The Ramayana of Valmiki is the most important Adikavya, one of the two great National Epics of great national importance & significance. The Critical Edition of the two Epics was a desideratum and was considered to be sine qua non for all historical and textual studies, pertaining to them. Therefore, the project of the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata was undertaken and successfully completed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Pune (1919 to 1966). Similarly the project of the Critical Edition of the Valmiki Ramayana was undertaken & successfully completed by the Oriental Institute, Baroda (1951 to 1975) and was published in seven volumes namely - Bala, Ayodhya, Aranya, Kiskindha, Sundara, Yuddha and Uttara, edited by profound scholars such as Prof. G.H. Bhatt (Bala), Dr. P.L. Vaidya (Ayodhya & Yuddha), Shri P.C. Diwanji, (Aranya), Prof. D.R. Mankad (Kişkindha), Prof. G.C. Jhala (Sundara) & Dr. U.P. Shah (Uttara).

The first volume of the Critical Edition of the Valmiki Rāmāyana - the Balakanda-edited by G.H. Bhatt was first published in 1958. It has always been in great demand. Hence it was reprinted by Photo-offset in 1982. Most of the volumes of Valmiki Ramayana are fast going out of stock. As there is great demand from the scholarly world for their copies, we have an ambitious project of reprinting most of them. The modern method of reprinting by scanning has made the work of reprinting such books more easy and quick. We are glad to present to the world of scholars this reprinted first volume - Balakanda of Valmiki Ramayana. I hope this will also be welcomed & appreciated by the scholarly world, interested in Ramayana & its related studies, like its previous ones.

We are thankful to the University Authorities for releasing the necessary grant for the reprinting & publication of this volume. We are also grateful to Shri P.N. Srivastava, the Manager, the M.S. University of Baroda Press & his co-operative staff for reprinting it nicely in a very short period.

The text of the Balakloda in this Edition is based upon the following 37 MSS., selected from out of total of 86 MSS. collated for the purpose:

I. Northern) Recension (21 MSS-SVB 11+D10)

(a) North-western Group

Săradă Version [S]

St Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14061. Undated. (b) North-eastern Group

(1) Nepall Version 8 ] of S. no. 934 of the Bir Library, Kathmandu, Ni Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14156. Microfilm Nepal, dated Sativat 1076 (c. A.D. 1020). NaBaroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14157. Microfilm of MS. no. 905 of the Bir Library, Kathmandu, Nepal, dated Newlri Sativat 795 (c. A.D. 1675). (ii) Maithill Version [V]

V₁- Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14137. Microfilm of a MS. of the Palace Library, Darbhanga, dated Laksmana Sathvat 241 (c. A.D. 1360).

V: Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14133. Transcript of MS. no. 273 of the Palace Library,

Darbhango, dated Saka 1473 (c. A.D. 1551). V3= Baroda, Oriental Institute. No. 14130. Transcript of MS. no. 297 of the Palace Library.

Darbhanga, dated Saka 1753 (c. A.D. 1831). V=Baroda, Orienta! Institute, No. 14134. Transcript of MS. no, 291 of the Palace Library, Darbhanga, dated Saka 1758 (c. A.D. 1836). (iii) Bengall Version [B] Bi-Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14127. Photo-stat copy of MS. no. 348 of the Bibliothque Nationale, Paris, dated Saka 1610 (c. A.D. 1688).

BiSantiniketana, Viśvabbäratt, No. 776. Datd Saka 1711 (c. A.D. 1789). B)- Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. G. 395. Dated Saka 1754 (c. A.D. 1832).

B Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. II. A. 39. Undated.

Devandgart Version [D], Sub-divided into

(i) Devanagari Version of Tilaka (Dt ), the "Vulgate "". (S)

Dt Jodhpur, Palace Library. Unnumbered. Undated.

(ii) Devanagari Composite Version

Di = Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 14136. Photo-stat copy of MS. no. 123 of 1884-87 of the Government Collection deposited at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, dated Bombay

Samvat 1512 (c. A.D. 1455). (W).

D:= Poona, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, No. 815 of 1875-76. Dated Samvat 1650 (c. A.D. 1594). (W).

D- Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 3937. Dated Sahvat 1773 (c. A.D. 1717). (W).

(c. A.D. 1774). (S).

Sativat 1829

D- Baroda, in private possession (of late Prof. G. H. Bhatt ). Unnumbered. Dated Ds Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 12864. Dated Saka 1705 (c. A.D. 1786). (NW).

De Bombay, His Holiness Gosvami Srl Gokulanathajtmabaraja's Bada Mandira, No. 100. Undated. About 200 years old (earlier than Samvat 1851 c.A.D. 1796). (S).

Dr - Hrabiarpur, East Punjab, V. V. Research Institute, Sadhu Atrama, No. 1805. Dated Samovat 1869 (c. A.D. 1817). (NW).

D-Ujjain, Scindia Oriental Institute, No. 1613. Dated Sarhvat 1888 (c. A.D. 1831). (S).

D= Vallabha Vidyanagar (via Anand), Vitthalabhai Patel Mahavidyalaya. Unnumbered.

Samvat 1905 (c. A.D. 1848). (W).

Dated Die Ujjain, Scindia Oriental Institute, No. 1611. Undated. (NE). Du-Hoshiarpur, East Punjab, V. V. Research Institute, Sadhu Adrama, No. 2967. Undated. (NW).

Dis- Bikaner, Anup Sanskrit Library, No. 1018. Undated. (NW). Da-Jodhpur, Palace Library, No. 4. Undated. (NW).

H. Southern) Recension (16 MSS. :-TGM 11+D5)

Ds Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 6491. Undated. (S).

(1) Telugu Version [T] T1 Madras, Adyar Library, No. 72372. Undated.

T2 Madras, Adyar Library, No. 72393. Undated.

T= Madras, Adyar Library, No. 75597. Undated. (ii) Grantha Version [G]

G₁ = Baroda, Oriental Institute, No. 6362. Dated Kollam 993 (c. A.D. 1818). G₁=Trippunithura (Travancore-Cochin State,), Maharaja's Grantha Library, Sanskrit College, No. 152. Undated.

G Madras, Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, No. 9869. Undated. G= Ahmedabad, in private possession (of Muni Sif Pupyavijayaj). Unnumbered. Undated.

(iii) Malayalam Version [M] Mr Chunangad (via Ottapalam), South Malabar, in private possession (of Shri Nilakanthan Nambadiripad ). Unnumbered. Dated Kollam 687 (c. A.D. 1512).

M: Trippunithura (Travancore-Cochin State), Maharaja's Grantha Library, Sanskrit College; No. 158. Dated Kollam 865 (c. A.D. 1690).

M= Kumplangad (P.O. Kundanoor, via Wadakkancheri, Travancore-Cochin State) in private possession (of Shri Sankaran Nampyäthan Nambudiripad). Unnumbered. Dated Kollam 998 (c. A.D. 1823). M4 Trippanithura (Travancore-Cochin State), Maharaja's Grantha