The Story Of The Ramayana

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 original The Ramayana is a great epic that has stood the test of time, and has been influential yet controversial throughout history. R.K Narayan’s version has been the same; his composition of stories adds another layer to the already plentiful themes, leaving the reader satisfied with his brilliant description and insight. Through Narayan’s constant comparison that parallels Rama to a perfect specimen, he is demonstrating a “Straw Man” argument. Its effect illuminates Rama’s flaws rather than his seemingly perfect composure. Narayan consciously chooses moments at Rama’s darkest hours to transform him into the relatable human figure he was meant to become.

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

shows characteristics of great piety to his parents and the lack of desire to be

In today’s society men are expected to have only wife and not multiple and it is also the same for a woman and if that is broken then it is considered cheating which is a unacceptable thing. That was not the case in the Ramayana. In our current time men and women rule. An example of this is the ruler of England Queen Elizabeth II is the current leader of England and is a female. Also America had a women run for president and even though she didn’t win there is out to be a time soon that a female will become the next president for the United States. This would of never been heard of in the time of the Ramayana. For war and battle it is acceptable for a women to be enrolled into the army with men now. There are quite a bit of women

The term hero is can mean many different things in just as many different cultures. For example, modern day Americans would refer to a hero as someone who sacrifices oneself in order to protect and save others. While this current definition of hero is similar to that of the past, the first generation of heroes certainly had their differences. Two unique examples of these heroes are Gilgamesh and Rama. Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk in the Middle East who ruled as a tyrant, while Rama was the king Ayodhya who ruled with compassion. While these two individuals are clearly heroes, they couldn’t be more dissimilar.

The story Ramayan is the oldest version, is the basis of all the various versions of the Ramayana that are related to the many cultures. The current text of Valmiki Ramayana is collaboration of two parts from the north and the south of India. Valmiki, the writer of Ramayana has been usually divided into seven books which all are dealing with the life of Rama from his birth date to his death date.

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.

Hindus are extremely respectful and prideful people with many strong core beliefs. These beliefs have been passed down through the ages in The Ramayana. Throughout this epic poem, Rama, his family, and many others exemplify what it means to be Hindu. Rama is considered to be a perfect Hindu and follows all aspects of Hinduism flawlessly. This includes following duty, honor, responsibilities based on a person’s place in society, and most important to Rama, family. In the epic The Ramayana, family is portrayed as the most important aspect to the Hindu belief.

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

Dharma is the duty that people must fulfill in order to achieve their life’s purpose. In the Hindu religion, it is what guides the followers’ life choices and actions. Only the utmost just decisions and choices will lead down the path of obtaining dharma. At first glance, the Indian epic, The Ramayana, is a love story about a prince who is banished to the forest and an evil creature subsequently kidnaps his wife. However, it serves a much greater purpose in the Hindu culture. The Ramayana serves as a guide to living a life of moral righteousness. Rama and Sita are role models of how men and women should interact with each other and with society. There is multiple times throughout the epic that Rama faces morally difficult decisions that he flawlessly surpasses, a feat that his human peers surely would not have had the mental strength to accomplish. Rama is the supreme example of how to live a moral life. Rama’s dharma is to destroy evil, and throughout the book the difficult choices he makes and the heroic actions her performs are what guide him in his quest to fulfill his duty. Other characters in the epic, such as Ravana, are faced with the same moral dilemmas and chose incorrectly, which ultimately lead to their demise. Rama’s profound greatness is a result of his ability to place dharma above all other humanly desires and personal interests.

This article is about the incarnation of Vishnu. For other uses, see Rama (disambiguation) and Ramachandra (disambiguation).