The Ramayana

What is the Ramayana?

A compilation and integration of stories about the ancient hero Rama, formed into a unified work of art. There are many versions.
Most popular in India today is one by Tulsides (15431623). We present an also popular summary of the version written by the poet Valmiki around 150 B.C.E.

The Theology of The Ramayana

The Aryans settled in the valley of the Indus River in the northwest of todays India around 1500 B.C.E. The Aryans wrote four books of sacred hymns, in their Sanskrit language, called the Vedas. Vedic religion was based on offering sacrifice to the gods in the hope of obtaining earthly power and wealth rather than rewards in an afterlife. In the mid-5th century B.C.E., the influential preacher Gautama Buddha simplified the focus of religion by advocating mastery of oneself, virtuous conduct, a search for wisdom, and compassion for all as the means of achieving eternal satisfaction (nirvana). Humans could therefore become like gods through virtuous acts. Buddhas teachings were so popular that they caused the Vedic religion to be modified, incorporating an emphasis on the four principles that individuals need to guide their lives (dharma, artha, karma, and moksa).

Background for the Ramayana

In this epic, the protagonist Rama acts in accordance with the four principles of moderation and dedication that should guide humans in all activities. They are
dharma righteousness and duty artha material prosperity kama legitimate sex and other pleasures moksa liberation of the soul

Background, 2 Dharma
Has both secular and religious connotations. Addresses correct behavior in all facets of life, including morality, duty, custom, law, virtue, and established order. Is based on the principle that each person has a specific role in life, related to his or her place in society. Requires a particular behavior in all aspects of daily existence.

Background, 3 Varnas
Indian society was divided into four segments, or varnas, according to social class. The result of this division was that by custom and by law, specific types of people did specific work:
The highest level was devoted to learning and priesthood. The second, to ruling and winning battles. The third group consists of traders, artisans, and farmers. The lowest group has to do the most unpopular jobs.

Gods of the Ramayana

Agni the god of fire from Vedic times. Indra the chief god from Vedic times. Shiva god of destruction; emerged in Vedic times, but became central in the later Hindu tradition. Vishnu a minor Vedic god, but the most important and supreme Hindu god.

Other Religious Elements of the Ramayana

The four sons of Dasaratha are incarnations of the god Vishnu, who had chosen them to help in conquering the Rakshasas. Rakshasas, or titans, are negative forces led by Ravana and can transform themselves into various shapes and to conjure up magical deceptions. Sages live a rigorous religious life apart from the activity of the city and provide crucial advice and protection to Rama and his family.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 1

Dasaratha, of the Ikshwaku dynasty, ruled the kingdom of Kosala, with Ayodhya as the capital. Dasaratha had four sons: Rama, the eldest, was born of Queen Kausalya, and Bharata was born of Kaikeyi. Lakshmana and Satrughna, the twins, were Sumitras sons. Rama and Lakshmana were especially close to each other, as were Bharata and Satrughna. Lakshmana and Rama went to Vishwamitra to fight titans. Rama met Sita on this trip. Her father Janaka had offered her in marriage to anyone who could string the great bow of Shiva. All the brothers married: Rama married Sita; Lakshmana wedded Janakas daughter Urmila; Janakas brothers daughters, Mandavi and Srutakirti, were married to Bharata and Satrughna.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 2

King Dasaratha wants to crown Rama as the heir. Manthara, the favorite maid of Queen Kaikeyi, convinces her to act in favor of her son Bharata. Kaikeyi asks, in repayment of an old favor, that Bharata should be appointed heir-apparent and Rama should be banished to the forest for fourteen years. Sita and Lakshmana, after protracted arguments, obtained Ramas consent to accompany him to the forest. After Dasarathas death, the sage Bharadwaja directs Bharata to Ramas abode, and Bharata pleaded for his brother to return. Rama promised to accept the kingdom after his return from the fourteenyear exile, but not before. Rama goes off into the Dandaka forest.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 3

