Maharadia Lawana

[1] Its English translation is attributed to Filipino Indologist Juan R. Francisco, assisted by Maranao scholar Nagasura Madale, based on Francisco's ethnographic research in the Lake Lanao area in the late 1960s.

[2]: "264" It narrates the adventures of the monkey-king, Maharadia Lawana, to whom the Gods have granted immortality.

He then sought the help of Maranao scholar Nagasura Madale, resulting in a rhyming English translation of the epic.

[2] Francisco believed that the Ramayana narrative arrived in the Philippines some time between the 17th to 19th centuries, via interactions with Javanese and Malaysian cultures which traded extensively with India.

Francisco believed that this was a sign of "indigenization", and suggested that some changes had already been introduced in Malaysia and Java even before the story was heard by the Maranao, and that upon reaching the Maranao homeland, the story was "further indigenized to suit Philippine cultural perspectives and orientations.