A group of scholars have discovered a sixth-century manuscript of the Ramayana in the Asiatic Society library in Kolkata. The manuscript depicts Rama and Sita more as humans and focuses on their separation, The Times of India reported. This version also differs from the fourth-century version by Valmiki, which has seven sections. The manuscript discovered only has five sections.
This version also ends with Rama’s return from exile and his ascension to the throne. Manabendu Bandyopadhyay, general secretary of Asiatic Society, said this version also holds interesting, more human details of Rama and Sita, such as how old they were when they got married and the date of Sita’s abduction. The Asiatic Society will publish this as a book after reading it for about a year.
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