The Story of Rama
An introduction
We spent a great part of the last two years here on Fish discussing the Rigveda, India’s oldest religious text and the oldest extant collection of poetry in an Indo-European language. We also glanced, very briefly, at the body of works known collectively as ‘Vedic texts’. On all of these, much still remains to be read, researched, and discussed, and we will return to the conversation here.
For the moment, though, I would like to spend some time talking about India’s most beloved tale: the ancient story of Rama, legendary prince of Ayodhya, and his beloved wife Sita, princess of Mithila.
The story of Rama is many things to many people—a sacred tale, a tragic romance, a fantastical adventure, a guide to life and living. It is regarded by many as historical truth, and it is for millions a living tale, as real and immediate as anything that happens in their own lives. There is hardly anyone in India who is not familiar, in some degree, with the adventures of Rama—his breaking of the great bow of Shiva to win the hand of Mithila’s beautiful princess, his exile to the forest for fourteen years with Sita and his brother Lakshmana, the abduction of Sita by Ravana, the ten-headed king of the rakshasas, the great battle that is fought at the gates of the golden city of Lanka... Each year, the victory of Rama over Ravana is celebrated in the ten-day festival of Dassehra, and his return to Ayodhya as its rightful king with Sita by his side marked by the lighting of millions of lamps during Diwali.
The story of Rama may easily, for its reach and influence, be called one of the greatest tales of mankind. For at least the last two and a half thousand years, it has served as a source of inspiration for poets, writers, folk performers, and religious and social reformers in India, South-east Asia and beyond. It has been told again and again in countless forms and dozens of languages, making it one of the most popular and enduring stories in the world. More than any other hero, Rama has been upheld as dharma personified, the epitome of righteousness, and his doings as the guide for right action. In recent times, the story of Rama has provided inspiration for films, novels, and in the late 1980s, a weekly television series watched by more than eighty million viewers.
The oldest and most influential surviving literary telling of the story of Rama is the Sanskrit epic called the Ramayana. Composed sometime during the first millennium BCE and consisting of 50,000 lines in verse set in seven kands or books, it is attributed to the poet Valmiki and is widely regarded as the ‘original’. But, as A.K. Ramanujan points out in his celebrated essay, Three Hundred Ramayanas, it is not always Valmiki’s narrative that is carried from one language to another—or, for that matter, from one region of the world to another, one cultural tradition to another, or even one medium to another. Two other, very different, tellings of the Rama story are the Buddhist Dasaratha Jataka, in which Rama and Sita are brother and sister and rule as consorts, and the the Jain Paumachariya by Vimalasuri, who sets the story in the court of the historical king Srenika and depicts the rakshasas not as demons, but as normal human beings. Each teller of the story of Rama has their own imperatives as does each time, region, language, and form in which the story is told.
Nevertheless, the influence of Valmiki’s Ramayana has been so profound that the title of his epic has come to denote the entire tradition, from oral and folk performances to literary texts and translations. Within this rich and varied Ramayana tradition also lie the Ramayana songs from Telengana, the folk performances of the Ram Lila in northern India, the 11th century Tamil Iramavataram (‘The Incarnation of Ram’) by Kamban, and the 16th century Awadhi Ramcharitmanas (‘The Sacred Lake of the Deeds of Ram’) by Tulsidas. In succeeding posts, we will look in more detail at Valmiki’s Ramayana, as well as at some of the other forms and tellings of the story of Rama.
Before we embark on any further discussion though, let us look briefly at the main events of the tale. For those of my readers who are already familiar with the story, I hope this will help in their appreciation of the diverse and different tellings that exist; for those of my readers who do not know the story, I hope this will serve as a useful and engaging introduction.
My outline below is based on Valmiki’s Ramayana, partly because it is the most extensive early literary telling available to us in its entirety, and partly because of the immense and widespread influence it has had on the many tellings of the tale over three millennia.
THE STORY OF RAMA
King Dasharatha, the wise and powerful king of Koshala, rules in splendour from his capital city, Ayodhya. He has all that a king could possibly want, except a son. So, on the advice of his ministers and with the help of the sage Rishyashringa, he holds a great fire-sacrifice as the result of which four sons are born to him—Rama, the oldest, to his chief queen, Kaushalya; Bharata to his favourite wife, Kaikeyi; and the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna to his third queen, Sumitra. The four princes are actually the great god Vishnu, who has become incarnate upon earth through them in order to rid the world of Ravana, the powerful king of the demon rakshasas, who cannot be killed except by a mortal man and who has overrun the earth and overwhelmed even the gods.
The four princes grow up to be brave and skilled warriors. One day, when the princes are still youths, the great sage Vishvamitra arrives at Dasharatha’s court and requests that Rama be sent with him to help protect his fire-sacrifices from the depredations of some rakshasas. Dasharatha reluctantly agrees; Rama, together with his brother, Lakshmana, leaves with Vishvamitra for his ashram.
