Pune, Apr 23 (Representative) Swami Govind Dev Giri, the treasurer of the Shri Ramjanma Bhoomi Trust, has hailed the Valmiki Ramayana as the most authentic scripture. “There are different versions of the Ramayana like the Oriya Dandi Ramayana, Tulsidas Ramayana and I respect them all, but the Valmiki Ramayana is the most authentic scripture among them,” said Swami Govind Dev Giri here after unveiling the Magnum Opus on Valmiki Ramayana, which is published by Vedic Cosmos, a noted publishing house. The unveiling ceremony was held at the Sant Dnyaneshwar Hall, MIT World Peace University, Kothrud, with Dr Vishwanath Karad, founder MIT World Peace University, present as the guest of honour.Shirish Rajesh, Hemant Sheth of Vedic Cosmos along with Surendra Karamchandni of Venus Traders were present on the occasion.Dr Vishwanath Karad said the unveiling of the Magnum Opus on the Valmiki Ramayana was a historic occasion. “Ramayana is not only the story of Lord Rama but it shows the way of life. All the mythological epics show the way of life,” Dr Karad said. Shirish Rajesh of Vedic Cosmos said that it took them five years to make this grand eco-friendly Magnum Opus and a lot of research had gone into it.This special creation of Valmiki Ramayana is priced at Rs.1.65 Lakhs in India and USD 2500 abroad and it will be available at all the six branches of Venus Traders in Pune for the readers. All the 24,000 original m?la-?lokas of Valmiki Ramayana are presented in palm-leaf inspired, wooden-covered, gilt-edged ten books in the Magnum Opus, which weighs 45 KG.
The Magnum Opus, which uses over 200 illustrations, also contains translation of all the seven k???as of the V?lm?ki-R?m?ya?a in English and Hindi in a narrative style and it is preserved in handcrafted-wooden box made using solid maple, walnut and sapele wood. Another feature is that the books are crafted with eco-friendly materials and its covers are printed on the finest fabric and affixed with precious Swarovski crystals and the painting style is inspired by Ajanta frescoes and paintings of Vijayanagar, Bengal and Mysore regions. The books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified and acid-free papers and the text is also printed with environment-friendly vegetable inks made of natural ingredients.While Hemant Sheth made the opening remarks, Bhartti Zaveri from Vedic Cosmos proposed the vote of thanks.