The Epic Fable of Rama and his Friends Lives On

    Ancient Ayodhya was a magnificent city of the banks of the river Sarayu in Kosala Country. It has wide roads, huge buildings, beautiful parks, and glittering shops. The people of the city lived a happy and contented life as they were ruled by a wonderful king called Dasharatha. And so the scene is set for one of the greatest tales of ancient literature ever told or written, the epic Ramayana. The Ramayana is the tale of Rama, the son of king Dasharatha's, a great hero and a legendary figure of Indian and Hindu lore. Rama was an avatar, or a living embodiment of a god or gods' power, as were his three borthers Bharata, Lakshmana, and Shatrunga. Rama and his borthers were born as avatars due to the kind, Dasharatha's, prayers. He had been married to three wives and the king for many years, but had yet to receive any children. He and his sages undertook a ritual yagna prayer to beg for an heir, and so gained the attentions and the favor of the gods. Agni, the fire God, emerged from the flame itself to grant Dasharatha's wish, and gave him a cup of sweetened milk, imbued with the power of life. He was instructed to give it to his three wives, Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi.

    Rama was born to Kaushalya, who had received half of the milk. Rama was born the living embodiement of Vishnu himself. All four princes were embodiments of holy power, and as such, gained extraordinary abilities. They became scholars, archers, horsemen, and hunters as they were raised, and the people of their father's kingdom lover them dearly. One day, a sage named Vishwamitra cane to the king and asked him for a favor. He was to begin a yagna prayer, but two demons called Rakshasas, Mareecha and Subahu, were preventing him from his prayers by pouring blood and gore into the sacred fire. The sage insisted on Rama's help, and although the kind was reluctant to send his son, Rama accepted the quest. He traveled to the woods with his brother Lakshmana, to seek the demons. Rama found and killed all the demons with ease, striking them down with his arrows that became magic as he fired them, an effect of his godlike power. After the sages had completed their prayers, they left of the city of Mithila. Rama and his brother went with the sages. The king of the city had promised his daughter to any noble who could string a magical bow that he had placed in the wedding hall, but everyone who tried was too weak. Rama not only strung the bow, but broke it in two, and was wed to the princess Sita. He and his bride fell deeply in love.

    After Rama returned to his home, his father wished to crown him as king. However, his wife Kaikeyi, was unhappy that her son would not be king. Long ago the kind had granted her three wishes, and she had only used two. Using the third, she forced him to crown Bharata instead, and then banish Rama to the forest. The king was heartbroken, and even Bharata had no wish to deny Rama the crown, but Rama was noble, and volunteered to live in the forest for fourteen years that he was commanded. Sita and Lakshmana went with him. While there, Rama and Lakshmana were forced to battle many demons and monsters, for the forest was a dangerous land, but they always triumphed over the monsters. Unfortunately, a nine-headed demon king, Ravana, eventually came to know of Sita, and desired her deeply. He kidnapped her, and so started a war between him and Rama. While Rama and his brother searched for Sita, the king of the birds confronted Ravana, but was mortally wounded in his rescue attempt. He managed to tell Rama who stole his wife, but died shortly thereafter.

    In the forest, there existed a race of man-like intelligent monkeys called Vanaras, who were as powerful as demons. Rama and Lackshmana found help from their king, and the mightiest of the monkeys named Hanuman.

    Hanuman was an avatar of the wind god, and was gifted with an immunity from weapons by the creater god Bhrama. Hanuman flew to the demon king Ravana's city, and found Sita. He was captured, and told Ravana of his service to Rama, and Ravana ordered that his tail be set aflame. Hanuman waited for this, then freed himself and used his tail to burn the city of Rakshasas. He returned to Rama, and the two brothers led an army of monkeys to battle the demon kind and his minions. For days the two armies clashed, both sides seemingly impossibly strong, but the Vanaras were winning with the help of Rama, his brother, and Hanuman. Ravana used a demon named Indrajit to poison the brothers, but they survived, however Sita learned of their injury, and believing them to be dead went to the battlefield. Once the brothers were awake, Ravana made a shapeshifter take the form of Sita, and in view of Rama, Inderjit beheaded the fake Sita. Believing his love dead, Rama fell into despair. Lakshmana chased Inderjit back to his temple of power, and defeated him, breaking his spells in the process. When Rama discovered Sita was not dead, he began to battle again. He fought with Ravana, and after several days Rama was able to finally use his powers to kill the demon, and regain his wife. Upon his return to the kingdom, he was crowned king. After everything that happened, he and his family finally found peace and joy.

