The Ramayan
A page from a mediæval, Persian manuscript of The Ramayan
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The Ramayan
The first shlok
Renuka Narayanan, Indic Poetry Was Born Of Pure Compassion, October 3, 2020: The Times of India
The unchecked violence raging in our country seems just cause to introspect on the first known poetic verse in Indian literature.
I refer to the work of the first poet, Sage Valmiki, of Srimad Ramayanam fame. Vedas and Vedangas that came before the Ramayana, though usually set in various chhand, meters, are considered gadyam – ‘prose’ in Sanskrit – while the Ramayana is padyam, poetry.
That first shloka, verse, happened in the most extraordinary way. Lord Brahma’s son, Sage Narada, paid a sudden call on Valmiki, during which he disclosed the existence of a noble person called Rama, who embodied all the 16 good qualities demanded by Valmiki. After that illuminating visit, Valmiki went for a swim in the river Tamasa, accompanied by Sage Bharadvaja. The water was so pure and clear that they could see all the way down to the river bed. Marvelling at its perfect clarity, they began to make their way back to Valmiki’s ashram.
On the way, Valmiki’s eye caught a pair of krauncha birds – demoiselle cranes, called koonj in Hindi – with long white necks and striking plumage. They were dancing a graceful love duet, beautiful to behold. The sages were enchanted. Suddenly an arrow whizzed in, wounding the male bird, which fell down in agonised death throes. The female bird fluttered around him, sounding pitiful cries. The startled sages discovered that a hunter had crept into the scene and was triumphantly advancing on the dead crane.
Imagine Valmiki’s state of mind just then. The day had begun on a great, big high with Narada’s visit. Inspired and excited that there was actually someone like Rama, the hero he had imagined, and hoped to find some day, Valmiki was already in an exalted state. The purity of the river Tamasa and his refreshing plunge into her waters was like a metaphor for the purity that the human soul could achieve when cleaned of negativity. In this state of mind-body-spirit happiness, Valmiki saw and felt the beauty of creation and the Creator in the love dance of the cranes. The abrupt end of this woodland idyll was a rude shock to the sage. His heart burst its bounds with a great rush of karunya, compassion.
“Why did you kill that bird?” he asked the hunter angrily. “I am a hunter. It is my legitimate occupation to hunt,” said the hunter squarely. The agitated sage, once a hunter himself, said, “Ma nishada pratishtham tvama gamahsavati sama Yat kraunchamithunaadekam avadhi kamamohitam.”
It means, “O hunter! May you never be respected for killing that unsuspecting crane when it was happily dancing with its mate.” In Sanskrit, this came out as a rhythmic sequence of 32 syllables, which, re-examined, proved to have a deeper metaphysical meaning, praising Vishnu.
Shaken by his own words, Valmiki hurried home. And whom did he find waiting at his ashram but Brahma himself, in his swan chariot. Brahma had missed the presence of Goddess Sarasvati. Looking for her in all directions, Brahma discovered that she had flown by Valmiki’s ashram to bless him with eloquence. He stayed on to bless Valmiki in his new role as poet. That first shloka started him off.
This was the birth of poetry as conjured by our ancients, and its trigger was compassion. Isn’t that something profound, to steer our moral compass by, if we claim to love the Ramayana?
The volumes (kands); and later versions
Pappu Venugopala Rao, Ramayana: Significance Of Sundarkand, April 9, 2019: The Times of India
The Ramayana in Sanskrit was authored by Valmiki. There was no literature meant for commoners, prior to the Ramayana. Only Vedic literature existed before it. That’s why Valmiki is referred to as adi kavi or the first poet. Two more Ramayanas are very popular – the Kamba Ramayanam in the south and Tulsi Das’s Ramcharitmanas in the north.
Valmiki gave three titles to his book: It is called Ramayana from the point of view of the hero. Sitayah Charitam is from the point of view of the heroine and Poulastya Vadham is from the villain’s point of view. Ramayana means that which can get the reader to attain Rama. Sitayah Charitam is the story of Sita and Poulastya Vadham is the killing of Ravana.
There are 24,000 verses in the Ramayana and it is divided into six cantos: Balkand deals with the childhood of Rama and his brothers; Ayodhyakand is about their growing up in Ayodhya; Aranyakand narrates Rama’s exile in the forest along with Sita and Lakshmana, and Sita’s abduction; in Kishkindhakand Rama meets with Sugreeva and Hanuman; Sundarkand is the story of searching for Sita, and Yuddha Kanda, the war, killing of Ravana, Rama’s return to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana and his coronation.
While five of the six chapters are named around the incidents or places, only Sundarkand is named differently – it is called, the beautiful canto.
The significance of Sundarkand lies in its very name. It is a canto that most people chant; a parayana grantha meant to be chanted. Beautiful components are embedded in the canto.
Firstly, if we look at it as a work of literature, it consists of beauty; aesthetics in the words employed are known in poetics as sabda saundaryam consisting of many figures of speech like alliterations. Then there are many poetic qualities employed by Valmiki in the meaning of the words with multiple meanings or subtlety, known as artha saundaryam, beauty in meaning.
In Sanskrit literature, poetics deals with the concept of rasa, sentiment or emotion. In Sundarkand, we find many descriptions expressing density of various emotions of love, anger, fear, repugnance, wonder and so on. This reveals rasa saundaryam.
When Hanuman approaches Sita, she doesn’t believe he is a messenger from Rama. She asks him to describe the beauty of Rama. When Hanuman sees her for the first time, he is amazed at her beauty. We find a great description of the beauty and valour of Hanuman. Thus, Sundarkand consists of the descriptions of beauty of Rama, Sita and Hanuman.
If we look at Sundarkand as a spiritual text then we find the beauty of the Divine in Rama; beauty of the yearning of the soul in the form of Sita to join the lord and the beauty of Hanuman not just as a messenger but as an acharya who unfolds the spiritual connotations of the canto to the readers. There are nine different aspects of saundarya, beauty, in this canto.
There are people who read the entire 68 cantos in a day. Many people read it from the first day of the lunar new year Ugadi to the ninth day Rama Navami, the birth day of Rama. Chanting it in any manner, over a period of 40 days is a common practice.
