Adbhuta Ramayana

Adbhuta Ramayana is a Sanskrit work traditionally attributed to the sage Valmiki,or perhaps a different sage who borrowed his name. It is considerably more obscure than both the Valmiki Ramayana—generally considered the original version—as well as Tulsidas’ awadhi version entitled Ramacharitamanasa, northern India’s most popular version of the Ramayana story.

Scholarly analysis of its content and text history has, to this point, been minor. Its significance lies in its traditional place in the body of Ramayana literature. It is not to be confused with the Kannada prose work of the same name by Nandalike Lakshminarayana.

The Adbhuta Ramayana is composed in 27 sargas of various metres, and only briefly recounts the traditional Rama narrative. The earliest episodes of Rama’s life, as depicted in Valmiki’s original telling—such as the story of Rama’s birth, his training with Vishwamitra, and the breaking of Shiva’s bow at Sita’s swayamvara—are omitted. This adaptation of Rama's life begins with his confrontation with Parashurama as he and his family returned from his wedding in Janakpura. The story glosses over other noteworthy events of the epic, focusing more on supportive stories intended to elaborate upon the major themes of Valmiki’s primary work.

Sita is accorded far more prominence in this variant of the Ramayana narrative, and indeed two of its most notable contributions are an elaboration of the events surrounding her birth—in this case to Ravana’s wife, Mandodari—as well as her conquest of Ravana’s older brother in her Mahakali form.

Sarga 1: The Rishi Bharadwaja approached Valmiki and asked him to narrate the story of Rama, reminding him that the Ramayana includes hundreds of thousands of shlokas (verses), most of which have been unavailable. Bharadwaja asked to hear one of those secret stories, to which Valmiki acquiesced, noting that this version would emphasize the deeds of Sita, the incarnation of Prakriti (nature). Valmiki emphasized, however, that Rama was the manifestation of the supreme, and that ultimately there is no distinction between Rama and Sita—they are one.

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