THE RAMAYANAM : (Delivered by at the Shakespeare Club, Pasadena, California, January 31, 1900)-1

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Part-1.



There are two great epics in the Sanskrit language, which are very ancient.

Of course, there are hundreds of other epic poems.

The Sanskrit language and literature have been continued down to the present day, although, for more than two thousand years, it has ceased to be a spoken language.

I am now going to speak to you of the two most ancient epics, called the Ramayanam  and the Mahabharatam.

They embody the manners and customs, the state of society, civilisation, etc., of the ancient Indians.

The oldest of these epics is called Ramayanam, "The Life of Rama".

There was some poetical literature before this — most of the Vedas, the sacred books of the Hindus, are written in a sort of metre — but this book is held by common consent in India as the very beginning of poetry.

Swami Vivekananda

To be continued  ....

Sri Ramakrishna Mission


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