The Ramayana (;"Ramayana" . Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. ), also known as the Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a Hindu smriti mythological epic poem (also described as a Sanskrit epic) from ancient India. It is one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the Itihasas, the other being the Mahabharata, narratives of past events (), interspersed with teachings on the goals of human life. The epic narrates the life and journey of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who was the prince of Ayodhya. It is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature and consists of nearly 24,000 shlokas (verses), divided into seven (chapters), where each shloka is a couplet (two individual lines).
The Ramayana chronicles the life story of Rama, who was born to King Dasaratha and his first wife Kausalya in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala kingdom. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father, 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; meeting with Vānaras, where Hanuman becomes Rama's biggest devotee; winning the battle against Ravaṇa; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned king amidst jubilation and celebration.
Scholarly estimates for the primary (oral) stage of the text range from the 8th–5th to 5th–4th century BCE, "although the legends constituting it go back farther in time" and later stages extend up to the 3rd century CE. There are two major regional recensions, the northern (N) and the southern (S), which inherited a common oral source from the original composition by Valmiki but evolved profound verbal differences because oral transmission continued along two separate regional pathways for a long period before they were eventually fixed in writing. There are also many other versions of the Ramayana in Indian languages, including Buddhist and Jain adaptations.
The Ramayana strongly influenced the later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life and culture. Its main figures were central to the cultural consciousness of many nations, both Hindu and Buddhist. Its most significant moral influence was the importance of virtue, in the life of a citizen and in the aspirational ideals guiding the functioning of a state (from , a utopian state where Rama is king) 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.Monier Monier Williams, अयन , Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology , 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".Monier Monier Williams, राम , Sanskrit English Dictionary with EtymologyMonier Monier Williams, रात्रि , Sanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology Thus, means "Rama's journey".
Dating Scholarly estimates of the composition of the available text range from the 8th–5th to 5th-4th centuries BCE, "although the legends constituting it go back farther in time" and later stages extend to the 3rd century CE. Robert P. Goldman (1984) gives 750 BCE to 500 BCE as the probable date of the oral composition of Valmiki's Ramayana, stating that "it is extremely unlikely that the archetype of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇā can be much earlier than the beginning of the seventh century B.C.", while the core portions could not have been composed later than the 6th or 5th century BCE, as the narrative neither mentions Buddhism (founded in the 5th century BCE) nor reflects the later prominence of Magadha (which rose to power in the 7th century BCE). The text also mentions Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, rather than its later name of Saketa or its successor capital of Shravasti.
Goldman & Sutherland Goldman (2022) consider Valmiki's Ramayana to be composed around mid-first millennium BCE.
Books two to six are the oldest portion of the epic, while the first and last books (Balakanda and Uttara Kanda, respectively) 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. Modern scholars often place the Ramayana in the genre of epics.
Structure In its extant form, Valmiki's Ramayana is an epic poem containing over 24,000 couplet verses called shlokas, divided into seven s (Bālakāṇḍa, Ayodhyakāṇḍa, Araṇyakāṇḍa, Kiṣkindakāṇḍa, Sundarakāṇḍa, Yuddhakāṇḍa, Uttarakāṇḍa), and about 500 sargas (chapters). It is regarded as one of the longest epic poems ever written.
Recensions The Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions, and sub-recensions. There are two major regional recensions, the northern (N) and the southern (S), which inherited a common oral source from the original composition by Valmiki but developed profound verbal differences because oral transmission continued along two separate regional pathways for a long period before they were eventually fixed in writing. Because these pathways operated independently for centuries, the Northern tradition gradually shifted toward a popularized, simplified gloss of the text to make things simpler for their local audiences. Meanwhile, the Southern tradition followed a far more conservative trajectory, ultimately preserving a more uniform and archaic structure that serves as the backbone for modern critical editions of the text. 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 (Bala Kanda and Uttara Kanda) 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 (sage) 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. The bow is called as Pinaka. It is kept at the court of King Janaka in the kingdom. 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.