fbpx
Wikipedia

Rama

Rama (/ˈrɑːmə/;[4] Sanskrit: राम, romanizedrāma [ˈraːmɐ]) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.[5]

Rama
Member of Dashavatara
Rama holding arrows, early 19th century depiction
Devanagariराम
Sanskrit transliterationRāma
Affiliation
PredecessorDasharatha
SuccessorLava
Abode
MantraJai Shri Ram
Jai Siya Ram
Hare Rama
WeaponBow and arrows
ArmyVanara Sena, Ayodhyan Army
Texts
GenderMale
Festivals
Personal information
Born
Parents
Siblings
SpouseSita[3]
Children
DynastyRaghuvamsha-Suryavamsha
Dashavatara Sequence
PredecessorParashurama
SuccessorKrishna

Rama was born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya, the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married Sita. Though born in a royal family, Rama's life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, ethical questions and moral dilemmas.[6] Of all his travails, the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon-king Ravana, followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds. The entire life story of Rama, Sita and their companions allegorically discusses duties, rights and social responsibilities of an individual. It illustrates dharma and dharmic living through model characters.[6][7]

Rama is especially important to Vaishnavism. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures.[8][9][10] His ancient legends have attracted bhasya (commentaries) and extensive secondary literature and inspired performance arts. Two such texts, for example, are the Adhyatma Ramayana – a spiritual and theological treatise considered foundational by Ramanandi monasteries,[11] and the Ramcharitmanas – a popular treatise that inspires thousands of Ramlila festival performances during autumn every year in India.[12][13][14]

Rama legends are also found in the texts of Jainism and Buddhism, though he is sometimes called Pauma or Padma in these texts,[15] and their details vary significantly from the Hindu versions.[16] Jain Texts also mentioned Rama as the eighth balabhadra among the 63 salakapurusas.[17][18][19] In Sikhism, Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine avatars of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar in Dasam Granth.[20]

Etymology and nomenclature

Rama is also known as Ram, Raman, Ramar,[α] and Ramachandra (/ˌrɑːməˈændrə/;[22] IAST: Rāmacandra, Sanskrit: रामचन्द्र). Rāma is a Vedic Sanskrit word with two contextual meanings. In one context as found in Atharva Veda, as stated by Monier Monier-Williams, means "dark, dark-colored, black" and is related to the term ratri which means night. In another context as found in other Vedic texts, the word means "pleasing, delightful, charming, beautiful, lovely".[23][24] The word is sometimes used as a suffix in different Indian languages and religions, such as Pali in Buddhist texts, where -rama adds the sense of "pleasing to the mind, lovely" to the composite word.[25]

Rama as a first name appears in the Vedic literature, associated with two patronymic names – Margaveya and Aupatasvini – representing different individuals. A third individual named Rama Jamadagnya is the purported author of hymn 10.110 of the Rigveda in the Hindu tradition.[23] The word Rama appears in ancient literature in reverential terms for three individuals:[23]

  1. Parashu-rama, as the sixth avatar of Vishnu. He is linked to the Rama Jamadagnya of the Rigveda fame.
  2. Rama-chandra, as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and of the ancient Ramayana fame.
  3. Bala-rama, also called Halayudha, as the elder brother of Krishna both of whom appear in the legends of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu texts, for many different scholars and kings in mythical stories.[23] The word also appears in ancient Upanishads and Aranyakas layer of Vedic literature, as well as music and other post-Vedic literature, but in qualifying context of something or someone who is "charming, beautiful, lovely" or "darkness, night".[23]

The Vishnu avatar named Rama is also known by other names. He is called Ramachandra (beautiful, lovely moon),[24] or Dasarathi (son of Dasaratha), or Raghava (descendant of Raghu, solar dynasty in Hindu cosmology).[23][26] He is also known as Ram Lalla (Infant form of Rama).[27]

Additional names of Rama include Ramavijaya (Javanese), Phreah Ream (Khmer), Phra Ram (Lao and Thai), Megat Seri Rama (Malay), Raja Bantugan (Maranao), Ramudu (Telugu), Ramar (Tamil).[28] In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu. In some Advaita Vedanta inspired texts, Rama connotes the metaphysical concept of Supreme Brahman who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self (Atman, soul) in whom yogis delight nondualistically.[29]

The root of the word Rama is ram- which means "stop, stand still, rest, rejoice, be pleased".[24]

According to Douglas Q. Adams, the Sanskrit word Rama is also found in other Indo-European languages such as Tocharian ram, reme, *romo- where it means "support, make still", "witness, make evident".[24][30] The sense of "dark, black, soot" also appears in other Indo European languages, such as *remos or Old English romig.[31][β]

Legends

This summary is a traditional legendary account, based on literary details from the Ramayana and other historic mythology-containing texts of Buddhism and Jainism. According to Sheldon Pollock, the figure of Rama incorporates more ancient "morphemes of Indian myths", such as the mythical legends of Bali and Namuci. The ancient sage Valmiki used these morphemes in his Ramayana similes as in sections 3.27, 3.59, 3.73, 5.19 and 29.28.[33]

Birth

 
Gold carving depiction of the legendary Ayodhya at the Ajmer Jain temple

The ancient epic Ramayana states in the Balakhanda that Rama and his brothers were born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya, a city on the banks of Sarayu River.[34][35] The Jain versions of the Ramayana, such as the Paumacariya (literally deeds of Padma) by Vimalasuri, also mention the details of the early life of Rama. The Jain texts are dated variously, but generally pre-500 CE, most likely sometime within the first five centuries of the common era.[36] Moriz Winternitz states that the Valmiki Ramayana was already famous before it was recast in the Jain Paumacariya poem, dated to the second half of the 1st century CE, which pre-dates a similar retelling found in the Buddha-carita of Asvagosa, dated to the beginning of the 2nd century CE or prior.[37]

Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, and a part of the solar dynasty of Iksvakus. His mother's name Kaushalya literally implies that she was from Kosala. The kingdom of Kosala is also mentioned in Buddhist and Jain texts, as one of the sixteen Maha janapadas of ancient India, and as an important center of pilgrimage for Jains and Buddhists.[34][38] However, there is a scholarly dispute whether the modern Ayodhya is indeed the same as the Ayodhya and Kosala mentioned in the Ramayana and other ancient Indian texts.[39][γ]

Rama's birth, according to Ramayana, is an incarnation of God (Vishnu) as human. When demigods went to Brahma to seek liberation from Ravana's menance on the Earth (due to powers he had from Brahma's boon to him), Vishnu himself appeared and said he will incrarnate as Rama (human) and kill Ravana (since Brahma's boon made him invinsible from all, including God, except humans).[41]

Youth, family and friends

 
Rama is portrayed in Hindu arts and texts as a compassionate person who cares for all living beings.[42]

Rama had three brothers, according to the Balakhanda section of the Ramayana. These were Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.[3] The extant manuscripts of the text describes their education and training as young princes, but this is brief. Rama is portrayed as a polite, self-controlled, virtuous youth always ready to help others. His education included the Vedas, the Vedangas as well as the martial arts.[43]

The years when Rama grew up are described in much greater detail by later Hindu texts, such as the Ramavali by Tulsidas. The template is similar to those found for Krishna, but in the poems of Tulsidas, Rama is milder and reserved introvert, rather than the prank-playing extrovert personality of Krishna.[3]

In the kingdom of Mithilā, Rāma wins a bow-stringing contest and the hand of king Janaka's daughter Sītā. After getting married, Rāma takes her back to Ayodhyā.[44]

While Rama and his brothers were away, Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharata and the second wife of King Dasharatha, reminds the king that he had promised long ago to comply with one thing she asks, anything. Dasharatha remembers and agrees to do so. She demands that Rama be exiled for fourteen years to Dandaka forest.[43] Dasharatha grieves at her request. Her son Bharata, and other family members become upset at her demand. Rama states that his father should keep his word, adds that he does not crave for earthly or heavenly material pleasures, neither seeks power nor anything else. He talks about his decision with his wife and tells everyone that time passes quickly. Sita leaves with him to live in the forest, the brother Lakshmana joins them in their exile as the caring close brother.[43]

Exile and war

Rama heads outside the Kosala kingdom, crosses Yamuna river and initially stays at Chitrakuta, on the banks of river Mandakini, in the hermitage of sage Vasishtha.[45] During the exile, Rama meets one of his devotee, Shabari who happened to love him so much that when Rama asked something to eat she offered her ber, a fruit. But every time she gave it to him she first tasted it to ensure that it was sweet and tasty as a testament to her devotion. Rama also understood her devotion and ate all the half-eaten bers given by her. Such was the reciprocation of love and compassion he had for his people. This place is believed in the Hindu tradition to be the same as Chitrakoot on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The region has numerous Rama temples and is an important Vaishnava pilgrimage site.[45] The texts describe nearby hermitages of Vedic rishis (sages) such as Atri, and that Rama roamed through forests, lived a humble simple life, provided protection and relief to ascetics in the forest being harassed and persecuted by demons, as they stayed at different ashrams.[45][46]

After ten years of wandering and struggles, Rama arrives at Panchavati, on the banks of river Godavari. This region had numerous demons (rakshashas). One day, a demoness called Shurpanakha saw Rama, became enamored of him, and tried to seduce him.[43] Rama refused her. Shurpanakha retaliated by threatening Sita. Lakshmana, the younger brother protective of his family, in turn retaliated by cutting off the nose and ears of Shurpanakha. The cycle of violence escalated, ultimately reaching demon king Ravana, who was the brother of Shurpanakha. Ravana comes to Panchavati to take revenge on behalf of his family, sees Sita, gets attracted, and kidnaps her to his kingdom of Lanka (believed to be modern Sri Lanka).[43][46]

Rama and Lakshmana discover the kidnapping, worry about Sita's safety, despair at the loss and their lack of resources to take on Ravana. Their struggles now reach new heights. They travel south, meet Sugriva, marshall an army of monkeys, and attract dedicated commanders such as Hanuman who was a minister of Sugriva.[47] Meanwhile, Ravana harasses Sita to be his wife, queen or goddess.[48] Sita refuses him. Ravana gets enraged and ultimately reaches Lanka, fights in a war that has many ups and downs, but ultimately Rama prevails, kills Ravana and forces of evil, and rescues his wife Sita. They return to Ayodhya.[43][49]

Post-war rule, death and re-appearance

 
Rama Raj Tilak from Ramayana

The return of Rama to Ayodhya was celebrated with his coronation. It is called Rama pattabhisheka, and his rule itself as Rama rajya described to be a just and fair rule.[50][51] It is believed by many that when Rama returned people celebrated their happiness with diyas (lamps), and the festival of Diwali is connected with Rama's return.[52]

Upon Rama's accession as king, rumors emerge that Sita may have gone willingly when she was with Ravana; Sita protests that her capture was forced. Rama responds to public gossip by renouncing his wife and asking her to undergo a test before Agni (fire). She does and passes the test. Rama and Sita live happily together in Ayodhya, have twin sons named Luv and Kush, in the Ramayana and other major texts.[46] However, in some revisions, the story is different and tragic, with Sita dying of sorrow for her husband not trusting her, making Sita a moral heroine and leaving the reader with moral questions about Rama.[53][54] In these revisions, the death of Sita leads Rama to drown himself. Through death, he joins her in afterlife.[55] Depiction of Rama dying by drowning himself and then emerging in the sky as a six-armed incarnate of the lord Vishnu is found in the Burmese version of Rama's life story called Thiri Rama.[56]

Inconsistencies

Rama's legends vary significantly by the region and across manuscripts. While there is a common foundation, plot, grammar and an essential core of values associated with a battle between good and evil, there is neither a correct version nor a single verifiable ancient one. According to Paula Richman, there are hundreds of versions of "the story of Rama in India, Southeast Asia and beyond".[57][58] The versions vary by region reflecting local preoccupations and histories, and these cannot be called "divergences or different tellings" from the "real" version, rather all the versions of Rama story are real and true in their own meanings to the local cultural tradition, according to scholars such as Richman and Ramanujan.[57]

The stories vary in details, particularly where the moral question is clear, but the appropriate ethical response is unclear or disputed.[59][60] For example, when demoness Shurpanakha disguises as a woman to seduce Rama, then stalks and harasses Rama's wife Sita after Rama refuses her, Lakshmana is faced with the question of appropriate ethical response. In the Indian tradition, states Richman, the social value is that "a warrior must never harm a woman".[59] The details of the response by Rama and Lakshmana, and justifications for it, has numerous versions. Similarly, there are numerous and very different versions to how Rama deals with rumours against Sita when they return victorious to Ayodhya, given that the rumours can neither be objectively investigated nor summarily ignored.[61] Similarly the versions vary on many other specific situations and closure such as how Rama, Sita and Lakshmana die.[59][62]

The variation and inconsistencies are not limited to the texts found in the Hinduism traditions. The Rama story in the Jain tradition also show variation by author and region, in details, in implied ethical prescriptions and even in names – the older versions using the name Padma instead of Rama, while the later Jain texts just use Rama.[63]

Dating

 
The Rama story is carved into stone as an 8th-century relief artwork in the largest Shiva temple of the Ellora Caves, suggesting its importance to the Indian society by then.[64]

In some Hindu texts, Rama is stated to have lived in the Treta Yuga[65] that their authors estimate existed before about 5,000 BCE. A few other researchers place Rama to have more plausibly lived around 1250 BCE,[66] based on regnal lists of Kuru and Vrishni leaders which if given more realistic reign lengths would place Bharat and Satwata, contemporaries of Rama, around that period. Archaeologist H. S. Sankalia, who specialised in Proto- and Ancient Indian history, find such figures to be "pure speculation" and dates various incidents of the Ramayana to have taken place as early as 1,500 BCE.[67][68]

The composition of Rama's epic story, the Ramayana, in its current form is usually dated between 7th and 4th century BCE.[69][70] According to John Brockington, a professor of Sanskrit at Oxford known for his publications on the Ramayana, the original text was likely composed and transmitted orally in more ancient times, and modern scholars have suggested various centuries in the 1st millennium BCE. In Brockington's view, "based on the language, style and content of the work, a date of roughly the fifth century BCE is the most reasonable estimate".[71]

 
1870 painting on mica entitled, Incarnation of Vishnu

Appearance

Valmiki in Ramayana describes Rama as a charming, well built person of a dark complexion (varṇam śyāmam) and long arms (ājānabāhu, meaning a person whose middle finger reaches beyond their knee).[72] In the Sundara Kanda section of the epic, Hanuman describes Rama to Sita when she is held captive in Lanka to prove to her that he is indeed a messenger from Rama:

He has broad shoulders, mighty arms, a conch-shaped neck, a charming countenance, and coppery eyes;

he has his clavicle concealed and is known by the people as Rama. He has a voice (deep) like the sound of a kettledrum and glossy skin,

is full of glory, square-built, and of well-proportioned limbs and is endowed with a dark-brown complexion.[73]

Iconography

 
Rama iconography widely varies, and typically show him in context of some legend.

