RAMA & THE MONKEYS adapted for Children from the Ramayana by Geraldine Hodgson

(THE RAMAYANA) RAMA & THE MONKEYS adapted for Children from the Ramayana by Geraldine Hodgson. London: J M Dent, Aldine House, 1903. With illustrations by W. H[eath] Robinson. Small 8vo, xiii 104pp with colored frontispiece and pictorial title inserted as issued; soft smooth calf leather with gilt-stamped upper cover and gilt titled spine, edges a bit rough but a nice copy overall. Covers lightly warped, with "FILE" copy stamped inside, formerly from the publisher's archive.

First edition of the earliest identified version of the RAMAYANA prepared for children, intended as a reading book for boys' prep schools and lower classes in girls' high schools. The Rāmāyaṇa is a Sanskrit epic from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism, known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahābhārata. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala, often referred to as the Monkey King. It follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. It is traditionally dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of the very ancient Hindu sages. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in the Buddhist canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly been retold in poetic and dramatic versions by some of India's greatest writers and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of the staples of later dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-puppet theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).