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| Ramayana | |
|---|---|
| Rama with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana during exile in the forest, manuscript, ca. 1780 | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Author | Valmiki |
| Language | Sanskrit |
| Chapters | 500 Sargas, 7 Kandas |
| Verses | 24,000 |
The Rāmāyana (/rɑːˈmɑːjənə/;[1][2] Sanskrit: रामायणम्,[3] IAST: Rāmāyaṇam) is a Sanskrit epic from ancient India. Ramayana is one of the two important legends of Hinduism, known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahābhārata.[4]
The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama’s stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama’s eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.
The Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anustubh meter), divided into seven kāṇḍas, the first and the seventh being later additions.[5] It belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events (purāvṛtta), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life. Scholars’ estimates for the earliest stage of the text range from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE,[6][7] with later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE.[8]
There are many versions of Ramayana in Indian languages, besides Buddhist, Sikh and Jain adaptations. There are also Cambodian (Reamker), Indonesian, Filipino, Thai (Ramakien), Lao, Burmese and Malay versions of the tale. Retellings include Kamban‘s Ramavataram in Tamil (c. 11th–12th century), Champu Ramayanam[9] of Bhoja (c. 11th century), Kumudendu Muni’ s Kumudendu Ramayana (a Jain version) (c. 13th century) and Narahari’s Torave Ramayana in Kannada (c. 16th-century), Gona Budda Reddy‘s Ranganatha Ramayanam in Telugu (c. 13th century), Madhava Kandali‘s Saptakanda Ramayana in Assamese (c. 14th century), Krittibas Ojha‘s Krittivasi Ramayan (also known as Shri Ram Panchali) in Bengali (c. 15th century), Sarala Das‘ Vilanka Ramayana (c. 15th century)[10][11][12][13] and Balarama Dasa’s Jagamohana Ramayana (also known as the Dandi Ramayana) (c. 16th century) both in Odia, sant Eknath‘s Bhavarth Ramayan (c. 16th century) in Marathi, Tulsidas‘ Ramcharitamanas (c. 16th century) in Awadhi (which is an eastern form of Hindi) and Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan‘s Adhyathmaramayanam (Kilippattu) in Malayalam (c. 17th century).
The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and the Hindu life and culture. The characters Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata, Hanuman, and Ravana are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of the South Asian nations of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the South-East Asian countries of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Its most important moral influence was the importance of virtue, in the life of a citizen and in the ideals of the formation of a state or of a functioning society.
Etymology
The name Rāmāyaṇa is composed of two words, Rāma and ayaṇa. Rāma, the name of the central figure of the epic, has two contextual meanings. In the Atharvaveda, it means ‘dark, dark-coloured, black’ and is related to the word rātri which means ‘darkness or stillness of night’. The other meaning, which can be found in the Mahabharata, is ‘pleasing, pleasant, charming, lovely, beautiful’.[14][15] The word ayana means travel or journey. Thus, Rāmāyaṇa means “Rama’s progress”, with ayana altered to ayaṇa due to the Sanskrit grammar rule of internal sandhi.[16][17]
Textual characteristics
An artist’s impression of sage Valmiki composing the Ramayana
Genre
The Ramayana belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events (purāvṛtta), which includes the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and the Ramayana. The genre also includes teachings on the goals of human life. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal husband, and the ideal king. Like the Mahabharata, Ramayana presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in the narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements.[citation needed]
Structure
In its extant form, Valmiki’s Ramayana is an epic poem of some 24,000 verses, divided into seven kāṇḍas (Bālakāṇḍa, Ayodhyakāṇḍa, Araṇyakāṇḍa, Kiṣkindakāṇḍa, Sundarākāṇḍa, Yuddhakāṇḍa, Uttarakāṇḍa), and about 500 sargas (chapters).[5][18]
Dating
Rama (left third from top) depicted in the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Vishnu. Painting from Jaipur, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum
According to Robert P. Goldman, the oldest parts of the Ramayana date to between the mid-7th century BCE and the mid-6th century BCE. This is due to the narrative not mentioning Buddhism nor the prominence of Magadha. The text also mentions Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, rather than its later name of Saketa or the successor capital of Shravasti.[6] In terms of narrative time, the action of the Ramayana predates the Mahabharata. Scholarly estimates for the earliest stage of the available text range from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE,[6][7] with later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE.[8]
Books two to six are the oldest portion of the epic, while the first and last books (Bala Kanda and Uttara Kanda, respectively) seem to be later additions. Style differences and narrative contradictions between these two volumes and the rest of the epic have led scholars since Hermann Jacobi to the present toward this consensus.[19]
Recensions
The Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions, and sub-recensions. Textual scholar Robert P. Goldman differentiates two major regional revisions: the northern (n) and the southern (s). Scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that “the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind.”