Regional versions
A page from a mediæval, Persian manuscript of The Ramayan
The Authorised Ramayana
At the root of the censorship issue is a refusal to accept that our gods might be fallible
Nilofer Kaul
In Satyajit Ray’s Samapti, Amulya, the well brought-up city-educated man, visits his prospective bride who sits delicately next to the tanpura. By conventional standards, she is most suitable. Suddenly, from behind her, framed by the window, emerges a wild, untamed Mrinmoyee (Aparna Sen) who unleashes chaos with her mocking laughter. Amulya, till now reluctant to get married, returns home, smitten by the charms of this capricious, uncivilised woman. The scene may be read allegorically – Mrinmoyee represents the repressed; her behaviour is inappropriate both because of the overt aggression and the barely concealed sexuality.
The scene seems to say: there is little we can do with the repressed, because it returns, as indeed, it must. The mother realises this and so gives in to this rather wayward marriage. But the forces of Hindutva do not, as they clamp down on A K Ramanujan’s Three Hundred Ramayanas. Much has been written on this. I don’t want to either mock or condemn the ban, but i do want to understand the anxieties that underlie the obvious irrationality of such censoring. What does Valmiki get which is so right, that others seem to have missed? From the rich repertoire of tellings that Ramanujan brings together, i have picked four instances of ‘wrongness’.
In Kampan’s Ramayana, Indra is punished for having adulterous sex with Ahalya. His body will be covered with vaginas – for that is what he violated. Ahalya is turned to stone, she will never feel anything, for she has indulged in an excess of pleasure. This episode is missing from Valmiki. Why? When we reject this, perhaps we do not want to admit adultery existed, at least not in the realm of our gods, because when you say it is in our sacred epic, it feels as if you are attacking our parents. For after all, gods are mostly imagined as our idealised parents, upholding a fragile fiction. This is what i understand to be at the heart of this censorship panic. It echoes what every child feels – yes, unfortunately people do have sex, but not my parents.
In the Kannada folk tradition, Ravana appears as the father of Sita (as also in some Southeast Asian and Jain tellings). Ramanujan reads this as a recurrent figure in myths, i.e., the incestuous father who pursues his daughter. Interestingly, this demonic version of Ravana also becomes a source of anxiety. Must being the object of desire taint the object? Or is it a cross that all raped and abused women must bear? By being the object of her father’s desire, does Sita also get defiled? Or do we seek to find purity in our family tree which is denied by the lurking incestuous desire?
Interestingly, the Jains represent evolved versions of Ravana and Rama. Given their distaste for aggression, there is a denial of flesh and violence. And yet, we who follow Valmiki’s Ramayana are not enamoured by the purging of violence. The narrative exudes greyness – there is no clear demarcation of good and evil; our bloodthirsty instincts are simply not met! So after all, such a narrative seems to say, my parents are not that much better than the enemy!
In several Rama tales, in Sanskrit and other languages, Sita and Rama are not reconciled. There is a brief reunion followed by separation. Sita returns to the forest with her sons and finally vanishes from the earth into a fissure. This one has all the disadvantages of a tragedy. The reasons for rejecting this are all too obvious. We want our parents to have emerged omnipotent. We also love happy endings, happy families, reconciliation and restoration of order. At least for our families. Never mind if the enemy ends up in flames, or loses her nose. By depriving us of a happy ending, these alternative Rama stories fail to console us.
I have looked very briefly at just a few anxieties linked to some of the existing tales. There must be a good deal more, no doubt. But Valmiki’s Ramayana seems to have struck the right balance in that it keeps good and evil far apart, it doles out a happy ending, it steers clear of insinuating that our parents were mortal and fallible.
In all fairness, one must admit, these childlike wishes to hear, believe and propagate only what is ‘good’ about our parents (and by extension ourselves), is not limited to the Hindutva forces, but is evident in other dominant religions as well. Christianity offers a sanitised mythology, shorn of the body except as a medium for self-flagellation. The Virgin Mother is the obvious embodiment of the childhood fantasy that my father is an absent god and my mother immaculate. The hold of this powerful wish can be seen in the way Christianity wiped out traces of so many ‘strange gods’ of pagan mythology and made the Greek pantheon sound aberrant and monstrous.
Islamic insistence on maintaining a distance between the sacred and the profane is also not discontinuous with this strand of sanitised religions. So is this ‘sanitising’ an inevitable movement, an ineluctable step towards ‘civilising’? To return from where i started, the ‘uncivilised’ Mrinmoyee in Ray’s film must be brought into the fold of civilisation, through the taming of her instincts. Indeed, how precarious must we feel with the dark stranger that resides within us?
The writer is a psychoanalyst.
Adaptations, versions
20th century and after
Sneha Bhura, June 25, 2023: The Times of India
In Valmiki’s Ramayana, Urmila was as much a picture of devotion and selflessness as her sister Sita. When her husband Lakshman begs the sleep goddess for a boon of sleeplessness for 14 years to be able to guard his brother Ram and Sita during their exile, he is given it on the condition that someone else would sleep for the duration. Lakshman nominates Urmila who joyfully accepts nidra. Not in Adishakti’s ‘Urmila’ — a production of the Puducherry-based performing arts company which premiered on June 17 — in which she argues, struggles and negotiates with the soldiers of the sleep goddess who have rushed to execute the command. “Did he say I should sleep?” Urmila laughs in the play. “The whole play is a conversation between the sleep soldiers and the character of Urmila who is aware of her rights and agency and is ready to fight for them,” says Nimmy Raphel, artistic director of Adishakti Theatre Arts who has written and directed the play.
They say the only way to keep a tradition or text alive and breathing is to keep reinventing it. It was the 20th century poet and scholar AK Ramanujan who, in his seminal essay ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas’, delved into the expansive presence of the great epic poem across geographies and languages. Ironically, the essay itself was scrapped from Delhi University’s history syllabus.
Now, it’s the turn of Adipurush, a film directed by Om Raut, to spark a furore over everything from the use of tapori language to Ram sporting a mooch and Sita not sporting a blouse. Despite such controversies, attempts to parse, deconstruct and rebuild the afterlives of the characters in this epic bristling with alternate possibilities haven’t stopped.
