Ramayan

INTRODUCTION OF RAMAYANA
HISTORY OF RAMAYANA
VALUES OF RAMAYANA
A COMPARITIVE STUDY OF VARIOUS RELIGIONS AS
PER THE BASIC APPROACH
PRESENT STATE OF THE RELIGION AND THE
VARIATION IN ITS VALUE

RAMAYANA
• Author: Valmiki
• Culture: Indian
• Language: Sanskrit
• Genre: Epic poetry
• Time: 550 B.C.
• Concept: dharma

Valmiki Ramayana has been traditionally divided into seven books,
dealing with the life of Rama from his birth to his death.
 Bala Kanda
 Ayodhya Kanda
 Aranya Kanda
 Kishkindya Kanda
 Sundara Kanda
 Yuddha Kanda
 Uttara Kanda

 Bala Kanda – Book of the young Rama which details the
miraculous birth of Rama, his early life in Ayodhya, his slaying
of the demons of the forest at the request of Vishvamitra and his
wedding with Sita.
 Ayodhya Kanda – Book of Ayodhya in which Dasharatha
comes to grief over his promise to Kaikeyi and the start of
Rama's exile.
 Aranya Kanda – Book of the Forest which describes Rama's life
in the forest and the abduction of Sita by Ravana.
 Kishkindya Kanda – Book of Kishkinda, the Vanara kingdom
in which Rama befriends Sugriva and the Vanara army and
begins the search for Sita.

 Sundara Kanda – Book of Sundara (Hanuman) in which
Hanuman travels to Lanka and finds Sita imprisoned there and
brings back the good news to Rama.
 Yuddha Kanda – Book of the War, which narrates the Rama-
Ravana war and the return of the successful Rama to Ayodhya
and his coronation.
 Uttara Kanda – Epilogue, which details the life of Rama and
Sita after their return to Ayodhya, Sita's banishment and how
Sita and Rama pass on to the next world.

MAIN CHARACTERS Rama is the hero of this epic tale. He is
portrayed as an incarnation of the god Vishnu.
He is the eldest and the favorite son of the King
of Ayodhya, Dasharatha. He is a popular prince
loved by one and all. He is the epitome of
virtue. Dasaratha, forced by one of his wives
Kaikeyi commands Rama to relinquish his right
to the throne for fourteen years and go into exile
by his father. While in exile, Rama kills the
demon king Ravana.
 Sita is the wife of Rama and the daughter of
king Janaka. She is the incarnation of
Goddess Laxmi(Lord Vishnu's wife). Sita is
the epitome of womanly purity and virtue.
She follows her husband into exile and there
gets abducted by Ravana. She is imprisoned
in the island of Lanka by Ravana. Rama
rescues her by defeating the demon king
Ravana.

 Hanuman is a vanara belonging to the
kingdom of Kishkinda. He worships Rama
and helps find Sita by going to the kingdom
of Lanka crossing the great ocean.
 Ravana, a rakshasa, is the king of Lanka.
He received a boon from Brahma that he
will not be killed by either gods, demons
or by spirits, after performing a severe
penance for ten thousand years. He was
also the most intelligent and erudite living
being of his time. He has ten heads and
twenty arms. After getting his reward from
Brahma, Ravana begins to lay waste the
earth and disturbs the deeds of good
Brahmins. Rama is born a human to defeat
him, thus overcoming the boon given by
Brahma.

 Lakshmana, the younger brother of Rama, chose to go into exile with him. He
spends his time protecting Sita and Rama. He is deceived by Ravana and Maricha
into believing that Rama was in trouble while Sita gets abducted.
 Dasharatha is the king of Ayodhya and the father of Rama. He has three queens,
Kousalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi, and three other sons, Bharata, Lakshmana and
Shatrughna. Kaikeyi, Dasharatha's favourite queen forces him to make his son
Bharata heir apparent and send Rama into exile. Dashatara dies heartbroken after
Rama goes into exile.
 Bharata is the second son of Dasharata. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi
had forced Rama into exile and caused Dasharata to die broken hearted, he storms
out of the palace and goes in search of Rama. When Rama refuses to break his exile
to return to the capital to assume the throne, he requests and gets Rama's sandals
and places them on the throne. Bharata then rules Ayodhya as a representative of
Rama.
 Vishvamitra is the sage who takes Rama into the forest at the behest of defeating
the demons destroying his Vedic sacrifices. On the way back he takes Rama into
Mithila where Rama sees and falls in love with Sita.