    The lengthy tale of the Ramayana serves as more than simply a good story to pass down through the generations in Indian culture. The Ramayana also teaches many values through its characters in an entertaining way. Each of the main characters appears to be at least a little more than human, and their action and behaviors reflect this fact. Rama was a brave warrior, and yet a skilled scholar. He was also just, and extremely kind. Rama was as close to perfection as possible without being a god outright. Smart, yet strong, Rama was the hero of the story. He want of adventures fighting evil across the countryside, and without a thought relinquished his throne to help his father. He even fought a war to reclaim his kidnapped wife, Sita, from a horde of demons. Sita, Rama's wife, was the epitome of perfection for a Hindu wife. She was deeply in love with Rama, and she always wanted him to be happy. She insisted on joining Rama when he went into exile, even though it was to a place more dangerous than she could imagine. Even once Ravana possessed her, she never even though of betraying Rama. Rama's brother, Lakshmana, was the perfect brother. He was always there to help Rama, to guard Sita, and to fight beside Rama. He never left his side by choice, and never even looked at Sita except at her feet, out of respect to his brother, despite all the time that the three had lived together. Hanuman, the Vanara, is sometimes considered the most virtuous character in the Ramayana. He was as brave as Rama, as loyal as Sita and Lakshmana, and completely selfless. He had no need to help Rama, but chose to anyway, sneaking into a city of demons to find Rama's wife, and then allowing his tail to be set on fire to burn down the city. He never even thought of backing down when it was known that a war would be necessary to rid Rama of the demons an retrieve Sita. Hanuman never had anything to gain from his service to Rama, but he never doubted his actions. Even after the war was over, Hanuman didn't return home. He chose to accompany Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita to Ayodhya, and help Rama rule. Hanuman never left Rama's side. Hanuman never even showed any reservations at the thought of helping Rama, whether to fight or to rule. Because of his selflessness, Hanuman is revered almost as a saint. These characters, through their righteousness, teach valuble lessons of piety and bravery, loyalty and selflessness. They exist to demonstrate the values of Hindu society, and through their example teach children and adults alike how to be better people.

    When I read the Ramayana, I began to think about western legends, and how they often act the same way to help give values to younger generations. Robin Hood, for example, was a story about good triumphing over evil because of righteousness. Robin of Loxy was a very good person, he had been to the crusades and captured there, demonstarating his piety to the curch and a willingness to sacrifice himself for his religion and beliefs. He was kept in a prison for a very long time, but never giving up in his attempts to escape. Through his perseverance, he eventually made it out and traveled back to England. Once there, Robin learned that his family was dead and his land was taken to pay taxes by Prince John , who was ruling in King Richards stead while he was in the Crusades. Robin didn't sit down and cry, he retreated to the forest, where he and his loyal friends Little John and Friar Tuck gathered a small army's worth of bandit soldiers, to oppose the unjust pretender to the throne. They fought Prince John for the people until King Richard returned, and the kindgom was restored. The parallels between the Ramayana and the story of Robin Hood seem very clear to me. Robin hood was brave, courageous, and pious. A warrior and a scholar. Little John was Robin's faithful friend. Maid Marion was always true to Robin, and never stopped loving or counting on him. Friar Tuck was the selfless secondary hero, helping the people despite how hard it was for him, and helping Robin despite the consequences for himself. The characters between the two epics match up almost entirely with minimal effort. Robin Hood exists for the same reason the Ramayana does, to entertain while teaching values and character to people of all ages.

Bibliography

    Goomar, S.L. Jai Hanuman, Dreamland Publications, New Delhi. 1997

    India Travel Promotion Network. 20 Sept. 2001 http://www.travel.indiamart.com IndiaMART IndiaMESH Limited. 20 Sept 2001

    Ramabachan, Anantanand. Rama Darshan: The Valmiki-Rama Dialogue. Vignana Publications, Minnesota. 1995.

    Roy, Dharmendra. Illustrated Ramayand for Children, Vasan Book Depot, Gandhinagar, Bangalore. No Copyright date given.

    SriHara. Epic Characters of the Ramayana: Hanuman, Bharata Samskruthi Prakashana, Bangalore. 2001

    SriHara. Epic Characters of the Ramayana: Sri Rama, Bharata Samskruthi Prakashana, Bangalore. 2001