STUDIED AND APPRECIATED BY MANY GREAT CONNOISSEURS

HEARTY WELCOME TO THE STUDY OF A HIGHLY PLEASANT AND HEART-TOUCHING STORY OF THE WORLD .

Presenting the RAAMAAYANAM of sage Vaalmeeki written in Samskritham many thousands of years ago !

It is a thing of great joy to attempt a study of the first and beautiful poem in the world. Consisting of nearly 24,000 verses divided into seven books known as Kaandas, the Raamaayanam is considered a treasure of feelings about human relatons and values of life. It presents such a varied human feelings as those of a rogue, a villain, a traitor, a devotee, a humble servant, a beloved brother, a committed friend, a faithful wife, a reliable associate, an ideal human and an ideal ruler. Discourses on state administration, individual morality, human feelings and sentiments are abundant in this. Its study offers a study of human heart from all its facets.

This document is mainly intended for the young readers . We hope that this document catches their fancy .

To start with, we need know how to pronounce the proper nouns in Samskritham. We provide a brief guide to pronunciation in Samskritham. Some vowel and some consonant sounds used in English are not available in Samskritham and vice versa. In the common practice of spelling Samskritham proper nouns in English, the same English consonant sometimes represents different Samskritham sounds in different contexts. And trying to clarify this will only confuse the learner. It is essential to learn the correct pronunciation of proper nouns from a good Indian speaker of Samskritham to make it pleasing to the ear and understandable to the listner when read or spoken. Yet, this guide meets the current needs of the reader of this document. With this much about pronunciation,we will now proceed to the main story of the Raamaayanam .

However, please read this introduction first.

We humbly invite suggestions from the learned for betterment of content or presentation .

Dear readers! Let us get moved!

Go to the links below first and from there , follow different subsequent links as you need. The main links provided are

• list of all names of persons,places and things mentioned in Raamaayanam (in both Thelugu and English) Raamaayanam-Names
• list of all names of persons,places and things mentioned in Raamaayanam (in Thelugu) Raamaayanam-Names
• list of all names of persons,places and things mentioned in Raamaayanam (in English) Raamaayanam-Names
• links to the various Kaandas to follow the main story.
• Raamaayana-Prashnaavali

  CONTENTS

  DEDICATED TO MY LATE MOTHER Smt JOGAMMA

  As a matter of reference, I give hereunder links to my other books in Samskritham and Thelugu

  Daasharathishathakam Shreekaalahastheeshvarashathakam sumathi-shathakam Paandavodyogam Paandavavijayam Sathyaharishchandram Ashtapraasam

  Daasharathishathakam-tika Shreekaalahastheeshvarashathakam-tika sumathi-shathakam-tika Vemana-Padyaani Paandavodyogam-tika Paandavavijayam-tika Sathyaharishchandram-tika Raaghava-Yaadaveeyam-tika Loka-chithram

  Naagaanandamu Veneesamhaaramu Pajjaalu Thitladandakam koththa Geetha Kali Geetha

  "We bow to the cuckoo of Vaalmeeki that rests on the branch of poetry and gives out the sweet cooing of the beatiful sounds of "Raama" , "Raama" for our pleasure. "