

In bringing these essays together, my aim was to offer the reader some of the most informed and imaginative work currently under way in major areas of Ra¯ma¯yanfi a studies, including its design, ideology, and performance. My studies through the past five years have led me to organize several scholarly gatherings, out of which a modest volume of essays by diverse hands has already appeared in print and the present, fuller collection conceived. The passage of years, the repositioning of the Ra¯ma¯yanfi a in present-day public life, and conversations with friends, colleagues, and students have increasingly drawn me to a more critical engagement with what I see as a foundational text of South and Southeast Asian societies. Like other pervasive presences one grows up with, until recently the Ra¯ma¯yanfi a was for me a part of life I took for granted with no expenditure of conscious effort. To my sisters Mriducchanda and Madhusraba Includes bibliographical references and index. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Ra¯ma¯yanfi a revisited / edited by Mandakranta Bose. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.


The Ra¯ma¯yanfi a Revisited edited by mandakranta boseġ Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sa˜o Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo TorontoĬopyright 䉷 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
