an ancient Indian epic poem in Sanskrit, ascribed to the legendary poet Valmiki. It was presumably composed around the fourth century B.C. in eastern India and assumed its present form by the second century A.D.
In the Middle Ages, the Ramayana became one of the sacred books of Vishnuism. Devoted to the exploits of Rama, it is thought to be based on historical events: the invasion of the Aryans into southern India and their military clashes with the aboriginal tribes. Motifs of fantasy in the work’s legends and myths mingle with realistic features of the era in which it was created.
The Ramayana is the second great epic poem of India, after the Mahabharata, and reflects a higher level of social and cultural development. The symmetry and unity of the content, which suggest that the major sections were by a single author, in addition to the perfection of poetic form and wealth of expressive means, have made the poem one of the most popular works of Indian literature. Versions of the Ramayana were well known in Tibet, China, and the countries of Southeast Asia as early as the Middle Ages. In Indian literature, the poem has supplied plots for works by Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, and Bhatti, Buddhist and Jain literary works, and translations and adaptations into Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, and other national Indian languages. Abroad, a translation of the Ramayana into ancient Ja-van formed the basis of a heroic epos in Khmer, Thai, Malay, and other languages of Indochina and Indonesia.
V. G. ERMAN