''Sri Ranganatha Ramayanamu'' (శ్రీ రంగనాథ రామాయణము) is one of the most famous adaptions of the

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' in Telugu, a

Dravidian language The Dravidian languages (or sometimes Dravidic) are a family of languages spoken by 250 million people, mainly in southern India, north-east Sri Lanka, and south-west Pakistan. Since the colonial era, there have been small but significant imm ...

spoken by the people of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

. Telugu has a very rich literary tradition, starting in the 11th century A.D. Although there are more than forty adaptions of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'' which are partly or completely in Telugu, only four adaptions have covered the entire theme of the original epic. They are ''Ranganatha Ramayana'', ''Bhaskar Ramayana'', ''Molla Ramayana'', and ''Ramayana Kalpavriksham''. ''Ranganatha Ramayana'' was written by the poet Ranganatha—also known as Gona Budda Reddy—between 1300 and 1310 A.D. This ''Ramayana'' was composed in 17,290 couplets (in Dwipada

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

). This meter is lyrical and can either be recited like the Valmiki ''Ramayana'' (written in Anustupa metre) or sung like the ''

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). Thi ...

'' (written in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

- Chaupai). It is quite popular with both scholars and illiterates.

Structure

Although Ranganatha follows the theme of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', he still made changes in some incidents which effects the course of events. The theme of the ''Ranganatha Ramayana'' has been classified under seven

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

s. * Bala Kanda (Chapter: Childhood; బాల కాండ): This covers the theme starting from the conversation between

and

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

to the return of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...

after his marriage with

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

from

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal ...

.This canto describes an incident connected with young Rama and Manthara (whereas in the Valmiki ''Ramayana'', Manthara's entry is in ''Ayodhya kanda''). When Rama was playing with a ball and a stick, suddenly Manthara threw the ball far away from Rama. In anger, Rama struck her on the knee with the stick and her knee was broken. This message was conveyed to king

Dasaratha Dasharatha (Sanskrit: दशरथ, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of the Kosala kingdom and a scion of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. He ruled from this capital at Ayodhya. Dasharatha was the son of Aja and Indumati. He had ...

Kaikeyi Kaikeyi (Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is the second consort of King Dasharatha, and a queen of Ayodhya in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Out of Dasharatha's three wives, Kaikeyi exerts the most influence. Formerly the princess of Kek ...

. The king decided to send Rama and his other sons to school. This incident makes the king to think about his responsibility of educating his sons, so that they can learn and become wise. Manthara had developed a kind of antagonism towards Rama and was waiting for an opportunity to take revenge against him. * Ayodhya Kanda (Chapter: Ayodhya; అయోధ్యకాండ) * Aranya Kanda (Chapter: Forest; అరణ్యకాండ) * Kishkindha Kanda (Chapter: Kishkindha; కిష్కిందకాండ ) * Sundara Kanda (Chapter: Beautiful;సుందరకాండ ) * Yudha Kanda (Chapter: War;యుద్ధకాండ) * Uttara Kanda (Chapter: Last;ఉత్తరకాండ)

Blessing of Squirrel

Ranganatha added some significant incidents to make the theme more natural and reliable. For example, when the bridge was built, a squirrel thinks that it should help Sri Rama to achieve his end; it dips in the sea water, rolls down in the sand and gets rid of the sand in the middle of the rocks under construction. Knowing this, Sri Rama blesses squirrel for its devotion and draws three lines on its back with his fingers. The three white lines on the back of squirrels are supposed to have come into existence in this way.

References

{{Ramayana Telugu-language literature Works based on the Ramayana 14th-century literature