duty as a prince to uphold law and order). Similarly, the comparison with Indra
gives way to an identification with Vis.n.u, first seen at the conclusion of the sixth
book – a later expansion – where various gods, led by Brahma ̄, gather to reveal
his divinity to Ra ̄ma (6.105). This recognition is, however, expressed in terms of
identity and not yet as incarnation.
The increasing veneration shown to Ra ̄ma is then reflected in the first and
seventh books, which include not only material presenting Ra ̄ma as divine but
also narratives enhancing the status of his opponent Ra ̄vana and so indirectly
of Ra ̄ma, the only person able to defeat him. The purpose of the first book is to
narrate Ra ̄ma’s birth, youthful exploits, and marriage, and generally to provide
a framework for the narrative; at the gods’ request, Vis.n.u agrees to become incar-
nate as Das ́aratha’s four sons as the only means of destroying Ra ̄vana, the evil
king of Lan.ka ̄. The last book is set in Ayodhya ̄ after Ra ̄ma’s victorious return to
rule in Ayodhya ̄ but the first half details Ra ̄vana’s genealogy and his misdeeds
before his encounter with Ra ̄ma (making him into an adversary of the gods),
while the rest of the book deals with events after Ra ̄ma’s installation; these
include Ra ̄ma reluctantly ordering Sı ̄ta ̄’s exile to Va ̄lmı ̄ki’s hermitage (placing
public opinion above his own feelings for his wife) and the birth of the twins,
Kus ́a and Lava, at Va ̄lmı ̄ki’s hermitage. Eventually, after a long and prosperous
reign, described in ideal terms, Ra ̄ma settles the kingdom on his sons and pub-
licly immolates himself in the river Sarayu (thus returning to his form as Vis.n.u).
Whereas the Maha ̄bha ̄rata narrative of Kr.s.n.a was next developed in a supple-
ment to it, the Harivam.s ́a, the account of Ra ̄ma in the Ra ̄ma ̄yan.ais developed in
the Pura ̄n.as and in the later Sanskrit Ra ̄ma ̄yan.as. Thus, for example, the Ku ̄rma
Pura ̄n.aaccount contains the important theological development of the illusory
Sı ̄ta ̄ created by Agni before she is seized by Ra ̄van.a, thus safeguarding the real
Sı ̄ta ̄’s purity; this motif then occurs also in the Adhya ̄tma Ra ̄ma ̄yan.a,Tulsı ̄da ̄s’s
Ra ̄mcaritma ̄nasand elsewhere. The later Sanskrit Ra ̄ma ̄yan.asgive a Veda ̄ntin
slant to the emerging bhaktiemphasis; the Yoga ̄vasis.t.ha, though claiming to be
by Va ̄lmı ̄ki, also asserts that it is the twelfth telling of the story and lays consid-
erable stress on Ra ̄ma as a liberated being (jı ̄vanmukta) in a unique blend of
abstract philosophy and vivid narrative, while the Adhya ̄tma Ra ̄ma ̄yan.ateaches
a form of Advaita Veda ̄nta combined with belief in Ra ̄ma’s saving grace and also
incorporates the Ra ̄magı ̄ta ̄, perhaps the first significant attempt to give Ra ̄ma a
teaching role analogous to Kr.s.n.a’s. Already in the Adhya ̄tma Ra ̄ma ̄yan.awe see a
motif which is common in many later retellings, that those killed by Ra ̄ma are
thereby blessed. The first version of the Ra ̄ma ̄yan.ain a regional language is
Kampan
̄
’s Tamil Ira ̄ma ̄vata ̄ram, appearing in the wake of the impassioned bhakti
poetry of the A ̄l
̄
va ̄rs; already in this there is something of the emphasis on the
name of Ra ̄ma which becomes so significant later. In North India, the first major
adaptation is that into Bengali by Kr.ttiba ̄s but the Hindi Ra ̄mcaritma ̄nasof
Tulsı ̄da ̄s has become much the best known, notable for its vision of Ra ̄ma’s
righteous rule and the saving power of his name, as well as for its use as the
base text for the Ra ̄mlı ̄la ̄, a dramatic enactment of the story staged annually by
local communities across much of North India.
122 john brockington