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Ramayan

This is the Story Of Ramayana. Long ago, the wise King Dasharatha ruled over the Kingdom of Ayodhya, on the banks of the river Sarayu. Though the King had three wives, he didn’t have any children. The chief priest Vasishta advised Dasharatha to conduct a fire sacrifice to obtain a boon from the gods. He did so and the gods were pleased. One of them appeared out of the flame and handed him a pot full of nectar. The god told Dasharatha to share the nectar with his three Queens- Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra.

The Ramayana (ɑːˈmɑːjənə/;[1][2] Sanskrit: रामायणम्, romanized: Rāmāyaṇam[3]) is a Sanskrit epic from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism, the other being the Mahābhārata.[4] Together, they form the core of Hindu Literature. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Rama, 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 forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebrationThe scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE,[5][6] and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE,[7] although original date of composition is unknown. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the Shloka/Anuṣṭubh metre), divided into seven kāṇḍa (chapters) the first and the seventh being later additions.[8]

There are many versions of Ramayana in Indian languages, besides Buddhist, and Jain adaptations. There are also Cambodian (Reamker), Indonesian, Filipino, Thai (Ramakien), Lao, Burmese, Nepali, Maldivian, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Tibeto-Chinese, and Malay versions of the Ramayana.[note 1]

The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and the Hindu life and culture, and its main characters 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 ideals of the formation of a state (from Sanskrit: रामराज्य, romanized: Rāmarājya, a utopian state where Rama is king) or of a functioning society.The story of Ramayan is one of the most popular epics of all times. Ramayana literally means “the journey of Lord Ram”. It is thus the story of Ram, his wife Sita, his brother Laxman, his close confident Hanuman, the evil demon king Ravan and the various events & adventures in their lives. Story of Ramayan is estimated to be written between 7th and 4th centure BCE by Maharishi Valmiki in Sanskrit. The original text had 24,000 versus and is one the longest mythological poems in the world.

Over the time, the story has been written and re-written by many scholars and writers. One of the most famous of them was Tulsi Das and his version the Ramayana is called the Ramcharitmanas.

This epic story teaches us all the difference between right & wrong and inspires us to always to do the right thing, no matter what. Listen to this podcast of the Ramayana story in English to learn and know about the important lessons of life. Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the authorship of the sage Valmiki and dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of the very ancient Hindu sages. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in the Buddhist canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly been retold in poetic and dramatic versions by some of India's greatest writers and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of the staples of later dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-puppet theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).

Origins

The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance dealing with a hero and his exile, the abduction of his wife by a rival king and her rescue became conflated into seven books in which the hero Rama became an avatar of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to encompass the whole of India, and the struggle to recover his wife became a metaphor for the final triumph of the righteous.

A brief summary of the RamayanaRama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita (seen here), but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.

Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu. The eldest and favourite son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from Ayodhya due to the plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome of womanly purity and virtue.

Lakshmana with bow

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother. Completely loyal to Rama, heSita

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita (seen here), but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.

Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu. The eldest and favourite son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from Ayodhya due to the plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome of womanly purity and virtue.

Lakshmana with bow

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother. Completely loyal to Rama, he chooses to go with Rama and Sita when they are exiled from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received a boon from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons or by spirits, after performing a severe penance for 10,000 years. After receiving his reward from Brahma, Ravana began to lay waste to the earth and disturbed the deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to defeat him, assisted by an army of monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that Rama be banished to the forest and that her son Bharata be awarded the kingdom instead.

Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken hearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama. When Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and Satrughna.

Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his quest to defeat Ravana and rescue Sita.

Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by his brother Bali, but Rama helps him to defeat the usurper in return for his assistance in finding Sita.

The importance of the Ramayana in Indian culture

The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of Rama has been constantly retold by some of India's greatest writers both in Sanskrit and regional languages. It is one of the staples of various dramatic traditions, in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet theatres. In northern India, the annual Ram-lila or 'Rama-play' is performed at the autumn festival of Dassehra to celebrate with Rama and Sita the eventual triumph of light over darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-1988, drawing over 100 million viewers to become 'the world's most viewed mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India Today magazine, it was reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so many people who could gain access to a television stopped whatever they were doing to watch the small screen adventures of Rama. From January 2008, a new big-budget primetime series of the Ramayana has been appearing on television screens across India.

The Ramayana manuscripts of Jagat Singh of Mewar

Rama was of a royal race descended from the Sun, and Rajput clans of the Solar dynasty, among them the rulers of Mewar or Udaipur, claimed Rama as their ancestor, making the Ramayana something of a family history.

The Ramayana manuscripts commissioned by Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar (1628-52) are among the most important documents of 17th-century Indian painting. Unlike most other Ramayana manuscripts, they have not been dispersed as individual paintings into various collections but remain largely intact. The huge scale of the project (with originally over 400 paintings) allowed the artists to focus on telling an epic story on the grandest scale.

The seven books of the Ramayana are illustrated in three different styles of Mewar painting, including two books by Sahib Din, the greatest Mewar artist of the 17th century. Four of the seven books and part of a fifth are in the British Library. The two remaining books are still in India.

The British Library's four volumes were given by Rana Bhim Singh of Mewar to Col. James Tod, the historian of the Rajputs, who brought them back to London in 1823. Bhim Singh also gave Tod a separate manuscript of the first book of the Ramayana dated 1712. They were all acquired by the British Museum in 1844, and from there came to the British Library.

