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Ramayana, considered part of Hindu Smriti, was written originally in
Sanskrit by Sage Valmiki (3000 BC). Contained in 24,000 verses, this epic
narrates Lord Ram of Ayodhya and his ayan (journey of life). Over a
passage of time, Ramayana did not remain confined to just being a grand
epic, it became a powerful symbol of India's social and cultural
fabric. For centuries, its characters represented ideal role models - Ram
as an ideal man, ideal husband, ideal son and a responsible ruler; Sita as
an ideal wife, ideal daughter and Laxman as an ideal brother. Even today,
the characters of Ramayana including Ravana (the enemy of the story) are
fundamental to the grandeur cultural consciousness of India.
Long after Valmiki wrote Ramayana, Goswami Tulsidas (born 16th
century) wrote Ramcharitamanas in his native language. With the passage of
time, Tulsi's Ramcharitmanas, also known as Tulsi-krita Ramayana, became
better known among Hindus in upper India than perhaps the Bible among the
rustic population in England. As with the Bible and Shakespeare, Tulsi
Ramayana’s phrases have passed into the common speech. Not only are his
sayings proverbial: his doctrine actually forms the most powerful
religious influence in present-day Hinduism; and, though he founded no
school and was never known as a Guru or master, he is everywhere accepted
as an authoritative guide in religion and conduct of life.
Tulsi Ramayana is a novel
presentation of
the great theme of Valmiki, but is in no sense a translation of the
Sanskrit epic. It consists of seven books or chapters namely
Bal Kand,
Ayodhya Kand,
Aranya Kand,
Kiskindha Kand,
Sundar Kand,
Lanka Kand and
Uttar Kand containing tales of King Dasaratha's court, the birth and boyhood of Rama and his brethren, his
marriage with Sita - daughter of Janaka, his voluntary
exile, the result of Kaikeyi's guile and Dasaratha's rash vow, the
dwelling together of Rama and Sita in the great central Indian forest, her
abduction by Ravana, the expedition to Lanka and the overthrow of the
ravisher, and the life at Ayodhya after the return of the reunited pair.
All its characters are as lifelike and distinct as any in occidental
literature. Ramcharitmanas is written in pure Avadhi or Eastern Hindi, in stanzas called chaupais,
broken by 'dohas' or couplets, with an occasional sortha and chhand.
Shri Yogeshwarji, great
Gujarati saint and literate dreamed of translating this epic poem in
Gujarati during his youth in holy Himalayas but could only give it a shape during the later part of his life. He began translation in 1981 and
completed in a record time of 15 months! The completed work was released
in a
book form amid much
fanfare at the hands of Umashankar Joshi, father figure of modern
Gujarati literature. Since then, many recitation of this Gujarati versions has taken
place in India and abroad.
The only available Gujarati
translation of Ramcharitmanas, this great poem is made available on this
site for the first time. It should be noted that the original work
of Yogeshwarji did NOT map Gujarati side-by-side original verses. It is a
humble attempt made by webmaster to present it in this way to facilitate
easy reference. One would derive great pleasure by just reading the
Gujarati version as it keep intact the storyline. The tune and meters of
poetry are also not exactly replicated in Gujarati yet, in their own they
are pretty consistent. The Gujarati translation is also aided by Yogeshwarji's
comments for
better understanding.
Recently, we have also added
Samarpan,
a Gujarati novel based on Ramayan written by Yogeshwarji.
We hope that you will like
it. Your comments and
suggestions are welcome as always.
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