Seeger published a prose version of the second Sanskrit epic, The Ramayana, in 1969. Of even greater antiquity than The Five Sons of King Pandu, the events of The Ramayana are believed to have been recited by storytellers from the early days of the Aryan occupation of northern India. One-third the length of The Mahabharata, this epic poem was composed by Valmiki in the fourth century B.C.

Like the Greek epic the Odyssey, The Ramayana is also the story of the trials, adversities, and final triumph of one family. Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, is banished from the kingdom for fourteen years by his step-mother, Queen Kaikeyi, because she wanted her son to be coronated as the next king. Rama is followed into exile by his devoted wife, Sita, and younger brother, Lakshmana.

While in exile, they visit important hermitages, protect the sages from the attacks...