Youth the Balakandam of Kampan's Ramayana

Description

Composed in the 12th-century by Kampan, regarded by many as Tamil's

finest poet, the Kamparamayanam is perhaps the most splendid retelling of

Valmiki's Ramayana. This first regional retelling of the great Sanskrit epic is

set firmly in Tamil country and draws from Puranic lore and Tamil literary

masterpieces. The approximately 12,000 verses that make up the six books

of the Kamparamayanam fully and unabashedly embrace Rama's identity as a

human avatar.

The first kandam, or book, of Kampan's Ramayana is Balakandam, about the

boyhood of Rama, who under the tutelage of Vishwamitra learns the lay of the

land he will one day rule, as well as his true nature. This son of Dasharatha,

along with his brother Lakshmana, reverses ancient curses of sages and gods,

amasses powerful weapons, and protects the sacrificial rituals of the rishis

from vicious rakshasas. In Mithila, he falls in love with Sita, the daughter of

King Janaka. The chapters that follow describe-in a manner unique to early

Tamil literature-the joyful procession of Dasharatha's retinue to Rama and

Sita's wedding, and contain some of the most beautiful verses composed in

any South Asian language. The book concludes with Rama's first true test of

manhood and a sign of the times that lie ahead: a conflict with the mighty

Parashu Rama, an avatar, like Rama himself, of Vishnu.

Translated from the Tamil with great skill by Blake Wentworth, Youth brings

the lyricism, the exquisite imagery and the wonderful sensuousness of

Kampan's masterpiece to modern-day English-language readers.
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