Sri Ramacharitamanasa (Awadhi-Hindi-English)

इदं पवित्रं पापघ्नं पुण्यं वेदश्च सम्मितम् ।

यः पठेद् रामचरितं सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ।।

एतदाख्यानमायुष्यं पठन् रामायणं नरः ।

सपुत्रपौत्रः सगणः प्रेत्य स्वर्गे महीयते ।।

पठन् दिजो वागृषभत्वमीयात्

स्यात् क्षत्रियो भूमिपतित्वमीयात् ।

वणिग्जनः पुण्यफलत्वमीया-

ज्जनश्च शूद्रोऽपि महत्त्वमीयात् ॥

श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीय रामायण, १, ९८- १००

“Whoever reads this history of Rama, which is purifying, destructive of sin, holy, and the equal of the Vedas, is rid of all sins.

“A man who reads this Ramayana story, which leads to long life, will after death rejoice in heaven together with his sons, grandsons, and attendants.

“A Brahman who reads it becomes eloquent, a Kshatriya becomes a lord of the earth, a Vaishya acquires profit from his goods, and even a Shudra achieves greatness.”

The Ramayana of Valmiki, 1, 98-100

Shri Ramachantamanasa of Tulasidasa is the single most popular book of the Hindus, which, for over four centuries, has greatly appealed equally to the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate, the old and the young, and the scholar and the common man.

Its popularity is by no means limited to India, nor are the Hindus its only readers. The message of the Ramacharitamanasa is all the more relevant today as it reiterates man’s faith in the soundness of moral order that sustains the world. Dark and evil forces may, and will, on occasions, threaten to disrupt that order but divine intervention will ultimately chasten and subdue those forces.

Keeping in mind people’s ever-increasing quest for the epic, this unique edition of the Ramacharitamanasa with a verse to verse Hindi and English translation along with Tulasidasa’s original text has been prepared. The translation rendered by an accomplished scholar maintains the intrinsic richness of the original. Special care has been taken for making it useful to the Indian brethren living abroad to whom the dialect of Tulasidasa’s original may be somewhat incomprehensible. There has been a long-standing demand from the vast Indian community settled abroad for a standard and authentic edition of the Ramacharitamanasa. The present edition has been designed to meet their requirement by using the most modern printing and processing techniques to make it a work of international standard

A special feature of this edition is the inclusion of Lavakushakanda, Shri Hanumanchalisa and Shri Ramashalaka Prashnavali. The mode of its recitation is given as a separate appendix. Adding to its uniqueness is the important section containing Indian, European and American scholar’s criticisms on Tulsidas Ramacharitamanasa. A glossary of important proper nouns and epithets is given at the end.

Dr.R.C. PRASAD who translated Shri Ramacharita- manasa into simple and lucid English and Hindi, was a University Professor of English in Patna University where he taught for about three decades. He was an eminent author, translator and editor. He had a good number of books to his credit.