RAMAYANA

Ramayana is a great epic. A must read for all who want to gain insight into what is Indian culture, ethics, dharma and spiritual life. An inspiring and captivating story based on the life of Lord Rama and his divine consort Sita.

Livro maravilhoso que encanta com histórias de um tempo remoto onde os bons valores eram seguidos religiosamente. Uma leitura deliciosa que pude fazer demoradamente, aproveitando cada capítulo.

Ramayan is a very important epic for every human to read. Not only is the story full of virtue, excitement, action, and every emotion, it is also true. One will not lose a moment of their valuable life by reading this book. This particular translation was introduced to me as a teen and I simply devoured it. I could immediately leave modern day earth after the first paragraph and be gone for hours in this wonderful realm with Ram, Lakshman, Sita, and Hanuman. So, now years later, I ordered it for my Third Grade read aloud. It's still appreciated, but I'm finding it needs to be heavily edited for this purpose. It is too verbose for the age group I'm reading with. Very flowery and repetitive. The dialogues go on forever. Fine if you are an adult who appreciates beauty, but terrible if your audience has limited attention span or you are on a strict time limit. I'd like to find a translation with all the beauty, only more skinny.

Not particularly well-bound or beautiful, but this translation is the best one out there if you want a readable, literate (as opposed to literal) version that isn't overly condensed and doesn't take too many liberties with the story line.