The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India, vol 5, Sundarakanda.

• Author: Lariviere, Richard W.
• Position: Review

Translated and annotated by ROBERT P. GOLDMAN and SALLY J. SUTHERLAND GOLDMAN. Princeton: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1996. Pp. xv + 583. $89.50.

The fifth volume of the Goldmans' monumental translation of the Ramayana, the Sundarakanda, continues to meet the high standards set by previous volumes. This book recounts the story of Hanuman's discovery of the abducted Sita in Lanka, Hanuman's destruction of Lanka, and Hanuman's return to Rama. As one wrestles with the many, thorny problems of how to deal with Sanskrit texts - how to understand them, how to edit them, how to understand them, how to interpret them - these volumes are a great source of inspiration. The translators are constantly aware of how these problems intrude on our reading of the epic.

They are translating the critical edition of the Oriental Institute of Baroda (1960-75). Any one even vaguely familiar with the Ramayana knows that the exercise of critically editing such a text runs the risk of doing violence to the tradition. It runs the risk of deluding careless or lazy scholars into ignoring the richness of the textual materials being handled by the editors. For the editors of the Ramayana this translation would be very edifying, indeed. The translators know and understand the judgments of the editors. They dispute them in many cases, but in all cases they are using the great scholarship of the critical edition as a springboard for more scholarship. They are harvesting the work of these editors and then replanting in that same fertile ground.

The introduction generally follows the same format as the previous volumes. A discussion of the position of the Sundarakanda in the epic is followed by a synopsis of the text. The bulk of the introduction is given over to an analysis of the structure, characters, and contents of the Sundarakanda. We learn here, for example, of the unique popularity of this book in the Ramayana. Evidence for this ranges from stark facts, such as the...