First Complete English Translation of Kamban's Ramayana to Be Published in Seven Volumes

Book readers are in for a treat as Penguin India completes the translation of Tamil Ramayana by 12th-century Poet Kamban. The book is to be published in seven volumes with a team of experts led by six Tamil scholars and translators.

Hyderabad:Penguin Random House India (PRHI) announced on Monday the release of the first comprehensive multi-volume English translation of Kamba Ramayanam, a Tamil rendition of the epic Ramayana written by 12th-century poet Kamban. The monumental endeavour, led by six Tamil scholars and translators, is anticipated to be completed between 2028 and 2030. Kamban's Ramayana, often regarded as the finest epic in Tamil literature, is renowned for its unique use of language, the psychological complexity of its characters, and its profound engagement with issues of power, truth, and divinity.

The six books of Kamban's Ramayana, which contain 42,000 lines of verse, will be divided into seven volumes, including an introduction volume, titled Volume 1: Bala, Volume 2: Ayodhya, Volume 3: Aranya, Volume 4: Kiskindha, Volume 5: Sundara, and Volume 6 and 7: Yuddha Part 1 and 2. Shiv Subramaniam of Emory University, professor David Shulman of Hebrew University, professor Whitney Cox of the University of Chicago, independent scholar Jennifer Clare, professor Archana Venkatesan of UC Davis, and Aniruddhan Vasudevan of Princeton University make up the team of distinguished scholars and translators who have come together for the project.

"The 12th-century poet, Kamban, created a Tamil Ramayana in 10,000 verses, each of them a miracle. His work encompasses and gives voice to an entire civilisation, its landscapes, its people, its primary values, profound emotions, and visions of the world. We are thrilled that Penguin will be publishing an English translation of the entire text in individual volumes by a close-knit team of six translator-scholars. This will be the first complete, fully annotated, literary translation of Kamban into a Western language," claimed academics Venkatesan and Shulman, who are also volume editors and introductory volume authors.

The influence of Kamban's Ramayana goes well beyond Tamil Nadu, influencing literary traditions in Kerala, sections of the Indian peninsula, and even to Southeast Asia. According to the publisher, despite its widespread popularity, a "reliable and complete English translation of the text has been long overdue," owing mostly to its enormous size. This translation aims to capture the sensibility, passion, and beauty of Kamban's wonderful poetry to both general and professional readers.

Read More