The Ramayana Analysis

There was a time when gods and demons roamed the earth. A time when humanity lived at the mercy of divine beings, who executed their wills against the humans, following their own selfish desires and placing humans in a position of piety to these dominant beings. This time on earth is one of great men who fought against these demigods, giving them great fame passed on as stories in the oral tradition. Though it is unrealistic to believe that these men truly fought against divine beings, their stories played a role in the ancient world, which was the beginning of the formation of society and civilization. The epics of “Gilgamesh” and “The Ramayana of Valmiki” both served their societies as an outline of a moral code,

Ramayana, translated by William Buck, is an ancient Indian epic telling the story of a prince named Rama who fights against his adversary, Ravana. Although there are many important female characters throughout the book, they are often seen as subordinate to their male counterparts where intelligence and strength are concerned. One character who proves this stereotype wrong is Sita, Rama’s wife, who often shows that she has the capacity of being just as powerful as the men of the story. By being more mindful than most people around her, Sita defies the expectations that many characters have placed on her. Sita lets the reader see another side of women’s power and shows us the strength that women could have. The reason that Sita proves to be powerful is that she seems to have an understanding of the deeper meaning of her life; precisely the quality that men don’t expect her to have.

The Ramayana is an Ancient Indian epic poem that follows the story of a young prince named Rama who is a mortal incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. The plot follows a narrative that starts from his first time outside the royal palace, through his banishment from the kingdom and his quest to save his beloved wife Sita from Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, all the way to his coronation as King of Ayodhya, the kingdom from which he was originally banished. Throughout the whole narrative, there is one factor that remains constant, the role of women in the culture. The acceptance, or rejection of these cultural values by the women directly corresponds with how their character is perceived by the reader and how their role directly influences the

The Ramayana focuses more on the need to obey and respect each other and one’s rightful duties. These dharmic beliefs focus on relationships. Lord Ram must obey his father, King Dasaratha, in his decision to take away his inheritance of the throne and must respect that decision. Although no one except for the new king, Bharata‘s, mother wanted him to leave and convinced the King that he must fulfil his oath he made to her many years ago. Rama strove to be the perfect son thus fulfilling his duty of obeying his father’s wishes. Even as Bharata begged him to take his place as ruler instead, Rama denied it on the basis that he had to obey his father and follow his every word.

You all must be aware of the epic tale of Ramayana that begins as Lord Rama was exiled to a forest for 14 years with his dear wife, Sita and brother Laxman. To get to the main point straight away, Sita, the epitome of grace and beauty was abducted by the main antagonist of the Ramayana written by Valmiki- Raavan. My mention on Valmiki as the writer is on purpose because it was according to him that Raavan was termed as the villain but in reality,

The epic story of Rama and Sita, as portrayed by Valmiki’s Ramayana and the modern day film Sita sings the Blues are two different versions of the same story which contain several contrasts as well as similarities. The Ramayana is the ancient version which was written by a sage named Valmiki in 550 B.C.E, featuring a love story between an ideal prince and an ideal woman. It outlines the adventures of Rama in his journey to find his abducted wife Sita. Rama is portrayed as an avatar, being the eighth incarnation of one of the Hindu gods Vishnu, while Sita is representing Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of light. The modern day version of the Ramayana is seen in Sita Sings the Blues, where the animator Nina Paley is relating her love story to that of Sita’s predicament. This paper will compare and contrast the epic story of Valmiki’s Ramayana and Sita Sings the Blues in the quest for power, honor, faithfulness and the conflict between good and evil.

We will start with the main character of the book Rama. Rama has many karma events that happens throughout the book, one being that he followed the golden deer into the woods even thought his brother Lakshmana told him not to and the result was that his wife was kidnapped. He was not there to help her because he was following the golden deer ( pg ). Another example of karma in Rama’s life is when he killed, Vila, the brother of and at the time the monkey ruler because of this Rama was able to have an army of monkey help him search for his wife ( pg ). A final example in Rama’s life is when

