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Rama

Rāmachandra, simply known as Rama (rāma in IAST, राम in Devanāgarī) or Srī Rāma (श्रीराम in Devanagari), is the Seventh Avatara of Vishnu, and one of the most important manifestations of God in Hinduism. He is one of the most popular heroes of Hindu mythology and folktales in South and Southeast Asia. Born as the eldest son of Kousalya and Dasaratha, king of Kosala, he is the embodiment of the Supreme Brahman and Dharma. Rama is Mariyada Purshottama, literally The Perfect Man. He is the hero of the ancient Hindu epic poem, The Ramayana (from Sanskrit, The Journey of Rama). Rama is the husband of Sita Devi, who is the Avatara of Lakshmi, and the embodiment of perfect womanhood.

Rama's life and journey is one of perfect adherence of dharma despite harsh tests of life and time. For the sake of his father's honour, Rama abandons his claim to Kosala's throne to serve an exile in the forest. The kidnapping of his wife Sita by Ravana, the Rakshasa monarch of Lanka leaves him desperate. After a long and arduous search that tests his personal strength and virtue, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravana's armies. In a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry and battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned King in Ayodhya (the capital of his Kingdom) and eventually becomes Emperor of the World, after which he reigns for eleven thousand years - an era of perfect happiness, peace, prosperity and justice known as Rama Rajya.

Rama's courage in searching for Sita and fighting a terrible war to rescue his wife and their honour is complimented by Sita's absolute devotion to her husband's love, and perfect chastity despite being Ravana's captive. Rama's younger brothers, namely Lakshmana, Shatrughna and Bharata strongly complement his piety, virtue and strength, and they are believed by many to belong to the Mariyada Purshottama and the Seventh Avatara, mainly embodied by Rama. Rama's piety and virtue attract powerful and devoted allies such as Hanuman and the Vanaras of Kishkindha, with whose help he rescues Sita. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent and across South East Asia. Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty.

Etymology of Rama

Rām· in the Rigveda and the Atharvaveda is an adjective meaning "dark, black", or a noun meaning "darkness", e.g. RV 10.3.3 (trans. Griffith):

10.3.3cd Agni, far-spreading with conspicuous lustre, hath compassed Night [Rama] with whitely shining garments.

As a personal name it appears in RV 10.93.14:

10.93.14ab This to Duhsima Prthavana have I sung, to Vena, Rama, to the nobles [Asuras], and the King.

The feminine form of the adjective, rāmīˊ is an epitheton of the night (Ratri), as is kṛṣṇīˊ, the feminine of kṛṣṇa, viz. "the dark one; the black one". Mayrhofer (1996) suggests a derivation from PIE (H)reh1-mo-, cognate to OHG rāmac "dirty".

Two Ramas are mentioned in the Vedas, with the patronymics Mārgaveya and Aupatasvini; another Rama with the patronymic Jāmadagnya is the supposed author a Rigvedic hymn. According to Monier-Williams, three Ramas were celebrated in post-Vedic times,

1. Rāma-candra ("Rama-moon"), son of Dasaratha, descended from Raghu, the subject of this article

2. Parashu-rāma ("Battle-axe-Rama"), the Sixth Avatara of Vishnu, sometimes also referred to as Jāmadagnya, or as Bhārgava Rāma (descended from Bhrigu)

3. Bala-rāma ("the strong Rama"), also called Halāyudha, the elder brother of Krishna, the Eighth Avatara of Vishnu.

In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu. In the interpretation of Adi Sankara's commentary, translated by Swami Tapasyananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, Rama has two meanings: the supreme Brahman who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self in whom yogis delight or the One (i.e., Vishnu) who out of his own will assumed the enchanting form of Rama, the son of Dasaratha.

Literary sources

The primary source of the life and journey of Rama is the Ramayana as composed by the Rishi Valmiki. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit relect the life of Ramayana. For example, the Vishnu Purana also recounts Rama as Vishnu's seventh avatara and in the Vayu Purana, a Rama is mentioned among the seven Rishis of the 8th Manvantara. Additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the later epic, the Mahabharata. Another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Aadhyaatma Ramayana.

The epic had many versions across India's regions. For example, vernacular versions of the Ramayana which include the life, deeds and divine philosophies of Rama are elaborated in the epic poem Ramacharitamanasa, a Hindi version of the Ramayana by the 16th century poet Tulsidas and Kambaramayanam by the poet, Kamban in Tamil. Other vernacular versions also exist in most major Indian languages. Contemporary versions of the Ramayana include Shri Ramayana Darshanam by Dr. K. V.Puttappa in Kannada and Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu by Viswanatha Satyanarayana in Telugu, both of which have been awarded the Jnanpith Award. The epic has transformed across the diverse regions of India, which boast their own unique languages and cultural traditions.[1]

The essential tale of Rama has also spread across South East Asia, and evolved into unique renditions of the epic - incorporating local history, folktales, religious values as well as unique features from the languages and literary discourse. The Kakawin Ramayana of Java, Indonesia, the Ramakavaca of Bali, Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, Maradia Lawana of the Philippines, Ramakien of Thailand (which calls him Phra Ram) are great works with many unique characteristics and differences in accounts and portrayals of the legend of Rama. The legends of Rama are witnessed in elaborate illustration at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in Bangkok. The national epic of Myanmar, Yama Zatdaw is essentially the Burmese Ramayana, where Rama is named Yama. In the Reamker of Cambodia, Rama is known as Preah Ream. In the Pra Lak Pra Lam of Laos, Rama is regarded as an incarnation of Buddha.

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