Valmiki's Uttara Kanda

Both a terrific read and a revolutionary contribution to our understanding of the Valmiki Ramayana—and of the many Ramayanas that followed. The translation is smooth, spirited, and accurate, and the seven essays brilliantly illuminate the text. Together they show why this largely unknown final book of the Ramayana is the answer to many of the enigmas in the rest of the text and the explanation of much of the worship of Rama that is to come. -- Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago
No one has written with greater empathy about the Ramayana and about Rama than Arshia Sattar. In her translation and study of the epic's final book, she gets to the heart of the Ramayana dynamics as they come to their elegiac, contradictory, and transcendent conclusion. Her exploration of the sociopolitical, literary, and religious signifiers in the conclusion of India's preeminent romantic legend is both accessible and illuminating. Just as the Uttara is a discursive epilogue to the Ramayana itself, so Sattar's essays are a satisfying and stimulating coda to her vigorous translation of the text. -- David Gitomer, DePaul University
Arshia Sattar’s lively and accessible new translation brings life to the often-overlooked but crucial final volume of Valmiki’s epic. This illuminating kanda portrays the history of Ravana, Hanuman’s mischievous childhood exploits, and two of the most controversial episodes in the entire epic. Sattar’s introductory essays provide readers with a cogent framework to appreciate and analyze the subtleties of the story. -- Paula Richman, Oberlin College