The two young princes successfully kill the rakshasas who are disturbing the sage’s worship. Vishvamitra then takes the princes to the city of Mithila, to the court of King Janaka. There, Rama wins the hand of the king’s daughter, Sita, by stringing and breaking the great bow of Shiva. The wedding of Rama and Sita is celebrated with great splendour. Lakshmana, too, is married to Sita’s sister Urmila, and Bharata and Shatrughna to her cousins, the daughters of King Janaka’s brother, Kushadhvaja. The four princes and their brides return to Ayodhya, where they live in harmony for several years.
The aging King Dasharatha now decides to step down from the throne and appoint Rama his regent and heir. The news is received with great joy by the people of Ayodhya who love Rama for his wisdom and compassion.
At the time, Prince Bharata is away in Rajagriha, on a visit to his maternal uncle. Dasharatha is keen that Rama’s investiture be done before Bharata returns. As preparations for Rama’s investiture get underway, Bharata’s mother, Kaikeyi, is convinced by her maidservant Manthara that Rama’s succession would mean the end of her position as the king’s favourite and destroy all future prospects for her son. Once, in return for saving his life on the battlefield, Dasharatha had granted Kaikeyi the gift of two boons. Kaikeyi now claims the two boons of the king, and demands that Bharata be made Dasharatha’s heir, and that Rama be banished to the forest for fourteen years. Bound by his word, the old king is unable to deny her requests. Rama accepts his exile without protest and leaves for the forest with Sita and his brother, Lakshmana. Ayodhya is plunged into mourning and Dasharatha dies of a broken heart.
Messengers are sent to Bharata, summoning him back to Ayodhya. Returning, Bharata denounces his mother’s actions, refuses the kingship, and sets out in pursuit of Rama, determined to bring him back to take his place as the rightful king of Koshala. Rama, however, refuses to return and requests Bharata to go back and rule as their father had desired. He also tells him that at their father, at the time of marrying Bharat’s mother, Kaikeyi, had promised her kin that her son would inherit the throne. But Bharata still refuses to take the throne; he finally agrees to rule as Rama’s regent. He returns to Ayodhya with Rama’s sandals, which he places on the throne as a symbol of Rama’s rightful place as king. He vows not to enter Ayodhya till Rama returns and takes up ascetic residence in the nearby village of Nandigrama from where he rules in Rama’s name till the end of his period of exile.
Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana now move southwards into the Dandaka forest, and Rama’s exile now begins in earnest. The forest, far removed from Ayodhya or any city, is inhabited only by ascetics, sages, and fierce rakshasas. The sages welcome Rama into the forest and seek his protection against the rakshasas. Rama, Lakshmana and Sita wander through the forest. They run into the rakshasa Viradha, who tries to kidnap Sita and is killed by Rama. They also meet the sages Sharabhanga and Sutikshna, and visit the ashrams of other sages in the forest. Thus pass the first ten years of Rama’s exile.
Rama then meets the great rishi Agastya, who provides him with magical weapons and directs him to set up his ashram amidst the woods and hills of Panchavati and there spend the remaining four years of his exile. On their way to Panchavati, Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana meet Jatayu, king of the vultures and an old friend of Rama’s father, King Dasharatha. They invite Jatayu to live in Panchavati as well.
Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana set up home in Panchavati. One day, Shurpanakha, the sister of Ravana, king of the rakshasas, sees and falls in love with Rama. Turning herself into a beautiful woman, she approaches Rama, who rejects her advances and directs her to Lakshmana, who sends her back to Rama. Surpanakha is furious at this teasing, and attacks Sita, at which point Rama orders Lakshmana to cut off her ears and nose in order to teach her a lesson. Mutilated and humiliated, she appeals to her rakshasa brother Khara, who sends fourteen rakshasa warriors against Rama. Rama kills them all. Then Khara himself attacks Rama with an army of fourteen thousand rakshasas. While Lakshmana protects Sita and hides her away in a mountain cave, Rama single-handedly destroys the demon army, killing Khara and all his generals as well.
Shurpanakha now runs in despair to Ravana, who is infuriated by her story and the death of Khara. He decides to kidnap Sita and enlists the help of the rakshasa Maricha. The two rakshasas go to Panchavati where Maricha turns himself into a golden deer and manages to lure Rama and Lakshmana into the forest. In their absence, Ravana carries off Sita to his island kingdom of Lanka, where he keeps her prisoner.
Jatayu sees Sita being carried off and tries to save her, but is fatally wounded by Ravana. Rama and Lakshmana return to find the ashrama deserted and Sita missing; as they search for her, they find the wounded Jatayu, who lives just long enough to tell them of her abduction. Rama performs Jatayu’s last rites, and the vulture king attains salvation.
