Abstract

FIGUEROA, Óscar. The Vision of Laṅkā in Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa: A Poetics of Secular Life. Acta poét [online]. 2017, vol.38, n.1, pp.51-66. ISSN 2448-735X.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ap.2017.1.769.

This paper investigates the description of Laṅkā, the capital of the demonic kingdom, in the fifth book of the Rāmāyaṇa. While stressing the importance of Brahmanical ethics and values, this description introduces a sort of poetic consecration of secular life that suggests a more heterogeneous social dynamic. Finally, we mention some examples from later versions of the Rāmāyaṇa where this heterogeneity is contracted into a purely religious vision.

Keywords : Sanskrit literature; Rāmāyaṇa; Laṅkā; demons; secular life and religion.

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