Rama and Lakshmana vanquish the demon Viradha. The trio spend ten years in the Dandaka forest very happily, going from hermitage to hermitage. They visit the sage Agastya, who gives Rama a celestial bow, two inexhaustible quivers, and a sword. The celestial eagle Jatayu, a friend of Dasaratha, promises to keep watch over Sita. Maricha, one of the demons whom Rama subdued in Book I, helps Ravana abduct Sita by turning into a golden deer and drawing away Rama and Lakshmana. Ravana clips Jatayus wings and abducts Sita. Sita rejects Ravanas entreaties. Rama and Lakshmana set out to look for Sita.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 4

Vali, brother of Sugreeva, the Monkey king, drove him away from the city, depriving him of his wife, too. Rama promised to kill Vali and, in return, Sugreeva promised to help Rama in the search for Sita. Sugreeva becomes engrossed in a life of pleasure, and Rama becomes quite desolate and melancholy. Rama sends Lakshmana to Sugreeva to remind him of his part of the alliance, the search for Sita. Sugreeva sends out his forces, with Hanuman in the South. Rama has great confidence in Hanuman, and gives him a ring to serve as a token that Sita could recognize. Sampati, the elder brother of Jatayu, tells the monkeys that Sita, surrounded by titan women guards, is in the city of Lanka in the kingdom of Ravana. Hanuman undertakes the assignment of crossing the sea to Lanka and returning.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 5

Hanuman reaches the shores of Lanka city. In the Ashoka garden, he finds Sita, looking emaciated and terribly grief stricken, dressed in soiled clothes and without ornaments. He shows her the signet ring that Rama had given to him for identification, and offers to rescue her. Sita says that her lord should rescue her. Hanuman narrates his journey to Rama and gives him a jewel Sita had given him as a token of having met her.

Plot of the Ramayana, Book 6

Rama appreciates Hanumans exploits, but is despondent about the near impossibility of a whole army being able to cross the sea. Sugreeva cheers Rama, and the army of monkeys sets out. Vibhishana, brother of Ravana, seeks asylum in Ramas camp, and Kumbhakarna, another brother of Ravana, agrees to fight for Ravana, though he disapproves of his actions. The sea lord builds a passage in the sea for the whole army to cross the sea and reach Lanka. Combat between Rama and Ravana is most fierce, but finally, by the use of the Brahma arrow, Rama vanquishes Ravana. Rama has Vibhishana crowned king of Lanka. Hanuman brings Sita to Rama, but he tells her to depart, thinking she has been defiled by Ravana. Sita undergoes the fire ordeal to prove her purity. On Ramas request, Indra, the celestial chief, restored to life all the monkeys that had been killed in the war. Rama is crowned in Ayodhya. Dasaratha appears to bless Kaikeyi and Bharata, whom he had renounced earlier. Rama crowns Bharata as the heir-apparent.

An Uncomfortable Part of the Ramayana: Sita as a Phantom Figure

After Sita is rescued, Rama subjects her to a trail by fire to prove that she has not been touched by Ravana, because his dharma requires him to shun his wife if she has dishonored him. In more detailed translations of Rama stories, Sita is often represented by an illusory figure a double or phantom figure. In these versions of the Ramayana, it is the illusory Sita who sees the illusory deer. When Rama returns after his long exile, he forgets that the Sita in Ravanas power is illusory and orders her to undergo the ordeal of fire because he believes she has shamed him. However, because she is illusory, Sitas double walks into the fire and disappears, leaving the genuine Sita to remain with Rama.

Sita as a Phantom Figure, 2

OFlaherty suggests that the story may feature this illusory Sita to justify Ramas subjecting her to the fire ordeal. In this view, he may have known it was not the real Sita, or the presence of Sitas double may help mollify Ramas (and the readers) uneasiness that Sita has been with Ravana. Throughout the Ramayana, Sita conducts herself as the dutiful Hindu wife who stands by her husband through all adversity. In her devotion to dharma, Sita represents an ideal. In contrast, Kaikeyi, Dasarathas wife and Bharatas mother, lets her desire for wealth and power (artha) blind her to righteous living.