Bala Rama in the lap of Mother Kausalya

Even as infants, everyone noticed that Rama and Lakshmana were
inseparable. It was as if they were one life in two bodies.
All four sons grew to be intelligent men. They learned the holy
scriptures well. They were devoted to the welfare of others.
Dasharatha was finally happy.
He enjoyed watching his sons grow before his eyes. He did not say
it in so many words, but he did have a special place in his heart for
Rama.
One day the sage, or wise man, Vishwamitra came to Ayodhya to
see the king. The king had great respect for him.
He asked King Dasratha to send Rama to protect him from demons.
Although reluctant the king agreed his request.

Rama breaking the bow of
Siva at Sita's Swayamvara
At the end of the stay with
Vishwamitra, Rama chanced
to pass the kingdom Mithila,
and heard that Janaka (the
king) had desire her
daughter’s Sita married to a
man of great strength and
righteousness.

Rama wins the Swayamvar…and
Janaka gladly gave him his beautiful
daughter.
Ram and Sita Married…

RAMA'S EXILE
 King Dasharatha, began to feel weary of
reigning, and decided to make Rama, his
eldest son and heir-apparent, the co-regent
(Yuvaraja).
 People were happy and celebrated this
news..
 Dasharatha went to discuss the
celebrations with his favourite wife
Kaikeyi.
 BUT… Kaikeyi said--
"I wish to have my son, Bharata, placed upon
the throne of Ayodhya. Second, I want
Rama banished from the kingdom for a
period of no less than fourteen years."
The king fell to his knees and begged his
young wife not to hold him to these
dreadful wishes.
Kaikeyi
nandhavardhan

BUT…
• Rama knelt and touched the feet of
his parents respectfully. He stood,
turned and left the palace.
• Rama tried hard to convince
Laxman and Sita to stay but they
were insistent.
• The 3 leave the palace..
• In time, Dasharatha lost the will to live.
His heart simply gave out. Ayodhya
mourned the loss of their king.

• In a few days, after leaving palace
Rama, Lakshmana and Sita
crossed the river Ganges
searching for a land undisturbed
and isolated from everyone. Soon
they reached Chitrakoot, a
beautiful place with many trees
and streams. It was paradise. They
built a small hut near a stream.

Sri Rama crossing the river Ganga with the
help of tribal leader Guha

Meanwhile Bharata goes to the forest and Persuades Rama to Return.
But Ram was insistent in fulfilling his fathers promise...
Bharata took Rama’s sandals, mounted his horse and left the
forest. In Kosala, Bharata put Rama's sandals on the red and
gold Ayodhya throne.

Sri Rama, Sita and Lakshmana enjoying a
serene moment in Dhandaka forest

Surpanakha at Rama's hermitage:
Several days passed. Rama, Lakshmana and Sita walked south until they
came upon Dandaka forest. Once a beautiful place, Dandaka was now a
barren wasteland. Religious men who gave up all worldly comforts and
became hermits also lived in the forest. They spoke of the horrors that
Ravana's demons had done. Rama and Lakshmana promised they would
kill all these demons.
Surpanakha (sister of demon king Ravan) taking form of beautiful
young girl,tried to seduce Rama.

 Ravana, hear about the
beautiful Sita from
Surpanakha, resolved to kill
Rama in revenge and take
Sita for himself.
 He enlisted the aid of the
demon Maricha--who turned
himself into a golden deer
that Sita wanted for herself.
 Ravana approached the
hermitage in the guise of an
old man and asked Sita to
give him some food. Sita
stepped out hesitantly to give
the old man some food.
Ravana grabbed Sita
and fled in his airborne
vehicle

Vanara kingdom
 Continuing their search, they encountered the vanara king of
Kishkindha, Sugriva, and Hanuman, one of his generals, among
whom Sita had dropped from the chariot her scarf and some
ornaments.
 Sugriva had been deposed from his kingdom by his brother, Vali,
who had also taken his wife Roma from him.
 Rama agreed to defeat Vali if Sugriva would assist in the search for
Sita.
Rama shot from his bow and
killed Vali

Hanuman giving SITA the ring of Rama
.

THERE IS A
BATTLE IN LANKA BETWEEN
LORD RAM
RAAVAN

 As Ravana fell by this weapon, flowers rained from heaven upon
the happy victor, and his ears were ravished with celestial music.
VICTORY OF LORD RAM..
Rama killed Ravana using Bramhastra

Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman return Ayodhya after 14 years…

Ethical value may be regarded as a study under
ETHICS, which, in turn, may be grouped as
philosophy.
Ethical value may be regarded as a subgroup of the
more broad (and vague) philosophic value.
It denotes something's degree importance, with the
aim of determining what action or life is best to do, or
at least attempt to describe the value of different
actions.
It deals with right conduct and good life, in the sense
that a highly, valuable action or may be regarded as
good, and an action of low value may be regarded as
bad.

