Ramayan In Gujarati 1.0

Ramayana, considered part of Hindu Smriti, was written originally in Sanskrit by Sage Valmiki (3000 BC). Contained in 24,000 verses, this epic narrates Lord Ram of Ayodhya and his ayan (journey of life). Over a passage of time, Ramayana did not remain confined to just being a grand epic, it became a powerful symbol of India's social and cultural fabric. For centuries, its characters represented ideal role models - Ram as an ideal man, ideal husband, ideal son and a responsible ruler; Sita as an ideal wife, ideal daughter and Laxman as an ideal brother. Even today, the characters of Ramayana including Ravana (the enemy of the story) are fundamental to the grandeur cultural consciousness of India.

The only available Gujarati translation of Ramcharitmanas or ramayan, this great poem is made available on this application for the first time. It is a humble attempt made by me to present it in this way to facilitate easy reference. One would derive great pleasure by just reading the gujarati version as it keep intact the storyline. The tune and meters of poetry are also not exactly replicated in Hindi yet, in their own they are pretty consistent.
This app consists of 24,000 verses in seven books (kand) and 500 cantos (sargas), and tells the story of Bhagwan shri Ram.

1. Bala Kanda – Book of the young Rama which details the miraculous birth of Rama, his early life in Ayodhya, his slaying of the demons of the forest at the request of Vishvamitra and his wedding with Sita.

2. Ayodhya Kanda – Book of Ayodhya in which Dasharatha comes to grief over his promise to Kaikeyi and the start of Rama's exile.

3. Aranya Kanda – Book of the Forest which describes Rama's life in the forest and the abduction of Sita by Ravana.

4. Kishkindha Kanda – Book of Kishkindha, the Vanara kingdom in which Rama befriends Sugreeva and the Vanara army and begins the search for Sita.

5. Sundara Kanda – Book of Sundar (Hanuman) in which Hanuman travels to Lanka and finds Sita imprisoned there and brings back the good news to Rama.

6. Yuddha Kanda Book of the War, which narrates the Rama-Ravana war and the return of the successful Rama to Ayodhya and his coronation.

7. Uttara Kanda – Epilogue, which details the life of Rama and Sita after their return to Ayodhya, Sita's banishment and how Sita and Rama pass on to the next world.

Traditionally the epic belongs to the Treta Yuga, one of the four eons (yug) of Hindu chronology. Ram is said to have been born in the Treta Yug to King Daśarath in Ikshvaku Vansh.

The exact date of creation of Ramayana is unknown, and is estimated to lie between the 10th and 5th century B.C. As per the traditional astronomical back-projection by the Vedic system, the events of the war between Rama and Ravana happened 9299 years ago, as of November 3, 2007. It should be added that attempts to date events or read history or allegory from astronomical descriptions are quite exact, yet they tend to be heavily contested.

The story of Ram also inspired a large amount of latter-day literature in various languages, notable among which are the works of the sixteenth century Hindi poet Tulsidas, Tamil poet Kambar of the 13th century Molla Ramayanam in Telugu and the 14th century Kannada poet Narahari Kavi`s Torave Ramayan. The Ramayan became popular in Southeast Asia during the 8th century and manifested itself in text, temple architecture and performance.

The discovery of the Ram Setu (Rama's Bridge) between India and Sri Lanka has leant strong support to the epic being based on real events.