ONE OF THE FIRST BOOK BANS
In fact, the first book to be banned after Independence was ‘Rama Retold’ by Aubrey Menen, a writer of Irish-Indian ancestry. In an interview to India Today many years later, Menen talked about how the book had upset the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru. “The message of Rama Retold is: Do not follow the advice of elders, the socalled elite. The Indian masses followed the Nehrus. What happened? They were emasculated by the tyranny of this family. Rama followed the advice of his elders and landed himself as a wandering beggar. ” Author and editor Salil Tripathi, who has read ‘Rama Retold’, remembers how it required its readers to laugh at themselves, which Indians are notoriously bad at. “If it is reintroduced in any form now in India, the response would be much worse than what it was in the 1950s because of the sense of competitive intolerance,” he says. “However, as Paula Richman and AK Ramanujan have shown, there are many Ramayanas, and many interpretations. For instance, the plots and characterisation of figures in Southeast Asia would horrify purists who believe there’s only one or two versions that matter,” says Tripathi.
FEMINIST READINGS
There’s also a long tradition of retellings by women. Chandrabati, the first woman poet in Bangla, told Ram’s story from the perspective of Sita in the 16th century. Here too, Ram is not the valiant, dutiful purshottam. When he decides to banish Sita to the forests, Chandrabati says, “Poor Ram, you have totally lost your mind. ” Atukuri Molla, a Telugu poet, wrote a classical Ramayana which was banned in the royal courts because of her caste identity.
The most distinct difference between interpretations of the Ramayana of the Hindi heartland and that of the South is in the portrayal of Ravana. Thespian, comedian, social activist and kathakali performer Maya K Rao says she has always been drawn to Ravana who enjoys a special place in the dance form. “In the kathakali tradition, he’s not just seen as this evil, one-dimensional, demon king. He is a connoisseur of the arts and music and all that is beautiful. He’s a man to whom the gods bow down to. The fact that he has 10 heads is indicative of how full a man he was,” says Rao, who grew up listening to stories of the rakshasa king from Lanka while learning the classical danceform. In her play ‘Ravanama’ performed around 2009, Rao used several existing stories on Ravana from folklore to create a contemporary vocabulary built on dance and theatre, even using Michael Jackson tracks. In one story, Sita hears the gentle plucking of a veena wafting from the dark ends of a cave in Dandakaranya forest and is surprised to find Ravana there. “I thought my husband killed you?” she says. Ravana then tells her that the gods gave him another boon where he didn’t actually die but was turned into a bird and flew away.
Rao says several people told her to refrain from dramatising these stories, but she wasn’t dissuaded. She would still perform ‘Ravanama’ if she had the chance. “We live at a time when small things have taken on such gigantic proportions,” says Rao, referring to the backlash against mythological films.
Even Surpanakha, Ravana’s sister, has been rescued from ignominy in some alternate tellings like that of Telugu short-fiction writer Volga, aka Popuri Lalitha Kumari. Her book ‘The Liberation of Sita’ (translated from Telugu in 2016) talks about the pain and agony that the ‘rakshasi’ undergoes post her mutilation by Laxman and how she goes on to heal herself. Volga too had a skirmish with censorship in 2000 when Doordarshan edited out Sita and Supranakha dancing together in a ballet she had scripted.
Even today at 72, Ramayana continues to appeal to her creative instincts. Her latest novella in Telugu ‘Pampa Theeram’ (On the banks of a river) explores the story of Shabari, the adivasi ascetic. In the book, she is portrayed as the protector of forests and tribal rights against the onslaught of civilizational development. “When I see our present society and get agonised, I remember Ramayana. This powerful epic has characters which we can identify with in our daily lives. if people can derive hope from my stories, then my job is done,” she says.
Ayodhya
Swami Swaroopananda, Ayodhya Means Free Of All Conflicts , April 5, 2017: The Times of India
A page from a mediæval, Persian manuscript of The Ramayan
The Ramayana, a fascinating and enthralling epic, is not just a story that has been passed through generations; it has hidden treasures of deep mystical knowledge.
King Dasharatha lived in the kingdom of Ayodhya. Ayodhya is made up of the letters `a-yudh'. `Yudh' means battle or conflict. In our lives, conflicts seem to be all-pervading: disputes in the family; wars in the world; and incessant discord within in our own minds. King Dasharatha had his `ratha' under his mastery .
Our body is a ratha (chariot) with 10 sense organs five of perception and five of action. A person who has mastery over this ratha lives in peace and harmony .
The king had three beautiful and virtuous wives Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. These represent different virtues within us. Kaushalya, means well-being or prosperity . Sumitra signifies friendship and Kaikeyi is one who has both compassion and passion.When the queen showered kindness, she was a wonderful person but, later, overcome with selfish obsession, she became the conniving Kaikeyi.
With such a ruler, wedded to the welfare of his people, the kingdom enjoys peace and prosperity . Similarly, when our mind becomes a Dasharatha a master of the 10 senses and the intellect develops goodwill and kindness with the goal of helping others, our heart will be free from all conflicts Ayodhya.
The birth of the Lord takes place in such an integrated personality that is dedicated to the service of the world. The word Rama means one who delights everybody; what truly delights us is happiness and this happiness is Rama. It is the Supreme Lord, the Infinite Reality that is revelling in everyone's heart; this Rama is the Atma within all and manifests in the heart.
Why does the Lord take avatar? He can easily use anyone as an instrument to vanquish evil. He takes avatar to establish righteousness, when the good are being tyrannised by the wicked; when the Ravanas and Kumbhakarans of the world oppress the virtuous. This is in the macrocosm, but the Supreme also manifests in our hearts.
How do we experience the Infinite, All-pervading Lord within ourselves?
The key element is devotion. The Atma, the Atmarama, is present within us; it is that because of which we see, hear, smell and taste; it is because of which we are alive. Yet, we do not know Him; we remain unaware of His presence. When the mind, like King Dasharatha, is full of devotion, a certain dispassion develops. The king is wedded to Kaushalya one who represents a brilliant and bright intellect free from all selfishness and negativities. When the mind and intellect are focussed on the Lord and we call out to Him by His name Sri Rama He reveals Himself. The Antakaran is the inner equipment, the inner city, the inner space where Rama is experienced as a mass of inexplicable, unlimited happiness and bliss.