VALUES IN RAMAYANA
It contains the teachings of ancient Hindu sages and presents
them through allegory in narrative and the interspersion of
the philosophical and the devotional.
The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, Bharata,
Hanumān and Rāvana (the villain of the piece) are all
fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India.
One of the most important literary works on ancient India,
the Ramayana has had a profound impact on art and culture
in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Brotherly Love
The value of a Truth and commitment
Love for parents
Dharma
Mercy even to enemies

Morals in Ramayana
 In his Ramayana, Valmiki expresses his view of human code of
conduct through Rama: life is evanescent and the hedonistic
approach to it is meaningless.
 However, that should not allow one to be indifferent to one's own
rights and duties laid down in the ancient texts.
 He thus adopts the view that Dharma is what is proclaimed in the
Veda and it should be followed for its own sake, not for what it
brings one in pain or pleasure.

The concepts of Dharma, Artha,
Kama (and Moksha) are very old
Hindu concepts. They are also
known as Purusharthas.
There are prominent instances of it
being defined in Ramayana.
The first was when Bharat came to
forest (Chitrakoot) to meet Rama.
Rama asked him whether he
followed the rules of Dharma, Artha
and Kaama properly.
As per Rama it is defined as: Artha
should not interfere with Dharma and
vice versa.
 Kaama means pleasure here.
 One is allowed to have pleasure
but without affecting the duties
and earnings.
 The other instance of this concept
comes in Yudha Kanda.
 Here Kumbhakarna, Ravana's
brother, advises Ravana that one
should use dharma in the
morning, artha in the daytime and
Kaama at night.
 He further says to Ravana that he
(Ravana) is busy with Kaama all
the time and this will take him to
destruction.
 Interestingly one of Ravana's
ministers Mahodara scolds
Kubhakarna and to please his
master says that a King can enjoy
Kaama at any time.
CONCEPT OF DHARMA-ARTHA-KAMA AS PER RAMAYANA

BROTHERLY LOVE
When you come to the part about Rama leaving for the forest on his exile,
explain how Laxman too insisted on leaving the luxuries of the palace to live
besides his beloved elder brother for 14 years.
Similarly when Bharat learned of how his mother Kaikayee had banished
Rama from Ayodhya, he was devastated.He immediately made plans to go to
Rama and bring him back to rule. When Rama refused to return until his
exile period was up, Bharat placed Rama's slippers on the throne and ruled
Ayodhya in the name of Rama - keeping his place until he returned.
 Similarly, when Soorpanakha was insulted by Laxman, she went to her
brothers Khaara and Dooshan, who rushed to avenge her. They were,
however, vanquished by Rama and Lakshman.
She then sought Ravan's aid, setting the wheels for the grand battle
between Rama and Ravan, good and evil, into motion.
In today's materialistic world where property disputes between siblings are
commonplace, stories like Ramayana are needed to be told over and over
again.
These values are enriched in Ramayana.

Love for parents
• Rama's insistence on keeping the
promise also shows the deep love
Rama had for his parents.
• The fact that he willingly gave up 14
years of his life to exile to keep his
father's word, shows his love for his
parents. His love was such that he
would willingly give up his life for his
parents.
• Similarly, Dashrath too loved his child
so deeply that when Rama left for the
forest, Dashrath breathed his last.

• Hinduism is not revealed by any act of a personal
God, but it is seen by those whose pure minds catch
its reflection.
• in Judaism, Islam and Christianity lies in the fact
that , it is accepted that the truths were revealed by
God to be a particular person at a particular time
and place . But in the case of Hinduism the
realization of the truths and their expressions was
the result of a gradual process of reflection by many
individuals through centuries.

• Hinduism is more of orthopraxy rather than
Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is the holding of commonly
accepted religious opinions but in Hinduism, there
is no commonly acceptable religious opinion.
• No Revelation: Unlike Christianity and Islam
Hinduism does not claim any great revelation of
God to an individual at a particular place or time.
Rather religious truths are results of reflections by
many individuals through the centuries.

• There is a difference in the manners at which
Hinduism was revealed to the Hindus ancestors
compared with Judaism, Islam and Christianity
where the truths were revealed by God to the
individuals.

