Ramayana
The Ramayana, also known as the Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata. The epic narrates the life of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who was a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across the forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.
Scholarly estimates for the earliest stage of the text range from the 7th–5th to 5th–4th century BCE, and later stages extend up to the 3rd century CE, although the original date of composition is unknown. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 shlokas, divided into seven . Each shloka is a couplet. The Ramayana belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events, interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life.
There are many versions of the Ramayana in Indian languages, including Buddhist and Jain adaptations. There are also Cambodian, Malay, Filipino, Thai, Lao, Burmese, Nepali, Maldivian, Vietnamese, and Tibeto-Chinese versions of the Ramayana.
The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life and culture, and its main figures were fundamental to the cultural consciousness of a number of nations, both Hindu and Buddhist. Its most important moral influence was the importance of virtue, in the life of a citizen and in the aspirational ideals guiding the functioning of a state or a society.
Etymology
The name is composed of two words, and "travel, journey", with the grammatical internal sandhi "joining" of the final short a in Rāma and the initial short a in ayana to the longer form ā., the name of the main figure of the epic, has two contextual meanings. In the Atharvaveda, it means "dark-coloured or black" and is related to the word "the darkness or stillness of night". The other meaning, which can be found in the Mahabharata, is "pleasing, pleasant, charming, lovely, beautiful". Thus, means "Rama's journey".Dating
Scholarly estimates of the earliest stage of the available text range from the 7th–5th to 5th-4th centuries BCE, with later stages extending to the 3rd century CE. According to Robert P. Goldman, the oldest parts of the Ramayana date to the early 7th century BCE. Goldman states that the core portions could not have been composed later than the 6th or 5th century BCE, as the narrative neither mentions Buddhism nor reflects the later prominence of Magadha. The text also mentions Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, rather than its later name of Saketa or its successor capital of Shravasti. In terms of narrative time, the action of the Ramayana predates the Mahabharata. consider the Ramayana's oldest surviving version was composed around 500 BCE.Books two to six are the oldest portion of the epic, while the first and last books are considered to be later additions. Style differences and narrative contradictions between these two volumes and the rest of the epic have led scholars including Hermann Jacobi toward this consensus.
Textual characteristics
Genre
The Ramayana belongs to the genre of Itihasa, narratives of past events, which includes the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the Puranas. The genre also includes teachings on the goals of human life. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal son, servant, brother, husband, wife, and king. Like the Mahabharata, Ramayana presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in the narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements.Structure
In its extant form, Valmiki's Ramayana is an epic poem containing over 24,000 couplet verses, divided into seven s, and about 500 sargas. It is regarded as one of the longest epic poems ever written.Recensions
The Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions, and sub-recensions. Textual scholar Robert P. Goldman differentiates two major regional revisions: the northern and the southern. Scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that "the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind."There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last volumes of Valmiki's Ramayana were composed by the original author. Though Bala Kanda is sometimes considered in the main epic, according to many Uttara Kanda is certainly a later interpolation, not attributable to Valmiki. Both of these two kāndas are absent in the oldest manuscript.
Some think that the Uttara Kanda contradicts how Rama and Dharma are portrayed in the rest of the epic. M. R. Parameswaran says that the way the positions of women and Shudras are depicted shows that the Uttara Kanda is a later insertion.
Characters
Synopsis
''Bāla Kāṇḍa''
The epic begins with the sage Vālmīki asking Nārada if there is a righteous man still left in the world, to which Nārada replies that such a man is Rāma. After seeing two birds being shot, Vālmīki creates a new form of metre called śloka, in which he is granted the ability to compose an epic poem about Rāma. He teaches his poem to the boys Lava and Kuśa, who recite it throughout the land and eventually at the court of King Rāma. Then the main narrative begins.Daśaratha is the King of Ayodhyā. He has three wives: Kausalyā, Kaikeyī, and Sumitrā. He does not have a son and, in the desire to have a legal heir, he performs a fire sacrifice known as Putrīyā Iṣṭi. Meanwhile, the gods are petitioning to Brahmā and Viṣhṇu about Rāvaṇa, king of the rākṣasas who is terrorizing the universe. Thus Viṣhṇu opts to be born into mortality to combat the demon Rāvaṇa. As a consequence, Rāma is first born to Kausalyā, Bharata is born to Kaikeyī, and Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna are born to Sumitrā.
