Rediscovering Valmiki Ramayana

Although we acknowledge the impermanence of life at an intellectual level, a death, be it sudden or slow, is startling at an emotional level.

- RENUKA NARAYANAN

For a while, we are shaken by shamshangyan, the realization of death's physical finality.

Then, the rhythm of daily life reclaims us. As to which, an extraordinary death has stayed with us from the time Valmiki first told us of it in his Ramayana: the death of Jatayu. But first, a few points about the epics that may be of interest.

One, if you'd like to read a really close translation of Valmiki's Ramayana in English, please see the historical one by Kamala Subramaniam. Read it slowly, one or two pages a day. Savour the flavour, read between the lines and make your discoveries. One minor discovery was that the best-selling book title Scion of Ikshvaku comes from her long-ago English rendition of Valmiki.

Her translations of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Srimad Bhagavatam may feel like they weigh half a ton each, but I like to have them nearby because you never know when you're going to need to read a few pages, like a spa treatment for the mind.

Kamala Subramaniam's English translation of Valmiki's Ramayana came out in 1981, commissioned by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. It is an abridged edition of the 24,000 verses that constitute the original, but it is a hefty 695 pages nonetheless. We need commitment to read it in today's world, especially the longer descriptions and dialogues. But reading it can be a rewarding journey into the natural beauty of old India and the emotional landscape of the heart, including its dark corners.