Rama iconography shares elements of Vishnu avatars, but has several distinctive elements. It never has more than two hands, he holds (or has nearby) a bana (arrow) in his right hand, while he holds the dhanus (bow) in his left.[74] The most recommended icon for him is that he be shown standing in tribhanga pose (thrice bent "S" shape). He is shown black, blue or dark color, typically wearing reddish color clothes. If his wife and brother are a part of the iconography, Lakshamana is on his left side while Sita always on the right of Rama, both of golden-yellow complexion.[74]

Philosophy and symbolism

Rama's life story is imbued with symbolism. According to Sheldon Pollock, the life of Rama as told in the Indian texts is a masterpiece that offers a framework to represent, conceptualise and comprehend the world and the nature of life. Like major epics and religious stories around the world, it has been of vital relevance because it "tells the culture what it is". Rama's life is more complex than the Western template for the battle between the good and the evil, where there is a clear distinction between immortal powerful gods or heroes and mortal struggling humans. In the Indian traditions, particularly Rama, the story is about a divine human, a mortal god, incorporating both into the exemplar who transcends both humans and gods.[75]

Responding to evil

A superior being does not render evil for evil,
this is the maxim one should observe;
the ornament of virtuous persons is their conduct.
(...)
A noble soul will ever exercise compassion
even towards those who enjoy injuring others.

Ramayana 6.115, Valmiki
(Abridged, Translator: Roderick Hindery)[76]

As a person, Rama personifies the characteristics of an ideal person (purushottama).[54] He had within him all the desirable virtues that any individual would seek to aspire, and he fulfils all his moral obligations. Rama is considered a maryada purushottama or the best of upholders of Dharma.[77]

According to Rodrick Hindery, Book 2, 6 and 7 are notable for ethical studies.[78][60] The views of Rama combine "reason with emotions" to create a "thinking hearts" approach. Second, he emphasises through what he says and what he does a union of "self-consciousness and action" to create an "ethics of character". Third, Rama's life combines the ethics with the aesthetics of living.[78] The story of Rama and people in his life raises questions such as "is it appropriate to use evil to respond to evil?", and then provides a spectrum of views within the framework of Indian beliefs such as on karma and dharma.[76]

Rama's life and comments emphasise that one must pursue and live life fully, that all three life aims are equally important: virtue (dharma), desires (kama), and legitimate acquisition of wealth (artha). Rama also adds, such as in section 4.38 of the Ramayana, that one must also introspect and never neglect what one's proper duties, appropriate responsibilities, true interests, and legitimate pleasures are.[42]

Literary sources

 
Valmiki composing the Ramayana.

Ramayana

The primary source of the life of Rama is the Sanskrit epic Ramayana composed by Rishi Valmiki.[79]

 
Rama (left third from top) depicted in the Dashavatara (ten incornations) of Vishnu. Painting from Jaipur, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The epic had many versions across India's regions. The followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the Mula-Ramayana, previously existed.[80] The Madhva tradition considers it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki.[81]

Versions of the Ramayana exist in most major Indian languages; examples that elaborate on the life, deeds and divine philosophies of Rama include the epic poem Ramavataram, and the following vernacular versions of Rama's life story:[82]

The epic is found across India, in different languages and cultural traditions.[85]

Adhyatma Ramayana

Adhyatma Ramayana is a late medieval Sanskrit text extolling the spiritualism in the story of Ramayana. It is embedded in the latter portion of Brahmānda Purana, and constitutes about a third of it.[86] The text philosophically attempts to reconcile Bhakti in god Rama and Shaktism with Advaita Vedanta, over 65 chapters and 4,500 verses.[87][88]

The text represents Rama as the Brahman (metaphysical reality), mapping all attributes and aspects of Rama to abstract virtues and spiritual ideals.[88] Adhyatma Ramayana transposes Ramayana into symbolism of self study of one's own soul, with metaphors described in Advaita terminology.[88] The text is notable because it influenced the popular Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas,[86][88] and inspired the most popular version of Nepali Ramayana by Bhanubhakta Acharya.[89] This was also translated by Thunchath Ezhuthachan to Malayalam, which lead the foundation of Malayalam literature itself.[90]

Ramacharitmanas

The Ramayana is a Sanskrit text, while Ramacharitamanasa retells the Ramayana in Awadhi,[91] commonly understood in northern India by speakers of the several Hindi languages.[92][93][94] Ramacharitamanasa was composed in the 16th century by Tulsidas.[95][96][91] The popular text is notable for synthesising the epic story in a Bhakti movement framework, wherein the original legends and ideas morph in an expression of spiritual bhakti (devotional love) for a personal god.[91][97][δ]

Tulsidas was inspired by Adhyatma Ramayana, where Rama and other characters of the Valmiki Ramayana along with their attributes (saguna narrative) were transposed into spiritual terms and abstract rendering of an Atma (soul, self, Brahman) without attributes (nirguna reality).[86][88][99] According to Kapoor, Rama's life story in the Ramacharitamanasa combines mythology, philosophy, and religious beliefs into a story of life, a code of ethics, a treatise on universal human values.[100] It debates in its dialogues the human dilemmas, the ideal standards of behaviour, duties to those one loves, and mutual responsibilities. It inspires the audience to view their own lives from a spiritual plane, encouraging the virtuous to keep going, and comforting those oppressed with a healing balm.[100]

The Ramacharitmanas is notable for being the Rama-based play commonly performed every year in autumn, during the weeklong performance arts festival of Ramlila.[14] The "staging of the Ramayana based on the Ramacharitmanas" was inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.[101]

Yoga Vasistha

Human effort can be used for self-betterment and that there is no such thing as an external fate imposed by the gods.

Yoga Vasistha (Vasistha teaching Rama)
Tr: Christopher Chapple[102]

Yoga Vasistha is a Sanskrit text structured as a conversation between young Prince Rama and sage Vasistha who was called as the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara. The complete text contains over 29,000 verses.[103] The short version of the text is called Laghu Yogavasistha and contains 6,000 verses.[104] The exact century of its completion is unknown, but has been estimated to be somewhere between the 6: th  century to as late as the 14: th  century, but it is likely that a version of the text existed in the 1: st  millennium.[105]

The Yoga Vasistha text consists of six books. The first book presents Rama's frustration with the nature of life, human suffering and disdain for the world. The second describes, through the character of Rama, the desire for liberation and the nature of those who seek such liberation. The third and fourth books assert that liberation comes through a spiritual life, one that requires self-effort, and present cosmology and metaphysical theories of existence embedded in stories.[106] These two books are known for emphasising free will and human creative power.[106][107] The fifth book discusses meditation and its powers in liberating the individual, while the last book describes the state of an enlightened and blissful Rama.[106][108]

Yoga Vasistha is considered one of the most important texts of the Vedantic philosophy.[109] The text, states David Gordon White, served as a reference on Yoga for medieval era Advaita Vedanta scholars.[110] The Yoga Vasistha, according to White, was one of the popular texts on Yoga that dominated the Indian Yoga culture scene before the 12th century.[110]

Other texts

Other important historic Hindu texts on Rama include Bhusundi Ramanaya, Prasanna raghava, and Ramavali by Tulsidas.[3][111] The Sanskrit poem Bhaṭṭikāvya of Bhatti, who lived in Gujarat in the seventh century CE, is a retelling of the epic that simultaneously illustrates the grammatical examples for Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as the major figures of speech and the Prakrit language.[112]

Another historically and chronologically important text is Raghuvamsa authored by Kalidasa.[113] Its story confirms many details of the Ramayana, but has novel and different elements. It mentions that Ayodhya was not the capital in the time of Rama's son named Kusha, but that he later returned to it and made it the capital again. This text is notable because the poetry in the text is exquisite and called a Mahakavya in the Indian tradition, and has attracted many scholarly commentaries. It is also significant because Kalidasa has been dated to between the 4th and 5th century CE, suggesting that the Ramayana legend was well established by the time of Kalidasa.[113]

The Mahabharata has a summary of the Ramayana. The Jainism tradition has extensive literature of Rama as well, but generally refers to him as Padma, such as in the Paumacariya by Vimalasuri.[36] Rama and Sita legend is mentioned in the Jataka tales of Buddhism, as Dasaratha-Jataka (Tale no. 461), but with slightly different spellings such as Lakkhana for Lakshmana and Rama-pandita for Rama.[114][115][116]

The chapter 4 of Vishnu Purana, chapter 112 of Padma Purana, chapter 143 of Garuda Purana and chapters 5 through 11 of Agni Purana also summarise the life story of Rama.[117] Additionally, the Rama story is included in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, which has been a part of evidence that the Ramayana is likely more ancient, and it was summarised in the Mahabharata epic in ancient times.[118]

Influence

 
Rama (Yama) and Sita (Thida) in Yama Zatdaw, the Burmese version of the Ramayana

Rama's story has had a major socio-cultural and inspirational influence across South Asia and Southeast Asia.[8][119]

Few works of literature produced in any place at any time have been as popular, influential, imitated and successful as the great and ancient Sanskrit epic poem, the Valmiki Ramayana.

Robert Goldman, Professor of Sanskrit, University of California at Berkeley.[8]

According to Arthur Anthony Macdonell, a professor at Oxford and Boden scholar of Sanskrit, Rama's ideas as told in the Indian texts are secular in origin, their influence on the life and thought of people having been profound over at least two and a half millennia.[120][121] Their influence has ranged from being a framework for personal introspection to cultural festivals and community entertainment.[8] His life stories, states Goldman, have inspired "painting, film, sculpture, puppet shows, shadow plays, novels, poems, TV serials and plays."[120]

Hinduism

 
A 5th century terracotta sculpture depicting Rama

Rama Navami

Rama Navami is a spring festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra month in the traditional Hindu calendar. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year.[122][123]

The day is marked by recital of Rama legends in temples, or reading of Rama stories at home. Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti.[124] The community organises charitable events and volunteer meals. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus.[125][126] Some mark this day by vrata (fasting) or a visit to a river for a dip.[125][127][128]

The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya, Sitamarhi,[129] Janakpurdham (Nepal), Bhadrachalam, Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta and Rameswaram. Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as Shobha yatras of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places.[125][130][131] In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.[128]

Rama Navami day also marks the end of the nine-day spring festival celebrated in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh called Vasanthothsavam (Festival of Spring), that starts with Ugadi. Some highlights of this day are Kalyanam (ceremonial wedding performed by temple priests) at Bhadrachalam on the banks of the river Godavari in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, preparing and sharing Panakam which is a sweet drink prepared with jaggery and pepper, a procession and Rama temple decorations.[132]

Ramlila and Dussehra

 
In Northern, Central and Western states of India, the Ramlila play is enacted during Navratri by rural artists (above).

Rama's life is remembered and celebrated every year with dramatic plays and fireworks in autumn. This is called Ramlila, and the play follows Ramayana or more commonly the Ramcharitmanas.[133] It is observed through thousands[12] of Rama-related performance arts and dance events, that are staged during the festival of Navratri in India.[134] After the enactment of the legendary war between Good and Evil, the Ramlila celebrations climax in the Dussehra (Dasara, Vijayadashami) night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of Evil such as of demon Ravana are burnt, typically with fireworks.[101][135]

The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity" in 2008. Ramlila is particularly notable in historically important Hindu cities of Ayodhya, Varanasi, Vrindavan, Almora, Satna and Madhubani – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.[101][136] The epic and its dramatic play migrated into southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, and Ramayana based Ramlila is a part of performance arts culture of Indonesia, particularly the Hindu society of Bali, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.[137]

Diwali

In some parts of India, Rama's return to Ayodhya and his coronation is the main reason for celebrating Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights.[138]

In Guyana, Diwali is marked as a special occasion and celebrated with a lot of fanfare. It is observed as a national holiday in this part of the world and some ministers of the Government also take part in the celebrations publicly. Just like Vijayadashmi, Diwali is celebrated by different communities across India to commemorate different events in addition to Rama's return to Ayodhya. For example, many communities celebrate one day of Diwali to celebrate the Victory of Krishna over the demon Narakasur.[ε]

Hindu arts in Southeast Asia

 
Rama's story is a major part of the artistic reliefs found at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Large sequences of Ramayana reliefs are also found in Java, Indonesia.[140]

Rama's life story, both in the written form of Sanskrit Ramayana and the oral tradition arrived in southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.[141] Rama was one of many ideas and cultural themes adopted, others being the Buddha, the Shiva and host of other Brahmanic and Buddhist ideas and stories.[142] In particular, the influence of Rama and other cultural ideas grew in Java, Bali, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.[142]

The Ramayana was translated from Sanskrit into old Javanese around 860 CE, while the performance arts culture most likely developed from the oral tradition inspired by the Tamil and Bengali versions of Rama-based dance and plays.[141] The earliest evidence of these performance arts are from 243 CE according to Chinese records. Other than the celebration of Rama's life with dance and music, Hindu temples built in southeast Asia such as the Prambanan near Yogyakarta (Java), and at the Panataran near Blitar (East Java), show extensive reliefs depicting Rama's life.[141][143] The story of Rama's life has been popular in Southeast Asia.[144]

In the 14th century, the Ayutthaya Kingdom and its capital Ayuttaya was named after the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya, with the official religion of the state being Theravada Buddhism.[145][146] Thai kings, continuing into the contemporary era, have been called Rama, a name inspired by Rama of Ramakien – the local version of Sanskrit Ramayana, according to Constance Jones and James Ryan. For example, King Chulalongkorn (1853–1910) is also known as Rama V, while King Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne in 2016 is called Rama X.[147]

Jainism

In Jainism, the earliest known version of Rama story is variously dated from the 1st to 5th century CE. This Jain text credited to Vimalasuri shows no signs of distinction between Digambara-Svetambara (sects of Jainism), and is in a combination of Marathi and Sauraseni languages. These features suggest that this text has ancient roots.[148]

In Jain cosmology, characters continue to be reborn as they evolve in their spiritual qualities, until they reach the Jina state and complete enlightenment. This idea is explained as cyclically reborn triads in its Puranas, called the Baladeva, Vasudeva and evil Prati-vasudeva.[149][150] Rama, Lakshmana and evil Ravana are the eighth triad, with Rama being the reborn Baladeva, and Lakshmana as the reborn Vasudeva.[62] Rama is described to have lived long before the 22nd Jain Tirthankara called Neminatha. In the Jain tradition, Neminatha is believed to have been born 84,000 years before the 9th-century BCE Parshvanatha.[151]

Jain texts tell a very different version of the Rama legend than the Hindu texts such as by Valmiki. According to the Jain version, Lakshmana (Vasudeva) is the one who kills Ravana (Prativasudeva).[62] Rama, after all his participation in the rescue of Sita and preparation for war, he actually does not kill, thus remains a non-violent person. The Rama of Jainism has numerous wives as does Lakshmana, unlike the virtue of monogamy given to Rama in the Hindu texts. Towards the end of his life, Rama becomes a Jaina monk then successfully attains siddha followed by moksha.[62] His first wife Sita becomes a Jaina nun at the end of the story. In the Jain version, Lakshmana and Ravana both go to the hell of Jain cosmology, because Ravana killed many, while Lakshmana killed Ravana to stop Ravana's violence.[62] Padmapurana mentions Rama as a contemporary of Munisuvrata, 20th tirthankara of Jainism.[152]

Buddhism

The Dasaratha-Jataka (Tale no. 461) provides a version of the Rama story. It calls Rama as Rama-pandita.[114][115]

At the end of this Dasaratha-Jataka discourse, the Buddhist text declares that the Buddha in his prior rebirth was Rama:

The Master having ended this discourse, declared the Truths, and identified the Birth (...): 'At that time, the king Suddhodana was king Dasaratha, Mahamaya was the mother, Rahula's mother was Sita, Ananda was Bharata, and I myself was Rama-Pandita.

