Versions of the Ramayana

The Ramayana has spread to many Asian countries outside of India, including Burma, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Mongolia, Vietnam and China.

The manifestation of the core themes of the original Ramayana is far broader even than can be understood from a consideration of the different languages in which it appears, as its essence has been expressed in a diverse array of regional cultures and artistic mediums.

For instance, the Ramayana has been expressed or interpreted in Lkhaon Khmer dance theatre, in the Ramanattam and Kathakali of Kerala, in the Mappila Songs of the Muslims of Kerala and Lakshadweep,[6] in the Indian operatic tradition of Yakshagana, and in the epic paintings still extant on, for instance, the walls of Thailand's Wat Phra Kaew palace temple.

In September 2006, the first issue of Ramayan 3392 A.D. was published by Virgin Comics, featuring the Ramayana as re-envisioned by author Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Starting in 1978, and under the supervision of Baba Hari Dass, the Ramayana has been performed every year by Mount Madonna School in Watsonville,[34] California.

It takes the form of a colorful musical with custom costumes, sung and spoken dialog, jazz-rock orchestration and dance.

[35] Baba Hari Dass has thought acting arts, costume-attire design, masks making, and choreography to bring alive characters of Sri Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshmana, Shiva, Parvati, Vibhishan, Jatayu, Sugriva, Surpanakha, Ravana and his rakshasa court, Meghnaad, Kumbhakarna, and the army of monkeys and demons.

[36] Artist Vikas Goel and writer Vijayendra Mohanty have created a ten-part comic series called Ravanayan that presents the story of Ramayana from Ravana's perspective.

Rama (right), seated on the shoulders of Hanuman , battles the demon-king Ravana .
Rama is shown about to offer his eyes to make up the full number – 108 – of lotus blossoms needed in the puja that he must offer to the goddess Durga to gain her blessing. Scene from Krittivasi Ramayan.
Bas-relief at Angkor Wat depicting the “Battle of Lanka”. Preah Ream (Rama) is standing on Hanuman, followed by his brother Preah Leak, and Vibhishana.