Ramayana is a timeless classic and has universal appeal. It is found almost in all literatures of world in some form or the other. The Adhyatma Ramayana, though constitutes a part of the Brahmanda Purana, is a complete book in itself. Like Valmiki, the author of the Adhyatma Ramayana deals with the life-story of Rama of the solar race, belonging to the illustrious Iksvaku family. But the value of the work is to be sought not for its life-story of Rama but for the statements of the doctrines of Bhakti marga and Jnana marga (The path of Devotion and the path of Knowledge). Valmiki’s Rama is an ideal hero of Dhirodatta nature while its counter part in the Adhyatma Ramayana is a Divine Being invested with the qualities of Godhead, whose activities as the son of Dasaratha are explained as due to his Maya Sakti (the creative energy). The present book divided into five chapters in an attempt to compare both the epics on all aspects. Since a lot of literary studies on Valmiki epic has already been done, the present book touches upon the essentials only as required for comparison. Since both the epics form the source for almost all Ramayanas in regional languages, references have been made here and there in the chapter, Comparison of stories to give a touch of variety. But the uniformity could not be kept up due to the vastness and due to the richness of the Ramayana Literature and imposition of time-limit.
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