This is the second volume of a translation of India's most beloved and influential epic saga, the monumental . Of the seven sections of this great Sanskrit masterpiece, the is the most human, and it remains one of the best introductions to the social and political values of traditional India. This readable translation is accompanied by commentary that elucidates the various problems of the text—philological, aesthetic, and cultural. The annotations make extensive use of the numerous commentaries on the composed in medieval India. The substantial introduction supplies a historical context for the poem and a critical reading that explores its literary and ideological components.