This might b news to people who may not be aware of the many versions of Ramayana, some of them by Valimiki himself.
It is said that there are Sata Koti, 100 Crore Ramayanas, probably meaning innumerable-I am not confident of stating this, there might be even this number as many!
Valmiki, not being satisfied with The Ramayana we know he had written wrote some more Ramayan where he narrated more incidents from the Ramayana and about the character of Rama.
Ananda Ramayanam (12,252 slokas), Adyatma Ramayana is said to be part of the Satakoti Ramayanam. Ananda Ramayanam was written by Sri Valmiki himself. It is believed that Sri Valmiki felt sad that he left out some important details of Sri Rama's life in his original work, and wrote Ananda Ramayanam to get peace of mind. There are 9 kandams in Ananda Ramayanam: 1. SAra KAndam (has the sAram or the juice of Rama charitam) 2. YAtrA KAndam (Sri Rama's yAtras after His pattAbhishekam) 3. YAga KAndam (Sri Rama's asvamedha yAgam) 4. VilAsa KAndam (Sri Rama's and Sita's daily life) 5. Janma KAndam (Birth of Lava and Kusa) 6. VivAha KAndam (Weddings of Sri Rama's and his brothers' sons) 7. RAjya KAndam (fights with other asuras, expansion of kingdom, rajya pari- palanam) 8. ManOhara KAndam (slokas, Rama nama mahima etc.) 9. Poorna KAndam (Sri Rama and others leaving for Sri Vaikuntam). Here is the narration about Kausalya, Rama's mother being abducted by Ravana. This reminds of the indent involving Kamsa, Devaki and Vasudeva, when kamsa imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva, to ensure that Lord Krishna was not born! The narration by Valimiki about Kausalya does not contradict or affect the Ramayana as we know.
Stories from Sara Kandam - Chapter 1: 1.1 Story about Dasaratha and Kausalya: Valmiki's original Ramayana starts with Dasaratha ruling Ayodhya as a great king and desiring to do asvamedha yaga with his wives (Balakandam 5-8 sargas). Ananda Ramayanam goes many years prior to that and starts with Dasaratha and Kausalya's marriage. It is the time when Dasaratha's marriage with Kausalya is being fixed. Dasaratha is enjoying himself on the Sarayu river in a boat. Ravana calls for Brahma and asks Him who will cause his (Ravana's) death. Brahma tells him that Lord Narayana will be born to Dasaratha and Kausalya as Rama and will kill Ravana. He also tells him that Dasaratha and Kausalya are going to be married in 5 days. Ravana gets on his pushpaka vimana with several asuras and goes to Ayodhya, fights with Dasaratha and breaks the boat Dasaratha is in. Dasaratha and Sumantra somehow escape holding on to a piece of the boat and float down the Sarayu river, reach the Ganges and eventually the ocean. Ravana proceeds to fight Kausalya's father (the Kosala king) and abducts Kausalya. On the way to Lanka, he decides to hide Kausalya in a safe place and leaves her in the custody of a shark, after placing her in a box. The shark carries the box in its mouth. Sometime later, the shark happens to encounter another shark. It places the box in a nearby island and starts fighting. In the meantime, Dasaratha and Sumantra, who are floating in the ocean, discover this box and open it. They are surprised to see Kausalya. Dasaratha marries Kausalya immediately in gandharva vivaha fashion and all the three stay put in the box, exchanging stories. The shark carries the box again into the ocean. Ravana calls Brahma and boasts that he has killed Dasaratha and abducted Kausalya. Brahma laughs and tells him that they have already been married. The angered Ravana calls for the shark and opens the box; out come the three people. The scared Ravana tries to kill them with his sword. Brahma tries to console him saying, " You put only one girl in the box and now she has become three. Is it not possible that many more will be coming out of the box? Rama could be one of them. Just close the box and send it to Ayodhya". So, Ravana asks his servants to leave the box near Ayodhya. The box is discovered by the people of Ayodhya. The Kosala king gives his daughter, Kausalya, in marriage to Dasaratha in a formal ceremony. Thus ends this episode with a happy ending, as will be the characteristic of most events in Ananda Ramayanam. 1.2 Story behind the two boons given to Kaikeyi: Valmiki's original Ramayanam version: Once, Dasaratha helps the Devas in their fight with asuras. Dasaratha takes Kaikeyi with him. Valmiki Ramayanam - Ayodhya Kandam - 9th sargam sloka 16 states that Kaikeyi takes Dasaratha away from the battlefield when he becomes tired and swoons in his chariot. She attends to him and gets him back to good health. Dasaratha subsequently wins the war with the asuras. The pleased Dasaratha grants her two boons, which she chooses to use later. Ananda Ramayanam gives a different story. During the Deva-asura fight, the stick or support that holds the wheel to the chariot, breaks in Dasaratha's chariot and the chariot is about to collapse. Kaikeyi places her left hand in the place of the wheel-holder, in order to help her husband proceed without interruption. Finally, Dasaratha is victorious and being pleased with Kaikeyi's help, grants her two boons.Connected to this story is the following anecdote about Kaikeyi:Once, Kaikeyi, when she is very young, makes a paste out of coal and applies it on the face of a sage, for fun. He curses her saying "later in life, you will be put to shame - no one would like to see your face even". Kaikeyi gets scared and brings a stick to him, so he can punish her. The pleased sage grants a boon - " you left hand will be as strong as iron and will never fail in any instance". " Citation. http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/apr97/0052.html Image Credit.shirdisaibaba100.blogspot.com
