Ramayan as an Eco-centric Epic - Gohil Hardeepsinh Ranjitsinh

A text which has been emanated from poets despair about Man’s annihilation of nature; has more relevance in present polluted times, than thousands of years before when it was written. Ramayana has been venerated, preached, read, recited and performed in various parts of the world in ‘variety of ways over the centuries’.( Richman: 2008) The poet sage Valmiki compelled to write the epic on intolerable incident of killing the male Saarus (crane) enjoying conjugal company of his counterpart. The present paper will try to evaluate employment of language and literary aspects to figure out poet’s bondage with mother earth and his dexterity to formulate it into the magnum opus. The application of various poetical devices (rhyming- Anusthup chanda, allusions- from Vedas, and Upanishads, ironies - prince and princess spending their lives as wayfarers) description of the various geographical locations (Ram’s exile in woods, Chitrakut, Dandakaranya forest, Ganga, Yamuna, Kaanan, Mountains and Ocean), along with poet’s artistic exertion of personified metaphors (Ahalya, Maricha, Jatayu, Hanuman) leads to the sublime realization of ‘nature, The strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling.’ (Scheese:2002) It will illuminate the unexplored eco- centric angles from one of the most ancient texts.