convinced of Sita’s innocence, sends her
into exile to please his subjects—here
showing a distrust uncharacteristic of a
figure who supposedly represents the
epitome of virtue. While in exile, Sita
gives birth to twin sons, Lava and
Kusha, whose prowess makes them
known to Rama, and they are eventually
acknowledged as his heirs. Yet after all
her suffering, Sita is not amenable to
reconciliation. As a final proof she calls
on her mother, the Earth, to bear wit-
ness to her virtue, and as a sign that this
is true Sita sinks beneath the earth,
never to be seen again. Soon after, Rama
himself leaves his body and takes again
his true form as Vishnu.
The Ramayanahas been an extremely
influential text, primarily because of the
social virtues modeled by its characters.
The epic is known throughout the sub-
continent, and its popularity can be
seen by its numerous retellings in ver-
nacular languages, of which the most
famous are the Tamil Ramayana of
the poet Kamban (9th c.), and the
Ramcharitmanas of the poet-
saint Tulsidas (17th c.). The epic
continues to be a prominent text in
the modern day, as witnessed by its
astounding popularity as a weekly tele-
vision serial produced in the mid-1980s
under the direction of Ramanand
Sagar. The Valmiki Ramayanahas been
translated numerous times, the most
recent partial translation of the work is
by Robert Goldman and Sheldon
Pollack. See also Tamil epics.
Rambha Ekadashi
Religious observance falling on the
eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark
(waning) half of the lunar monthof
Kartik(October–November). As with all
the eleventh-day observances, this is
dedicated to the worshipof the god
Vishnu, on this particular day in his
form as Krishna. As with most Hindu
festivals, Rambha Ekadashi requires that
certain rites be performed. These rites
involve fasting (upavasa) and worship,
and promise specific benefits for faithful
performance. This ceremony is named
after Rambha, a famous apsaraor celes-
tial damsel. Its charter myth tells how, by
faithfully observing this rite, a certain
king was born in heavenand served by
Rambha and other apsaras.Ramcharitmanas
(“Holy Lake of Rama’sDeeds”) Vernacular
retelling of the Ramayana, the earlier of
the two great Sanskrit epics. The
Ramcharitmanaswas written by the
poet-saint Tulsidas(1532–1623), in the
language known as Avadhi, an eastern
variant of medieval Hindi. Evidence
indicates that Tulsidas began the text
in Ayodhyain 1574. At nearly 10,000
lines, this text is by far his longest work
and is generally considered to be his
greatest. For the most part the poem is
structured in groups of six to eight
verses written in the chaupaiform, fol-
lowed by a verse in the shorter doha
form. (The doha verse either sums up
the essence of the preceding chaupai
verses or serves to foreshadow later
developments.) There are also verses
written in longer meters such as
savaiya, as well as invocations in fluid
Sanskrit poetry at the beginning of
each of the seven sections. Tulsidas
was a masterful epic poet, as evi-
denced both by the sheer size of his
text and the high poetic quality of the
verses contained in it.
As with all the Ramayana’s vernacu-
lar retellings, Tulsidas did not merely
translate the story of Rama but inter-
preted it according to his own religious
convictions. His two most important
changes to the poem are the over-
whelming emphasis on the importance
of devotion (bhakti), and the saving
power of the name of Rama, to which
Tulsidas gives greater importance than
Rama himself. Tulsidas also includes
mythic material from a variety of other
sources, most notably the Shiva Purana
and the Adhyatmaramayana. This
material is largely added to the first and
last chapters, in which Tulsidas makes
his greatest changes from the originalRambha Ekadashi