• This article tells you about the importance of Sri Ram, how the story is portrayed differently and impact of the character of Sri Ram on the culture of various countries in Asia.

The historic decision of the Supreme Court restoring the disputed land to Ram Lalla Virajman in Ayodhya, reminds me of a chaupai from  Ramacharitamanasa  of Goswami Tulsidasa which says interalia : ‘Hoi hi soi jo rama rachi rakha, ko kari tarka badhavai sakha…’ - ‘Whatever Rama has ordained must happen; one who resorts to further argument only complicates the matter.’ Ironically, Rama who is said to be present in every particle of the universe was made a litigant in this case. Rama’s ways Rama alone knows.

Rama is the conscience of India, the fulcrum of its virtues.  He is both nara, human and narayana, divine, saguna, with attributes, and nirguna, without attributes. In his incorporeal form, he is maryada purushottama, the model of human excellence, and the personification of dharma, righteousness.

The earliest reference to Rama occurs in a Buddhist Jataka from which the saga Valmiki is said to have derived some of his material for the Ramayana. As the legend goes, Valmiki once asked Narada, who among the heroes of the world was the highest in virtue and wisdom? The answer came that he was Rama, a descendant of the solar dynasty. Later, one day, as the sage walked along the riverbank he saw coupling birds shot by a hunter. He felt so grieved that his feelings burst forth into metrical speech. Lord Brahma then asked him to compose the life of Rama in verse.

The Ramayana presents him as an ideal, divinely human in his acts. Adhyatama Ramayana portrays him as a savior god. Ramacharitamanasa describes him as both man and god. The Mahabharata (Vana parva) refers to him as a seasoned warrior-prince. Minor Upanishads like Ramarahasya and Ramapurvatapaniya depict him as the Supreme deity.

The Hindus do not regard Rama as merely a benevolent monarch of Ayodhya, or as a friend of gods who defeated the demon king, Ravana, but as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is for them the ideal, the way and the Ultimate Goal. His life has inspired poets and politicians, philosophers and artists, kings and common men alike. The story of his wanderings and exploits has been told and retold in every Hindu home since time immemorial.

Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya on chaitra shukla navami, the ninth day of the bright half of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra (March - April) in the constellation named Punarvasu. The dominance of moon and Jupiter in the Lagna in Karka Rashi, the ascendance of Saturn in the 4^th house and the exalted position of Mars and Sun in the seventh and tenth houses, respectively, clearly show that he was an extraordinary person.

He helped the sage Vishwamitra in eliminating the demons who  had created terror in the areas lying between the rivers Sarayu and the Ganga, slew the ogress Taraka and defeated her son Maricha, broke the magical bow of Shiva and won Sita, daughter of King Janaka of Mithila, from a svayamvara, pacified the furious Parshurama, raised Ahalya from a stone-block, relished plums offered by Shabari, a low-caste woman, foiled the immoral designs of Shurpanakha, defeated Khar and Dushan, killed Bali and restored to Sugriva his kingdom, constructed a setu, bridge, to  reach Lanka and  defeated Ravana, proclaimed Vibhishana as king and returned to Ayodhya where he received a warm welcome and was coronated.  His sense of justice, veneration of holy men, and concern for the welfare of people endeared him to everyone.

It is often argued that the story of Rama represents an ideal and not a form. Hence there is greater flexibility and catholicity in the treatment of the subject, for example, the Chinese Dasharatha Jataka portrays Sita as the sister of Rama and Lakshmana. Kamban Ramayana says that Ravana did not lift Sita physically, as mentioned in the Ramacharitmanasa but took her to Lanka by carrying the big chunk of the earth on which she was standing. Likewise, the old Javanese Ramayana ends with the reunion of Rama and Sita while that of Valmiki ends with Sita entering the bosom of the Mother earth. These different versions have not, marred the popularity of Rama, whose life and achievements are as much popular in India as in South Asia, Southeast Asia and even Europe. Some scholars identify Rama with the Egyptian god Ra. Others draw points of similarity between the Ramayana and the Iliad of Homer.

The legends about Rama have influenced Peruvian and Nepalese poetry, Cambodian sculpture, Indonesian architecture, Malaysian plays, Sinhalese novels and Laotian paintings. One reason for the popularity of Lord Rama is his immaculate character.

When the world is undergoing a crisis of values, the life of Ayodhya-pati Rama can teach everyone a lesson or two in the art of living. Chanting of Rama-nama can control the vagaries of the mind and raise one’s consciousness to a higher level. Only then one could realize that human body is a prototype of Ayodhya in which resides the infinite Rama in a microcosmic form.

Dr Satish K Kapoor, a former British Council Scholar in history, is a noted author, educationist and spiritualist.

Also read

1. Adhyatma Ramayana, The Spiritual Version of the Story of Sri Rama

2. Ramayana around Rameshwaram pictures

3. Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh is about Sri Rama