— Jataka Tale No. 461, Translator: W.H.D. Rouse[115]

While the Buddhist Jataka texts co-opt Rama and make him an incarnation of Buddha in a previous life,[115] the Hindu texts co-opt the Buddha and make him an avatar of Vishnu.[153][154] The Jataka literature of Buddhism is generally dated to be from the second half of the 1st millennium BCE, based on the carvings in caves and Buddhist monuments such as the Bharhut stupa.[155][ζ] The 2nd-century BCE stone relief carvings on Bharhut stupa, as told in the Dasaratha-Jataka, is the earliest known non-textual evidence of Rama story being prevalent in ancient India.[157]

Sikhism

Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine incarnations of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar, a composition in Dasam Granth traditionally and historically attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.[20][η] The discussion of Rama and Krishna avatars is the most extensive in this section of the secondary Sikh scripture.[20][159] The name of Rama is mentioned more than 2,500 times in the Guru Granth Sahib[160] and is considered as avatar along with the Krishna.[η]

Among people

In Assam, Boro people call themselves Ramsa, which means Children of Ram.[161]

In Chhattisgarh, Ramnami people tattooed their whole body with name of Ram.[162]

Worship and temples

Worship

 
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi monuments in Karnataka, built by the Vijayanagara Empire, includes a major Rama temple. Its numerous wall reliefs tell the life story of Rama.[163]
 
Rama Temple at Ramtek (10th century, restored). A medieval inscription here calls Rama as Advaitavadaprabhu or "Lord of the Advaita doctrine".[164]

Rama is a revered Vaishanava deity, one who is worshipped privately at home or in temples. He was a part of the Bhakti movement focus, particularly because of efforts of 14th century North Indian poet-saint Ramananda who created the Ramanandi Sampradaya, a sannyasi community. This community has grown to become the largest Hindu monastic community in modern times.[165][166] This Rama-inspired movement has championed social reforms, accepting members without discriminating anyone by gender, class, caste or religion since the time of Ramananda who accepted Muslims wishing to leave Islam.[167][168] Traditional scholarship holds that his disciples included later Bhakti movement poet-saints such as Kabir, Ravidas, Bhagat Pipa and others.[168][169]

Temples

Temples dedicated to Rama are found all over India and in places where Indian migrant communities have resided. In most temples, the iconography of Rama is accompanied by that of his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana.[170] In some instances, Hanuman is also included either near them or in the temple premises.[171]

Hindu temples dedicated to Rama were built by early 5th century, according to copper plate inscription evidence, but these have not survived. The oldest surviving Rama temple is near Raipur (Chhattisgarh), called the Rajiva-locana temple at Rajim near the Mahanadi river. It is in a temple complex dedicated to Vishnu and dates back to the 7th-century with some restoration work done around 1145 CE based on epigraphical evidence.[172][173] The temple remains important to Rama devotees in the contemporary times, with devotees and monks gathering there on dates such as Rama Navami.[174]

Some of Rama temples include:

Popular culture

Rama has been considered as a source of inspiration and has been described as Maryāda Puruṣottama Rāma (transl. The Ideal Man).[θ] He has been depicted in many films, television shows and plays.[175]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Many Indian languages, such as Hindi, delete the terminal 'a' sound in Sanskrit words. Others, such as Tamil and Malayalam, have their own suffixes; -r and -n in this case. Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages.[21]
  2. ^ The legends found about Rama, state Mallory and Adams, have "many of the elements found in the later Welsh tales such as Branwen Daughter of Llyr and Manawydan Son of Lyr. This may be because the concept and legends have deeper ancient roots.[32]
  3. ^ Kosala is mentioned in many Buddhist texts and travel memoirs. The Buddha idol of Kosala is important in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, and one that is described by the 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzhang. He states in his memoir that the statue stands in the capital of Kosala then called Shravasti, midst ruins of a large monastery. He also states that he brought back to China two replicas of the Buddha, one of the Kosala icon of Udayana and another the Prasenajit icon of Prasenajit.[40]
  4. ^ For example, like other Hindu poet-saints of the Bhakti movement before the 16th century, Tulsidas in Ramcharitmanas recommends the simplest path to devotion is Nam-simran (absorb oneself in remembering the divine name "Rama"). He suggests either vocally repeating the name (jap) or silent repetition in mind (ajapajap). This concept of Rama moves beyond the divinised hero and connotes an "all-pervading Being" and equivalent to atmarama within. The term atmarama is a compound of "Atma" and "Rama", it literally means "he who finds joy in his own self", according to the French Indologist Charlotte Vaudeville known for her studies on Ramayana and Bhakti movement.[98]
  5. ^ As per another popular tradition, in the Dvapara Yuga period, Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, killed the demon Narakasura, who was the evil king of Pragjyotishapura, near present-day Assam and released 16000 girls held captive by Narakasura. Diwali was celebrated as a sign of the triumph of good over evil after Krishna's Victory over Narakasura. The day before Diwali is remembered as Naraka Chaturdasi, the day on which Narakasura was killed by Krishna.[139]
  6. ^ Richard Gombrich suggests that the Jataka tales were composed by the 3rd century BCE.[156]
  7. ^ a b Ath Beesvan Ram Avtar Kathan or Ram Avtar is a Composition in the second sacred Granth of Sikhs i.e Dasam Granth, which was written by Guru Gobind Singh, at Anandpur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh was not a worshiper of Ramchandra, as after describing the whole Avtar he cleared this fact that ਰਾਮ ਰਹੀਮ ਪ੝ਰਾਨ ਕ੝ਰਾਨ ਅਨੇਕ ਕਹੈਂ ਮਤਿ ਝਕ ਨ ਮਾਨਿਯੋ ॥. Ram Avtar is based on Ramayana, but a Sikh studies the spiritual aspects of this whole composition.[158]
  8. ^

