"Goldman has chosen a translation style that is simple, direct, and very close to the text, without being prosaic. He has avoided the twin pitfalls of preciousness and pedantry. The Ramayana, as he reminds us, is a poem in a sense we have almost lost touch with: intended to be heard, easily understood, chanted in a loose and repetitive meter that permits the lapidary phrase."--Edwin Gerow, Journal of Asian Studies

• List of Abbreviations ix Preface xiii Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation xix PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 General Introduction 3 2 History and Historicity 14 3 Introduction to the Balakanda 60 4 The Ramayana Text and the Critical Edition by Sheldon I. Pollock 82 5 Translating the Ramayana by Leonard E. Nathan 94 6 The Translation and Annotation 96 PART II BALAKANDA 119 Glossary of Important Proper Nouns and Epithets 271 Bibliography of Works Consulted 277 Index 291

"Goldman has chosen a translation style that is simple, direct, and very close to the text, without being prosaic. He has avoided the twin pitfalls of preciousness and pedantry. The Ramayana, as he reminds us, is a poem in a sense we have almost lost touch with: intended to be heard, easily understood, chanted in a loose and repetitive meter that permits the lapidary phrase."--Edwin Gerow, Journal of Asian Studies

• List of Abbreviations ix Preface xiii Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation xix PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 General Introduction 3 2 History and Historicity 14 3 Introduction to the Balakanda 60 4 The Ramayana Text and the Critical Edition by Sheldon I. Pollock 82 5 Translating the Ramayana by Leonard E. Nathan 94 6 The Translation and Annotation 96 PART II BALAKANDA 119 Glossary of Important Proper Nouns and Epithets 271 Bibliography of Works Consulted 277 Index 291

"Goldman has chosen a translation style that is simple, direct, and very close to the text, without being prosaic. He has avoided the twin pitfalls of preciousness and pedantry. The Ramayana, as he reminds us, is a poem in a sense we have almost lost touch with: intended to be heard, easily understood, chanted in a loose and repetitive meter that permits the lapidary phrase."--Edwin Gerow, Journal of Asian Studies

• List of Abbreviations ix Preface xiii Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation xix PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 General Introduction 3 2 History and Historicity 14 3 Introduction to the Balakanda 60 4 The Ramayana Text and the Critical Edition by Sheldon I. Pollock 82 5 Translating the Ramayana by Leonard E. Nathan 94 6 The Translation and Annotation 96 PART II BALAKANDA 119 Glossary of Important Proper Nouns and Epithets 271 Bibliography of Works Consulted 277 Index 291