"The first Ramayana to be translated into a regional language from the main Sanskrit Ramayana, among the north Indian languages, is Madhav Kandali’s Saptakanda Ramayana in Assamese. This was carried out in the 14th century. Madhava Kandali created his work under the patronage of Raja Mahamanikya, the Kachari king whose kingdom was situated in the present-day district of Nagaon. Acknowledging Madhava Kandali’s literary prowess, Mahapurusha Sri Sankardeva later commented thus ‘Seeking Rama in the works of my unchal- lenged predecessor, I felt like the rabbit running away in fear seeing the elephant’s dung’."