The Ramayana

The Ramayana

The Ramayana, one of the great Sanskrit epic , helped to develop a more popular, devotional religion. A product of less exclusive world of the Kshtriya epic, it is not so heavily dominated by the brahmin - controlled sacrificial and ritual elements of Hinduism. It remains a popular source of religious teachings through public readings and dramatizations.

The core of epic  was first composed in the 4th century BC as a secular tale recited by bards who were attendant on the royal courts. However as centuries passed the Lord Ram, its hero became transformed from warrior King into a warrior deity. By the 4th century AD, Lord Ram was widely identified as the seventh incarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu. The Ramayan's link with Vedic religion are, however, still strong. Brahmins priests are widely honoured in its verses, and the horse sacrifice plays a crucial part in the narrative.

The Valmiki

Like the Vedas and the Mahabharat, the Ramayana is believed to have been divinely revealed: by its composer, Valmiki, while meditating upon the mantra "Ram". Valmiki's own life assumes mythic proportions in the introduction to the main text, in which he plays an active role.

The Lord Rama

Despite the secular nature of of the poem in its original form, the narrative scheme of the Ramayana clearly shows the influence of essentially Vedic elements. In its early pages, for example, Rama is frequently linked with the glorious Vedicn sun god Indra. Like Indra, Rama is an ideal warrior, and unlike the confused Arjuna of the Mahabharat- he never hesitates to raise his bow, and clearly draws the battle lines between good and evil.

Lord Rama's action in the Ramayana epic are governed by dharma (religion) the irrefutable law that is the foundation of both the cosmic and the social orders. Although  the Ramayana is a tale of martial glory, it is also a corpus of moral and ethical precepts, providing a guide to statesmanship, human conduct and relationship.

Lord Rama is an idealized figure, a perfect king, warrior and husband. The epic traces his life, beginning with his birth as the eldest son of the good king Dasharatha. He wins Sita - the epitome of purity for his wife. But on the eve of their accession, they are denied the throne and sent into exile for fourteen years by Ram's father. Typically, Rama acts with honour: in accordance with the rule of dharma (religion), he obeys his father, who then dies of sorrows. Rama does not return until he has served the full term of exile. He roams the wilderness with Sita and his younger brother Laxman, fulfilling his caste duty by protecting Brahmin hermits from local demons.

The Ravan

The greatest demon Ravan, kidnaps Sita and takes her to Sri Lanka. Ram' devotion leads him to spend many years in serch of her. Then Lord Ram made  an army of monkeys and animals of the forest and headed towrds lanka.

The narrative climaxes with Sita's eventual rescue, as Rama and his monkey ally Hanuman obliterate the capital  of the demon kingdom.
Lord Ram's most sincere and powerful devotee was Hanuman. He is also prayed as  a god by Indian people a lot. He is also famous by the name of  monkey god.

My Diary

Although The Ramayan is an epic(past history written in poetic form), in India people considered it as a book of God. They learnt a lot from this epic. The whole foundation of an Hindu family is based on this holy book. That is why the relations in Indian family are very strong because they take inspiration and learning from this holy epic. Every elder boy in Indian family wants to become like Lord Ram. He is ready to do all sacrifices for the happiness of his younger brother and sister. And he is grown up and well settled then he starts giving a handsome amount of money from his salary to his parents. He does it happily because he has learnt it from Ramayana that taking care of old parents is son's responsibility and this thinking brings pleasure to his heart and respect in society.



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