How to read a Rajput painting

Image selected from a magnificent manuscript of the Ramayana produced in Udaipur, India, in 1653 (British Library Add. MS 15296(1), f.114r)

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The Ramayana manuscripts commissioned by Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar (1628-1652) were illustrated on the grandest scale so that no episode or detail of importance was omitted. This necessitated the revival of the ancient narrative method of simultaneous narration used in both sculpture and painting. In European or Islamic illustration, each picture usually concentrates on depicting a single episode of the story - but in the Indian method, each picture might capture several episodes in the story so that the characters appear more than once in the same picture.

In the example shown above, reading anti-clockwise, we can follow Rama, Bharata and Satrughna from the top of the hill, down to the river (in the lower right corner) and back up again to where they sit outside the hut

This is the Story Of Ramayana. Long ago, the wise King Dasharatha ruled over the Kingdom of Ayodhya, on the banks of the river Sarayu. Though the King had three wives, he didn’t have any children. The chief priest Vasishta advised Dasharatha to conduct a fire sacrifice to obtain a boon from the gods. He did so and the gods were pleased. One of them appeared out of the flame and handed him a pot full of nectar. The god told Dasharatha to share the nectar with his three Queens- Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra.

In time, the three Queens gave birth to sons. Kausalya had Rama, Kaikeyi had Bharatha, and Sumitra had twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughan. The whole Kingdom rejoiced. The four young Princes were intelligent and good-natured. They loved each other, but there was a special bond between Rama and Lakshmana.Image Source@ anibrain.com. One day, sage Vishwamitra came to Dasharatha and asked him to send Rama to the forest with him to kill a demon who was continuously disrupting the fire sacrifices of the sages. Dasharatha sent both Rama and Lakshmana with Vishwamitra and Rama was able to kill the hideous and terrible demon Tadaka. Vishwamitra was very pleased and so were the gods.Kingdom of Mithila which was ruled by King Janaka. In Mithila, Rama succeeded in stringing a great bow given by Lord Shiva, which many before had tried and failed. This won him Janaka’s daughter Sita in marriage. Rama married Sita and they lived happily for many years. Dasharatha decided that it was time for Rama to become King. Everybody was pleased because Rama was a kind, Prince.

However, Kaikeyi’s maid, Manthara was not happy. She wanted her Queen’s son, Bharatha, to become the King. Manthara poisoned Kaikeyi’s mind. She decided to ask Dasharatha for the two boons he had promised her. Kaikeyi asked Dasharatha to make Bharatha the King and send Rama away to the forest for fourteen years. King Dasharatha was heartbroken but he was bound to keep his promise. Rama left for the forest without hesitation, accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana. The whole Kingdom was grief-stricken and Dasharatha died soon after.

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Bharatha was horrified by what his mother had done. He went to the forest to persuade Rama to return. When he refused, Bharatha took Rama’s footwear and placed it on the throne. He said he would rule till Rama returned. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana lived in the forest amidst the beauty and peace of nature’s treasures. Birds sang, streams gurgled and flowers bloomed in thousands.

One day, a terrible thing happened. A she-demon called Soorpanakha saw Rama and wanted to marry him. When Rama refused, she asked Lakshmana to marry her. Angry at his refusal, she attacked Sita. On seeing this, Lakshmana rushed to help Sita. Soorpanakha went to his brother, Ravana, the King of Lanka, and asked him to punish them for insulting her.

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Ravana sent his uncle Mareecha who took the form of the golden deer to attract Sita. On seeing this, Sita asked Rama to catch it. Rama chased the deer and finally shot it. As Mareecha lay dying, he used his magic and called out for Lakshmana in Rama’s voice. Hearing Rama’s voice, Sita was afraid and sent Lakshmana to help him. Before leaving, Lakshmana drew a magic line to protect Sita and asked her not to cross the line under any circumstance.

story of ramayana

story of ramayana

As soon as Lakshmana left, Ravana came in the guise of the sage. He was offended when Sita told him that she couldn’t cross the line to give him food. On seeing him angry, Sita forgot Lakshmana’s warning and crossed the line. As soon as she crossed the line, Ravana grabbed her and flew away to Lanka. Hearing her cries, Jatayu, the King of Eagles tried to help her but Ravana wounded him badly.

Rama and Lakshmana set out in search of Sita. Jatayu told them that Sita had been abducted by Ravana. On their way, Rama killed the demon Kabandha releasing him from the curse. The demon advised them to meet Sugriva, who would be of great help in finding Sita. They took the demon’s advice and met Sugriva. Sugriva agreed to help only if he killed Bali, who was Sugriva’s brother. Rama defeated Bali and Sugriva became the monkey King. Keeping his promise, Sugriva asked his chief, Hanuman, and his entire army to help him.

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Rama sent Hanuman in search of Sita. Hanuman found Sita in one of the gardens of Ravana’s palace. He gave her Rama’s ring and told her that Rama would come and rescue her soon. Ravana’s soldier caught Hanuman and took him to Ravana. Hanuman then asked Ravana to set Sita free but Ravana refused. He caught Hanuman and set his tail on fire. Hanuman flew high over the city and left many parts of it in flames.

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Rama, Lakshmana, and Sugriva then rounded up a huge army. A bridge was built to Lanka and the army marched across. A fierce battle began. Thousands of great warriors of both armies were killed. Ravana’s army was losing. He called on his brother Kumbhakarna who had the habit of sleeping for six months at a time, for help. After eating a mountain of food, he appeared on the battlefield striking terror. Rama killed Kumbhakarna.

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Indrajith, Ravana’s son, who was a great warrior and had the power to become invisible took command. He injured Lakshmana with a magic arrow. Lakshmana lay unconscious till Hanuman flew to the Himalayas and brought a herb that helped revive him. Lakshmana killed Indrajith and finally, Ravana and Rama came face to face. It took many days before Rama could finally kill Ravana with a weapon given by the Gods.