The Ramayana epic centers around Rama, the crown prince of the city of Ayodhya, providing a profound meditation on the paradox of the hero as both human and divine. After rescuing a sage from persecution by demons. Rama attends a tournament in the neighboring city of Mithila where he wins the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of Mithila. But a court intrigue involving one of the king's junior wives and a maidservant forces Rama into a fourteen-year banishment to the jungle with his wife, Sita, and his loyal brother Lakshmana. When Sita is abducted by the demon king Ravana, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkindha to seek help in finding her. It is there that he meets Hanuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. In exchange for the assistance of the monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugriva win the monkey throne over his brother, Valin. In the final book of the set, Hanuman leaps across the ocean to the island citadel of Lanka, where he scours the city for the abducted Princess Sita. But when Hanuman reveals himself to the princess and offers to carry her back to Rama, she nevertheless insists that Rama must come himself to avenge the abduction.

Included in this set:

Ramayana Book I: Boyhood

By Valmiki. Translated by Robert Goldman.

424 pages / 978-0-8147-3163-5

Ramayana Book II: Ayodhya

By Valmiki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock.

652 pages / 978-0-8147-6716-0

Ramayana Book III: The Forest

By Valmiki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock.

436 pages / 978-0-8147-6722-1

Ramayana Book IV: Kishkindha

By Valmiki. Translated by Rosalind Lefeber.

415 pages / 978-0-8147-5207-4

Ramayana Book V: Sundara

By Valmiki. Translated by Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland Goldman.

538 pages / 978-0-8147-3178-9