When Rāma is 16 years old, the r̥ṣi Viśvāmitra comes to the court of Daśaratha seeking help against demons who are disturbing sacrificial rites. He chooses Rāma, who is followed by Lakṣmaṇa, his constant companion throughout the story. Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa receive instructions and supernatural weapons from Viśvāmitra and proceed to destroy Tāṭakā and many other demons. Viśvāmitra also recounts much lore of the landscape, his own ancestors, and the ancestors of the princes.
The party then decides to attend King Janaka's sacrifice in the kingdom of Mithilā, who has a bow that no one has been able to string. Janaka recounts the history of the famed bow, and informs them that whoever strings the bow will win the hand of his daughter Sītā, whom he found in the earth while plowing a field. Rāma then proceeds to string the bow, but he breaks it in the process. Rāma marries Sītā; the wedding is celebrated with great festivity in Mithilā and the marriage party returns to Ayodhyā.
''Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa''
After Rāma and Sītā are married, an elderly Daśaratha expresses his desire to crown Rāma, to which the Kosala assembly and his subjects express their support. On the eve of the great event, Kaikeyī is happy regarding this but later is provoked by Mantharā, a wicked maidservant, to claim two boons that Daśaratha has granted to her. Kaikeyī demands Rāma to be exiled into the wilderness for fourteen years, while the succession passes to her son Bharata.The grief-stricken king, bound by his word, accedes to Kaikeyī's demands. Rāma accepts his father's reluctant decree with absolute submission and calm self-control which characterizes him throughout the story. He asks Sītā to remain in Ayodhyā, but she convinces him to take her with him into exile. Lakṣmaṇa also resolves to follow his brother into the forest.
After Rāma's departure, King Daśaratha, unable to bear the grief, passes away. Meanwhile, Bharata, who is on a visit to his maternal uncle, learns about the events in Ayodhyā. He is shocked and refuses to profit from his mother's wicked scheming. He visits Rāma in the forest and implores him to return to Ayodhyā and claim the throne that is rightfully his, but Rāma, determined to carry out his father's orders to the letter, refuses to return before the period of exile. Bharata reluctantly returns to Ayodhyā and rules the kingdom on behalf of his brother.
''Araṇya Kāṇḍa''
In exile, Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa journey southward along the banks of the river Godāvari, where they build cottages and live off the land. One day, in the Pañcavati forest they are visited by a rākṣasī named Śurpaṇakhā, sister of Ravaṇa. She tries to seduce the brothers and, after failing, attempts to kill Sītā out of jealousy. Lakṣmaṇa stops her by cutting off her nose and ears. Hearing of this, her brothers Khara and Dushan organize an attack against the princes. Rama defeats Khara and his rakṣasīs.When the news of these events reaches Rāvaṇa, he resolves to destroy Rāma by capturing Sītā with the aid of the rakṣasa Mārīca, who, assuming the form of a golden deer, captivates Sītā's attention. Entranced by the beauty of the deer, Sītā pleads with Rāma to capture it. Rāma, aware that this is the ploy of the demons, cannot dissuade Sītā from her desire and chases the deer into the forest, leaving Sītā under Lakṣmaṇa's guard.
After some time, Sītā hears Rāma calling out to her; afraid for his life, she insists that Lakṣmaṇa rush to his aid. Lakṣmaṇa tries to assure her that Rāma cannot be hurt that easily and that it is best if he continues to follow Rāma's orders to protect her. On the verge of hysterics, Sītā insists that it is not she but Rāma who needs Lakṣmaṇa's help. He obeys her wish but stipulates that she is not to leave the cottage or entertain any stranger. He then draws a line that no demon could cross and leaves to help Rāma. With the coast finally clear, Rāvaṇa appears in the guise of an ascetic requesting Sītā's hospitality. Unaware of her guest's plan, Sītā is tricked and is then forcibly carried away by Rāvaṇa.
Jatāyu, a vulture, tries to rescue Sītā but is mortally wounded. In Lankā, Sītā is kept under the guard of rakṣasīs. Ravaṇa asks Sītā to marry him, but she refuses, being totally devoted to Rāma. Meanwhile, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa learn about Sītā's abduction from Jatāyu and immediately set out to save her. During their search, they meet Kabandha and the ascetic Śabarī, who directs them to Sugriva and Hanuman.