Rama is accompanied by his three brothers. Bharata indicates one who is full of love and ready to sacrifice.Lakshmana is a life of dedicated service, and the silent brother, Shatrughana, destroys our greatest enemy the ego.When Rama enters, love and sacrifice, service and dispassion, selflessness and humility , will also emerge. Our heart, Ayodhya, becomes full of peace and joy .
The Characters
Jatayu: inspiring determination
Arvind Sharma, A Bird Inspired Hanuman To Look For Sita, March 24, 2018: The Times of India
This story pertains to the period in the Ramayana, after the abduction of Sita when Rama and Lakshmana go out in search of Sita and encounter Hanuman.
Rama promises to help Hanuman’s master regain his lost kingdom and wife, and Hanuman promises to help them find Sita. Once Rama succeeds in fulfilling his part of the bargain, Hanuman sets out to find Sita in the south of India. By now the needle of suspicion was pointing strongly in the direction of Ravana. When Ravana abducted Sita and was carrying her off in his aerial car, he was spotted by an old vulture who, recognising Ravana’s evil intent, challenged him to a fight. The vulture, unable to deter Ravana, lay fatally wounded on the ground when Rama and Lakshmana arrived on the scene. Before they performed his final rites, the dying vulture disclosed to the two that a demon had carried her away in a southerly direction.
Hanuman’s first search for Sita ends in failure. The Sanskrit epic depicts him in a crestfallen mood on the island, reflecting on what to do next. Hanuman, disheartened by failure, is now standing on the shore of the ocean and reasons that perhaps it is best for him to commit suicide. He thinks as follows: if I go back without locating Sita and tell Rama that I have not succeeded in finding her, he will die from the shock. If he dies, Lakshmana will die from the shock of Rama’s death. With Rama and Lakshmana dead, his own master, Sugriva, will die from the shock of their deaths. And if all of them die in this way then I will die from the shock of the death of my master. So perhaps it is best to abbreviate the whole process and commit suicide right now.
While he was contemplating suicide, his attention was diverted by the activity of a small bird, which seemed to dive from the sky, collect the water of the ocean in her beak, and fly away. The frequent repetition of this act by the little bird aroused his curiosity and he asked the bird what it was up to. The bird replied: “My nest has fallen into the ocean and I am trying to dry up the ocean to recover it.” Hanuman was taken aback by the resolve of the little bird, and asked, full of surprise, how she hoped to empty the ocean to recover her nest (in the face of the obvious mismatch between her and the ocean). Thereupon the bird replied: Days and nights are long; My beak is strong as iron.
Indefatigability is the root of success.
Why will the ocean not dry up?
Hanuman was astounded by the determination of the little bird and thought to himself: if this little bird can display such courage and determination then surely I should not give up on my goal and at least make one more attempt to find Sita.
Hanuman did, indeed, succeed in his mission the second time. The little verse uttered by the little bird in the epic which so inspired Hanuman has become a famous saying and its message – “Give up giving up” – has perhaps inspired many more, just as it inspired Hanuman. (The author is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University).
Vibhishan
Bhartendu Sood, October 23, 2020: The Times of India
Strong Dislike For Vibhishana For Turning Traitor
Paradoxically, Ravana who was associated with the heinous crime of kidnapping a married woman by deceit, invokes less hatred than does Vibhishana, in an episode in the Ramayana. What is it that makes one forget Ravana’s heinous crime for some time and even sympathise with him?
Post the Sita abduction, Ravana lost the war not because Rama was the most powerful and invincible warrior at that time, endowed with divine powers, but because his own brother Vibhishana helped Rama at the crucial stages of war by revealing closely guarded secrets, which resulted in the annihilation of all important warriors in Ravana’s family, including his son Meghnath, brothers Kumbakarna and Ahi Ravana. There is conflict between two different interpretations of dharma with regard to Vibhishana’s role. One interpretation suggests that he helped Rama so that Ravana could be punished for his arrogance, for keeping his own selfish motive above the interest of his kingdom and above all, his kidnapping of Rama’s wife Sita, all falling in the category of adharma. In a way, Vibhishana did everything to uphold dharma, which is the duty of all good persons.
The second interpretation of dharma mandates that even though Vibhishana was humiliated and thrown out of Lanka by his elder brother Ravana, he should have avoided sharing such secrets which resulted in the annihilation of Ravana and his team, leading to erasing of Asuras’ rule and name in the world, for good. His actions were construed to be betrayal of family and kingdom. Talking to his brother Kumbakarna, Vibhishna makes a proposal to bring him to Rama’s side with a motive to weaken Ravana further. Kumbakarna beautifully elaborates his duty towards the kingdom, his own countrymen and above all, his brother Ravana, though he himself did not support the act of Ravana kidnapping Sita.
Kumbakarna’s lecture on dharma makes Vibhishana realise his folly for some time until he is once again counseled by Rama. A big question will remain whether it was necessary for Vibhishana to be overzealous in harming his own brother Ravana or even going to the extent of giving tips for the annihilation of other brothers and nephews whose only mistake was that in the war they chose to stand by the head of their family and kingdom, Ravana.
Many feel that Vibhishana could have maintained a stoic silence instead of turning against Ravana. His act makes some people infer that more than his earnestness to uphold dharma, he wanted to settle a score with Ravana who had humiliated him in the presence of all his kin and subjects. But, while doing this, he put aside his loyalty to his own country, family members and people of his kingdom which dharma may not support.
If kidnapping is reckoned as a crime in all systems of jurisprudence, then treason is considered even more serious a crime in all systems around the world and the death penalty is the punishment for treason in most countries.
Therefore, it is not surprising that as the story unfolds, many among us begin to dislike Vibhishana, a more pronounced emotion than what one has for Ravana. The first lesson is that dharma is not absolute; it is subjective. Second, even if one is a noble soul, when he acts against the interest of his own country, people and family, he loses the respect of all.
Contents
Mukul Shri Goel, April 9, 2022: The Times of India
Bhakti focuses on forming a relationship of trust with God. It is about surrendering to God, so that his eternal proximity can be gained. On this devotional, yogic path, spiritual seekers have a choice. They can select one or more forms of devotion out of the classical nine forms called Navadha Bhakti, and according to their interest, create a unique devotional road map of their own. In the Ramayan, we find examples of all forms of bhakti. Out of the different devotional characters in Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, Kakbhushandi was an epitome of shravan bhakti, which focuses on listening to the Divine’s lilas, God-centric discourses and learning from them. In contrast, Rishi Valmiki was all for the chanting of Ram Naam, name of God. When a spiritual seeker chants a
mantra, the name of God, or sings of his glories, it is called kirtan, the second form of bhakti.
