Bibek Debroy’s translation of the Valmiki Ramayana in three volumes is the fifth such attempt at bringing before English readers the unabridged story of Rama, the king of Ayodhya, who vanquished Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, and reaffirmed the rule of dharma or, as some would like to believe, established the victory of good over evil.
Of the four previous attempts, only one could have been based on the Critical Edition of the Valmiki Ramayana produced by the Oriental Institute, Baroda from 1958 to 1975. The other three translations appeared well before all the volumes of the Critical Edition