206 THE RAMAYANA
IN BRIEF
THEME
Moral conductSOURCE
The Ramayana, Va l mi k i,
ca. 5th century bce.SETTING
Ayodhya, India; Lanka, an
island fortress.KEY FIGURES
Rama Seventh incarnation of
Vishnu; prince of Ayodhya.Sita Wife of Rama.Ravana A 10-headed demon.Brahma Creator of the
universe.Dasharatha King of Ayodhya.Lakshmana Ra ma’s ha l f-
brother.Bharata Ra ma’s ha l f-brother.Kaikeyi One of Dasharatha’s
wives; mother of Bharata.Hanuman A divine monkey.T
he epic poem Ramayana,
written in Sanskrit and one
of the major works of Hindu
literature, tells the story of Prince
Rama of Ayodhya and his quest
to save his wife, Sita, from her
10-headed captor, Ravana, who is
the king of the Asuras, or demons.
When Brahma granted a
boon—a sacred wish—to Ravana,
as a reward for his 10,000-year fast,
Ravana asked Brahma to make him
invincible to any god. His wish
granted, Ravana began causing
havoc across the three worlds—
earth, air, and heaven—and the
gods asked Brahma to intervene.[Rama], you are
famed throughout
the three worlds for
your glory, for your prowess,
your devotion to
your father; integrity and
virtue abound in you.
The Ramayana- Kalki
Harbinger of
the End - Matsya
Fish Vishnu
The Incarnations
(Avatars) of Vishnu- Kurma
Turtle Vishnu - Varaha
Wild Boar
Vishnu - Narasimha
Lion-headed
Vishnu - Vamana
- Parashurama Dwarf Vishnu
Axe-wielding Vishnu - Rama
King of Ayodhya - Krishna
The Dark One - Buddha
The Enlightened
One
Meanwhile, on earth, King
Dasharatha of Ayodhya, despite
taking three wives, still had
no son. Anxious for an heir, he
arranged a great fire sacrifice
(yajna) as an offering to Brahma.The birth of Rama
When Brahma looked down from
heaven at the flames of the king’s
ritual sacrifice, it occurred to him
that while Ravana had asked for
protection from gods and demons,
he had forgotten to ask for
protection from man. So Brahma
decided that he would bring Lord
Vishnu to earth in human form toUS_204-209_Avatars_of_Vishnu.indd 206 05/12/17 4:15 pm
ASIA 207
See also: Brahma creates the cosmos 200 ■ The game of dice 202–03 ■ The birth of Ganesha 201The marriages of Prince Rama
and his brothers are depicted in this
miniature (ca. 1700-1750). This Pahari
(meaning “from the mountains”) art is
from India’s Himachal Pradesh region.The worship of Rama
Rama is the seventh incarnation
of Vishnu and a major Hindu deity
in his own right. From the 1st
millennium bce, Rama was widely
recognized as an avatar of Vishnu
and considered “the ideal man.”
By around the 12th century ce,
he came to be revered as a god.
Rama worship strengthened
significantly in the late 16th
century when Tulsidas, a poet-
saint and devotee of Rama, wrote
the epic poem Ramcharitmanas,
which equated Rama with
Brahman, the Supreme Being.Characterized by duty, integrity,
and devotion, Rama’s rule over
the perfect, utopian society at
Ayodhya extended to the whole
world and became known as
ramraj. Mahatma Gandhi used
this ideal to visualize a new
age of democracy, religious
tolerance, and equal justice for
all during India’s independence
movement against British rule,
which finally ended in 1947.
Each year, Rama’s birthday
is marked by the spring festival,
Rama Navami, and his life is
celebrated during the Hindu fall
festival of Navratri.Rama battles the superhuman
Asura (sometimes referred to as
“titans”) on an illustrated Ramayana
folio from about 1700.defeat Ravana. King Dasharatha’s
prayers were granted, and sons
were born to each of his three
wives: Rama to Kausalya; the twins
Lakshmana and Shatrughna to
Sumitra; and Bharata to Kaikeyi.
The princes all grew up learning
the arts of warfare and reading
sacred texts. One day, the sage
Vishvamitra came seeking help
to defeat the demons that were
disturbing sacrificial rites in the
forest. Rama and his half-brother
Lakshmana accompanied the sage,
and learned how to use divine
weaponry. Vishvamitra praised
Rama’s skill, telling him he had
been born to rid the world of evil.The prince is banished
Twelve years later, the aging
Dasharatha prepared to have
Rama crowned as king. Rama was
the bravest and most virtuous son,and his father’s favorite. But
on the eve of the great event,
Dasharatha’s third wife, Kaikeyi,
reminded her husband of two boons
he had granted her many years
earlier. She demanded that Rama
be banished to the wilderness for
14 years and that her son, Bharata,
be crowned king instead. Duty
bound, the king ordered his belovedson Rama into the wilderness.
Rama’s wife, Sita, demanded to join
her husband in banishment,
as did his loyal half-brother
Lakshmana. As the three left the
palace for exile, King Dasharatha
died of a broken heart.
Bharata discovered his mother’s
plot and followed Rama into the
forest, begging him to return and ❯❯US_204-209_Avatars_of_Vishnu.indd 207 06/12/17 3:01 pm