Citations

  1. ^ SATTAR, ARSHIA (20 October 2020). Maryada: Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana. HarperCollins Publishers, India. ISBN 978-93-5357-713-1.
  2. ^ "Dharma Personified". The Hindu. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d James G. Lochtefeld 2002, p. 555.
  4. ^ "Rama". Webster's Dictionary. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. ^ Tulasīdāsa (1999). Sri Ramacaritamanasa. Translated by Prasad, RC. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 871–872. ISBN 978-81-208-0762-4.
  6. ^ a b William H. Brackney (2013). Human Rights and the World's Major Religions, 2nd Edition. ABC-CLIO. pp. 238–239. ISBN 978-1-4408-2812-6.
  7. ^ Roderick Hindery (1978). Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 95–124. ISBN 978-81-208-0866-9.
  8. ^ a b c d Vālmīki (1990). The Ramayana of Valmiki: Balakanda. Translated by Goldman, Robert P. Princeton University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4008-8455-1.
  9. ^ Dimock Jr, E.C. (1963). "Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal". History of Religions. 3 (1): 106–127. doi:10.1086/462474. JSTOR 1062079. S2CID 162027021.
  10. ^ Marijke J. Klokke (2000). Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia. BRILL. pp. 51–57. ISBN 90-04-11865-9.
  11. ^ Ramdas Lamb 2012, p. 28.
  12. ^ a b Schechner, Richard; Hess, Linda (1977). "The Ramlila of Ramnagar [India]". The Drama Review: TDR. The MIT Press. 21 (3): 51–82. doi:10.2307/1145152. JSTOR 1145152.
  13. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, p. 389.
  14. ^ a b Jennifer Lindsay (2006). Between Tongues: Translation And/of/in Performance in Asia. National University of Singapore Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN 978-9971-69-339-8.
  15. ^ Dalal 2010, pp. 337–338.
  16. ^ Peter J. Claus; Sarah Diamond; Margaret Ann Mills (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Taylor & Francis. p. 508. ISBN 978-0-415-93919-5.
  17. ^ King, Anna S. (2005). The intimate other: love divine in Indic religions. Orient Blackswan. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-81-250-2801-7.
  18. ^ Matchett, Freda (2001). Krishna, Lord or Avatara?: the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu. 9780700712816. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-7007-1281-6.
  19. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 72–73.
  20. ^ a b c Robin Rinehart 2011, pp. 14, 28–30.
  21. ^ "Why we put 'a' after each Hindu name". Hinduism.Stackexchange. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  22. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary --र". sanskrit.inria.fr. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  24. ^ a b c d Asko Parpola (1998). Studia Orientalia, Volume 84. Finnish Oriental Society. p. 264. ISBN 978-951-9380-38-4.
  25. ^ Thomas William Rhys Davids; William Stede (1921). Pali-English Dictionary. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 521. ISBN 978-81-208-1144-7.
  26. ^ Wagenaar, Hank W.; Parikh, S. S. (1993). Allied Chambers transliterated Hindi-Hindi-English dictionary. Allied Publishers. p. 528. ISBN 978-81-86062-10-4.
  27. ^ "Ayodhya Case Verdict: Who is Ram Lalla Virajman, the 'Divine Infant' Given the Possession of Disputed Ayodhya Land". News18. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  28. ^ Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2001). Sītāpaharaṇam: Changing thematic Idioms in Sanskrit and Tamil. In Dirk W. Lonne ed. Tofha-e-Dil: Festschrift Helmut Nespital, Reinbeck, 2 vols., pp. 783–97. pp. 783–797. ISBN 3-88587-033-9.
  29. ^ Ramdas Lamb 2012, p. 31.
  30. ^ Adams; Douglas Q. Adams (2013). A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged. Rodopi. p. 587. ISBN 978-90-420-3671-0.
  31. ^ Maloory and en 1997, p. 160.
  32. ^ Maloory and en 1997, p. 165.
  33. ^ Vālmīki; Sheldon I. Pollock (2007). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Araṇyakāṇḍa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 41 with footnote 83. ISBN 978-81-208-3164-3.
  34. ^ a b A. W. P. Guruge (1991). The Society of the Ramayana. Abhinav Publications. pp. 51–54. ISBN 978-81-7017-265-9.
  35. ^ Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Kanda
  36. ^ a b Cort, John (2010). Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History. Oxford University Press. pp. 313 note 9. ISBN 978-0-19-973957-8.
  37. ^ Winternitz, Moriz (1981). A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. pp. 491–492. ISBN 81-208-0264-0.
  38. ^ John Cort (2010). Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History. Oxford University Press. pp. 160–162, 196, 314 note 14, 318 notes 57–58. ISBN 978-0-19-973957-8., Quote (p. 314): "(...) Kosala was the kingdom centered on Ayodhya, in what is now east-central Uttar Pradesh."
  39. ^ Peter van der Veer (1994). Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. University of California Press. pp. 157–162. ISBN 978-0-520-08256-4.
  40. ^ John Cort (2010). Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History. Oxford University Press. pp. 194–200, 318 notes 57–58. ISBN 978-0-19-973957-8.
  41. ^ Rosen, Steven (2006). Essential Hinduism. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. pp. 68–69. ISBN 0-275-99006-0. OCLC 70775665.
  42. ^ a b Roderick Hindery (1978). Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-81-208-0866-9.
  43. ^ a b c d e f Dalal 2010, pp. 326–327
  44. ^ Goldman, Robert P. (1984). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Vol. I: Bālakāṇḍa. Princeton University Press. pp. 248–263.
  45. ^ a b c Dalal 2010, pp. 99, 326–327
  46. ^ a b c Hindery 1978, pp. 98–99
  47. ^ B. A van Nooten William (2000). Ramayana. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-22703-3.
  48. ^ Goldman 1996, p. 406:
    16. ... Ravana is represented as merely requesting that Sita stop thinking of him as an enemy and that she abandon her mistaken notion that he wants her to be his wife. By mentioning his chief queen, he is really saying that he wants Sita to be the chosen goddess of both him and his chief queen, Mandodari.
  49. ^ Goldman 1996, p. 90.
  50. ^ Ramashraya Sharma (1986). A Socio-political Study of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-81-208-0078-6.
  51. ^ Gregory Claeys (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature. Cambridge University Press. pp. 240–241. ISBN 978-1-139-82842-0.
  52. ^ Self-realization Magazine. Self-Realization Fellowship. 1971. pp. 50.
  53. ^ Hindery 1978, p. 100.
  54. ^ a b Hess, L. (2001). "Rejecting Sita: Indian Responses to the Ideal Man's Cruel Treatment of His Ideal Wife". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 67 (1): 1–32. doi:10.1093/jaarel/67.1.1. PMID 21994992.
  55. ^ Frye, Northrope (2015). Northrop Frye's Uncollected Prose. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-4426-4972-9.
  56. ^ Rooney, Dawn F. (2017). The Thiri Rama: Finding Ramayana in Myanmar. Taylor & Francis. p. 49-51. ISBN 978-1-315-31395-5.
  57. ^ a b Richman 1991, pp. 7–9 (by Richman), pp. 22–46 (Ramanujan)
  58. ^ A. N. Jani (2005). Kodaganallur R.S. Iyengar (ed.). Asian Variations in Ramayana: Papers Presented at the International Seminar on 'Variations in Ramayana in Asia. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 29–55. ISBN 978-81-260-1809-3.
  59. ^ a b c Richman 1991, pp. 10–12, 67–85.
  60. ^ a b Monika Horstmann (1991). Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmāyaṇas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 9–21. ISBN 978-3-447-03116-5.
  61. ^ Richman 1991, pp. 11–12, 89–108.
  62. ^ a b c d e Padmanabh S Jaini (1993). Wendy Doniger (ed.). Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts. State University of New York Press. pp. 216–219. ISBN 978-0-7914-1381-4.
  63. ^ Umakant P. Shah (2005). Kodaganallur R.S. Iyengar (ed.). Asian Variations in Ramayana: Papers Presented at the International Seminar on 'Variations in Ramayana in Asia. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 57–76. ISBN 978-81-260-1809-3.
  64. ^ Kapila Vatsyayan (2004). Mandakranta Bose (ed.). The Ramayana Revisited. Oxford University Press. pp. 335–339. ISBN 978-0-19-516832-7.
  65. ^ Menon 2008, pp. 10–11.
  66. ^ Pattanaik, Devdutt (8 August 2020). "Was Ram born in Ayodhya". mumbaimirror.
  67. ^ Dhirajlal Sankalia, Hasmukhlal (1982). The Ramayana in historical perspective. India (branch): Macmillan Publishers. pp. 4–5, 51. ISBN 9-780-333-90390-2.
  68. ^ Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia (1977). Aspects of Indian History and Archaeology. B. R. Publishing Corporation. p. 205.
  69. ^ Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001a). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas. Swarup & Sons. ISBN 978-81-7625-226-3.
  70. ^ Simanjuntak, Truman (2006). Archaeology: Indonesian Perspective : R.P. Soejono's Festschrift. p. 361.
  71. ^ John Brockington; Mary Brockington (2016). The Other Ramayana Women: Regional Rejection and Response. Routledge. pp. 3–6. ISBN 978-1-317-39063-3.
  72. ^ Valmiki Ramayan, p. kishkindha kanda.
  73. ^ Valmiki Ramayan, p. 1235 (Volume 2 of Śrīmad Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: With Sanskrit Text and English Translation)
  74. ^ a b T. A. Gopinatha Rao (1993). Elements of Hindu iconography. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 189–193. ISBN 978-81-208-0878-2.
  75. ^ Vālmīki; Pollock, Sheldon I. (2007). The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Araṇyakāṇḍa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 41–43. ISBN 978-81-208-3164-3.
  76. ^ a b Roderick Hindery (1978). Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 103–106. ISBN 978-81-208-0866-9.
  77. ^ Gavin Flood (17 April 2008). THE BLACKWELL COMPANION TO HINDUISM. ISBN 978-81-265-1629-2.
  78. ^ a b Roderick Hindery (1978). Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-81-208-0866-9.
  79. ^ Valmiki Ramayan.
  80. ^ Timm, Jeffrey R. (1 January 1992). Texts in Context: Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia. SUNY Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-7914-0796-7.
  81. ^ Griffith.
  82. ^ Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
  83. ^ Gilbert Pollet (1 January 1995). Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaạ Conference, Leuven, 6-8 July 1991. Peeters Publishers. p. 59. ISBN 978-90-6831-701-5.
  84. ^ Dalal 2010, p. 4.
  85. ^ "The Oral Tradition and the many 'Ramayanas'", Moynihan @Maxwell, Maxwell School of Syracuse University's South Asian Center
  86. ^ a b c John Nicol Farquhar (1920). An Outline of the Religious Literature of India. Oxford University Press. pp. 324–325.
  87. ^ Rocher 1986, pp. 158–159 with footnotes.
  88. ^ a b c d e RC Prasad (1989). Tulasīdāsa's Sriramacharitmanasa. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xiv–xv, 875–876. ISBN 978-81-208-0443-2.
  89. ^ R. Barz (1991). Monika Horstmann (ed.). Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmāyaṇas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 32–35. ISBN 978-3-447-03116-5.
  90. ^ James 2002, p. 72.
  91. ^ a b c Ramcharitmanas, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2012)
  92. ^ Lutgendorf 1991.
  93. ^ Miller 2008, p. 217
  94. ^ Varma 2010, p. 1565
  95. ^ Poddar 2001, pp. 26–29
  96. ^ Das 2010, p. 63
  97. ^ Schomer & McLeod 1987, p. 75.
  98. ^ Schomer & McLeod 1987, pp. 31–32 with footnotes 13 and 16 (by C. Vaudeville)..
  99. ^ Schomer & McLeod 1987, pp. 31, 74–75 with footnotes, Quote: "What is striking about the dohas in the Ramcharitmanas however is that they frequently have a sant-like ring to them, breaking into the very midst of the saguna narrative with a statement of nirguna reality"..
  100. ^ a b A Kapoor (1995). Gilbert Pollet (ed.). Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact. Peeters Publishers. pp. 181–186. ISBN 978-90-6831-701-5.
  101. ^ a b c "Ramlila-The traditional performance of Ramayana". UNESCO. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  102. ^ Chapple 1984, pp. x–xi with footnote 4
  103. ^ Chapple 1984, pp. ix–xi
  104. ^ Leslie 2003, pp. 105
  105. ^ Chapple 1984, p. x
  106. ^ a b c Chapple 1984, pp. xi–xii
  107. ^ Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-04779-1, pages 252–253
  108. ^ Valmiki (1984). The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha. Translated by Venkatesananda, S. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-87395-955-8.
  109. ^ Tigunait, Rajmani (2002). The Himalayan Masters: A Living Tradition. Itanagar: Himalayan Institute Press. pp. 33. ISBN 978-0-89389-227-2.
  110. ^ a b White, David Gordon (2014). The "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": A Biography. Princeton University Press. pp. xvi–xvii, 51. ISBN 978-0-691-14377-4.
  111. ^ Edmour J. Babineau (1979). Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-89684-050-8.
  112. ^ Bhaṭṭi (600) [2009]. Bhaṭṭikāvya. Translated by Olliver, Fallon. New York, United States: Clay Sanskrit Library. p. 22.35. ISBN 978-0-8147-2778-2.
  113. ^ a b Dalal 2010, p. 323.
  114. ^ a b H. T. Francis; E. J. Thomas (1916). Jataka Tales. Cambridge University Press (Reprinted: 2014). pp. 325–330. ISBN 978-1-107-41851-6.
  115. ^ a b c d Cowell, E. B.; Rouse, WHD (1901). The Jātaka: Or, Stories of the Buddha's Former Births. Cambridge University Press. pp. 78–82.
  116. ^ Jaiswal, Suvira (1993). "Historical Evolution of Ram Legend". Social Scientist. 21 (3 / 4 March April 1993): 89–96. doi:10.2307/3517633. JSTOR 3517633.
  117. ^ Rocher 1986, p. 84 with footnote 26.
  118. ^ Buitenen, J. A. B. van (1973). The Mahabharata, Volume 2: Book 2: The Book of Assembly; Book 3: The Book of the Forest. University of Chicago Press. pp. 207–214. ISBN 978-0-226-84664-4.
  119. ^ Richman 1991, p. 17 note 11.
  120. ^ a b Goldman, Robert (2013). The Valmiki Ramayana (PDF). University of California, Berkeley, California: Center for South Asia Studies.
  121. ^ Sundaram, P S (2002). Kamba Ramayana. Penguin Books. pp. 1–2. ISBN 978-93-5118-100-2.
  122. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, p. 562.
  123. ^ "City News, Indian City Headlines, Latest City News, Metro City News". The Indian Express. from the original on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  124. ^
  125. ^ a b c "BBC – Religions – Hinduism: Rama Navami". BBC News. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  126. ^ "President and PM greet people as India observes Ram Navami today". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  127. ^ "National Portal of India". Govt. of India. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  128. ^ a b John, Josephine (8 April 2014). "Hindus around the world celebrate Ram Navami today". DNA India. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  129. ^ "Sitamarhi | India". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 March 2021. A large Ramanavami fair, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, is held in spring with considerable trade in pottery, spices, brass ware, and cotton cloth. A cattle fair held in Sitamarhi is the largest in Bihar state. The town is sacred as the birthplace of the goddess Sita (also called Janaki), the wife of Rama.
  130. ^ "Latest News, India News, Breaking News, Today's News Headlines Online". The Indian Express. from the original on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  131. ^ "City News, Indian City Headlines, Latest City News, Metro City News". The Indian Express. from the original on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  132. ^ Satpathy, Kriti Saraswat (14 April 2016). "Did you know these rituals of Ram Navami celebration in Karnataka?". India News, Breaking News | India.com. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  133. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, p. 389.
  134. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica 2015.
  135. ^ Kasbekar, Asha (2006). Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-636-7.
  136. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 561–562.
  137. ^ Bose, Mandakranta (2004). The Ramayana Revisited. Oxford University Press. pp. 342–350. ISBN 978-0-19-516832-7.
  138. ^ Gupta 1991, p. fontcover.
  139. ^ Richman 1991, p. 107.
  140. ^ Willem Frederik Stutterheim (1989). Rāma-legends and Rāma-reliefs in Indonesia. Abhinav Publications. pp. 109–160. ISBN 978-81-7017-251-2.
  141. ^ a b c James R. Brandon (2009). Theatre in Southeast Asia. Harvard University Press. pp. 22–27. ISBN 978-0-674-02874-6.
  142. ^ a b Brandon, James R. (2009). Theatre in Southeast Asia. Harvard University Press. pp. 15–21. ISBN 978-0-674-02874-6.
  143. ^ Jan Fontein (1973), The Abduction of Sitā: Notes on a Stone Relief from Eastern Java, Boston Museum Bulletin, Vol. 71, No. 363 (1973), pp. 21–35
  144. ^ Kats, J. (1927). "The Ramayana in Indonesia". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. Cambridge University Press. 4 (3): 579. doi:10.1017/s0041977x00102976. S2CID 162850921.
  145. ^ Francis D. K. Ching; Mark M. Jarzombek; Vikramaditya Prakash (2010). A Global History of Architecture. John Wiley & Sons. p. 456. ISBN 978-0-470-40257-3., Quote: "The name of the capital city [Ayuttaya] derives from the Hindu holy city Ayodhya in northern India, which is said to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama."
  146. ^ Michael C. Howard (2012). Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel. McFarland. pp. 200–201. ISBN 978-0-7864-9033-2.
  147. ^ Constance Jones; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-8160-7564-5.
  148. ^ John E Cort (1993). Wendy Doniger (ed.). Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts. State University of New York Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-7914-1381-4.
  149. ^ Jacobi, Herman (2005). Vimalsuri's Paumachariyam (2nd ed.). Ahemdabad: Prakrit Text Society.
  150. ^ Iyengar, Kodaganallur Ramaswami Srinivasa (2005). Asian Variations in Ramayana. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1809-3.
  151. ^ Zimmer 1953, p. 226.
  152. ^ Natubhai Shah 2004, pp. 21–23.
  153. ^ Bassuk, Daniel E (1987). Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-349-08642-9.
  154. ^ Edward Geoffrey Parrinder (1997). Avatar and Incarnation: The Divine in Human Form in the World's Religions. Oxford: Oneworld. pp. 19–24, 35–38, 75–78, 130–133. ISBN 978-1-85168-130-3.
  155. ^ Claus, Peter J.; Diamond, Sarah; Mills, Margarat (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 306–307. ISBN 978-0-415-93919-5.
  156. ^ Naomi Appleton (2010). Jātaka Stories in Theravāda Buddhism: Narrating the Bodhisatta Path. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 51–54. ISBN 978-1-4094-1092-8.
  157. ^ Mandakranta Bose (2004). The Ramayana Revisited. Oxford University Press. pp. 337–338. ISBN 978-0-19-803763-7.
  158. ^ Singh, Govind (2005). Dasamgranth. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 978-81-215-1044-8.
  159. ^ Doris R. Jakobsh (2010). Sikhism and Women: History, Texts, and Experience. Oxford University Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0-19-806002-4.
  160. ^ Judge, Paramjit S.; Kaur, Manjit (2010). "The Politics of Sikh Identity: Understanding Religious Exclusion". Sociological Bulletin. 59 (3): 219. doi:10.1177/0038022920100303. ISSN 0038-0229. JSTOR 23620888. S2CID 152062554 – via Book.
  161. ^ Dodiya 2001, p. 139.
  162. ^ Ramdas Lamb 2012, pp. 31–32.
  163. ^ Monika Horstmann (1991). Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmāyaṇas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 72–73 with footnotes. ISBN 978-3-447-03116-5.
  164. ^ Hans Bakker (1990). The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature: Papers on Pilgrimage in South Asia. BRILL. pp. 70–73. ISBN 90-04-09318-4.
  165. ^ Raj, Selva J.; Harman, William P. (1 January 2006). Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6708-4.
  166. ^ James G. Lochtefeld 2002, pp. 98–108.
  167. ^ Larson, Gerald James (16 February 1995). India's Agony Over Religion: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2412-4.
  168. ^ a b James G. Lochtefeld 2002, p. 1.
  169. ^ Lorenzen, David N. (1999). "Who Invented Hinduism?". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 41 (4): 630–659. doi:10.1017/S0010417599003084. ISBN 9788190227261. ISSN 0010-4175. JSTOR 179424. S2CID 247327484 – via Book.
  170. ^ Gupta 1991, p. 36.
  171. ^ Bhat, Rama (2006i). The Divine Anjaneya: Story of Hanuman. iUniverse. pp. 79. ISBN 978-0-595-41262-4.
  172. ^ J. L. Brockington (1998). The Sanskrit Epics. BRILL. pp. 471–472. ISBN 90-04-10260-4.
  173. ^ Meister, Michael W. (1988). "Prasada as Palace: Kutina Origins of the Nagara Temple". Artibus Asiae. 49 (3/4): 254–280 (Figure 21). doi:10.2307/3250039. JSTOR 3250039.
  174. ^ James C. Harle (1994). The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. Yale University Press. pp. 148–149, 207–208. ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
  175. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute. ISBN 9780851704555.

Sources

Further reading

External links

  •   Media related to Rama (category) at Wikimedia Commons
Rama
Preceded by King of Kosala Succeeded by
Regnal titles
Preceded by Dashavatara
Treta Yuga
Succeeded by