A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about the discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, Kolkata.[20]
There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last volumes (Bala Kanda and Uttara Kanda) of Valmiki’s Ramayana were composed by the original author. The uttarākāṇḍa, the bālakāṇḍa, although frequently counted among the main ones, is not a part of the original epic. Though Balakanda is sometimes considered in the main epic, according to many Uttarakanda is certainly a later interpolation and thus is not attributed to the work of Maharshi Valmiki.[5] This fact is reaffirmed by the absence of these two Kāndas in the oldest manuscript.[20] Many Hindus don’t believe they are integral parts of the scripture because of some style differences and narrative contradictions between these two volumes and the rest.[21]
Characters
Main article: List of characters in Ramayana
Bala Kanda
Main article: Bala KandaThe marriage of the four sons of Dasharatha with the four daughters of Siradhvaja Janaka and Kushadhvaja. Rama and Sita, Lakshmana and Urmila, Bharata and Mandavi and Shatrughna with Shrutakirti.
This Sarga (section) details the stories of Rama’s childhood and events related to the time frame. Dasharatha was the King of Ayodhya. He had three wives: Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. He did not have a son and in the desire to have a legal heir performs a fire sacrifice known as Putra-kameshti Yajna. As a consequence, Rama was first born to Kaushalya, Bharata was born to Kaikeyi, Lakshmana and Shatrughna were born to Sumitra.
These sons are endowed, to various degrees, with the essence of the god Vishnu; Vishnu had opted to be born into mortality to combat the demon Ravana, who was oppressing the gods, and who could only be destroyed by a mortal. The boys were reared as the princes of the realm, receiving instructions from the scriptures and in warfare from Vashistha. When Rama was 16 years old, sage Vishwamitra comes to the court of Dasharatha in search of help against demons who were disturbing sacrificial rites. He chooses Rama, who is followed by Lakshmana, his constant companion throughout the story. Rama and Lakshmana receive instructions and supernatural weapons from Vishwamitra and proceed to destroy Tataka and many other demons.
Janaka was the King of Mithila. One day, a female child was found in the field by the King in the deep furrow dug by his plough. Overwhelmed with joy, the King regarded the child as a “miraculous gift of God”. The child was named Sita, the Sanskrit word for furrow. Sita grew up to be a girl of unparalleled beauty and charm. The King had decided that whoever could lift and wield a heavy bow, presented to his ancestors by Shiva, could marry Sita.[22]
Sage Vishwamitra takes Rama and Lakshmana to Mithila to show the bow. Then Rama desires to lift it and goes on to wield the bow and when he draws the string, it broke.[22] Marriages were arranged between the sons of Dasharatha and daughters of Janaka. Rama marries Sita, Lakshmana to Urmila, Bharata to Mandavi and Shatrughna to Shrutakirti. The weddings were celebrated with great festivity in Mithila and the marriage party returns to Ayodhya.
Ayodhya Kanda
A gold carving depiction of the legendary Ayodhya at the Ajmer Jain temple.
After Rama and Sita have been married, an elderly Dasharatha expresses his desire to crown Rama, to which the Kosala assembly and his subjects express their support. On the eve of the great event, Kaikeyi was happy about this, but was later on provoked by Manthara, a wicked maidservant, to claim two boons that Dasharatha had long ago granted her. Kaikeyi demands Rama to be exiled into the wilderness for fourteen years, while the succession passes to her son Bharata.
The heartbroken king, constrained by his rigid devotion to his given word, accedes to Kaikeyi’s demands. Rama accepts his father’s reluctant decree with absolute submission and calm self-control which characterizes him throughout the story. He is joined by Sita and Lakshmana. When he asks Sita not to follow him, she says, “the forest where you dwell is Ayodhya for me, and Ayodhya without you is a veritable hell for me.”
After Rama’s departure, King Dasharatha, unable to bear the grief, passes away. Meanwhile, Bharata, who was on a visit to his maternal uncle, learns about the events in Ayodhya. Bharata refuses to profit from his mother’s wicked scheming and visits Rama in the forest. He requests Rama to return and rule. But Rama, determined to carry out his father’s orders to the letter, refuses to return before the period of exile.Rama leaving for fourteen years of exile from Ayodhya.
Aranya Kanda
Main article: Aranya KandaRavana fights Jatayu as he carries off the kidnapped Sita. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma
After thirteen years of exile, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana journey southward along the banks of the river Godavari, where they build cottages and live off the land. At the Panchavati forest they are visited by a rakshasi named Shurpanakha, sister of Ravana. She tries to seduce the brothers and, after failing, attempts to kill Sita. Lakshmana stops her by cutting off her nose and ears. Hearing of this, her brothers Khara and Dushan organize an attack against the princes. Rama defeats Khara and his rakshasas.