Chanting, praying and meditating, all have elements of smaran, remembrance of His name and presence. Since God is all-pervading, we can remember and connect with Him at all times, at home, or our workplace. In the Ramayan, Kaushalya Devi, Ram’s mother, followed this form of bhakti. At times, during their spiritual practice, if seekers focus on God’s feet, it qualifies as padasevana, service of His feet. When Bharat, for example, meditated on Ram’s lotus feet and placed his sandals on the throne in Ayodhya, he performed padasevana. We often worship God by lighting a lamp and an incense stick in front of the murti or image of a deity, and offering it food. All these are elements of archana. Food thus offered to the Divine becomes prasad. The devotional bhava, feel, with which archana is performed makes it meaningful and is better than mere performing of rituals. When Shabri, who excelled in all nine forms of bhakti, offered fruits to Ram in the forest, it was an act of archana.
Through vandana, prayers and prostration to God, when we seek spiritual strength and guidance, this too is a form of bhakti. We need not have awish list, we could just recite selfless prayers, or simply ask for more bhakti, that too is vandana. When Ravan’s estranged brother Vibhishan met Ram and asked for mercy, it was a form of vandana. Dasya bhakti is about cultivating the bhava of being a servant of God, following God’s orders. Realised saints gain insights into the Divine’s design and can, therefore, serve Him accordingly. Spiritual beginners can serve God by serving his people. Service includes charity, compassion and forgiveness. In the Ramayan, when Jambavan, the divine king of bears, became a part of Ram’s missions on Earth, he was performing dasya bhakti.
In Valmiki’s Ramayan, Nishad Raj Guha, chief of the Nishad tribe, was one of Ram’s friends. The cultivation of the friend-bhava with God involves adoration and trust in Him, and this is called Sakhya bhakti.
The ninth form of bhakti is Atmanivedana, complete surrender of the self. Lakshman was a fine example of this kind of bhakti, as he took refuge in Ram, leading to Atmanivedana. It can make us more worthy of kripa, divine grace.
Kak Bhushundi (काकभुशुण्डि)
Mukul Shri Goel, Sep 16, 2019: The Times of India
Before transforming into an enlightened and divine crow, Kak Bhusundi had spent numerous past lives in distress, according to the Ramacharitamanasa. In one of his previous lives, Bhusundi had developed arrogance in his disposition and had, at times, insulted Vishnu and his own spiritual guru, accumulating bad karma. By the grace of his guru – and Shiva, who cursed him with many rebirths so that Bhusundi could realise his mistakes and also gave him a boon that minimised the sorrow involved in every rebirth – Bhusundi changed his way of thinking and selected the path of devotional love over misdeed.
Bhusundi had turned to spiritual practice after contemplating on his faults. He had coupled patience and perseverance with God remembrance, meditation and guidance from his mentors. It is believed that during the course of his spiritual evolution, Bhusundi had to undergo rebirth numerous times. His difficult life experiences reflect the fact that our initial experiences on the path of spirituality may not be easy. Even in scenarios where God’s grace may reduce the amount of karmic cleansing required, one may still have to face some suffering.
Bhusundi’s story reveals that often, our imperfections are forgiven in spiritual practice.
Though Bhusundi had been devoted to the Divine, in the beginning, his devotion had been bound with hatred for selected persons. In spite of his initial shortcomings, his chanting of Ramanama, the name of Rama, had transformed him into a divine being through bhakti yoga – he had become an enlightened crow.
From our limited understanding of Kak Bhusundi’s – kakmeans crow – spiritual evolution, we can say that Bhusundi was forgiven by Rama. We can also say that Bhusundi reached a spiritual plane where forgiveness was not necessary. In fact, he had transcended virtues. Rama had blessed him with so much spiritual and philosophical proficiency that he not only became one of the first preachers of the Ramayana but also became the spiritual guru for Garuda, Vishnu’s vehicle, and many people, too. Moreover, Bhusundi had been blessed with immortality and everlasting devotion for Rama.
Bhusundi’s meeting with a spiritual guru may be seen as a combined act of grace by Rama and Shiva, who are both Divine. Bhakti may make us eligible for kripa, God’s grace. Alternatively, bhakti may, at times, be a result of grace from guru or God. Spiritual guidance gleaned from discourses by saints, comprehension of scriptures, and our learning experiences in places of worship – all have elements of divine grace embedded within them.
For spiritual aspirants, Bhusundi’s remarkable story reflects the importance of realising our own mistakes in life and the beneficial effects that chanting and God remembrance can have on our disposition. Seeking Divine forgiveness, like prayer, is sattvic karma; it may nullify many of our bad karmas from the past. Moreover, repentance has the potential to connect us to the Supreme power.
By the time we gain God-realisation, all malevolence and karmic negativities are expected to cease. In due course, we get transported from goodness to beyond goodness. Our remembrance of God eliminates all negative thought processes that may have created a major separation between our soul and God. This is where the karmic cycle breaks and we recognise our own divinity. Finally, we gain permanent proximity to God, fulfilling the aim of devotional spirituality.
Lakshman Rekha: what it symbolises
Madan Mohan Mathur, The Symbolism In Lakshmana Rekha, September 27, 2017: The Times of India
Acrucial episode in the Ramayana is Ravana's abduction of Sita when she crosses the Lakshmana Rekha, the line drawn by Lakshmana with his arrow, around their cottage in the Dandakaranya forest, before he set out to look for his brother and Sita's spouse, Rama. He draws the line to ensure her safety , and tells her that she should not step outside of it in case any stranger comes there. And if a stranger tries to cross the line and enter the cottage or its precincts, he would be immediately burnt to ashes.
Once Lakshmana leaves, Ravana disguises himself as a sanyasi and appears before the cottage, begging for alms. Since it is obligatory to feed a sadhu who comes to one's door, Sita asks him to come in. Ravana, however, refuses, saying it is not proper for him to enter when she is alone in the house and requests her to come out and give the food to him. The moment she does that, Ravana assumes his real form and forcibly carries Sita away to Lanka.This kidnapping of Sita by Ravana leads to the epic war between Rama and Ravana, with Rama emerging triumphant.
