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The Sanskrit epic Ramayana is seen to have exerted tremendous influence on the literatures, religions, and art forms not only of the country of its origin, namely India, but also of a fairly large part of Asia, particularly Southeast Asia. It was, therefore, not surprising that Indonesia should have taken the initiative in convening for the first time an International Ramayana Conference.

Following that lead, the Sahitya Akademi (Indian National Academy of Letters) organized a seminar on the 'Ramayana Tradition in Asia' at New Delhi in December 1975. It was at this seminar that the idea of a 'Critical Annotated Inventory of the Ramayana' was first mooted. In 1977, the Indian National Academy of Letters presented this research project to the UAI for its sponsorship, and the UAI formally adopted it at its annual meeting in 1978. An International Editorial Committee consisting of scholars nominated by the Indian National Academy of Letters and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies is in charge of the project.

As visualized by the Editorial Committee, the 'Ramayana Inventory' would consist of a comprehensive, systematic, critical, and annotated record of all significant source material relating to the Ramayana. This material would be broadly classified in the following nine categories:

1. manuscripts of the original epic and its commentaries, in different scripts, known to exist in public and private collections in India and elsewhere ;
2. printed editions of Valmiki's Ramayana and its commentaries ;
3. printed editions and select manuscripts of the versions of the Ramayana and their commentaries, in Indian and non-Indian languages ;
4. translations of the original Ramayana and of the various versions of the Ramayana in important languages ;
5. important literary works based on the Rama theme ;
6. inscriptions embodying references to the Rama theme ;
7. critical studies, in various languages, relating to the Ramayana (and the Rama theme) and its versions. (The record of the critical writings on Valmiki's Ramayana will be exhaustive while that of the critical writings on the versions will be selective) ;
8. the Rama theme in oral tradition;
9. the Rama theme in various art forms such as painting, sculpture, dance, drama, music, films, etc.

The project was adopted by the UAI in 1977 on the initiative of the Indian National Academy of Letters as a Category C project.

Directors : R.S. Kelkar 1977-1984, I.N. Choudhuri 1984-1993.

Project concluded in 1993.