The Spirit of Ramcharitmanas

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Tulasidas's Ramcharitmanas enjoys the place of pride among the hundreds of epics narrating the tale of Lord Ram not only in Indian languages but also in several languages of South-East Asia. It is venerated not only by Ram's ardent devotees but also learned scholars who admire it for its poetic beauty and ethical import.

For a long time the need was being felt for an abridged version of Ramcharitmanas for a growing section of the present-day reader, both in India and abroad, characterised by preference for English language and shortage of time.

This volume amply fulfils that need. Being based on a tried and rested abridged edition in Hindi, namely Manas Mangal, it presents the gist of the original Ramcharitmanas.

The success of The Sprit of Ramcharitmanas lies in the prudent pruning of the original in a manner that retains the flavour of the original and keeps in tact the moral, ethical, literary and aesthetic content of Manas which lend it the semblance of a scripture.

Dr. Aruna Sitesh (1945-2007), a teacher of English literature and a well-known Hindi writer, was the Principal of LP. College, Delhi, University of Delhi (1997-2007), a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Chicago (1991-92) and Visiting Scholar an Rockefeller Foundation Study Center, Bellajio, Iraiv (1993). She odited Pratibha India for 24 years and was one of the Founder-Trustees of Sneh Bharti Charitable Trust, Widely published in literary fournals and periodicals, she authored six short story collections in Hindi and published as many critical studies and edited works in English. Recipient of many honours and awards including the Kriti Samman, Sahastrabd Hindi Sewa Samman, Mahadevi Varma Kriti Samman and Indira Privadarshn: award.

Her story Tessari Dharati is anthologised among the immortal Hindi short stories currently under publication by Sahitya Akademi.

My abridged version of Ramcharit Manas, with the Lexplanationary rendering in intelligible Hindi prose, was published as Manas Mangal, in 2002. It was warmly received by readers and critics alike for providing accessibility to an epic venerated for several centuries, and yet forgotten by many people because of certain practical constraints. Truly, while Ramcharit Manas has acquired the status of a scripture in our country, especially in the vast Hindi region, it seldom leaves the pedestal it is placed upon. People, especially those belonging to the new generation, rarely read it.

In fact, I myself read it at a fairly late stage in life. Like most others, my problem was the dialect of its poetry and, of course, the necessary will to find time for going through such a voluminous work. And yet, form time to time, I kept listening, from common people and the learned ones alike, hundreds of its quotations suiting practically all occasions in life and could not help admiring their precision, poetic beauty and ethical import.

Late though, luckily the moment arrived when I decided to read, albeit with some help for understanding its Anadhi the language Ramcharit Manas is composed in. And the more I read, I felt captivated. Having read it once, I decided to go through it all over again.