The Ramayana

The most popular English-language edition of India's greatest epic, which is now the major motion picture Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, the Indian film that has had the biggest global debut ever

A Penguin Classic

One of the world's supreme masterpieces of storytelling, a sweeping tale of abduction, battle, and courtship played out in a universe of Hindu deities and demons, The Ramayana is familiar to virtually every South Asian. Although the Sanskrit original was composed by Valmiki around the fourth century BC, poets have produced countless versions in different languages. Here, drawing on the work of the eleventh-century poet Kamban, R. K. Narayan employs the skills of a master novelist to re-create the excitement he found in the original. A luminous saga made accessible to new generations of readers, The Ramayana can be enjoyed for its spiritual wisdom or as a thrilling tale of ancient conflict.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.