Rama and Lakshmana search desperately for Sita. They run into the Danava Kabandha, who directs them to Lake Pampa upon the mountain Rishyamuka, where the mighty monkey Sugriva has taken up residence after being driven from his country by his brother, Vali. Kabandha advises them to make Sugriva their ally, for he knows the hiding-places of all the rakshasas in the world and will therefore be able to find Sita, no matter where she might be.
Rama and Lakshmana take Kabandha’s advice and set off for the monkey kingdom of Kishkindha. They first meet the great monkey warrior Hanuman, a follower of Sugriva. Hanuman takes them to Sugriva, who tells Rama of his rivalry with his brother Vali. Rama and Sugriva reach an understanding: Rama is to help Sugriva become king and in return, Sugriva will send out his monkey warriors in search of Sita.
Rama tells Sugriva to challenge Vali to single combat and kills the latter with a single arrow from behind a tree. Rama then installs Sugriva as king of Kishkindha and Vali’s son Angada as heir apparent. After much delay, Sugriva sends his monkey troops in all four directions, with orders to return within a month with news of Sita. The troops from the east, north, and west return without any news. The monkeys searching the south are led by Hanuman and Angada. A month passes with no news of Sita; in despair they resolve to fast to death, when the vulture Sampati, Jatayu’s older brother, sees them. He tells them that he saw Ravana carrying Sita away, and that he is holding her prisoner on his island fortress of Lanka. It is decided that Hanuman, as the son of the wind god, will jump across the ocean to Lanka to search for Sita.
Hanuman leaps across the ocean, locates Sita, and gives her Rama’s signet ring as reassurance. He lays waste the ashoka grove in which Sita is being held and, after destroying trees and buildings and causing general chaos in Lanka, allows himself to be captured. On Ravana’s orders, his tail is set on fire, but Hanuman escapes and after setting the city of Lanka ablaze, rejoins the other monkeys on the mainland. They return to Kishkindha, where Hanuman updates Rama.
Rama and Lakshmana now set off for Lanka with their army of monkeys. They are joined by Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, who is opposed to Ravana’s abduction of Sita. The monkeys build a bridge across the ocean to Lanka, and after a long and bloody battle, Rama kills Ravana in single combat. Vibhishana is crowned king of Lanka.
Rama then sends for Sita. But Rama feels no joy at the sight of his wife. He refuses to accept her, saying she has lived in the house of another man. Sita is forced to undergo a trial by fire, and only when her innocence is thus proven does Rama take her back. They fly back to Ayodhya in the flying chariot Pushpaka, which Vibhishana gives them. Rama’s period of exile is now over, and he is crowned king of Ayodhya.
Rama settles down into a life of harmony as king of Ayodhya, his beloved Sita by his side. But this peace does not last for very long. Rama comes to know that despite her ordeal by fire, rumours about Sita’s infidelity with Ravana are rife amongst his people. Rama, considering it his duty as king, banishes Sita—though he knows the rumours are false and that Sita is pregnant. After several years, Rama decides to hold a great horse sacrifice. During this, two young boys appear and begin to recite his story. The whole court can see the likeness—the two young singers are his sons, Lava and Kusha. Sita had been helped by the sage Valmiki, the author of the poem, and it was in his forest hermitage that she had given birth to the twins and lived all these years. Rama is overjoyed and sends for Sita, wanting her back. But Sita refuses. Instead, she calls upon her mother, the Earth to take her. The ground opens and swallows her, and Sita is never seen again.
Rama, broken-hearted, divides the kingdom between his sons and the sons of his brothers. Then, accompanied by his brothers and the people of Ayodhya, he enters the River Sarayu, ending his life on earth and resuming once again the form of Lord Vishnu.
Thus ends the story of Rama.
I have been wanting to write for a long time on the story of Rama, and will be devoting several of my next articles on this subject. Please write in with your questions and suggestions. I will try to cover as many of them as I can in following posts.
Post edited: August 29, 2024
SOURCES AND FURTHER READING
My brief summary does not convey the drama or beauty of this story, or even a fraction of its power. For a greater appreciation of the tale as told by Valmiki, I recommend the The Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of Ancient India, a complete translation of all seven books of the epic edited by Robert Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland. My summary is based on my reading of this translation.
In writing this article, I have also referred to the following:
Richman, P. (1991) ‘Introduction: The Diversity of the Ramayana Tradition’, in Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia. Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford, California: University of California Press, pp. 3–21.
Ramanujan, A.K. (1991) ‘Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation’, in Many Ramayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia. Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford, California: University of California Press, pp. 22–49.
I enjoyed reading your story of Rama, Rohini, based on Valmiki's Sanskrit text, and refreshing the memory of childhood tales that I grew up with! Interesting to know that other versions of this story have been found in Buddhist and Jain traditions.