rama, this, article, about, hindu, râm, chandra, sriram, other, disambiguation, other, ramchandra, ramchandra, disambiguation, other, sriram, sriram, disambiguation, other, uses, disambiguation, ɑː, sanskrit, romanized, rāma, ˈraːmɐ, major, deity, hinduism, se. This article is about the Hindu god Rama Ram Ramachandra Sriram For other Ram see Ram disambiguation For other Ramchandra see Ramchandra disambiguation For other Sriram see Sriram disambiguation For other uses see Rama disambiguation Rama ˈ r ɑː m e 4 Sanskrit र म romanized rama ˈraːmɐ is a major deity in Hinduism He is the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu In Rama centric traditions of Hinduism he is considered the Supreme Being 5 RamaThe Ideal Man 1 Embodiment of Dharma 2 Member of DashavataraRama holding arrows early 19th century depictionDevanagariर मSanskrit transliterationRamaAffiliationDevaSeventh avatar of VishnuBrahman Vaishnavism especially Ramanandi Sampradaya PredecessorDasharathaSuccessorLavaAbodeAyodhyaSaketaVaikunthaMantraJai Shri Ram Jai Siya RamHare RamaWeaponBow and arrowsArmyVanara Sena Ayodhyan ArmyTextsRamayanaVersions of RamayanaGenderMaleFestivalsRama NavamiVivaha PanchamiDiwaliVijayadashamiPersonal informationBornAyodhya Kosala present day Uttar Pradesh India ParentsDasharatha father Kaushalya mother Kaikeyi step mother Sumitra step mother SiblingsLakshmana half brother Bharata half brother Shatrughna half brother SpouseSita 3 ChildrenLava son Kusha son DynastyRaghuvamsha SuryavamshaDashavatara SequencePredecessorParashuramaSuccessorKrishnaThis article contains special characters Without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols Rama was born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala His siblings included Lakshmana Bharata and Shatrughna He married Sita Though born in a royal family Rama s life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances ethical questions and moral dilemmas 6 Of all his travails the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon king Ravana followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds The entire life story of Rama Sita and their companions allegorically discusses duties rights and social responsibilities of an individual It illustrates dharma and dharmic living through model characters 6 7 Rama is especially important to Vaishnavism He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures 8 9 10 His ancient legends have attracted bhasya commentaries and extensive secondary literature and inspired performance arts Two such texts for example are the Adhyatma Ramayana a spiritual and theological treatise considered foundational by Ramanandi monasteries 11 and the Ramcharitmanas a popular treatise that inspires thousands of Ramlila festival performances during autumn every year in India 12 13 14 Rama legends are also found in the texts of Jainism and Buddhism though he is sometimes called Pauma or Padma in these texts 15 and their details vary significantly from the Hindu versions 16 Jain Texts also mentioned Rama as the eighth balabhadra among the 63 salakapurusas 17 18 19 In Sikhism Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine avatars of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar in Dasam Granth 20 Contents 1 Etymology and nomenclature 2 Legends 2 1 Birth 2 2 Youth family and friends 2 3 Exile and war 2 4 Post war rule death and re appearance 2 5 Inconsistencies 3 Dating 4 Appearance 5 Iconography 6 Philosophy and symbolism 7 Literary sources 7 1 Ramayana 7 2 Adhyatma Ramayana 7 3 Ramacharitmanas 7 4 Yoga Vasistha 7 5 Other texts 8 Influence 8 1 Hinduism 8 1 1 Rama Navami 8 1 2 Ramlila and Dussehra 8 1 3 Diwali 8 1 4 Hindu arts in Southeast Asia 8 2 Jainism 8 3 Buddhism 8 4 Sikhism 8 5 Among people 9 Worship and temples 9 1 Worship 9 2 Temples 10 Popular culture 11 See also 12 References 12 1 Notes 12 2 Citations 12 3 Sources 13 Further reading 14 External linksEtymology and nomenclatureRama is also known as Ram Raman Ramar a and Ramachandra ˌ r ɑː m e ˈ tʃ ae n d r e 22 IAST Ramacandra Sanskrit र मचन द र Rama is a Vedic Sanskrit word with two contextual meanings In one context as found in Atharva Veda as stated by Monier Monier Williams means dark dark colored black and is related to the term ratri which means night In another context as found in other Vedic texts the word means pleasing delightful charming beautiful lovely 23 24 The word is sometimes used as a suffix in different Indian languages and religions such as Pali in Buddhist texts where rama adds the sense of pleasing to the mind lovely to the composite word 25 Rama as a first name appears in the Vedic literature associated with two patronymic names Margaveya and Aupatasvini representing different individuals A third individual named Rama Jamadagnya is the purported author of hymn 10 110 of the Rigveda in the Hindu tradition 23 The word Rama appears in ancient literature in reverential terms for three individuals 23 Parashu rama as the sixth avatar of Vishnu He is linked to the Rama Jamadagnya of the Rigveda fame Rama chandra as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and of the ancient Ramayana fame Bala rama also called Halayudha as the elder brother of Krishna both of whom appear in the legends of Hinduism Buddhism and Jainism The name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu texts for many different scholars and kings in mythical stories 23 The word also appears in ancient Upanishads and Aranyakas layer of Vedic literature as well as music and other post Vedic literature but in qualifying context of something or someone who is charming beautiful lovely or darkness night 23 The Vishnu avatar named Rama is also known by other names He is called Ramachandra beautiful lovely moon 24 or Dasarathi son of Dasaratha or Raghava descendant of Raghu solar dynasty in Hindu cosmology 23 26 He is also known as Ram Lalla Infant form of Rama 27 Additional names of Rama include Ramavijaya Javanese Phreah Ream Khmer Phra Ram Lao and Thai Megat Seri Rama Malay Raja Bantugan Maranao Ramudu Telugu Ramar Tamil 28 In the Vishnu sahasranama Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu In some Advaita Vedanta inspired texts Rama connotes the metaphysical concept of Supreme Brahman who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self Atman soul in whom yogis delight nondualistically 29 The root of the word Rama is ram which means stop stand still rest rejoice be pleased 24 According to Douglas Q Adams the Sanskrit word Rama is also found in other Indo European languages such as Tocharian ram reme romo where it means support make still witness make evident 24 30 The sense of dark black soot also appears in other Indo European languages such as remos or Old English romig 31 b LegendsThis summary is a traditional legendary account based on literary details from the Ramayana and other historic mythology containing texts of Buddhism and Jainism According to Sheldon Pollock the figure of Rama incorporates more ancient morphemes of Indian myths such as the mythical legends of Bali and Namuci The ancient sage Valmiki used these morphemes in his Ramayana similes as in sections 3 27 3 59 3 73 5 19 and 29 28 33 Birth Gold carving depiction of the legendary Ayodhya at the Ajmer Jain temple The ancient epic Ramayana states in the Balakhanda that Rama and his brothers were born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya a city on the banks of Sarayu River 34 35 The Jain versions of the Ramayana such as the Paumacariya literally deeds of Padma by Vimalasuri also mention the details of the early life of Rama The Jain texts are dated variously but generally pre 500 CE most likely sometime within the first five centuries of the common era 36 Moriz Winternitz states that the Valmiki Ramayana was already famous before it was recast in the Jain Paumacariya poem dated to the second half of the 1st century CE which pre dates a similar retelling found in the Buddha carita of Asvagosa dated to the beginning of the 2nd century CE or prior 37 Dasharatha was the king of Kosala and a part of the solar dynasty of Iksvakus His mother s name Kaushalya literally implies that she was from Kosala The kingdom of Kosala is also mentioned in Buddhist and Jain texts as one of the sixteen Maha janapadas of ancient India and as an important center of pilgrimage for Jains and Buddhists 34 38 However there is a scholarly dispute whether the modern Ayodhya is indeed the same as the Ayodhya and Kosala mentioned in the Ramayana and other ancient Indian texts 39 g Rama s birth according to Ramayana is an incarnation of God Vishnu as human When demigods went to Brahma to seek liberation from Ravana s menance on the Earth due to powers he had from Brahma s boon to him Vishnu himself appeared and said he will incrarnate as Rama human and kill Ravana since Brahma s boon made him invinsible from all including God except humans 41 Youth family and friends Main articles Bharata Ramayana Lakshmana and Shatrughna Rama is portrayed in Hindu arts and texts as a compassionate person who cares for all living beings 42 Rama had three brothers according to the Balakhanda section of the Ramayana These were Lakshmana Bharata and Shatrughna 3 The extant manuscripts of the text describes their education and training as young princes but this is brief Rama is portrayed as a polite self controlled virtuous youth always ready to help others His education included the Vedas the Vedangas as well as the martial arts 43 The years when Rama grew up are described in much greater detail by later Hindu texts such as the Ramavali by Tulsidas The template is similar to those found for Krishna but in the poems of Tulsidas Rama is milder and reserved introvert rather than the prank playing extrovert personality of Krishna 3 In the kingdom of Mithila Rama wins a bow stringing contest and the hand of king Janaka s daughter Sita After getting married Rama takes her back to Ayodhya 44 While Rama and his brothers were away Kaikeyi the mother of Bharata and the second wife of King Dasharatha reminds the king that he had promised long ago to comply with one thing she asks anything Dasharatha remembers and agrees to do so She demands that Rama be exiled for fourteen years to Dandaka forest 43 Dasharatha grieves at her request Her son Bharata and other family members become upset at her demand Rama states that his father should keep his word adds that he does not crave for earthly or heavenly material pleasures neither seeks power nor anything else He talks about his decision with his wife and tells everyone that time passes quickly Sita leaves with him to live in the forest the brother Lakshmana joins them in their exile as the caring close brother 43 Exile and war See also Ravana Jatayu Ramayana Hanuman and Vibheeshana Rama along with his younger brother Lakshmana and wife Sita exiled to the forest Rama in Forest Ravana s sister Suparnakha attempts to seduce Rama and cheat on Sita He refuses and spurns her above Ravana kidnapping Sita while Jatayu on the left tried to help her 9th century Prambanan bas relief Java Indonesia Hanuman meets Rama in the forest Rama heads outside the Kosala kingdom crosses Yamuna river and initially stays at Chitrakuta on the banks of river Mandakini in the hermitage of sage Vasishtha 45 During the exile Rama meets one of his devotee Shabari who happened to love him so much that when Rama asked something to eat she offered her ber a fruit But every time she gave it to him she first tasted it to ensure that it was sweet and tasty as a testament to her devotion Rama also understood her devotion and ate all the half eaten bers given by her Such was the reciprocation of love and compassion he had for his people This place is believed in the Hindu tradition to be the same as Chitrakoot on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh The region has numerous Rama temples and is an important Vaishnava pilgrimage site 45 The texts describe nearby hermitages of Vedic rishis sages such as Atri and that Rama roamed through forests lived a humble simple life provided protection and relief to ascetics in the forest being harassed and persecuted by demons as they stayed at different ashrams 45 46 After ten years of wandering and struggles Rama arrives at Panchavati on the banks of river Godavari This region had numerous demons rakshashas One day a demoness called Shurpanakha saw Rama became enamored of him and tried to seduce him 43 Rama refused her Shurpanakha retaliated by threatening Sita Lakshmana the younger brother protective of his family in turn retaliated by cutting off the nose and ears of Shurpanakha The cycle of violence escalated ultimately reaching demon king Ravana who was the brother of Shurpanakha Ravana comes to Panchavati to take revenge on behalf of his family sees Sita gets attracted and kidnaps her to his kingdom of Lanka believed to be modern Sri Lanka 43 46 Rama and Lakshmana discover the kidnapping worry about Sita s safety despair at the loss and their lack of resources to take on Ravana Their struggles now reach new heights They travel south meet Sugriva marshall an army of monkeys and attract dedicated commanders such as Hanuman who was a minister of Sugriva 47 Meanwhile Ravana harasses Sita to be his wife queen or goddess 48 Sita refuses him Ravana gets enraged and ultimately reaches Lanka fights in a war that has many ups and downs but ultimately Rama prevails kills Ravana and forces of evil and rescues his wife Sita They return to Ayodhya 43 49 Post war rule death and re appearance Rama Raj Tilak from Ramayana The return of Rama to Ayodhya was celebrated with his coronation It is called Rama pattabhisheka and his rule itself as Rama rajya described to be a just and fair rule 50 51 It is believed by many that when Rama returned people celebrated their happiness with diyas lamps and the festival of Diwali is connected with Rama s return 52 Upon Rama s accession as king rumors emerge that Sita may have gone willingly when she was with Ravana Sita protests that her capture was forced Rama responds to public gossip by renouncing his wife and asking her to undergo a test before Agni fire She does and passes the test Rama and Sita live happily together in Ayodhya have twin sons named Luv and Kush in the Ramayana and other major texts 46 However in some revisions the story is different and tragic with Sita dying of sorrow for her husband not trusting her making Sita a moral heroine and leaving the reader with moral questions about Rama 53 54 In these revisions the death of Sita leads Rama to drown himself Through death he joins her in afterlife 55 Depiction of Rama dying by drowning himself and then emerging in the sky as a six armed incarnate of the lord Vishnu is found in the Burmese version of Rama s life story called Thiri Rama 56 Inconsistencies Rama s legends vary significantly by the region and across manuscripts While there is a common foundation plot grammar and an essential core of values associated with a battle between good and evil there is neither a correct version nor a single verifiable ancient one According to Paula Richman there are hundreds of versions of the story of Rama in India Southeast Asia and beyond 57 58 The versions vary by region reflecting local preoccupations and histories and these cannot be called divergences or different tellings from the real version rather all the versions of Rama story are real and true in their own meanings to the local cultural tradition according to scholars such as Richman and Ramanujan 57 The stories vary in details particularly where the moral question is clear but the appropriate ethical response is unclear or disputed 59 60 For example when demoness Shurpanakha disguises as a woman to seduce Rama then stalks and harasses Rama s wife Sita after Rama refuses her Lakshmana is faced with the question of appropriate ethical response In the Indian tradition states Richman the social value is that a warrior must never harm a woman 59 The details of the response by Rama and Lakshmana and justifications for it has numerous versions Similarly there are numerous and very different versions to how Rama deals with rumours against Sita when they return victorious to Ayodhya given that the rumours can neither be objectively investigated nor summarily ignored 61 Similarly the versions vary on many other specific situations and closure such as how Rama Sita and Lakshmana die 59 62 The variation and inconsistencies are not limited to the texts found in the Hinduism traditions The Rama story in the Jain tradition also show variation by author and region in details in implied ethical prescriptions and even in names the older versions using the name Padma instead of Rama while the later Jain texts just use Rama 63 Dating The Rama story is carved into stone as an 8th century relief artwork in the largest Shiva temple of the Ellora Caves suggesting its importance to the Indian society by then 64 In some Hindu texts Rama is stated to have lived in the Treta Yuga 65 that their authors estimate existed before about 5 000 BCE A few other researchers place Rama to have more plausibly lived around 1250 BCE 66 based on regnal lists of Kuru and Vrishni leaders which if given more realistic reign lengths would place Bharat