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Maa Kali dressed with lights, flowers, and the scythe of the shrine.

Sacred Learning

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa

The poem of Rāma as Vālmīki heard it — indexed by kāṇḍa, opened where a sourced slice is ready.

A first slice is open

Seven kāṇḍas are the traditional spine of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Sarga and verse counts differ between the Southern and Northern vulgates and the Baroda Critical Edition.

This library uses vulgate numbering for the Bāla opening (1.1). When a later verse needs the Critical Edition, the record will name both. The Uttara-kāṇḍa is indexed as the seventh book; scholarly debate about its standing is noted, not hidden.

Bāla-kāṇḍa Childhood and the making of the poem. Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa The city, the exile, the vow. Araṇya-kāṇḍa Forest years and the taking of Sītā. Kiṣkindhā-kāṇḍa Alliance with the vānaras. Sundara-kāṇḍa Hanumān’s crossing and the finding of Sītā. Yuddha-kāṇḍa The war at Laṅkā and the return. Uttara-kāṇḍa Later book; indexed as the seventh traditional kāṇḍa.