Kamban

(9th c.) Southern Indian poet most
noted as the author of the Tamillanguage version of the Ramayana, the
earlier of the two great Hindu epics.
Kamban’s text is known as the Kamba
Ramayana, and remains popular in
modern times. As with all vernacular
translations of the Ramayana, Kamban
did not simply translate Valmiki’s
Sanskrit epic from Sanskrit to a more
common language, but adapted and
even added to it as he saw fit. Of particular interest is his heroic portrayal of the
demon-king Ravana, who is the villain
in the original story. This shift may
reflect feelings of regional pride, since
Kamban was a southern Indian and
Ravana’s kingdom of Lanka is generally
identified as the island of Sri Lanka in
the Indian Ocean, southeast of the
Indian mainland.