and Satwata contemporaries of Rama around that period Archaeologist H S Sankalia who specialised in Proto and Ancient Indian history find such figures to be pure speculation and dates various incidents of the Ramayana to have taken place as early as 1 500 BCE 67 68 The composition of Rama s epic story the Ramayana in its current form is usually dated between 7th and 4th century BCE 69 70 According to John Brockington a professor of Sanskrit at Oxford known for his publications on the Ramayana the original text was likely composed and transmitted orally in more ancient times and modern scholars have suggested various centuries in the 1st millennium BCE In Brockington s view based on the language style and content of the work a date of roughly the fifth century BCE is the most reasonable estimate 71 1870 painting on mica entitled Incarnation of VishnuAppearanceValmiki in Ramayana describes Rama as a charming well built person of a dark complexion varṇam syamam and long arms ajanabahu meaning a person whose middle finger reaches beyond their knee 72 In the Sundara Kanda section of the epic Hanuman describes Rama to Sita when she is held captive in Lanka to prove to her that he is indeed a messenger from Rama He has broad shoulders mighty arms a conch shaped neck a charming countenance and coppery eyes he has his clavicle concealed and is known by the people as Rama He has a voice deep like the sound of a kettledrum and glossy skin is full of glory square built and of well proportioned limbs and is endowed with a dark brown complexion 73 Iconography Rama iconography widely varies and typically show him in context of some legend Rama iconography shares elements of Vishnu avatars but has several distinctive elements It never has more than two hands he holds or has nearby a bana arrow in his right hand while he holds the dhanus bow in his left 74 The most recommended icon for him is that he be shown standing in tribhanga pose thrice bent S shape He is shown black blue or dark color typically wearing reddish color clothes If his wife and brother are a part of the iconography Lakshamana is on his left side while Sita always on the right of Rama both of golden yellow complexion 74 Philosophy and symbolismRama s life story is imbued with symbolism According to Sheldon Pollock the life of Rama as told in the Indian texts is a masterpiece that offers a framework to represent conceptualise and comprehend the world and the nature of life Like major epics and religious stories around the world it has been of vital relevance because it tells the culture what it is Rama s life is more complex than the Western template for the battle between the good and the evil where there is a clear distinction between immortal powerful gods or heroes and mortal struggling humans In the Indian traditions particularly Rama the story is about a divine human a mortal god incorporating both into the exemplar who transcends both humans and gods 75 Responding to evil A superior being does not render evil for evil this is the maxim one should observe the ornament of virtuous persons is their conduct A noble soul will ever exercise compassion even towards those who enjoy injuring others Ramayana 6 115 Valmiki Abridged Translator Roderick Hindery 76 As a person Rama personifies the characteristics of an ideal person purushottama 54 He had within him all the desirable virtues that any individual would seek to aspire and he fulfils all his moral obligations Rama is considered a maryada purushottama or the best of upholders of Dharma 77 According to Rodrick Hindery Book 2 6 and 7 are notable for ethical studies 78 60 The views of Rama combine reason with emotions to create a thinking hearts approach Second he emphasises through what he says and what he does a union of self consciousness and action to create an ethics of character Third Rama s life combines the ethics with the aesthetics of living 78 The story of Rama and people in his life raises questions such as is it appropriate to use evil to respond to evil and then provides a spectrum of views within the framework of Indian beliefs such as on karma and dharma 76 Rama s life and comments emphasise that one must pursue and live life fully that all three life aims are equally important virtue dharma desires kama and legitimate acquisition of wealth artha Rama also adds such as in section 4 38 of the Ramayana that one must also introspect and never neglect what one s proper duties appropriate responsibilities true interests and legitimate pleasures are 42 Literary sources Valmiki composing the Ramayana Ramayana The primary source of the life of Rama is the Sanskrit epic Ramayana composed by Rishi Valmiki 79 Rama left third from top depicted in the Dashavatara ten incornations of Vishnu Painting from Jaipur now at the Victoria and Albert Museum The epic had many versions across India s regions The followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana the Mula Ramayana previously existed 80 The Madhva tradition considers it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki 81 Versions of the Ramayana exist in most major Indian languages examples that elaborate on the life deeds and divine philosophies of Rama include the epic poem Ramavataram and the following vernacular versions of Rama s life story 82 Ramavataram or Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil by the poet Kambar 12th century Saptakanda Ramayana in Assamese by poet Madhava Kandali 14th century Krittivasi Ramayana in Bengali by poet Krittibas Ojha 15th century Ramcharitmanas in Awadhi by sant Tulsidas 16th century Pampa Ramayana Torave Ramayana by Kumara Valmiki and Sri Ramayana Darshanam by Kuvempu in Kannada Ranganatha Ramayanam c 1300 by Ranganatha and Ramayana Kalpavruksham by Viswanatha Satyanarayana in Telugu 83 Vilanka Ramayana in Odia Eluttachan in Malayalam this text is closer to the Advaita Vedanta inspired rendition Adhyatma Ramayana 84 The epic is found across India in different languages and cultural traditions 85 Adhyatma Ramayana Adhyatma Ramayana is a late medieval Sanskrit text extolling the spiritualism in the story of Ramayana It is embedded in the latter portion of Brahmanda Purana and constitutes about a third of it 86 The text philosophically attempts to reconcile Bhakti in god Rama and Shaktism with Advaita Vedanta over 65 chapters and 4 500 verses 87 88 The text represents Rama as the Brahman metaphysical reality mapping all attributes and aspects of Rama to abstract virtues and spiritual ideals 88 Adhyatma Ramayana transposes Ramayana into symbolism of self study of one s own soul with metaphors described in Advaita terminology 88 The text is notable because it influenced the popular Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas 86 88 and inspired the most popular version of Nepali Ramayana by Bhanubhakta Acharya 89 This was also translated by Thunchath Ezhuthachan to Malayalam which lead the foundation of Malayalam literature itself 90 Ramacharitmanas The Ramayana is a Sanskrit text while Ramacharitamanasa retells the Ramayana in Awadhi 91 commonly understood in northern India by speakers of the several Hindi languages 92 93 94 Ramacharitamanasa was composed in the 16th century by Tulsidas 95 96 91 The popular text is notable for synthesising the epic story in a Bhakti movement framework wherein the original legends and ideas morph in an expression of spiritual bhakti devotional love for a personal god 91 97 d Tulsidas was inspired by Adhyatma Ramayana where Rama and other characters of the Valmiki Ramayana along with their attributes saguna narrative were transposed into spiritual terms and abstract rendering of an Atma soul self Brahman without attributes nirguna reality 86 88 99 According to Kapoor Rama s life story in the Ramacharitamanasa combines mythology philosophy and religious beliefs into a story of life a code of ethics a treatise on universal human values 100 It debates in its dialogues the human dilemmas the ideal standards of behaviour duties to those one loves and mutual responsibilities It inspires the audience to view their own lives from a spiritual plane encouraging the virtuous to keep going and comforting those oppressed with a healing balm 100 The Ramacharitmanas is notable for being the Rama based play commonly performed every year in autumn during the weeklong performance arts festival of Ramlila 14 The staging of the Ramayana based on the Ramacharitmanas was inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity 101 Yoga Vasistha Main article Yoga Vasistha Human effort can be used for self betterment and that there is no such thing as an external fate imposed by the gods Yoga Vasistha Vasistha teaching Rama Tr Christopher Chapple 102 Yoga Vasistha is a Sanskrit text structured as a conversation between young Prince Rama and sage Vasistha who was called as the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara The complete text contains over 29 000 verses 103 The short version of the text is called Laghu Yogavasistha and contains 6 000 verses 104 The exact century of its completion is unknown but has been estimated to be somewhere between the 6 th century to as late as the 14 th century but it is likely that a version of the text existed in the 1 st millennium 105 The Yoga Vasistha text consists of six books The first book presents Rama s frustration with the nature of life human suffering and disdain for the world The second describes through the character of Rama the desire for liberation and the nature of those who seek such liberation The third and fourth books assert that liberation comes through a spiritual life one that requires self effort and present cosmology and metaphysical theories of existence embedded in stories 106 These two books are known for emphasising free will and human creative power 106 107 The fifth book discusses meditation and its powers in liberating the individual while the last book describes the state of an enlightened and blissful Rama 106 108 Yoga Vasistha is considered one of the most important texts of the Vedantic philosophy 109 The text states David Gordon White served as a reference on Yoga for medieval era Advaita Vedanta scholars 110 The Yoga Vasistha according to White was one of the popular texts on Yoga that dominated the Indian Yoga culture scene before the 12th century 110 Other texts Other important historic Hindu texts on Rama include Bhusundi Ramanaya Prasanna raghava and Ramavali by Tulsidas 3 111 The Sanskrit poem Bhaṭṭikavya of Bhatti who lived in Gujarat in the seventh century CE is a retelling of the epic that simultaneously illustrates the grammatical examples for Paṇini s Aṣṭadhyayi as well as the major figures of speech and the Prakrit language 112 Another historically and chronologically important text is Raghuvamsa authored by Kalidasa 113 Its story confirms many details of the Ramayana but has novel and different elements It mentions that Ayodhya was not the capital in the time of Rama s son named Kusha but that he later returned to it and made it the capital again This text is notable because the poetry in the text is exquisite and called a Mahakavya in the Indian tradition and has attracted many scholarly commentaries It is also significant because Kalidasa has been dated to between the 4th and 5th century CE suggesting that the Ramayana legend was well established by the time of Kalidasa 113 The Mahabharata has a summary of the Ramayana The Jainism tradition has extensive literature of Rama as well but generally refers to him as Padma such as in the Paumacariya by Vimalasuri 36 Rama and Sita legend is mentioned in the Jataka tales of Buddhism as Dasaratha Jataka Tale no 461 but with slightly different spellings such as Lakkhana for Lakshmana and Rama pandita for Rama 114 115 116 The chapter 4 of Vishnu Purana chapter 112 of Padma Purana chapter 143 of Garuda Purana and chapters 5 through 11 of Agni Purana also summarise the life story of Rama 117 Additionally the Rama story is included in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata which has been a part of evidence that the Ramayana is likely more ancient and it was summarised in the Mahabharata epic in ancient times 118 Influence Rama Yama and Sita Thida in Yama Zatdaw the Burmese version of the Ramayana Rama s story has had a major socio cultural and inspirational influence across South Asia and Southeast Asia 8 119 Few works of literature produced in any place at any time have been as popular influential imitated and successful as the great and ancient Sanskrit epic poem the Valmiki Ramayana Robert Goldman Professor of Sanskrit University of California at Berkeley 8 According to Arthur Anthony Macdonell a professor at Oxford and Boden scholar of Sanskrit Rama s ideas as told in the Indian texts are secular in origin their influence on the life and thought of people having been profound over at least two and a half millennia 120 121 Their influence has ranged from being a framework for personal introspection to cultural festivals and community entertainment 8 His life stories states Goldman have inspired painting film sculpture puppet shows shadow plays novels poems TV serials and plays 120 Hinduism See also List of Hindu festivals A 5th century terracotta sculpture depicting Rama Rama Navami Main article Rama Navami Rama Navami is a spring festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama The festival is a part of the spring Navratri and falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra month in the traditional Hindu calendar This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year 122 123 The day is marked by recital of Rama legends in temples or reading of Rama stories at home Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple others pray within their home and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of puja and aarti 124 The community organises charitable events and volunteer meals The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus 125 126 Some mark this day by vrata fasting or a visit to a river for a dip 125 127 128 The important celebrations on this day take place at Ayodhya Sitamarhi 129 Janakpurdham Nepal Bhadrachalam Kodandarama Temple Vontimitta and Rameswaram Rathayatras the chariot processions also known as Shobha yatras of Rama Sita his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman are taken out at several places 125 130 131 In Ayodhya many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple 128 Rama Navami day also marks the end of the nine day spring festival celebrated in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh called Vasanthothsavam Festival of Spring that starts with Ugadi Some highlights of this day are Kalyanam ceremonial wedding performed by temple priests at Bhadrachalam on the banks of the river Godavari in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana preparing and sharing Panakam which is a sweet drink prepared with jaggery and pepper a procession and Rama temple decorations 132 Ramlila and Dussehra Main article Vijayadashami In Northern Central and Western states of India the Ramlila play is enacted during Navratri by rural artists above Rama s life is remembered and celebrated every year with dramatic plays and fireworks in autumn This is called Ramlila and the play follows Ramayana or more commonly the Ramcharitmanas 133 It is observed through thousands 12 of Rama related performance arts and dance events that are staged during the festival of Navratri in India 134 After the enactment of the legendary war between Good and Evil the Ramlila celebrations climax in the Dussehra Dasara Vijayadashami night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of Evil such as of demon Ravana are burnt typically with fireworks 101 135 The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity in 2008 Ramlila is particularly notable in historically important Hindu cities of Ayodhya Varanasi Vrindavan Almora Satna and Madhubani cities in Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand Bihar and Madhya Pradesh 101 136 The epic and its dramatic play migrated into southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE and Ramayana based Ramlila is a part of performance arts culture of Indonesia particularly the Hindu society of Bali Myanmar Cambodia and Thailand 137 Diwali Main article Diwali In some parts of India Rama s return to Ayodhya and his coronation is the main reason for celebrating Diwali also known as the Festival of Lights 138 In Guyana Diwali is marked as a special occasion and celebrated with a lot of fanfare It is observed as a national holiday in this part of the world and some ministers of the Government also take part in the celebrations publicly Just like Vijayadashmi Diwali is celebrated by different communities across India to commemorate different events in addition to Rama s return to Ayodhya For example many communities celebrate one day of Diwali to celebrate the Victory of Krishna over the demon Narakasur e Hindu arts in Southeast Asia Rama s story is a major part of the artistic reliefs found at Angkor Wat Cambodia Large sequences of Ramayana reliefs are also found in Java Indonesia 140 Rama s life story both in the written form of Sanskrit Ramayana and the oral tradition arrived in southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE 141 Rama was one of many ideas and cultural themes adopted others being the Buddha the Shiva and host of other Brahmanic and Buddhist ideas and stories 142 In particular the influence of Rama and other cultural ideas grew in Java Bali Malaya Burma Thailand Cambodia and Laos 142 The Ramayana was translated from Sanskrit into old Javanese around 860 CE while the performance arts culture most likely developed from the oral tradition inspired by the Tamil and Bengali versions of Rama based dance and plays 141 The earliest evidence of these performance arts are from 243 CE according to Chinese records Other than the celebration of Rama s life with dance and music Hindu temples built in southeast Asia such as the Prambanan near Yogyakarta Java and at the Panataran near Blitar East Java show extensive reliefs depicting Rama s life 141 143 The story of Rama s life has been popular in Southeast Asia 144 In the 14th century the Ayutthaya Kingdom and its capital Ayuttaya was named after the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya with the official religion of the state being Theravada Buddhism 145 146 Thai kings continuing into the contemporary era have been called Rama a name inspired by Rama of Ramakien the local version of Sanskrit Ramayana according to Constance Jones and James Ryan For example King Chulalongkorn 1853 1910 is also known as Rama V while King Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne in 2016 is called Rama X 147 Jainism See also Rama in Jainism and Salakapurusa In Jainism the earliest known version of Rama story is variously dated from the 1st to 5th century CE This Jain text credited to Vimalasuri shows no signs of distinction between Digambara Svetambara sects of Jainism and is in a combination of Marathi and Sauraseni languages These features suggest that this text has ancient roots 148 In Jain cosmology characters continue to be reborn as they evolve in their spiritual qualities until they reach the Jina state and complete enlightenment This idea is explained as cyclically reborn triads in its Puranas called the Baladeva Vasudeva and evil Prati vasudeva 149 150 Rama Lakshmana and evil Ravana are the eighth triad with Rama being the reborn Baladeva and Lakshmana as the reborn Vasudeva 62 Rama is described to have lived long before the 22nd Jain Tirthankara called Neminatha In the Jain tradition Neminatha is believed to have been born 84 000 years before the 9th century BCE Parshvanatha 151 Jain texts tell a very different version of the Rama legend than the Hindu texts such as by Valmiki According to the Jain version Lakshmana Vasudeva is the one who kills Ravana Prativasudeva 62 Rama after all his participation in the rescue of Sita and preparation for war he actually does not kill thus remains a non violent person The Rama of Jainism has numerous wives as does Lakshmana unlike the virtue of monogamy given to Rama in the Hindu texts Towards the end of his life Rama becomes a Jaina monk then successfully attains siddha followed by moksha 62 His first wife Sita becomes a Jaina nun at the end of the story In the Jain version Lakshmana and Ravana both go to the hell of Jain cosmology because Ravana killed many while Lakshmana killed Ravana to stop Ravana s violence 62 Padmapurana mentions Rama as a contemporary of Munisuvrata 20th tirthankara of Jainism 152 Buddhism The Dasaratha Jataka Tale no 461 provides a version of the Rama story It calls Rama as Rama pandita 114 115 At the end of this Dasaratha Jataka discourse the Buddhist text declares that the Buddha in his prior rebirth was Rama The Master having ended this discourse declared the Truths and identified the Birth At that time the king Suddhodana was king Dasaratha Mahamaya was the mother Rahula s mother was Sita Ananda was Bharata and I myself was Rama Pandita Jataka Tale No 461 Translator W H D Rouse 115 While the Buddhist Jataka texts co opt Rama and make him an incarnation of Buddha in a previous life 115 the Hindu texts co opt the Buddha and make him an avatar of Vishnu 153 154 The Jataka literature of Buddhism is generally dated to be from the second half of the 1st millennium BCE based on the carvings in caves and Buddhist monuments such as the Bharhut stupa 155 z The 2nd century BCE stone relief carvings on Bharhut stupa as told in the Dasaratha Jataka is the earliest known non textual evidence of Rama story being prevalent in ancient India 157 Sikhism Main article Rama in Sikhism Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine incarnations of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar a composition in Dasam Granth traditionally and historically attributed to Guru Gobind Singh 20 h The discussion of Rama and Krishna avatars is the most extensive in this section of the secondary Sikh scripture 20 159 The name of Rama is mentioned more than 2 500 times in the Guru Granth Sahib 160 and is considered as avatar along with the Krishna h Among people In Assam Boro people call themselves Ramsa which means Children of Ram 161 In Chhattisgarh Ramnami people tattooed their whole body with name of Ram 162 Worship and templesWorship The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi monuments in Karnataka built by the Vijayanagara Empire includes a major Rama temple Its numerous wall reliefs tell the life story of Rama 163 Rama Temple at Ramtek 10th century restored A medieval inscription here calls Rama as Advaitavadaprabhu or Lord of the Advaita doctrine 164 Rama is a revered Vaishanava deity one who is worshipped privately at home or in temples He was a part of the Bhakti movement focus particularly because of efforts of 14th century North Indian poet saint Ramananda who created the Ramanandi Sampradaya a sannyasi community This community has grown to become the largest Hindu monastic community in modern times 165 166 This Rama inspired movement has championed social reforms accepting members without discriminating anyone by gender class caste or religion since the time of Ramananda who accepted Muslims wishing to leave Islam 167 168 Traditional scholarship holds that his disciples included later Bhakti movement poet saints such as Kabir Ravidas Bhagat Pipa and others 168 169 Temples Main page List of Rama temples Temples dedicated to Rama are found all over India and in places where Indian migrant communities have resided In most temples the iconography of Rama is accompanied by that of his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana 170 In some instances Hanuman is also included either near them or in the temple premises 171 Hindu temples dedicated to Rama were built by early 5th century according to copper plate inscription evidence but these have not survived The oldest surviving Rama temple is near Raipur Chhattisgarh called the Rajiva locana temple at Rajim near the Mahanadi river It is in a temple complex dedicated to Vishnu and dates back to the 7th century with some restoration work done around 1145 CE based on epigraphical evidence 172 173 The temple remains important to Rama devotees in the contemporary times with devotees and monks gathering there on dates such as Rama Navami 174 Some of Rama temples include Rama temple Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya Uttar Pradesh Bhadrachalam Temple Telangana Kodandarama Temple Vontimitta Andhra Pradesh Ramateertham Temple Andhra Pradesh Ramaswamy Temple Kumbakonam Mudikondan Kothandaramar Temple Tamil Nadu Vijayaraghava Perumal temple Tamil Nadu Punnainallur Kothandaramar Temple Tamil Nadu Triprayar Sriramaswami Kshetram Triprayar Kerala Kalaram Temple Nashik Maharashtra Raghunath Temple Jammu Ram Mandir Bhubaneswar Odisha Kodandarama Temple Chikmagalur Karnataka Kothandarama Temple Thillaivilagam Tamilnadu Kothandaramaswamy Temple Rameswaram Tamil Nadu Odogaon Raghunath Temple Odisha Ramchaura Mandir Bihar Sri Rama Temple Ramapuram Kerala Vilwadrinatha Temple Thiruvilwamala Kerala Popular cultureSee also Television series based on the Ramayana Rama has been considered as a source of inspiration and has been described as Maryada Puruṣottama Rama transl The Ideal Man 8 He has been depicted in many films television shows and plays 175 See alsoAyodhya dispute Ram Mandir Ayodhya Culture of India Genealogy of Rama Hindu philosophy Natyashastra Ram Nam Ram Statue Jai Shri Ram Ramayan 1987 TV series Rama in Jainism Rama in Sikhism Ramayana Dashavatara Vaishnavism Erlang ShenReferencesNotes Many Indian languages such as Hindi delete the terminal a sound in Sanskrit words Others such as Tamil and Malayalam have their own suffixes r and n in this case Schwa deletion in Indo Aryan languages 21 The legends found about Rama state Mallory and Adams have many of the elements found in the later Welsh tales such as Branwen Daughter of Llyr and Manawydan Son of Lyr This may be because the concept and legends have deeper ancient roots 32 Kosala is mentioned in many Buddhist texts and travel memoirs The Buddha idol of Kosala is important in the Theravada Buddhism tradition and one that is described by the 7th century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzhang He states in his memoir that the statue stands in the capital of Kosala then called Shravasti midst ruins of a large monastery He also states that he brought back to China two replicas of the Buddha one of the Kosala icon of Udayana and another the Prasenajit icon of Prasenajit 40 For example like other Hindu poet saints of the Bhakti movement before the 16th century Tulsidas in Ramcharitmanas recommends the simplest path to devotion is Nam simran absorb oneself in remembering the divine name Rama He suggests either vocally repeating the name jap or silent repetition in mind ajapajap This concept of Rama moves beyond the divinised hero and connotes an all pervading Being and equivalent to atmarama within The term atmarama is a compound of Atma and Rama it literally means he who finds joy in his own self according to the French Indologist Charlotte Vaudeville known for her studies on Ramayana and Bhakti movement 98 As per another popular tradition in the Dvapara Yuga period Krishna an avatar of Vishnu killed the demon Narakasura who was the evil king of Pragjyotishapura near present day Assam and released 16000 girls held captive by Narakasura Diwali was celebrated as a sign of the triumph of good over evil after Krishna s Victory over Narakasura The day before Diwali is remembered as Naraka Chaturdasi the day on which Narakasura was killed by Krishna 139 Richard Gombrich suggests that the Jataka tales were composed by the 3rd century BCE 156 a b Ath Beesvan Ram Avtar Kathan or Ram Avtar is a Composition in the second sacred Granth of Sikhs i e Dasam Granth which was written by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib Guru Gobind Singh was not a worshiper of Ramchandra as after describing the whole Avtar he cleared this fact that ਰ ਮ ਰਹ ਮ ਪ ਰ ਨ ਕ ਰ ਨ ਅਨ ਕ ਕਹ ਮਤ ਝਕ ਨ ਮ ਨ ਯ Ram Avtar is based on Ramayana but a Sikh studies the spiritual aspects of this whole composition 158 Blank 2000 p 190 Dodiya 2001 pp 109 110 Tripathy 2015 p 1 Citations SATTAR ARSHIA 20 October 2020 Maryada Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana HarperCollins Publishers India ISBN 978 93 5357 713 1 Dharma Personified The Hindu 5 August 2011 Retrieved 16 January 2021 a b c d James G Lochtefeld 2002 p 555 Rama Webster s Dictionary Retrieved 9 March 2021 Tulasidasa 1999 Sri Ramacaritamanasa Translated by Prasad RC Motilal Banarsidass pp 871 872 ISBN 978 81 208 0762 4 a b William H Brackney 2013 Human Rights and the World s Major Religions 2nd Edition ABC CLIO pp 238 239 ISBN 978 1 4408 2812 6 Roderick Hindery 1978 Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions Motilal Banarsidass pp 95 124 ISBN 978 81 208 0866 9 a b c d Valmiki 1990 The Ramayana of Valmiki Balakanda Translated by Goldman Robert P Princeton University Press p 3 ISBN 978 1 4008 8455 1 Dimock Jr E C 1963 Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal History of Religions 3 1 106 127 doi 10 1086 462474 JSTOR 1062079 S2CID 162027021 Marijke J Klokke 2000 Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia BRILL pp 51 57 ISBN 90 04 11865 9 Ramdas Lamb 2012 p 28 a b Schechner Richard Hess Linda 1977 The Ramlila of Ramnagar India The Drama Review TDR The MIT Press 21 3 51 82 doi 10 2307 1145152 JSTOR 1145152 James G Lochtefeld 2002 p 389 a b Jennifer Lindsay 2006 Between Tongues Translation And of in Performance in Asia National University of Singapore Press pp 12 14 ISBN 978 9971 69 339 8 Dalal 2010 pp 337 338 Peter J Claus Sarah Diamond Margaret Ann Mills 2003 South Asian Folklore An Encyclopedia Afghanistan Bangladesh India Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Taylor amp Francis p 508 ISBN 978 0 415 93919 5 King Anna S 2005 The intimate other love divine in Indic religions Orient Blackswan pp 32 33 ISBN 978 81 250 2801 7 Matchett Freda 2001 Krishna Lord or Avatara the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu 9780700712816 pp 3 4 ISBN 978 0 7007 1281 6 James G Lochtefeld 2002 pp 72 73 a b c Robin Rinehart 2011 pp 14 28 30 Why we put a after each Hindu name Hinduism Stackexchange 16 October 2016 Retrieved 8 March 2021 Wells John C 2008 Longman Pronunciation Dictionary 3rd ed Longman ISBN 978 1 4058 8118 0 a b c d e f Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary र sanskrit inria fr Retrieved 6 March 2021 a b c d Asko Parpola 1998 Studia Orientalia Volume 84 Finnish Oriental Society p 264 ISBN 978 951 9380 38 4 Thomas William Rhys Davids William Stede 1921 Pali English Dictionary Motilal Banarsidass p 521 ISBN 978 81 208 1144 7 Wagenaar Hank W Parikh S S 1993 Allied Chambers transliterated Hindi Hindi English dictionary Allied Publishers p 528 ISBN 978 81 86062 10 4 Ayodhya Case Verdict Who is Ram Lalla Virajman the Divine Infant Given the Possession of Disputed Ayodhya Land News18 9 November 2019 Retrieved 4 August 2020 Rajarajan R K K 2001 Sitapaharaṇam Changing thematic Idioms in Sanskrit and Tamil In Dirk W Lonne ed Tofha e Dil Festschrift Helmut Nespital Reinbeck 2 vols pp 783 97 pp 783 797 ISBN 3 88587 033 9 Ramdas Lamb 2012 p 31 Adams Douglas Q Adams 2013 A Dictionary of Tocharian B Revised and Greatly Enlarged Rodopi p 587 ISBN 978 90 420 3671 0 Maloory and en 1997 p 160 Maloory and en 1997 p 165 Valmiki Sheldon I Pollock 2007 The Ramayaṇa of Valmiki An Epic of Ancient India Araṇyakaṇḍa Motilal Banarsidass pp 41 with footnote 83 ISBN 978 81 208 3164 3 a b A W P Guruge 1991 The Society of the Ramayana Abhinav Publications pp 51 54 ISBN 978 81 7017 265 9 Valmiki Ramayana Bala Kanda a b Cort John 2010 Framing the Jina Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History Oxford University Press pp 313 note 9 ISBN 978 0 19 973957 8 Winternitz Moriz 1981 A History of Indian Literature Volume 1 Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited pp 491 492 ISBN 81 208 0264 0 John Cort 2010 Framing the Jina Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History Oxford University Press pp 160 162 196 314 note 14 318 notes 57 58 ISBN 978 0 19 973957 8 Quote p 314 Kosala was the kingdom centered on Ayodhya in what is now east central Uttar Pradesh Peter van der Veer 1994 Religious Nationalism Hindus and Muslims in India University of California Press pp 157 162 ISBN 978 0 520 08256 4 John Cort 2010 Framing the Jina Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History Oxford University Press pp 194 200 318 notes 57 58 ISBN 978 0 19 973957 8 Rosen Steven 2006 Essential Hinduism Westport Conn Praeger pp 68 69 ISBN 0 275 99006 0 OCLC 70775665 a b Roderick Hindery 1978 Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions Motilal Banarsidass pp 106 107 ISBN 978 81 208 0866 9 a b c d e f Dalal 2010 pp 326 327 Goldman Robert P 1984 The Ramayaṇa of Valmiki An Epic of Ancient India Vol I Balakaṇḍa Princeton University Press pp 248 263 a b c Dalal 2010 pp 99 326 327 a b c Hindery 1978 pp 98 99 B A van Nooten William 2000 Ramayana University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 22703 3 Goldman 1996 p 406 16 Ravana is represented as merely requesting that Sita stop thinking of him as an enemy and that she abandon her mistaken notion that he wants her to be his wife By mentioning his chief queen he is really saying that he wants Sita to be the chosen goddess of both him and his chief queen Mandodari Goldman 1996 p 90 Ramashraya Sharma 1986 A Socio political Study of the Valmiki Ramayaṇa Motilal Banarsidass pp 2 3 ISBN 978 81 208 0078 6 Gregory Claeys 2010 The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature Cambridge University Press pp 240 241 ISBN 978 1 139 82842 0 Self realization Magazine Self Realization Fellowship 1971 pp 50 Hindery 1978 p 100 a b Hess L 2001 Rejecting Sita Indian Responses to the Ideal Man s Cruel Treatment of His Ideal Wife Journal of the American Academy of Religion 67 1 1 32 doi 10 1093 jaarel 67 1 1 PMID 21994992 Frye Northrope 2015 Northrop Frye s Uncollected Prose Toronto Canada University of Toronto Press p 191 ISBN 978 1 4426 4972 9 Rooney Dawn F 2017 The Thiri Rama Finding Ramayana in Myanmar Taylor amp Francis p 49 51 ISBN 978 1 315 31395 5 a b Richman 1991 pp 7 9 by Richman pp 22 46 Ramanujan A N Jani 2005 