Curiously , there is no specific mention of Lakshmana Rekha either in the original Sanskrit Ramayana by Valmiki or the later Ramcharitra Manas in Hindi, by Tulsidas. The relevant verse of Ramcharitra Manas states that while going into the forest in search of Rama, Lakshmana leaves Sita “in the care of the gods of the forest and environment“. In the Aranya Kanda, there is no mention of Lakshmana drawing a line to protect Sita. Only later, in Lanka Kanda, we find an oblique reference, when Mandodari ridicules Ravana on his boisterous claims of valour by hinting that he could not cross even a small line drawn by Rama's younger brother! Perhaps the episode of Lakshmana Rekha was a later interpolation used as a theatrical device to make the story more interesting for public performances of Ramlila.
Whatever may be the case, undeniably , over the centuries, Lakshmana Rekha has be come a universally accepted idiom to denote the ethical limits of any action, travers ing which may lead to drastic consequences. Even today , the term is being used while referring to violation of traditional conventions or rules. In Parliament, former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is reported to have said “Constitution is very clear on the roles of the Judiciary and Legislature. Both should not cross the Lakshmana Rekha!“ So, whether it existed in the original Ramayana or not, Lakshmana Rekha has now become part of popular parlance.
In present times, public actions and conduct are governed by the Constitution and the laws enacted by our law-making bodies. And even in our personal relationships and daily activities, we follow some rules, conventions and codes of conduct which we have come to accept as the norm, as they contribute to an orderly life at home and in the community and society .
Ultimately , in the personal sphere, it is for each one of us to draw our own Lakshmana Rekha based on personal and collective wisdom, in keeping with the times, and decide whether we want to remain safe and secure within the line drawn by our own moral conscience or act out of bounds, facing whatever consequences lie in store for us.
‘Lesser-known’ characters
Manimugdha S Sharma and Sonam Joshi, August 10, 2020: The Times of India
Four Ramayan characters you should know more about
Did you know that there is an atheist in the Ramayan, or that Sita’s sister was lonely? Sunday Times asked four noted authors who have written on the epic to pick their favourite ‘lesser-known’ characters
Urmila
CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI PICK:
A minor character in the Ramayan who captures my sympathies is Sita’s sister Urmila. Rabindranath Tagore lists her among the unfairly ignored women in our great books in his article (Upekshita), and I agree. She only gets a few lines in Valmiki, though her life is at once sad and mysterious, and worthy of filling many pages. Although she is her parents’ only biological daughter, Urmila’s life is always overshadowed by her sister Sita. In spite of that, she adores her older sibling. When Sita decides to accompany Ram to the forest on a great adventure, Urmila also longs to go with them. Instead, her husband Lakshman tells her that she would be a hindrance, as he needs to focus on taking care of Ram. He orders her to remain in Ayodhya and take care of her in-laws. The heartbroken Urmila is then given a choice by the goddess of sleep, Nidra, to sleep for 14 years so that Lakshman may remain awake and do his brotherly duty. She accepts this offer — partly to help out her husband, and partly, I believe, to escape her loneliness, abandoned as she is by both her husband and her beloved sister. Urmila’s prolonged sleep is a deep symbol that can mean many things.
As I researched my novel on Sita, The Forest of Enchantments, I felt a great deal of compassion for Urmila and at times grew angry on her behalf. Married to a man for whom she is never the first priority, instructed to perform her duties rather than follow her heart, forced to give up her dreams for the good of the family, and never truly appreciated for her sacrifices, Urmila remains a cautionary example for women in our culture even today.
Mandodari
NAMITA GOKHALE PICK:
Mandodari, Ravana’s chief consort and queen, is considered one of the ‘Panchkanyas’, the five feminine figures from the epics, worshipped across India for millennia. As a child, I would often play the acrostic divination game on the last pages of my grandmother’s copy of the Ramcharitmanas, where a needle was suspended and dropped over the page. Mine would inevitably land on a section titled ‘Mandodari Ka Vilap’ — the Lamentation of Mandodari.
Addressed to Sita, it expressed, as I understood it, her helplessness, rage and grief that her individual piety and restraint had been countermanded by the actions of her charismatic husband. I wondered about her, this daughter of Mayasura — king of the asuras, son of the sage Kashyapa and the celestial apsara Hema. She loved Ravana deeply and remained fiercely loyal to him. She was forthright in her advice to her husband that he return Sita to Ram, although she remained helpless in the face of unfolding events.
Mandodari suffered hurt and humiliation at the hands of the monkey king Angad. The embattled times were full of anger, trickery and deceit, but Mandodari’s convictions stood strong through it all. She was later married to Vibhishana for reasons of statecraft, and not much is mentioned of her after that.
The complex web of myth and legend ascribes many back stories to Mandodari’s life. Her birthplace is associated with Mandore, near Jodhpur, and many in the region consider Ravana as the sonin-law of Mandore and Jodhpur. Funereal prayers are performed for the mighty king of Lanka during his shraddha, observed around Dussehra.
The women of our epics are resolute, resilient figures. The Panchkanyas — Ahalya, Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari — stay true to themselves even as they buffet the fates. The queen of the golden city had her own trial by fire, as did Sita. These compelling stories offer both challenges and consolation to the collective imagination. Mandodari. I think of her often, and salute the proud and lonely figure that comes to mind.
Jabali
ANAND NEELAKANTAN PICK:
One of the lesser known but very fascinating characters in the Ramayan is Jabali. In the Valmiki Ramayan, he dissuades Ram from going into the forest. Jabali was a minister of king Dasaratha but he was a Charavaki or an atheist. So, in the Ramayan, we find the atheistic argument through the voice of Jabali.
He confronts Ram about his choice to go on vanvas. He says his father had made the promise to his stepmother Kaikeyi before he was born, so he isn’t bound to follow it. He also tells him that if he were to come from an ordinary family, then it would have been understandable for the eldest son to obey his father’s command. But Ram is a prince, and a prince should follow what the people of the country want. He told him that the people of Ayodhya don’t want him to go, so he should give importance to their will and not what his family wants. Ram gets angry and argues against it.
