% Ramayana: General information % Last updated: Fri Sep 25 2020 % Encoding: ASCII % ================================== Electronic text of the Ramayana ================================== This file contains information about the electronic text of the Ramayana. Anyone who intends to make use of the text is asked to read it carefully. It is divided into three sections: * The status of the electronic text * The format of the electronic text * Notes on the electronic text John D. Smith University of Cambridge ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The status of the electronic text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This text has its origins in the work of Prof. Muneo Tokunaga of the University of Kyoto. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Prof. Tokunaga typed the entire text of the Critical Edition of the Ramayana (Baroda, 1960-75) into a computer; he then placed the electronic text he had thus created on the Internet. The enormity of the labour involved in the creation of the text is matched only by Prof. Tokunaga's generosity in making it so freely available to the scholarly world. This version of the text derives ultimately from that first version, and I am deeply grateful to Prof. Tokunaga for permitting this use of the products of his labour. Unlike the electronic Mahabharata, this text of the Ramayana has not benefited from the attention of a dedicated team working for several years to free it from errors. After converting Prof. Tokunaga's ASCII-based version to Unicode, and regularising the format to correspond to that of the Mahabharata, I have merely corrected errors as they came to my attention. In doing so I have received the kind assistance of a number of people who reported to me errors they had found. They include: Robert Chen, Yves Codet, Phillip Ernest, James L. Fitzgerald, Giulio Geymonat, Arlo Griffiths, Krešimir Krnic, Kirti Kulkarni, Christopher Minkowski, Sven Sellmer and Michael Slouber. (Please inform me of anyone I have accidentally omitted.) However, the text is still neither as accurate nor as consistent as I would like, so it should be used with caution. If you believe you have found an error, please report it by email to Suvarna Deshpande (suvarnad09 [at] gmail.com) or Pranav Gokhale (pranavpg88 [at] gmail.com). Before reporting any error, please read the rest of this document! Corrections will be made to errors remaining in the text as they come to light. Check the “Last updated” date at the head of each kANDa against the current dates listed on the distribution website (URL https://bombay.indology.info/ramayana/welcome.html) to see whether you need to download newer versions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The format of the electronic text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Line-numbers --------------- The text is divided into seven files, one per main book (kANDa) of the Ramayana. However, the format of each line is such as to identify it uniquely, whichever file it happens to come from. At the start of every line appears an eight-character line-number specifying the book or kANDa (one digit), the chapter or sarga (three digits), the verse or zloka (three digits), and the quarter-verse or pAda (one letter, specifying the first of the two pAdas that form each line). Thus the last verse of the entire Ramayana appears as: 7100026a etAvad eva AkhyAnaM sottaraM brahmapUjitam 7100026c rAmAyaNam iti khyAtaM mukhyaM vAlmIkinA kRtam indicating that it represents pAdas a to d of the 26th verse of book 7, chapter 100. If the line is part of a verse in triSTubh or other longer metre, the division between the pAdas is marked with a semicolon: 1001079a paThan dvijo vAgRSabhatvam IyAt; syAt kSatriyo bhUmipatitvam IyAt 2. Encodings ------------ The text is available in three encodings (character sets) commonly used for Sanskrit and other Indian languages: Unicode Devanagari, Unicode Roman (using the conventions defined in ISO 15919), and ASCII (using the Harvard/Kyoto conventions). 3. Spelling conventions ----------------------- Forms such as kiM cit (/cana/api) are everywhere spelt as two words in Roman representations of the electronic text (assuming that sandhi does not prevent this, as in kApi), whatever the usage in the printed text. The word kaccit of course is unchanged, as are compounded forms such as yatkiMcitkArin “acting wilfully”. In the Devanagari versions of the text, forms such as kiMcit are spelt as single words to respect normal usage in Indian scripts. The phrase atha vA is always written as two words. The same applies to periphrastic perfects: kathayAM babhUva, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Notes on the electronic text ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Occasionally the electronic text differs from the text as given in the printed edition. The following is a complete list of such differences: each line or stanza is quoted as it is actually printed, followed by a comment explaining the apparent discrepancy. Note that changes made purely to adhere to the spelling conventions listed above are not included. Note also that all corrections included in the printed edition's various lists of errata, etc., have been applied to the electronic text: they too are not referred to here. (Among the corrections to Book 1, The BAlakANDa, are changes to the line numbering affecting passages 1.9.7–8, 1.13.22–4, 1.15.25–7 and 1.26.16–19: the numbering in the electronic text implements these corrections.) 1001025a paurair anugato dUraM pitrA dazarathena ca 1001025c zRGgaverapure sUtaM gaGgAkUle vyasarjayat In the Critical Notes, the editor remarks, “Read 59* in the text after 25.” This and similar insertions have not been made here as they would scramble the line numbering. Star passage 59* reads: guham AsAdya dharmAtmA niSAdadhipatiM priyam guhena sahito rAmo lakSmaNena ca sItayA 1001029a mRte tu tasmin bharato vasiSThapramukhair dvijaiH 1001029c niyujyamAno rAjyAya naicchad rAjyaM mahAbalaH In the Critical Notes, the editor remarks, “After 29, 70*, 71* and 73* should be read in the text.” Star passage 70* reads: ayAcad bhrAtaraM rAmam AryabhAvapuraskRtaH Star passage 71* reads: tvam eva rAjA dharmajJa iti rAmaM vaco 'bravIt Star passage 73* reads: na caicchat pitur AdezAd rAjyaM rAmo mahAbalaH 1001048a hanumadvacanAc caiva sugrIveNa samAgataH 1001048c sugrIvAya ca tat sarvaM zaMsad rAmo mahAbalaH In the Critical Notes, the editor remarks, “Read 96* and 97* after St. 48 in the text.” Star passage 96* reads: sugrIvaz cApi tat sarvaM zrutvA rAmasya vAnaraH Star passage 97* reads: cakAra sakhyaM rAmeNa prItaz caivAgnisAkSikam 1006022a aJjanAd api niSkrAntair vAmanAd api ca dvipaiH 1006022c bhadramandrair bhadramRgair mRgamandraiz ca sA purI In the Critical Notes, the editor remarks, “Put the star passage 243* in the text after 22ab” — i.e., between the two existing lines of this zloka. Star passage 243* reads: bhadrair mandrair mRgaiz caiva bhadramandramRgais tathA 1073016a tasmiMs tamasi ghore tu bhasmacchanneva sA camUH 1073016c dadarza bhImasaMkAzaM jaTAmaNDaladhAriNam In the Critical Notes, the editor remarks, “Read 1348* in the text as 16ef” — i.e., as a third line of this zloka.” Star passage 1348* reads: bhArgavaM jAmadagnyeyaM rAjarAjavimardanam 2095019a sIte mRtas te zvazuraH pitrA hIno 'si lakSmaNa 2095019c bharato duHkham AcaSTe svargataM pRthivIpatim In the Corrigenda, the editor remarks, “After 2.95.19, 2179* and 2178* are to be read above in the Crit. Text as 2.95.20 and 21 and 22 respy., with the changes sA sItA (for jAnakI) and svargalokagataM nRpam for b in st. 20.” Star passage 2179* reads: jAnakI zvazuraM zrutvA sarvalokaguruM mRtam netrAbhyAm azrupUrNAbhyAM na zazAkekSituM patim Star passage 2178* reads: tato bahuguNaM teSAM bASpaM netreSv ajAyata tathA bruvati kAkutsthe kumArANAM yazasvinAm tatas te bhrAtaraH sarve bhRzam AzvAsya bhArgavam abruvaJ jagatIbhartuH kriyatAm udakaM pituH