Unit 5 · The Ramayana

Hindu tradition calls Valmiki the adi kavi, which means "the first poet." Tradition says he made the Ramayana in Sanskrit. The poem tells the life of Prince Rama.

The poem itself tells how Valmiki began. He saw a hunter shoot one of a pair of birds. The other bird cried out in grief. Valmiki felt deep sorrow, and his words came out in a new rhythm.

Tradition says that rhythm became the shloka, the verse form of the whole poem. So, the story goes, poetry was born from sorrow and care for another living thing.

Valmiki’s Ramayana is divided into seven books. Each book is called a kanda. Each kanda tells one part of Rama’s life, from his childhood to the end of his reign.

The poem has about 24,000 verses, by the traditional count. That is very long. It would take many days to chant it all. Many families read a small part at a time.

The names of the books tell where the story happens. Ayodhya Kanda happens in Rama’s city. Aranya Kanda happens in the forest. Sundara Kanda, the "beautiful book," follows Hanuman to Lanka.

Hindu tradition places Rama’s life in a very ancient age of the world, called the Treta Yuga. Many Hindus believe Rama lived long, long ago, far earlier than written history.

Scholars look at the poem’s language and its history. Most date Valmiki’s poem to between about 500 BCE and 100 CE. Many think the first and last books were added later.

Both views are held today. A student can name both without choosing between them. You might say, "Tradition says..." and then, "Scholars date..." Both are part of learning.

The Ramayana begins in Ayodhya, a rich city in North India. Its king is Dasharatha. He is a good king, but for many years he has no children. He prays and waits.

At last, the poem says, his three queens have four sons. Queen Kausalya’s son is Rama. Queen Kaikeyi’s son is Bharata. Queen Sumitra has twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.

Rama is the eldest. He grows up brave, kind and wise. He marries Sita, a princess from the kingdom of Mithila. The king plans to make Rama the next ruler.

Long before, Queen Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha’s life in a battle. He promised her two wishes, called boons. She could ask for them any time. He never forgot that promise.

Now Rama is about to be crowned. Kaikeyi’s maid, Manthara, stirs up her fears. Kaikeyi goes to the king. She asks for her two boons at last. Manthara tells Kaikeyi her son will lose everything.

First, she wants her son Bharata to be king. Second, she wants Rama sent to the forest for fourteen years. The king is heartbroken. But he gave his word, and he cannot take it back.

Rama hears the news. He does not argue. He does not get angry. The poem shows him accepting the exile calmly, so that his father’s promise is kept. He says he is ready to go.

Sita insists on coming with him. She says a wife’s place is at her husband’s side. Lakshmana insists on coming too, to serve and protect his brother. Neither one will stay behind.

The three leave Ayodhya in simple clothes made of bark. The people weep. Soon after, King Dasharatha dies of grief. Many readers see this as one of the saddest parts of the poem.

Bharata was away when all this happened. When he comes home, he is shocked. He does not want a crown won this way. He goes to the forest to bring Rama back.

Rama says no. He must keep his father’s word. So Bharata asks for Rama’s sandals. He carries them home and places them on the throne. Rama agrees and blesses him.

Bharata rules for fourteen years as Rama’s stand-in. The poem says he lives simply, outside the city, waiting for his brother. Many Hindus honor Bharata as a model of a loyal brother.

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana walk deep into the forests of India. They build huts of leaves and branches. They eat fruit and roots. They live very simply.

In the forest, they meet many sages. A sage is a wise person who lives a holy life. The sages welcome them and teach them. Some ask Rama to protect them from danger.

The poem describes rivers, flowers, birds and changing seasons. Many readers love these nature scenes. Some of the places named in the poem are still pilgrimage sites today.

The Ramayana is full of a key word: dharma. In this story, dharma means doing what is right for your role. A son, a brother, a wife and a king each have duties.

Rama keeps his father’s word. Bharata protects his brother’s throne. Lakshmana serves his brother. Sita stays true to Rama. Many Hindus see each one as a model of dharma.

Dharma is not always easy. Sometimes two duties pull against each other, like the king’s love for his son and his promise. The Ramayana shows people facing these hard choices.

Valmiki’s poem is in Sanskrit. Most people in North India did not speak Sanskrit. In the 1500s, the poet Tulsidas retold the story in Awadhi, a form of Hindi.

His poem is called the Ramcharitmanas, "the lake of Rama’s deeds." Tulsidas was a devoted follower of Rama. His telling is full of love for Rama as God.

The Ramcharitmanas became one of the most loved books in North India. Families chant it at home and in temples. Many Hindus in Illinois know its verses by heart.