RAMAYANA MAHABHARAT QURAN BIBLE
STORY IS
ABOUT
what sacrifies
one person
can face for
become ideal
son,ideal
husband,
ideal brother
etc.
narrative of the
Kurukshetra War
and the fates of
the Kauravas and
the Pandava
princes
The scriptures
are the
massages of
allah to
mankind.
everything
mankind will ever
know or
accomplish. It has
directly led to
massive
undertakings of
good will and
charity.
MAIN
CHARACTER
1.RAM
(IDEALISTIC)
2.SITA
1.KRISHNA
(REALISTIC)
2.DRAUPADI
Muhammad
sahib
Jesus
DHARMA HINDUISM HINDUISM ISLAM CHRISTIANITY

 Ramayana and Mahabharata, the two
great epics of India, have captivated
the hearts of its people for several
millennia.
 The Rāmāyana is an ancient Sanskrit
epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and
is an important part of the Hindu
canon (smrti).
 The name Rāmāyana is a tatpurusa
compound of Rāma and ayana "going,
advancing", translating to "the travels
of Rāma".
 The Rāmāyana consists of 24,000
verses in seven cantos (kārnas) and
tells the story of a prince, Rama of
Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted
by the demon (Rākshasa) king of
Lanka, Rāvana.

 In its current form, the Valmiki Ramayana is dated variously
from 500 BCE to 100 BCE, or about co-eval to early versions of
the Mahabhārata.
 As with most traditional epics, since it has gone through a long
process of interpolations and redactions, it is impossible to date it
accurately.
 The Rāmāyana had an important influence on later Sanskrit
poetry, primarily through its establishment of the Sloka meter.
 But, like its epic cousin Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyana is not just
an ordinary story.

There are texts of Ramayana in several regional languages, including
Sanskrit, Chinese, Thai, Telugu, Bengali, Kashmiri, and Tamil.

• The Epic of Ramayana has a profound effect on their
spiritual progress and culture. It is not just a book of
beautiful poetry, it is a Dharma Shastra expounding
lofty ethical ideal.
• The actions of Ramayana are divine and serve as
models for imitation. The Rajputs of the present days
almost unconsciously take Rama as their model.
• Hindu women will follow Sita for her devotion to her
husband.
• A lot of people of North India acknowledge him as
their guide. The Ramayana is a mixture of Bhakti
theology and healthy moral spirit .
PRESENT STATE OF RELIGION

The Epic's influence on Thai culture was and still is
profound. People of all classes and education levels
know the story from their childhood.
King Rama 2nd translated the Indian version into Thai
and it is included in school and university curricula. It
has become part of Thai literature and has been
adapted to suit Thai culture.
The story of Ramayana is currently [198?] being
shown on television in India and is watched by
virtually the entire country's viewing population.

• Epics are timeless ,ageless and beyond any
boundaries.Ramayana is relevant to everyone
• Its story ,moral and values are useful for all.
It consists of 24,001 verses in six cantos.

• Various Books are been written for awareness
such as-
• Ramayana [Kindle Edition]
• The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose
Version of the Indian Epic (Penguin Classics)
[Paperback]
• The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great
Indian Epic [Paperback]etc..
• Movies are been made on Ramayana.

 Man has forgotten the message of the Ramayana and is
leading the life of a Ravana.
 Ravana did not understand this principle of divinity. There was
no transformation in him,though he had acquired all forms of
knowledge and had done severe penance. He ruined himself on
account of excessive desires.
“Before his death, he gave a message to the people:
“O people, with all my skills and expertise in different forms
of
knowledge I became a victim of desires. I lost my sons,
ruined
my clan, and burnt my kingdom to ashes, since I could not
control my desires. Do not become a victim of desires like
me.”

Today, many people read the holy Ramayana, but few understand
its essence.
They spend their time in acquiring bookish knowledge and
superficial knowledge but fail to have practical knowledge.
There are many people who can explain the teachings of Ramayana
in a beautiful way, but how many of them obey the command of their
fathers in their daily life?
Not many! What is the use of reading various texts if we do not put into
practice the message contained in them? Can anyone enjoy the taste of various
delicious items such as mysore pak, gulab jamoon, and jilebi by merely repeating
their names?No. One can enjoy the taste only when one eats them.
 Mere textual information is of no use. But, today, man is interested
only in information and not transformation. Intellect will blossom
only when there is transformation

The story of the Ramayana is so enchanting and captivating that
one feels like listening to it again and again. Bharatiyas (Indians)
have been singing the story of Rama since ancient times.
Everyone should try to understand the essence of the Ramayana.
The Ramayana teaches that one should have a good character, one
should obey the command of the father and respect the parents,
and there should be unity among brothers.
“If you follow these teachings in letter and spirit, your life itself will
become a living Ramayana”

Ramayan

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