In an imperfect world torn apart by religious wars, cultural differences, and a more recent social disconnect, perpetuated by the rise of technology which has helped to isolated individuals rather than globally unite them, it becomes apparent that evil is prevailing. It appears as though the modern individual has reason to fear the “other”, rejecting those different from their selves. Such demonization and aggression towards one another has allowed the evils of the world or “Ravana” to arise. Never before have people needed a reason to believe in a figure who could help rid the world of corruption, greed, desire, and ego created by Ravana, more than they do now. In William Buck’s version of the Ramayana, he retells the ancient epic of

There is no hint of displeasure on her face as she diligently carries out her duty as an ‘ideal wife’. Also why should she have any objection for ‘as long as she lives, a woman’s God and master is her husband’. This scene emphasises the nature of a traditional marital relationship in Indian culture and the presumed duties of a woman as a wife. The text of the Ramayana is considered to be sacred and is followed religiously by people. If it happens to call a woman’s husband her master and God, its influence on the psyche of the people, especially the women, is self

Stories are tools a culture uses to teach its members various lessons about social order, ritual, cosmological events, and social norms. Within the Rāmāyana, every place, element, and person has a story from the past to share. Each story is fundamentally important to obtaining moksha, or full awareness and understanding of the universe. It is important to note that the ascetic, Viswamithra, teaches this lesson to Rama. Viswamirtha is considered to be a holy man who deters from worldly connections. This allows him to become aware and immersed in all of the stories of the universe and to learn from them. It is important for Rama to hear these stories so that he too will learn how to make the right and just choices that will lead him towards ultimate

“Dharma is knowledge prominently directed to the achievement of desired happiness here (i.e. in this life) and hereafter by means of appropriate actions”. (Khan, Benjamin. The Concept of Dharma in Valmiki) Rama and Krishna have been set as perfect exemplars of Dharma in the texts of Ramayana and Mahabharata respectively. They are considered to be the reincarnations of God Visnu, a Supreme Being, and supposedly lived their lives according to the Dharmic (or right) way of life. However, the stories of Rama and Krishna in the texts include some of their actions, which are questionable to the act of Dharma. This may lead one to question Ram and Krishna as true exemplars of Dharma.

Rama has many duties, including his duty to obey. Rama was treated unjustly on multiple occasions throughout the novel, yet he

Rama then builds a giant bridge to Lanka. Everyone helped in the construction of this bridge. And Rama finally reaches Lanka. He then fights Ravan himself and badly humiliates him and defeats him with the help of the gods who are tired of Ravana's evilness. The final battle between them is crazy. The air is filled with arrows but Rama manages to fend them all off. Then a lot of different asthras are employed by both guys. When Rama chops off Ravana's heads and arms they regrow as quickly as they are severed. In the end Rama uses the "Brahmasthra"

Rebuffed by Rama, Surpanakha “threw herself in front of [Khara], as a bolt of lightning would fall from the sky” (Sattar, p. 245) to seek his help to avenge her, thus catalysing conflict between Rama and Khara. Similarly, Kaikeyi “flung herself on the ground” (Sattar, p. 116) to invoke Dasaratha’s sympathy. Thereafter, she forces Dasaratha to commit the unrighteous act of banishing Rama from his rightful kingdom, threatening to “kill [herself] right here in front of [him]” (Sattar, p. 120) if he refuses. Both women are dishonest and unrighteous in their use of piteous stances and empty threats to manipulate the men to do their bidding. Surpanakha and Kaikeyi are also sharp-tongued. Kaikeyi “spoke harshly to [Dasaratha], choosing her words with care” (Sattar, p. 121), showing a deliberate intent to insult him into placing Bharata on the throne. Surpanakha insults Ravana for being “greedy, lustful and utterly dependent on others”, unaware that his “people have been massacred in Janasthana” (Sattar, p. 260) and thus questions his values and ability to rule the kingdom. She also tempts Ravana with the opportunity to “have [his] way with [Sita]” (Sattar, p. 261) should he kill Rama and Laksmana, further illustrating her unrighteousness and immorality. Overall, Surpanakha’s aim to rouse conflict between Rama and Ravana proves that women are divisive and often catalyse disagreements between

Mahābhārata has always been the dominant cultural text of Ancient Bhāratavarṣa to stir the imagination of different ages. In this article, I venture to study the interpretation of Mahābhārata and the Woman of Mahābhārata during Colonial Rule, with the intention to understand the dialogic process between a colonized culture and colonizer culture.