The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic (Penguin Classics) Paperback – Bargain Price, August 29, 2006

In general, I eschew abridgements, but in this case, I am glad I chose this condensed prose translation of THE RAMAYANA by R.K Narayan. With no background in Indian literature, I would be unable to really appreciate, or probably even understand a detailed verse translation. This version is delightful. It reminded me somewhat of THE ARABIAN NIGHTS with its supernatural beings performing miraculous feats, but whereas THE ARABIAN NIGHTS is a Muslim text, THE RAMAYANA is Hindu. So the basic sensibility behind them is different.The story is primarily a romantic adventure story, but Hindus find moral lessons in it as well. There are basically two main story lines: the love between Rama and Sita, and the usurpation of Rama’s throne by his half-brother (at the instigation of his stepmother). When Sita is abducted by a demon, Rama begins his quest to find her and rescue her. Of course, he has many obstacles in his path, but also has the help of friends Hanuman, the Monkey God and Ganesh, the Elephant God. I found all the characters interesting, especially the demons, who, despite being hideous and evil, still have some redeeming qualities. This was an extremely enjoyable reading experience. Five Stars.

You may think from the words I have chosen to describe the book that I don't like it nothing could be further from the truth. For all intents and purposes this book is a fairy tale and not in a demeaning or condescending way. In a book like this you want the hero to be to good to be true. You want the villain to be beyond evil and impossible to defeat except by superhuman means. The plot may be predictable but that doesn't mean that you don't want to see how the hero overcomes the obstacles in his way. That is why I called it nostalgic because it takes you to the mind set of being a small chilld hearing or reading other tales of this kind. The plot is basically this: stepmother gets elder more loved prince banished so her son can rule; prince goes slays demon and returns to rule the kingdom. You have heard,read,and seen this plot a thousand times. It doesn't mean that it is uninteresting or boring. The reason you read a story like this is to be nostalgic for your childish wonder at a story like this.

I was not expecting this book to be one of the greatest things I have ever read. Second favorite book second only to Ender's Game. The translator did a fine job

Good condition.

The Ramayana is a one of the most fabled classics of Indian literature, and though it is not technically a sacred scripture, it is so revered in India and by Indians it almost has the default status of being one. The original texts of the Ramayana are quite immense, and writer R.K. Narayan has condensed the epic down into a quite readable 150 page work. Those who are curious about this Hindu classic, who are first time readers, will probably find it very engaging. While there are alternate versions of this very popular epic, Narayan has selected one he considers most traditional and mainstream, and will be a very worthwhile introduction for a very important book.

A great and unavoidable book necessary to understand a bit of the complexity of the cultures in central Asia. I never read the original version, so I can't say how successful was the shortening process and how much it left behind. But the result makes for a quite pleasurable reading with the essential scenes in order to understand the majority of the story.

I had to read this for my college course; It was a good book but I found Narayan took allot of the beauty out of the Ramayana. I admit you can not keep all of the Prose. Some of the descriptions I found missing; and those descriptions made me want to read it cover to cover.

This was an excellent way to learn the basics about the Ramayana, which is far too long to read in its full version unless you are Hindu or a scholar. Well-written, easy to read, romantic and much less intimidating than the Vedas or the Mahabharata for someone who wants to understand something about the primary sources of Hinduism. The Indians love the Ramayana so much they actually went on strike to force their government to continue producing more episodes of it, when the government wanted to stop. Whole villages would gather around an antiquated TV to watch as it aired.