A Historical Introduction to the Critical Edition of the Ramayana

The critical edition of the Ramayana was undertaken in the year 1960 and completed in 1973 at Baroda (M.S. University). The first editor was G.H. Bhatt (Balakanda); the second was P.L. Vaidya; Who edited the Ayodhyakanda in the year 1962; and it runs to 111 chapters and in size, it is second only to the Yuddhakanda. The Aranyakanda, was edited by P.C. Duvanji in the year 1963 and, it has 71 chapters. The fourth Kanda, namely, the Kishkindha was edited by D.R. Mankad in the year 1965 and it has 66 chapters. The fifth namely the Sundarakanda was edited by G.H. Jhala in 1966, the editor was P.L. Vaidya, the veteran Sanskritist, who completed his task in 1966; the last one, namely the Uttarakanda was edited jointly by G.H. Bhatt and U.P. Shah in 1973. The above paragraph shows that the critical edition of the Ramanyana is only fourth, in size, of the critical edition of the Mahabharata, published from Poona. But even the Mahabharata quotes a passage from Valmiki’s Ramayana.