When the news of these events reaches Ravana, he resolves to destroy Rama by capturing Sita with the aid of the rakshasa Maricha. Maricha, assuming the form of a golden deer, captivates Sita’s attention. Entranced by the beauty of the deer, Sita pleads with Rama to capture it. Rama, aware that this is the ploy of the demons, cannot dissuade Sita from her desire and chases the deer into the forest, leaving Sita under Lakshmana’s guard.
After some time, Sita hears Rama calling out to her; afraid for his life, she insists that Lakshmana rush to his aid. Lakshmana tries to assure her that Rama cannot be hurt that easily and that it is best if he continues to follow Rama’s orders to protect her. On the verge of hysterics, Sita insists that it is not she but Rama who needs Lakshman’s help. He obeys her wish but stipulates that she is not to leave the cottage or entertain any stranger. With the coast finally clear, Ravana appears in the guise of an ascetic requesting Sita’s hospitality. Unaware of her guest’s plan, Sita is tricked and is then forcibly carried away by Ravana.[23]
Jatayu, a vulture, tries to rescue Sita but is mortally wounded. In Lanka, Sita is kept under the guard of rakshasis. Ravana asks Sita to marry him, but she refuses, being totally devoted to Rama. Meanwhile, Rama and Lakshmana learn about Sita’s abduction from Jatayu and immediately set out to save her. During their search, they meet Kabandha and the ascetic Shabari, who direct them towards Sugriva and Hanuman.
Kishkindha Kanda
A stone bas-relief at Banteay Srei in Cambodia depicts the combat between Vali and Sugriva (middle). To the right, Rama fires his bow. To the left, Vali lies dying.
Citadel Kishkindha Kanda is set in the place of Vanaras (Vana-nara) – Forest dwelling humans.[24] Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman, the biggest devotee of Rama, greatest of ape heroes, and an adherent of Sugriva, the banished pretender to the throne of Kishkindha. Rama befriends Sugriva and helps him by killing his elder brother Vali thus regaining the kingdom of Kishkindha, in exchange for helping Rama to recover Sita.
However, Sugriva soon forgets his promise and spends his time enjoying his newly gained power. The clever former ape queen Tara (wife of Vali) calmly intervenes to prevent an enraged Lakshmana from destroying the ape citadel. She then eloquently convinces Sugriva to honor his pledge. Sugriva then sends search parties to the four corners of the earth, only to return without success from north, east, and west. The southern search party under the leadership of Angada and Hanuman learns from a vulture named Sampati (elder brother of Jatayu), that Sita was taken to Lanka.
Sundara Kanda
Main article: Sundara KandaRavana is meeting Sita at Ashokavana. Hanuman is seen on the tree.
Sundara Kanda forms the heart of Valmiki’s Ramayana and consists of a detailed, vivid account of Hanuman‘s heroics. After learning about Sita, Hanuman assumes a gargantuan form and makes a colossal leap across the sea to Lanka. On the way, he meets with many challenges like facing a Gandharva Kanya who comes in the form of a demon to test his abilities. He encounters a mountain named Mainakudu who offers Hanuman assistance and offers him rest. Hanuman refuses because there is little time remaining to complete the search for Sita.
After entering Lanka, he finds a demon, Lankini, who protects all of Lanka. Hanuman fights with her and subjugates her in order to get into Lanka. In the process, Lankini, who had an earlier vision/warning from the gods, therefore, knows that the end of Lanka nears if someone defeats Lankini. Here, Hanuman explores the demons’ kingdom and spies on Ravana. He locates Sita in Ashoka grove, where she is being wooed and threatened by Ravana and his rakshasis to marry Ravana.
Hanuman reassures Sita, giving Rama’s signet ring as a sign that Rama is still alive. He offers to carry Sita back to Rama; however, she refuses and says that it is not the dharma, stating that Ramayana will not have significance if Hanuman carries her to Rama – “When Rama is not there Ravana carried Sita forcibly and when Ravana was not there, Hanuman carried Sita back to Rama”. She says that Rama himself must come and avenge the insult of her abduction. She gives Hanuman her comb as a token to prove that she is still alive.
Hanuman asks Sita for food to eat as he was hungry. Sita tells him that she is only allowed to eat the fruits that are fallen from the trees and he may also find some on the ground to eat. Angry Hanumam then wreaks havoc in Lanka by destroying trees in the Naulakha Bagh and buildings and killing Ravana’s warriors. He allows himself to be captured and delivered to Ravana. He gives a bold lecture to Ravana to release Sita. He is condemned and his tail is set on fire, but he escapes his bonds and leaps from roof to roof, sets fire to Ravana’s citadel, and makes the giant leap back from the island. The joyous search party returns to Kishkindha with the news.
