The sixth book of the Ramayana of Valmiki, the Yuddhakanda, recounts the final dramatic war between the forces of good led by the exiled prince Rama, and the forces of evil commanded by the arch demon Ravana. The hero Rama's primary purpose in the battle is to rescue the abducted princess Sita and destroy the demon king. However, the confrontation

*Frontmatter, pg. i*Contents, pg. vii*List of Abbreviations, pg. ix*Preface, pg. xiii*Guide to Sanskrit Pronunciation, pg. xvii*1. The Significance of the Yuddhakanda, pg. 3*2. Synopsis of the Yuddhakanda, pg. 7*3. Statecraft and Violence: The Themes of the Yuddhakanda, pg. 17*4. The Major Characters of the Yuddhakanda, pg. 43*5. Style and Structure of the Yuddhakanda, pg. 89*6. Text, Translation, and Commentaries, pg. 99*Part II. Yuddhakanda, pg. 119*Sarga 1, pg. 497*Sarga 2, pg. 501*Sarga 3, pg. 506*Sarga 4, pg. 517*Sarga 5, pg. 544*Sarga 6, pg. 549*Sarga 7, pg. 555*Sarga 8, pg. 560*Sarga 9, pg. 563*Sarga 10, pg. 572*Sarga 11, pg. 575*Sarga 12, pg. 587*Sarga 13, pg. 595*Sarga 14, pg. 603*Sarga 15, pg. 609*Sarga 16, pg. 626*Sarga 17, pg. 630*Sarga 18, pg. 639*Sarga 19, pg. 647*Sarga 20, pg. 657*Sarga 21, pg. 663*Sarga 22, pg. 669*Sarga 23, pg. 676*Sarga 24, pg. 689*Sarga 25, pg. 699*Sarga 26, pg. 704*Sarga 27, pg. 714*Sarga 28, pg. 718*Sarga 29, pg. 725*Sarga 30, pg. 728*Sarga 31, pg. 734*Sarga 32, pg. 754*Sarga 33, pg. 760*Sarga 34, pg. 767*Sarga 35, pg. 776*Sarga 36, pg. 786*Sarga 37, pg. 794*Sarga 38, pg. 798*Sarga 39, pg. 810*Sarga 40, pg. 817*Sarga 41, pg. 832*Sarga 42, pg. 837*Sarga 43, pg. 842*Sarga 44, pg. 849*Sarga 45, pg. 853*Sarga 46, pg. 862*Sarga 47, pg. 870*Sarga 48, pg. 906*Sarga 49, pg. 928*Sarga 50, pg. 935*Sarga 51, pg. 941*Sarga 52, pg. 960*Sarga 53, pg. 972*Sarga 54, pg. 983*Sarga 55, pg. 990*Sarga 56, pg. 1019*Sarga 57, pg. 1023*Sarga 58, pg. 1038*Sarga 59, pg. 1048*Sarga 60, pg. 1069*Sarga 61, pg. 1086*Sarga 62, pg. 1106*Sarga 63, pg. 1122*Sarga 64, pg. 1136*Sarga 65, pg. 1141*Sarga 66, pg. 1143*Sarga 67, pg. 1150*Sarga 68, pg. 1158*Sarga 69, pg. 1165*Sarga 70, pg. 1168*Sarga 71, pg. 1180*Sarga 72, pg. 1185*Sarga 73, pg. 1190*Sarga 74, pg. 1193*Sarga 75, pg. 1198*Sarga 76, pg. 1205*Sarga 77, pg. 1211*Sarga 78, pg. 1221*Sarga 79, pg. 1234*Sarga 80, pg. 1240*Sarga 81, pg. 1254*Sarga 82, pg. 1263*Sarga 83, pg. 1269*Sarga 84, pg. 1277*Sarga 85, pg. 1281*Sarga 86, pg. 1285*Sarga 87, pg. 1288*Sarga 88, pg. 1298*Sarga 89, pg. 1309*Sarga 90, pg. 1320*Sarga 91, pg. 1327*Sarga 92, pg. 1332*Sarga 93, pg. 1336*Sarga 94, pg. 1348*Sarga 95, pg. 1356*Sarga 96, pg. 1363*Sarga 97, pg. 1371*Sarga 98, pg. 1383*Sarga 99, pg. 1387*Sarga 100, pg. 1406*Sarga 101, pg. 1410*Sarga 102, pg. 1421*Sarga 103, pg. 1431*Sarga 104, pg. 1436*Sarga 105, pg. 1443*Sarga 106, pg. 1455*Sarga 107, pg. 1458*Sarga 108, pg. 1465*Sarga 109, pg. 1469*Sarga 110, pg. 1474*Sarga 111, pg. 1480*Sarga 112, pg. 1489*Sarga 113, pg. 1495*Sarga 114, pg. 1503*Sarga 115, pg. 1512*Sarga 116, pg. 1525*Glossary of Important Sanskrit Words, Proper Nouns, and Epithets, pg. 1553*Glossary of Flora and Fauna, pg. 1557*Glossary of Weapons, pg. 1559*Emendations and Corrections of the Critical Edition, pg. 1561*Bibliography of Works Consulted, pg. 1563*Index, pg. 1579

"An 118-page scholarly introduction and 1,161 octavo pages of back-matter annotations, bibliography, glossary, and index support, but don't intrude upon, the body of the text. The introduction takes up matters of meaning, theme and character, style and structure, commentary and translation. There's even a discussion of Yuddhakdikanda's cinematic qualities. The extensive annotation considers variant passages. It clarifies such details as the identity of beings, weapons, and creatures that retain then Sanskrit names in the translation."--Laurance Wieder, Books & Culture "[I]t is safe to say that this volume will stand for a very long time as the epitome of studies on the Yuddhakanda, indeed of the Ramayana itself."--Frederick M. Smith, Religious Studies Review "The translation admirably succeeds in pursuing its 'twin goals of accuracy and readability.' ... The volume opens up the epic battle book to new readers and gives them the closest thing they could get to what the original taste and texture of the text must have been, without making it inaccessible. To my mind, this is a remarkable achievement. Specialists will find in the annotations an endless mine of valuable information that will quickly become the foundation of any further research on the Yuddhakanda, and the rich and extremely useful index will facilitate access to this book... A person's education cannot be complete until he or she reads how Rama kills Ravana, as vividly told in this volume."--Yigal Bronner, European Legacy