Ravana carries Sita to his island kingdom of Lanka. He keeps her in a garden of ashoka trees. He wants her to marry him. He offers her riches and a palace.

Sita refuses him every time. She stays loyal to Rama. The poem shows her as brave and strong, even though she is far from home and all alone. She waits for Rama to come.

Many Hindus honor Sita as a goddess and a model of courage and faithfulness. Some readers today also see her as a strong woman who says no to a powerful king.

Rama makes friends with Sugriva, king of the monkey people, called the vanaras. Sugriva’s wise minister, Hanuman, becomes Rama’s most devoted helper.

Sundara Kanda tells how Hanuman leaps across the ocean to Lanka. He searches the city at night. At last he finds Sita and gives her Rama’s ring as a sign.

Hanuman is caught, and his tail is set on fire. He escapes and spreads the fire across Lanka. Then he leaps back to Rama with the good news. Many Hindus pray to Hanuman for strength and courage.

Rama’s army reaches the ocean. How can they cross? The poem says a vanara named Nala leads the building of a great bridge of rocks and trees across the sea.

Folk tellings add a little squirrel who helps with grains of sand. It is not in Valmiki’s poem, but many families love it. It shows that every helper counts.

Before the battle, Ravana’s brother Vibhishana leaves Lanka. He tells Ravana to return Sita, but Ravana will not listen. Vibhishana joins Rama, who welcomes him.

Yuddha Kanda, the "book of battle," tells of a long war in Lanka. Many warriors fight on both sides. Lakshmana is badly hurt, and Hanuman flies to bring healing herbs from a mountain.

At last Rama faces Ravana himself. The fight is long and hard. Rama wins. Many Hindus remember this victory as good winning over evil. The long war is over at last.

After the battle, Rama makes Vibhishana the new king of Lanka. He does not take Lanka for himself. The poem also shows respect for Ravana’s funeral rites.

The fourteen years are over. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana fly home to Ayodhya in a flying chariot. Hanuman goes ahead to tell Bharata the news. The chariot is called Pushpaka.

Bharata gives back the kingdom joyfully. Rama is crowned king at last, with Sita as queen. The people of Ayodhya celebrate. There is music and feasting in every street.

Many Hindus remember this homecoming at Diwali, the festival of lights, when they light lamps to welcome Rama and Sita. Others remember Lakshmi or Krishna at Diwali.

The poem says Rama ruled with fairness for many years. People were safe, fields were full and no one was treated unjustly. This is called Rama Rajya, "the rule of Rama."

Over time, Rama Rajya became an ideal, a picture of what good government could be. Mahatma Gandhi used the phrase for a fair India where the poorest people were cared for.

Others have used the phrase in different ways, and people still debate what it should mean. Many Hindus use it simply to mean a kind and just ruler. Its meaning is still discussed.

After the battle, Valmiki’s poem says Rama doubts Sita, because she lived in Ravana’s kingdom. Sita walks into a fire to prove she is pure, and the fire god, Agni, returns her unharmed.

In the last book, Uttara Kanda, Rama sends Sita away because people gossip about her. She raises their twin sons in Valmiki’s forest home. Many readers find these parts very painful.

Readers answer in different ways. Some explain Rama’s choices as a king’s duty. Some say these parts were added later. Many retellings, including women’s songs, tell the story from Sita’s side and question Rama.

For centuries, women in Indian villages have sung their own Ramayana songs. They sing them while working, at weddings and at festivals. Many of these songs focus on Sita’s feelings.

In the 1500s, the poet Chandrabati wrote a Ramayana in Bengali. She was one of the first women known to retell the story. Her telling puts Sita’s sorrow at the center.

Scholars say there are many Ramayanas, not just one. Each telling reflects its place, its people and its questions. This variety is part of why the story stays alive.

Traders, teachers and travelers carried the Ramayana beyond India. In Thailand it became the Ramakien. In Cambodia it is the Reamker. In Indonesia, a Javanese poem tells it too.

These tellings keep the main story but change details. In the Ramakien, Hanuman has a bigger, more playful role. Dancers act out scenes in masks and golden costumes.

The great temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia has stone carvings of the Ramayana battle. In Indonesia, many Muslims enjoy Ramayana puppet shows and dances as part of their culture.

The Ramlila is a play of Rama’s life. Towns across North India perform it each autumn, often over about ten nights. Many performances follow Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas.

It usually ends at Dussehra, the festival of Rama’s victory. In many places, huge figures of Ravana are burned. Crowds cheer as good wins over evil. Fireworks light up the sky.

In 2005, UNESCO honored the Ramlila as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Some Hindu communities in Illinois hold their own Ramlila plays.