In fact, it could have been a later addition because there is a reference to Buddhism. Ram tells Jabali that Buddhists like him are a menace to society. He tells him that he should be banned for talking like that as he would make people immoral and make them disobey their parents. Jabali then withdraws his argument and agrees to what Ram says. But the irony here is that when Ram returns to Ayodhya after defeating Ravan, he does to Sita exactly what Jabali had advised — that as a prince he should follow the will of the people. To Jabali, he had said that he will follow his family’s dharma. But when it came to Sita, Ram knew she was pure but still abandoned her, giving the excuse that it is the will of the people. I think it’s a fantastic tale of irony in the great tale of Ramayan. – As told to Manimugdha Sharma
Ahalya
VOLGA PICK:
Among the lesser-known characters of Ramayan, I have a fascination for Ahalya. Ram, on his way to Mithila with sage Viswamitra, witnessed a miracle when Rama’s feet touched a stone and it turned into a woman called Ahalya. This incident only highlights Ram’s purity and divinity and Ahalya’s sin against her husband Gouthama. After this small incident, Ahalya was nowhere in the Ramayan. Ahalya was punished by her husband Gouthama, when Indra with his lust for Ahalya came in the form of Gouthama. Then Gouthama found out and cursed both. So Ahalya remained as a stone for many years until Ram’s feet touched her. The story is simple but people never stopped debating whether Ahalya knew that the man that night was Indra. Some say she knew, while others say she could not have as Indra took Gouthama’s form.
I wondered how Ahalya looked at it, and how women’s sexuality is discussed as sin, as crime and punishment! The release from the punishment also comes from a man. There are many layers around this small incident. In my story, ‘Music of the Earth’, Ahalya says, “That question whether I knew or not is irrelevant to my husband. It was the same to him either way. His property, even if temporarily, had fallen into the hands of another. It was polluted. Pollution, cleanliness, purity, impurity, honour, disgrace — men have invested these words with such power and authority that there is no scope in them for the debate of truth and untruth.” Even today, I wonder how Ahalya came to terms with this “crime and punishment” around women’s sexuality. Of course she is one among Panchkanyas (along with Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari). She will be there in the sky shining, questioning, teaching, giving us wisdom to understand the web of patriarchy. Even her name Ahalya means the land that is not ploughed or untouched by plough!
Life lessons
Faith, Discipline
Sudhamahi Regunathan, Faith And Discipline In The Ramayana, June 12, 2020: The Times of India
When Valmiki wrote the Ramayana, at every step he understood that victory called for more than a wish. It was sometimes built on determination, at other times on patience and at all times, on discipline and faith.
Hanuman went in search of Sita, and crossed an ocean to reach Lanka. Many people, monkeys and bears were waiting for him to find Sita. If he did not, they would all fall into depression and Hanuman reflected, they would probably give up their life. After fighting three demonesses and flying such a long distance and looking into every nook and corner of Ravana’s palace, when Hanuman still did not find Sita, he got disheartened. But, he told himself, “The way to prosperity is not through despair. Only the one who does not show despair is able to enthusiastically and energetically accomplish any work. That is the way to happiness.” So motivating himself, he resolved to search on and eventually found Sita. The strength of his resolve and the focus on the goal set him on the right path.
Sita was in captivity in Ashoka vana. The lecherous Ravana, the frightening rakshasis and her separation from Rama made her contemplate suicide. But, even in this condition, when Hanuman offered to carry her across the ocean to safety, she refused, saying, “Victory should be achieved in the proper manner. If by acting rashly, I fall off your back or the ogres catch sight of you and kill you or any such adverse thing happens, then our hope will be lost completely. It is also befitting that Rama come and rescue me, for Ravana carried away his wife. ” It was discipline and an understanding for long term effects that kept Sita on the right path.
When Rama did come and had begun the war against Ravana, there came a time when he was standing, shoulders drooping, mind introspective. His chest was covered with arrows. He looked fatigued. Losing determination.
Losing energy.
At a distance he could see the dust being raised by Ravana’s fast moving chariot coming hurtling towards the battleground with renewed zeal.
He had just sent a million arrows at the king of ogres and watched as his charioteer had sneakily turned the chariot away from the war front sensing that his master was unable to respond to Rama’s volley of arrows. Now as he saw the chariot coming back he understood that Ravana was highly incensed and did not want to be thought a coward.
Watching the chariot, Rama was thoughtful. So much violence! He shuddered to think how futile all this war would have been if his brother Lakshmana had not been revived. Lakshmana had just regained consciousness after Susena, the monkey, awakened him with the herb Sanjivini that Hanuman brought. It was at this point that sage Agastya comes to Rama. He counsels Rama, “Let me tell you the eternal secret for victory over all enemies. It will remove all sins. It will allay all anxiety and grief. It will thus give a lease of life all over again.”
Anxiety is debilitating and least productive. Grief kills even before the body fails. Rama reflected that even Lakshmana had reproached him saying, “Do not grieve for me thus. Keep the larger picture in front of your eyes and destroy all evil.”
In other words, have faith. Faith, not fear. Informed faith. Disciplined faith.
Reality
Sage Vasisht and Sage Ashtavakra’s views
Narayani Ganesh, June 14, 2022: The Times of India
Many commentaries have been written on the two wisdom works, one by Sage Vasisht containing the essence of his interaction with Prince Ram, and the other, by Sage Ashtavakra, answering questions posed to him by King Janak, the father of Sita. Both works are to be found in the Ramayan, and these contain valuable nuggets of deep insights that help one to come to grips with what is real and what is unreal. Since much is lost in translation, there are those authors who try to ‘transcreate’ verse, in effect, taking a bit of poetic licence to interpret and present what the verse or text is trying to convey. And the newest among such contemporary attempts to “time travel into the depths of mind” is that by Shubhrangshu Roy, in his Shadows Of The Fragmented Moon where he presents thoughts found in Yog Vasisht and Ashtavakra Gita in 108 poems.
“You enter a dream for the heck of it/ And know not the way to exit route/ From the world you brought alive/ In sleep, awake to desires manifest/ In the raging flame that consumes/ Your being stranded amidst embers/ Aglow, each spark ignites your mind/ Where the forest green will grow anew/ Once upon a time in the future past/ Luring the hunter once more/ In pursuit of the game you love. ” Titled ‘The Dreamer’, this is one among the many lyrical presentations that takes one down the transcendental path, throwing open the way to realms beyond, offering tantalising glimpses of treasures yet to be discovered.
