Arshia Sattar holds a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from theUniversity of Chicago. She teachesclassical Indian literature at several institutions in India and writes for a number of journals and magazines. Her books include Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish and English translations of Valmiki’s Ramayana and the Kathasaritsagara.

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.

Arshia Sattar holds a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from theUniversity of Chicago. She teachesclassical Indian literature at several institutions in India and writes for a number of journals and magazines. Her books include Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish and English translations of Valmiki’s Ramayana and the Kathasaritsagara.

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.

Arshia Sattar holds a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilizations from theUniversity of Chicago. She teachesclassical Indian literature at several institutions in India and writes for a number of journals and magazines. Her books include Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish and English translations of Valmiki’s Ramayana and the Kathasaritsagara.

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.