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Synopsis The seven volumes of this work present the entire Ramayana for the first time which has been translated on the basis of critical edition, based on the manuscripts representing all recensional traditions.  The first volume gives copious annotations dealing with the poem's numerous textual and exegetical problems.  Drawing on the contributions of generations of Sanskrit commentators, the second volume is accompanied by a commentary that elucidates the various problems of the text, whether philological, aesthetic, or cultural.  The third volume carries forward the narrative which is the center of the epic.  It provides a profound meditation on the paradox of the hero as both human and divine.  The fourth volume is a version considerably reduced from the vulgate on which all previous translations were based.  It is accompanied by extensive notes on the original Sanskrit text and on several untranslated early Sanskrit commentaries.  The fifth volume, the most popular book of the Ramayana, contains an extensive introduction, exhaustive notes, and a comprehensive bibliography.