Kodaganallur R S Iyengar ed Asian Variations in Ramayana Papers Presented at the International Seminar on Variations in Ramayana in Asia Sahitya Akademi pp 29 55 ISBN 978 81 260 1809 3 a b c Richman 1991 pp 10 12 67 85 a b Monika Horstmann 1991 Ramayaṇa and Ramayaṇas Otto Harrassowitz Verlag pp 9 21 ISBN 978 3 447 03116 5 Richman 1991 pp 11 12 89 108 a b c d e Padmanabh S Jaini 1993 Wendy Doniger ed Purana Perennis Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts State University of New York Press pp 216 219 ISBN 978 0 7914 1381 4 Umakant P Shah 2005 Kodaganallur R S Iyengar ed Asian Variations in Ramayana Papers Presented at the International Seminar on Variations in Ramayana in Asia Sahitya Akademi pp 57 76 ISBN 978 81 260 1809 3 Kapila Vatsyayan 2004 Mandakranta Bose ed The Ramayana Revisited Oxford University Press pp 335 339 ISBN 978 0 19 516832 7 Menon 2008 pp 10 11 Pattanaik Devdutt 8 August 2020 Was Ram born in Ayodhya mumbaimirror Dhirajlal Sankalia Hasmukhlal 1982 The Ramayana in historical perspective India branch Macmillan Publishers pp 4 5 51 ISBN 9 780 333 90390 2 Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia 1977 Aspects of Indian History and Archaeology B R Publishing Corporation p 205 Parmeshwaranand Swami 2001a Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas Swarup amp Sons ISBN 978 81 7625 226 3 Simanjuntak Truman 2006 Archaeology Indonesian Perspective R P Soejono s Festschrift p 361 John Brockington Mary Brockington 2016 The Other Ramayana Women Regional Rejection and Response Routledge pp 3 6 ISBN 978 1 317 39063 3 Valmiki Ramayan p kishkindha kanda Valmiki Ramayan p 1235 Volume 2 of Srimad Valmiki Ramayaṇa With Sanskrit Text and English Translation a b T A Gopinatha Rao 1993 Elements of Hindu iconography Motilal Banarsidass pp 189 193 ISBN 978 81 208 0878 2 Valmiki Pollock Sheldon I 2007 The Ramayaṇa of Valmiki An Epic of Ancient India Araṇyakaṇḍa Motilal Banarsidass pp 41 43 ISBN 978 81 208 3164 3 a b Roderick Hindery 1978 Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions Motilal Banarsidass pp 103 106 ISBN 978 81 208 0866 9 Gavin Flood 17 April 2008 THE BLACKWELL COMPANION TO HINDUISM ISBN 978 81 265 1629 2 a b Roderick Hindery 1978 Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions Motilal Banarsidass pp 100 101 ISBN 978 81 208 0866 9 Valmiki Ramayan Timm Jeffrey R 1 January 1992 Texts in Context Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia SUNY Press p 118 ISBN 978 0 7914 0796 7 Griffith Constance Jones James D Ryan 2006 Encyclopedia of Hinduism Infobase Publishing p 355 ISBN 978 0 8160 7564 5 Gilbert Pollet 1 January 1995 Indian Epic Values Ramayaṇa and Its Impact Proceedings of the 8th International Ramayaạ Conference Leuven 6 8 July 1991 Peeters Publishers p 59 ISBN 978 90 6831 701 5 Dalal 2010 p 4 The Oral Tradition and the many Ramayanas Moynihan Maxwell Maxwell School of Syracuse University s South Asian Center a b c John Nicol Farquhar 1920 An Outline of the Religious Literature of India Oxford University Press pp 324 325 Rocher 1986 pp 158 159 with footnotes a b c d e RC Prasad 1989 Tulasidasa s Sriramacharitmanasa Motilal Banarsidass pp xiv xv 875 876 ISBN 978 81 208 0443 2 R Barz 1991 Monika Horstmann ed Ramayaṇa and Ramayaṇas Otto Harrassowitz Verlag pp 32 35 ISBN 978 3 447 03116 5 James 2002 p 72 sfn error no target CITEREFJames2002 help a b c Ramcharitmanas Encyclopaedia Britannica 2012 Lutgendorf 1991 Miller 2008 p 217 Varma 2010 p 1565 Poddar 2001 pp 26 29 Das 2010 p 63 Schomer amp McLeod 1987 p 75 Schomer amp McLeod 1987 pp 31 32 with footnotes 13 and 16 by C Vaudeville Schomer amp McLeod 1987 pp 31 74 75 with footnotes Quote What is striking about the dohas in the Ramcharitmanas however is that they frequently have a sant like ring to them breaking into the very midst of the saguna narrative with a statement of nirguna reality a b A Kapoor 1995 Gilbert Pollet ed Indian Epic Values Ramayaṇa and Its Impact Peeters Publishers pp 181 186 ISBN 978 90 6831 701 5 a b c Ramlila The traditional performance of Ramayana UNESCO Retrieved 8 March 2021 Chapple 1984 pp x xi with footnote 4 Chapple 1984 pp ix xi Leslie 2003 pp 105 Chapple 1984 p x a b c Chapple 1984 pp xi xii Surendranath Dasgupta A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 2 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 04779 1 pages 252 253 Valmiki 1984 The Concise Yoga Vasiṣṭha Translated by Venkatesananda S Albany State University of New York Press ISBN 0 87395 955 8 Tigunait Rajmani 2002 The Himalayan Masters A Living Tradition Itanagar Himalayan Institute Press pp 33 ISBN 978 0 89389 227 2 a b White David Gordon 2014 The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali A Biography Princeton University Press pp xvi xvii 51 ISBN 978 0 691 14377 4 Edmour J Babineau 1979 Love of God and Social Duty in the Ramcaritmanas Motilal Banarsidass pp 85 86 ISBN 978 0 89684 050 8 Bhaṭṭi 600 2009 Bhaṭṭikavya Translated by Olliver Fallon New York United States Clay Sanskrit Library p 22 35 ISBN 978 0 8147 2778 2 a b Dalal 2010 p 323 a b H T Francis E J Thomas 1916 Jataka Tales Cambridge University Press Reprinted 2014 pp 325 330 ISBN 978 1 107 41851 6 a b c d Cowell E B Rouse WHD 1901 The Jataka Or Stories of the Buddha s Former Births Cambridge University Press pp 78 82 Jaiswal Suvira 1993 Historical Evolution of Ram Legend Social Scientist 21 3 4 March April 1993 89 96 doi 10 2307 3517633 JSTOR 3517633 Rocher 1986 p 84 with footnote 26 Buitenen J A B van 1973 The Mahabharata Volume 2 Book 2 The Book of Assembly Book 3 The Book of the Forest University of Chicago Press pp 207 214 ISBN 978 0 226 84664 4 Richman 1991 p 17 note 11 a b Goldman Robert 2013 The Valmiki Ramayana PDF University of California Berkeley California Center for South Asia Studies Sundaram P S 2002 Kamba Ramayana Penguin Books pp 1 2 ISBN 978 93 5118 100 2 James G Lochtefeld 2002 p 562 City News Indian City Headlines Latest City News Metro City News The Indian Express Archived from the original on 7 April 2009 Retrieved 7 March 2021 Ramnavami a b c BBC Religions Hinduism Rama Navami BBC News Retrieved 7 March 2021 President and PM greet people as India observes Ram Navami today IANS news biharprabha com 8 April 2014 Retrieved 8 April 2014 National Portal of India Govt of India Retrieved 7 March 2021 a b John Josephine 8 April 2014 Hindus around the world celebrate Ram Navami today DNA India Retrieved 7 March 2021 Sitamarhi India Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 8 March 2021 A large Ramanavami fair celebrating the birth of Lord Rama is held in spring with considerable trade in pottery spices brass ware and cotton cloth A cattle fair held in Sitamarhi is the largest in Bihar state The town is sacred as the birthplace of the goddess Sita also called Janaki the wife of Rama Latest News India News Breaking News Today s News Headlines Online The Indian Express Archived from the original on 7 April 2009 Retrieved 8 March 2021 City News Indian City Headlines Latest City News Metro City News The Indian Express Archived from the original on 7 April 2009 Retrieved 8 March 2021 Satpathy Kriti Saraswat 14 April 2016 Did you know these rituals of Ram Navami celebration in Karnataka India News Breaking News India com Retrieved 6 March 2021 James G Lochtefeld 2002 p 389 Encyclopedia Britannica 2015 Kasbekar Asha 2006 Pop Culture India Media Arts and Lifestyle ABC CLIO ISBN 978 1 85109 636 7 James G Lochtefeld 2002 pp 561 562 Bose Mandakranta 2004 The Ramayana Revisited Oxford University Press pp 342 350 ISBN 978 0 19 516832 7 Gupta 1991 p fontcover Richman 1991 p 107 Willem Frederik Stutterheim 1989 Rama legends and Rama reliefs in Indonesia Abhinav Publications pp 109 160 ISBN 978 81 7017 251 2 a b c James R Brandon 2009 Theatre in Southeast Asia Harvard University Press pp 22 27 ISBN 978 0 674 02874 6 a b Brandon James R 2009 Theatre in Southeast Asia Harvard University Press pp 15 21 ISBN 978 0 674 02874 6 Jan Fontein 1973 The Abduction of Sita Notes on a Stone Relief from Eastern Java Boston Museum Bulletin Vol 71 No 363 1973 pp 21 35 Kats J 1927 The Ramayana in Indonesia Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies Cambridge University Press 4 3 579 doi 10 1017 s0041977x00102976 S2CID 162850921 Francis D K Ching Mark M Jarzombek Vikramaditya Prakash 2010 A Global History of Architecture John Wiley amp Sons p 456 ISBN 978 0 470 40257 3 Quote The name of the capital city Ayuttaya derives from the Hindu holy city Ayodhya in northern India which is said to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama Michael C Howard 2012 Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies The Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel McFarland pp 200 201 ISBN 978 0 7864 9033 2 Constance Jones James D Ryan 2006 Encyclopedia of Hinduism Infobase Publishing p 443 ISBN 978 0 8160 7564 5 John E Cort 1993 Wendy Doniger ed Purana Perennis Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts State University of New York Press p 190 ISBN 978 0 7914 1381 4 Jacobi Herman 2005 Vimalsuri s Paumachariyam 2nd ed Ahemdabad Prakrit Text Society Iyengar Kodaganallur Ramaswami Srinivasa 2005 Asian Variations in Ramayana Sahitya Akademi ISBN 978 81 260 1809 3 Zimmer 1953 p 226 Natubhai Shah 2004 pp 21 23 Bassuk Daniel E 1987 Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity The Myth of the God Man Palgrave Macmillan p 40 ISBN 978 1 349 08642 9 Edward Geoffrey Parrinder 1997 Avatar and Incarnation The Divine in Human Form in the World s Religions Oxford Oneworld pp 19 24 35 38 75 78 130 133 ISBN 978 1 85168 130 3 Claus Peter J Diamond Sarah Mills Margarat 2003 South Asian Folklore An Encyclopedia Taylor amp Francis pp 306 307 ISBN 978 0 415 93919 5 Naomi Appleton 2010 Jataka Stories in Theravada Buddhism Narrating the Bodhisatta Path Ashgate Publishing pp 51 54 ISBN 978 1 4094 1092 8 Mandakranta Bose 2004 The Ramayana Revisited Oxford University Press pp 337 338 ISBN 978 0 19 803763 7 Singh Govind 2005 Dasamgranth Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers ISBN 978 81 215 1044 8 Doris R Jakobsh 2010 Sikhism and Women History Texts and Experience Oxford University Press pp 47 48 ISBN 978 0 19 806002 4 Judge Paramjit S Kaur Manjit 2010 The Politics of Sikh Identity Understanding Religious Exclusion Sociological Bulletin 59 3 219 doi 10 1177 0038022920100303 ISSN 0038 0229 JSTOR 23620888 S2CID 152062554 via Book Dodiya 2001 p 139 Ramdas Lamb 2012 pp 31 32 Monika Horstmann 1991 Ramayaṇa and Ramayaṇas Otto Harrassowitz Verlag pp 72 73 with footnotes ISBN 978 3 447 03116 5 Hans Bakker 1990 The History of Sacred Places in India As Reflected in Traditional Literature Papers on Pilgrimage in South Asia BRILL pp 70 73 ISBN 90 04 09318 4 Raj Selva J Harman William P 1 January 2006 Dealing with Deities The Ritual Vow in South Asia SUNY Press ISBN 978 0 7914 6708 4 James G Lochtefeld 2002 pp 98 108 Larson Gerald James 16 February 1995 India s Agony Over Religion Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education SUNY Press ISBN 978 0 7914 2412 4 a b James G Lochtefeld 2002 p 1 Lorenzen David N 1999 Who Invented Hinduism Comparative Studies in Society and History 41 4 630 659 doi 10 1017 S0010417599003084 ISBN 9788190227261 ISSN 0010 4175 JSTOR 179424 S2CID 247327484 via Book Gupta 1991 p 36 Bhat Rama 2006i The Divine Anjaneya Story of Hanuman iUniverse pp 79 ISBN 978 0 595 41262 4 J L Brockington 1998 The Sanskrit Epics BRILL pp 471 472 ISBN 90 04 10260 4 Meister Michael W 1988 Prasada as Palace Kutina Origins of the Nagara Temple Artibus Asiae 49 3 4 254 280 Figure 21 doi 10 2307 3250039 JSTOR 3250039 James C Harle 1994 The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent Yale University Press pp 148 149 207 208 ISBN 978 0 300 06217 5 Rajadhyaksha Ashish Willemen Paul 1994 Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema British Film Institute ISBN 9780851704555 Sources Chapple Christopher 1984 Introduction The Concise Yoga Vasiṣṭha Translated by Venkatesananda Swami Albany State University of New York Press ISBN 0 87395 955 8 OCLC 11044869 Das Krishna 15 February 2010 Chants of a Lifetime Searching for a Heart of Gold Hay House Inc ISBN 978 1 4019 2771 4 Navratri Hindu festival Encyclopedia Britannica 21 February 2017 Retrieved 21 February 2017 Flood Gavin 17 April 2008 The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism Wiley India Pvt Limited ISBN 978 81 265 1629 2 Hertel Bradley R Humes Cynthia Ann 1993 Living Banaras Hindu Religion in Cultural Context SUNY Press ISBN 978 0 7914 1331 9 Miller Kevin Christopher 2008 A Community of Sentiment Indo Fijian Music and Identity Discourse in Fiji and Its Diaspora HarperCollins ISBN 978 0 549 72404 9 Leslie Julia 2003 Authority and meaning in Indian religions Hinduism and the case of Valmiki Ashgate Publishing Ltd ISBN 0 7546 3431 0 Moraribapu 1987 Mangal Ramayan Prachin Sanskriti Mandir Poddar Hanuman Prasad 2001 Balkand 94 in Awadhi and Hindi Gorakhpur India Gita Press ISBN 81 293 0406 6 Lutgendorf Philip 1991 The Life of a Text Performing the Ramcaritmanas of Tulsidas University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 06690 8 Naidu S Shankar Raju 1971 A Comparative Study of Kamba Ramayanam and Tulasi Ramayan University of Madras Platvoet Jan G Toorn Karel Van Der 1995 Pluralism and Identity Studies in Ritual Behaviour BRILL ISBN 90 04 10373 2 Richman Paula 1991 Many Ramayaṇas The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 07589 4 Rocher Ludo 1986 The Puranas Otto Harrassowitz Verlag ISBN 978 3 447 02522 5 Schomer Karine McLeod W H 1 January 1987 The Sants Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0277 3 Shah Natubhai 2004 First published in 1998 Jainism The World of Conquerors vol I Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 1938 1 Stasik Danuta Trynkowska Anna 1 January 2006 Indie w Warszawie tom upamietniajacy 50 lecie powojennej historii indologii na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim 2003 2004 Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa ISBN 978 83 7151 721 1 Varma Ram 1 April 2010 Ramayana Before He Was God Rupa amp Company ISBN 978 81 291 1616 1 Zimmer Heinrich 1953 April 1952 Campbell Joseph ed Philosophies Of India Routledge amp Kegan Paul Ltd ISBN 978 81 208 0739 6 Dodiya Jaydipsinh 2001 Critical Perspectives on the Ramayaṇa Sarup amp Sons p 139 ISBN 978 81 7625 244 7 Bassuk Daniel E 1987 Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity The Myth of the God Man Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 978 1 349 08642 9 Parrinder Edward Geoffrey 1997 Avatar and Incarnation The Divine in Human Form in the World s Religions Oxford Oneworld ISBN 978 1 85168 130 3 Tripathy Amish 2015 Scion of Ikshvaku New Delhi India Westland Publications ISBN 9 789 385 15214 6 Rinehart Robin 2011 Debating the Dasam Granth Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 984247 6 Lochtefeld James G 2002 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism N Z The Rosen Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 8239 3180 4 Lamb Ramdas 2012 Rapt in the Name The Ramnamis Ramnam and Untouchable Religion in Central India State University of New York Press pp 28 32 ISBN 978 0 7914 8856 0 Gupta Shakti M 1991 Festivals Fairs and Fasts of India University of Indiana United States Clarion Books ISBN 9 788 185 12023 2 OCLC 1108734495 Dalal Roshan 2010 Hinduism An Alphabetical Guide Penguin Books ISBN 978 0 14 341421 6 Hindery Roderick 1978 Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0866 9 Goldman Robert P 1996 The Ramayan of Valmiki New Jersey United States Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0 691 06662 2 Van Der Molen Willem 2003 Rama and Sita in Wonoboyo Bijdragen tot de Taal Land en Volkenkunde 159 2 3 389 403 doi 10 1163 22134379 90003748 ISSN 0006 2294 JSTOR 27868037 Further readingJain Ramayaṇa of Hemchandra English translation book 7 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra 1931 Griffith Ramayana Project Gutenberg Willem Frederik Stutterheim 1989 Rama legends and Rama reliefs in Indonesia Abhinav Publications ISBN 978 81 7017 251 2 Vyas R T ed 1992 Valmiki Ramayaṇa Vadodara Oriental Institute Text as Constituted in its Critical Edition Valmiki Ramayana Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh Gita Press J P Mallory Douglas Q Adams 1997 Encyclopedia of Indo European Culture Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 1 884964 98 5 Menon Ramesh 2008 2004 The Ramayana A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic ISBN 978 0 86547 660 8 Growse F S 2017 The Ramayana of Tulsidas Trieste Publishing Pty Limited ISBN 9 780 649 46180 6 Blank Jonah 2000 Arrow of the Blue Skinned God Retracing the Ramayana Through India ISBN 0 8021 3733 4 Kambar Kamba Ramayanam External links Media related to Rama category at Wikimedia CommonsRamaIkshvaku dynastyPreceded byDasharatha King of Kosala Succeeded byLavaRegnal titlesPreceded byParashurama DashavataraTreta Yuga Succeeded byKrishna Portals Hinduism PhilosophyRama at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Resources from Wikiversity Data from Wikidata Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rama amp oldid 1150692294, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.