Table Of Contentfi
The Ra¯ma¯yana Revisited
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fi
The Ra¯ma¯yana
Revisited
edited by mandakranta bose
1
2004
1
Oxford NewYork
Auckland Bangkok BuenosAires CapeTown Chennai
DaresSalaam Delhi HongKong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata
KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai
Nairobi Sa˜oPaulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto
Copyright(cid:1)2004byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016
www.oup.com
OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
TheRa¯ma¯yanfiarevisited/editedbyMandakrantaBose.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-19-516832-1;0-19-516833-X(pbk.)
1. Va¯lm¯ıkiRa¯ma¯yanfia I. Bose,Mandakranta,1938–
BL1139.26.R3592004
294.5'922046—dc22 2003058112
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
To my sisters
Mriducchanda and Madhusraba
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Preface
Likeotherpervasivepresencesonegrowsupwith,untilrecentlythe
Ra¯ma¯yanfiawasformeapartoflifeItookforgrantedwithnoex-
penditureofconsciouseffort.Thepassageofyears,thereposition-
ingoftheRa¯ma¯yanfiainpresent-daypubliclife,andconversations
withfriends,colleagues,andstudentshaveincreasinglydrawnme
toamorecriticalengagementwithwhatIseeasafoundationaltext
ofSouthandSoutheastAsiansocieties.Mystudiesthroughthepast
fiveyearshaveledmetoorganizeseveralscholarlygatherings,out
ofwhichamodestvolumeofessaysbydiversehandshasalready
appearedinprintandthepresent,fullercollectionconceived.In
bringingtheseessaystogether,myaimwastoofferthereadersome
ofthemostinformedandimaginativeworkcurrentlyunderwayin
majorareasofRa¯ma¯yanfiastudies,includingitsdesign,ideology,and
performance.ThecropofRa¯ma¯yanfiascholarshipinthepasttwode-
cadeshasbeensingularlyrich,notonlyinexpandinganddevelop-
ingthefieldsofresearchbutinquestioningreceivedwisdomand
discoveringfreshinstrumentsofinquiry.Inlikemanner,thepres-
entvolumeattemptstopressaheadwithrevaluationsandrediscov-
eriesthat,Ibelieve,willanimatewhatIsuspectwillbeacontinuing
debateontheRa¯ma¯yanfiaforalongtimetocome.Thetwogreatep-
icsofIndia,theMaha¯bha¯rataandtheRa¯ma¯yanfia,havethedistinc-
tionofneverhavingturnedintodeadifreveredclassics,andremain
embeddedinthelivingculturesofmanyAsianpeoples,including
thoseinthevariousAsiandiasporas.Theessayspresentedhererec-
ognizethiscontemporaneityoftheRa¯ma¯yanfiaandengagewithiton
themanylevelsofitsexistence.
Amonganeditor’smanytasksthepleasantestistheacknowl-
edgmentofdebts,bothpersonalandprofessional.Ihavebeenpar-
viii preface
ticularly fortunate in the varied and consistent help I have received from in-
stitutions,colleagues,friends,andfamily,andItakethisopportunitytothank
them all. I have been fortunate to have received support from many corners,
includingmycolleaguesandfriends.Iwouldliketoacknowledgethemall.My
first debt of gratitude is to the University of British Columbia for providing
researchgrantsthatenabledmetomakeresearchtrips,organizeconferences,
and publish conference proceedings. My thanks are due in particular to the
PeterWallInstituteofAdvancedStudiesattheUniversityofBritishColumbia
foritsgenerousfunding,andtoitsdirector,Dr.KenMcCrimmon,whobelieved
in me, helped me finance and organize two international Ra¯ma¯yanfia confer-
ences, and gave me invaluable practical advice. Both the past and present di-
rectorsoftheInstituteofAsianResearch,Dr.TerrenceMcGeeandDr.Pitman
Potter, have helped me beyond the call of mere institutional duty, providing
resourcesforanentireRa¯ma¯yanfiaconferenceandanexhibition,“TheRa¯ma¯y-
anfiainView”;withouttheirsupportIcouldnothavegeneratedtheinterestin
the Ra¯ma¯yanfia at this university that it enjoys today. I mustalsoacknowledge
the unfailing support of Dr. Frieda Granot, Dean of Graduate Studies, in all
myresearchventures.TheMuseumofAnthropologyattheUniversityofBrit-
ishColumbiahelpedmetoorganizeperformancesoftheRa¯ma¯yanfiaonseveral
occasions,andIamgratefultotheMuseum’sdirectorandstaff.Iwouldalso
liketoacknowledgewithmuchpleasureaverysubstantialresearchgrantfrom
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada that has al-
lowedmetoenlargethescopeofmyworkontheRa¯ma¯yanfia.
I record with equal gratitude and much personal warmth the support I
have received and continue to enjoy from my students, Tanya Boughtflower,
NanditaJaishankar,NickiMagnolo,AmandeepMann,andDanielWinks.Pho-
tographs of temple sculptures were provided by Michael Dowad, for which I
amgratefultohim.Otherphotographsthataccompanythearticleshavebeen
mostly provided by the authors, and some are from my personal collection,
including reproductions of painted scrolls that I have acquired through the
years from village painters of West Bengal. I take this opportunity to thank
theseoftenobscurebutalwaysvigorousartists.
My husband, Tirthankar Bose, has provided constant help by going
through every stage of the book with me meticulously. Without his help this
bookwouldnothaveseenthelight.IamgratefultoMargaretCaseandRebecca
Johns-Danes for their meticulous copyediting. Finally, I would like to thank
Cynthia Read and Theodore Calderara of Oxford University Press for taking
onthetaskofsteeringthisbookthroughthecomplexpublicationprocesswith
patienceandunderstanding.
Note on Transliteration
Non-Englishwordsareitalicizedandmarkedwithdiacritics,other
thantermsthatappearinMerriam-Webster’sCollegiateDictionary
orhavepassedintocommonusageinthecriticalliteratureofSouth
andSoutheastAsia,suchas“guru,”“pandit,”and“kathakali.”
Propernamesaretransliteratedaccordingtousageintheirlanguage
oforigin.Exceptions,ifany,arestatedinnotestoindividualchap-
ters.
