, "My method in writing both Mahabharata and Ramayana was to begin with a literal translation from which to extract the story, and then to tell that story in an interesting way that would preserve the spirit and flavor of the original."

Review:

A fascinating story of courtly intrigue, fierce battles, and sacrifice on a heroic scale . . . An incomparable Indian epic. -- Virginia Quarterly Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ of California/
• Publication date: 1981
• ISBN 10: 0520043944
• ISBN 13: 9780520043947
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 418