Yuddha Kanda
The Battle at Lanka, Ramayana by Sahibdin. It depicts the monkey army of the protagonist Rama (top left, blue figure) fighting Ravana—the demon-king of the Lanka—to save Rama’s kidnapped wife, Sita. The painting depicts multiple events in the battle against the three-headed demon general Trishira, in the bottom left. Trishira is beheaded by Hanuman, the monkey-companion of Rama.
Also known as Lanka Kanda, this book describes the war between the army of Rama and the army of Ravana. Having received Hanuman’s report on Sita, Rama and Lakshmana proceed with their allies towards the shore of the southern sea. There they are joined by Ravana’s renegade brother Vibhishana. The apes named Nala and Nila construct a floating bridge (known as Rama Setu)[25] across the sea, using stones that floated on water because they had Rama’s name written on them and one story also tells that they had been cursed by a sage that whatever they will throw in a water body will not sink rather it will float.
The princes and their army cross over to Lanka. A lengthy war ensues. During a battle, Ravana’s son Indrajit hurls a powerful weapon at Lakshmana, who is badly wounded. So Hanuman assumes a gigantic form and flies from Lanka to the Himalayas. Upon reaching Mount Sumeru, Hanuman was unable to identify the herb that could cure Lakshmana and so decided to bring the entire mountain back to Lanka. Eventually, the war ends when Rama kills Ravana. Rama then installs Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka.
On meeting Sita, Rama said, “the dishonour meted out to him and the wrong done to her by Ravana have been wiped off, by his victory over the enemy with the assistance of Hanuman, Sugreeva and Vibhishana”.[26] However, upon criticism from people in his kingdom, Rama disowns her and asks her to seek shelter elsewhere. Sita requests Lakshmana to prepare a pile of fire for her to enter. When Lakshmana prepares a pyre, Sita prays to the god Agni and enters into it, in order to prove her conjugal fidelity. Agni appears in person from the burning pyre, carrying Sita in his arms and restores her to Rama, testifying to her purity.[27] Rama later joyfully accepts her. The episode of Agni Pariksha varies in the versions of Ramayana by Valmiki and Tulsidas. In Tulsidas‘s Ramacharitamanas, Sita was under the protection of Agni (see Maya Sita) so it was necessary to bring her out before reuniting with Rama.
Uttara Kanda
It narrates Rama’s reign of Ayodhya, the birth of Lava and Kusha, the Ashvamedha yajna and last days of Rama. At the expiration of his term of exile, Rama returns to Ayodhya with Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, where the coronation is performed. On being asked to prove his devotion to Rama, Hanuman tears his chest open and to everyone’s surprise, there is an image of Rama and Sita inside his chest. Rama rules Ayodhya and the reign is called Ram-Rajya (a place where the common folk is happy, fulfilled, and satisfied).
This book (kanda) is not considered to be a part of the original epic but instead a later addition to the earliest layers of the Valmiki Ramayana and is considered to be highly interpolated. In this kanda, Rama is crowned ruler. The legend goes that one day Rama overhears the conversation of a fisherman and his wife. The wife allegedly spent a night in his absence and the fisherman is furious at his wife. He calls Rama shameless as he rescued Sita, who had spent a long time at Lanka in the presence of another man.
Rama was furious as Sita had proved to everyone she was pure, through Agnipravesh. Sita, who was pregnant was sent to exile into the forest. She finds refuge in Sage Valmiki‘s ashram, where she gives birth to twin boys, Lava and Kusha. Meanwhile, Rama conducts an Ashwamedha yajna (A holy declaration of the authority of the king) and in absence of Sita places a golden statue of Sita.
Lava and Kusha capture the horse (sign of the yajna) and defeat the whole army of Ayodhya which come to protect the horse. Later on, both the brothers defeat Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatrughan and other warriors and take Hanuman as prisoner. Finally Rama himself arrives and defeats the two mighty brothers. Valmiki updates Sita about this development and advises both the brothers to go to Ayodhya and tell the story of Sita’s sacrifice to the common folk. Both brothers arrive at Ayodhya but face many difficulties while convincing the people. Hanuman helps both the brothers in this task.
At one point, Valmiki brings Sita forward. Seeing Sita, Rama is teary eyed and realises that Lava and Kusha are his own sons. Again complicit Nagarsen (one of the primaries who instigated the hatred towards Sita) challenges Sita’s character and asks her to prove her purity. Sita is overflown with emotions and decides to go back to Mother Earth from where she emerged. She says that, “If I am pure, this earth will open and swallow me whole.”
At that very moment, the earth opens up and swallows Sita. Rama rules Ayodhya for many years and finally takes Samadhi into Sarayu river along with his three brothers and leaves the world. He goes back to Vaikuntha in his Vishnu form (Lakshmana as Shesh Naga, Bharata as his conch and Shatrughana as the Sudarshan Chakra) and meets Sita there who by then assumed the form of Lakshmi.