''Sri Ranganatha Ramayanamu'' (Telugu: శ్రీ రంగనాథ రామాయణము) is a rendition of

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's '' Rāmāyaṇa'' in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

language. It was written by the poet Ranganatha—also known as Gona Budda Reddy—between 1300 and 1310 CE. It was composed in 17,290 couplets (in Dwipada

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

). This metre is lyrical and can either be recited like the Valmiki ''Ramayana'' (written in Anustupa metre) or sung like the ''

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, रामचरितमानस, rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1511–1623). It has many inspirations, the primary being t ...

'' (written in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

- Chaupai). Telugu has a very rich literary tradition, starting in the 11th century CE. Although there are more than forty adaptions of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'' which are partly or completely in Telugu, only four adaptions have covered the entire theme of the original

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

. They are ''Ranganatha Ramayanam'', ''Bhaskara Ramayanam'', ''

Molla Ramayanam ''Molla Ramayanam'' is a Telugu epic poem composed by the 16th-century poet Molla, based on the Sanskrit ''Ramayana'' by Valmiki. Written in accessible Telugu, this version is notable for its extensive use of ''kandam''-style verse, which led ...

'', and '' Ramayana Kalpavruksham''.

Structure and Manthara's Antagonism towards Rama.

Although Ranganatha follows the theme of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', he still made changes in some incidents which effects the course of events. The theme of the ''Ranganatha Ramayana'' has been classified under seven

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from th ...

s. * Bala Kanda (Chapter: Childhood; బాల కాండ): This covers the theme starting from the conversation between

and

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

to the return of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

after his marriage with

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

from

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

.This canto describes an incident connected with young Rama and

Manthara ''Manthara'' (; lit: "humpbacked") is a character in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana.'' In the epic, she is described to have convinced Queen Kaikeyi that the throne of Ayodhya belonged to her son Bharata and that her step-son—crown-prince Rama (t ...

(whereas in the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', Manthara's entry is in ''Ayodhya kanda''). When Rama was playing with a ball and a stick, suddenly Manthara threw the ball far away from Rama. In anger, Rama struck her on the knee with the stick and her knee was broken. This message was conveyed to king Dasaratha by

Kaikeyi Kaikeyi,(Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is a princess of Kekeya and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Kaikeyi is the third queen and favourite consort of King Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital, A ...

. The king decided to send Rama and his other sons to school. This incident makes the king to think about his responsibility of educating his sons, so that they can learn and become wise. Manthara had developed a kind of antagonism towards Rama and was waiting for an opportunity to take revenge against him. * Ayodhya Kanda (Chapter: Ayodhya; అయోధ్యకాండ) *Aranya Kanda (Chapter: Forest; అరణ్యకాండ) * Kishkindha Kanda (Chapter: Kishkindha; కిష్కిందకాండ ) *Sundara Kanda (Chapter: Beautiful;సుందరకాండ ) * Yudha Kanda (Chapter: War;యుద్ధకాండ) * Uttara Kanda (Chapter: Last;ఉత్తరకాండ)

Blessing of Squirrel

Ranganatha added some significant incidents to make the theme more natural and reliable. For example, when the bridge was built, a squirrel thinks that it should help Sri Rama to achieve his end; it dips in the sea water, rolls down in the sand and gets rid of the sand in the middle of the rocks under construction. Knowing this, Sri Rama blesses squirrel for its devotion and draws three lines on its back with his fingers. The three white lines on the back of squirrels are supposed to have come into existence in this way.

External links

Ranganatha Ramayanamu

References

{{Ramayana Telugu-language literature Works based on the Ramayana 14th-century literature