The Yog Vasisht, many feel, is quite dark in the opening chapters as it elaborates on the depressed state of mind experienced by the young Prince Ram who is uncertain of his present and of his future as king. Sage Vasisht, in an attempt to gently lead the way out of the gloom felt by the prince, successfully engages him in a series of questions and answers that serve to lighten the kingdesignate’s burden, somewhat, and show him the light. In the process, we, too, get glimpses of wonderfully expressed elaborations on subjects we dread most, like death.
A common thread running through the works of both Vasisht and Ashtavakra is that of the need to maintain loving detachment. This is well-articulated by Janak when he says, “Infinite is, indeed, my wealth of which nothing is mine. If Mithila is burnt, nothing that is mine is burnt. ” That is to say, the true Self is infinite, boundless, all-pervasive, formless, subtle and free. According to Ashtavakra, whether you are a king or a beggar, you shine only when you are unattached.
A king, an administrator, a head of state, is expected to carry out his duties while remaining unattached, free of greed, free of boundedness. This is what makes a true leader. Service to all is another given, which is why MK Gandhi would often remark, “President means chief servant. ” This not only means selfless service, it also means equanimity and humility that give no space for the ego.
Sabhari (Shabari) moksh
The one chapter devoted to Sabhari moksha in the Valmiki Ramayana might not contribute to the plot of the story, but it brings out the efficacy of the sacred mantra, the Rama Nama, said Sri Sankararama Dikshitar in a discourse. Rama Nama is a universal mantra that has no restrictions, regulations or reservations and all can chant it to gain untold benefits.
In the case of Sabhari, the very deity who is invoked in the mantra comes to grace her, validating her faith in the mantra and in her guru’s words. Rama and Lakshmana enter the idyllic ashram of Sage Matanga and are filled with a rare sense of peace and tranquility. As soon as Sabhari sees them she welcomes them with folded palms and is speechless in their presence.
Rama, known to be a ‘poorva bhashi,’ and very well aware of Sabhari’s saintly habits and realised state, begins the conversation by asking her about those matters close to her heart, her penance, faith, service to her guru, etc. The exchange between them does not touch on worldly matters.
Sabhari intuitively realises that the purpose of her life has gained fulfilment on seeing Rama, who she knows to be the Supreme Lord incarnate and not just the prince of Ayodhya who in search of Sita. She is grateful that His kataksha has blessed and purified her. She is overwhelmed that despite her birth and lack of learning, it is her simple faith and a life of penance that has conferred the jnana that liberates. She takes them around the ashram that reflects the austere life of the sage and his disciples even in their absence. She offers them the best of fruits she had carefully and painstakingly hand picked for Rama.
Rama accepts her hospitality. She then enters the fire in Rama’s presence, attains a divine form and proceeds to reach the highest goal from which there is no return.
Vasisht, sage, and Sri Ram
Raghunandan, Dialogue Between Prince Rama & Sage Vasishta, April 6, 2018: The Times of India
On his return to Ayodhya after a pilgrimage, Prince Rama is possessed with questions on the purpose of life, and the meaning of existence. He becomes totally disinterested in day-to-day activities. Alarmed, his attendants report this to his father, King Dasaratha. Just then, Sage Vishwamitra visits with a request that Rama accompany him to the forest to contain the demons disturbing his penance. When Dasaratha informs Vishwamitra of Rama’s state of mind, Vishwamitra asks Rama to make a clean breast of what disturbs him, and the prince speaks in detail. So begins the ‘Yoga Vasistha’. Rama speaks about the repetitiveness of life, insatiability of desires, limitations of life and the world. This section is the ‘Vairagya Prakarana’, Divine Disinterest.
After listening to the prince, Vishwamitra requests Sage Vasishtha to enlighten him with stories on Vedanta. The dialogue between Rama and Vasishta forms an instructive and useful narrative to all seekers in every stage of growth. It is not enough to ask questions and seek answers intellectually; we have to turn these questions into a quest. For the quest, one has to make prayatna, effort, and have paurusha, grit, to pursue the path and have total trust in self. The greatest impediments are our vasanas, tendencies which give way to stubborn habits.
The seeker is asked to develop shubha vasanas, such tendencies that free us, in turn dissolving ashubha vasanas, negative tendencies. The first quality a seeker should have is, shama, sweet patience, as one can never be in a hurry to achieve. The second is santosha, contentment in what one has, but discontent in what one is. With these, the seeker develops vichara, the capacity to contemplate, analyse and discriminate. These are possible with sadhusanga, association of the wise, in person or through scriptures. This mumukshu prakarana, divine longing, describes the qualities of a seeker.
The paradox called life, governed as it is by the dualities of pleasure-pain and happiness-misery, confuses us. The sage makes it bold to state that the origin of existence is the “i” or the entity behind every action (i-act), experience (i-experience) and knowledge (i-know). He tells Rama that the tendency to experience, bhoga vasana, is gross, while bheda vasana or the tendency to differentiate is basic to this “i” which is the root cause of mind.
These principles are illustrated via stories in the section titled Srishti Prakarana – Origin. For most of us this “i” has become our master! Factors empowering this servant are dealt with in the next section titled Sthiti Prakarana – Sustenance. Involvement at the mental level and indulgence at the sense level; pride, and fear strengthen the “i”.
Controlling mind and ego forms the subject matter of the fifth portion entitled Upashama Prakarana – Quiescence. The Yoga Vasishta recommends methods to pacify the mind through understanding, by defining Yoga as a technique for quietening the mind. It states Yoga and Samyagavekshanam as the two broad methods. Yoga quietens mental activity, while Samyagavekshanam is the art of witnessing inner transactions of mind, intellect, memory and ego.
The most sublime portion is Nirvana Prakarana – Transcendence, wherein stories narrate the transcendence of time, space; practical method of contemplation; real renunciation; chittashuddhi, purity of mind, and the seven stages a seeker passes through on his pilgrimage towards enlightenment. Yoga Vasishtha is a user’s manual for utilising the great body-mind complex we are endowed with by the Existence for identifying and merging with It.
See also
The Ramayan
