The Ramayana Culture

by Ed.Mandakranta Bose

These essays,originally at an international conference, are in the forefront of the modern response to an ancient work that has gained a new critical and social relevance in contemporary scholarship.Approaching the Ramayana from several angles in an attempt to understand its aesthetic and ideological meaning,they examine the epic through the perspectives of textual criticism,art,architecture and film.Using the methods of rigorous textual and historical investigation,each essay seeks not only to uncover the layers of meaning in the complex structure of the epic in its varied forms but also to situate it critically in the cultures of South and Southeast Asia.About The AuthorDr.Mandakranta Bose, who has specialised in the Sanskrit tradition of dramaturgy and dance teaches Religious Studies and Women's Studies at the University of British Columbia,Canada where she is Director of the Center for India and South Asia Research.She is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society,London.Some of her recent works include Speaking of Dance.