Rama in Indian Literature, Art and Thought (In 2 Volumes)

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The present book in two volumes by Dr. P. Banerjee is a monumental work on the Rama theme. The life of Rama, his great courage and qualities and his ideal rule based on truth and justice have exercised a profound influence not only on the life and thought of the Indian people but also of many neighbouring countries. The author discussed with admirable competence in Chapter I of this book the origin and growth of the Rama legend, its endless variations and ramifications, the nature, extent and poetic excellence of the Ramayana of Valmiki who is looked upon in India as the Adi or Prathama Kavi (the first poet) and its deep and abiding impact on the cultural history of India. The Ramakatha is a story of the men and women of superior value and being a noble theme became the common property of all the Indian people. Its overwhelming popularity is reflected not only in classical literature and various dramatic performances and puppet shows but also in plastic and pictorial art. The popularity of the Ramakatha in various countries outside India including Central Asia, Tibet, China, Laos, Kampuchia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malayasia, the Philippines, Burma and many other places is also a fascinating stury. In Chapter 2 of the book the author narrates the Rama story based on Valmiki’s Ramayana in simple and elegant language. The vernacular literature played an important role in popularizing the Rama story among the masses. Each region of India produced during the medieval and later times some very great Ramayana works inj local languages of which the Assamese Ramayana by Madhava Kandali, the Ramayana of Krittivasa in Bengali, the Ramacharitamansa of Tulasidasa in Hindi, the Tamil Ramayana by Kamban and Gonabuddha’s Ranaganatha Ramayana in Telugu acquired a grat fame. The Ramayana tradition in different regions of India has been described in great detail in Chapter 3 of the book. This survey is based on a comprehensive study of the relevant literary, art and inscriptional sources. The Buddha, Jaina and Persian Ramakathas have been described in brief in Appendix. The present volumes with their learned text and profuse illustrations (about three hundred in number) and exhaustive bibliography are a contribution of great merit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR P. Banerjee

Dr. P. Baneree, born in 1920, obtained a First Class in the M.A. examination in Sanskrit with Epigraphy and Numismatics as special group in 1941 and Ph.D. Degree in History in 1950 from the Patna University, Patna. He joined a curatorial post in the Archaeological Section, Indian Museum, Calcutta, in 1949; was appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India in 1955 and Superintendent, in the Archaeological Survey of India, in charge of the Central Asian Antiquities Museum (containing Sir Aurel Stein Collection of Central Asian objects.) New Delhi (now a part of the National Museum, New Delhi) in 1957. Dr. Banerjee joined the National Museum, New Delhi in 1960, and had served this Institution for twenty years in various capacities as Editor, Assistant Director, Director, Member-Secretary, Art Purchase Committee, and lastly as Consultant, Central Asian Antiquities. Dr. Banerjee has visited almost all the important Museums in India and outside (in the U.S.S.R., Europe, and the U.S.A.) for the study of Indian, Central Asian and Far Eastern objects. He is a leading exponent of Indian Art and Religion as well as of Central Asian Buddhist Art and Iconography. He is the author of a large number of research articles and several important books including (i) The Way of the Buddha (Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, New Delhi), (ii) Early Indian Religions (Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi), (iii) The Life of Krishna in Indian Art (National Museum, New Delhi) and (iv) The Blue God (Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi) which have earned him international reputation as a scholar. He is a Vice-President of the All India Art Historians' Association and acts as an expert in various committees of the National Museum and Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi.

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Bibliographic information

Title
Rama in Indian Literature, Art and Thought (In 2 Volumes)
Author
Edition
1st ed.
Publisher
ISBN
8185055912
Length
xxiii+320+ 158p., 284 Plates, Bibliography; Index; 28cm
Subjects