This is the fifteenth of a series of short articles on various deities. As I am not a Hindu myself, I would appreciate any feedback from Hindus.
The Ramayana
The attributes of Rama, the ‘perfect prince’ and epitome of good government, is best left to the epic poem written in his honour, the Ramayana (see Comte 1994, p.176).
This great work, written over centuries, describes Rama as candid and sincere, a talented archer and a faithful guide in the service of good. It describes the deity as disciplined, respectful of age, devoted to duty and not at all slanderous. He is also described as eloquent, always smiling and with copper eyes and handsome eyebrows.
The gruel and the seventh avatar
King Dasaratha of Ayodhya had three wives but had so far not been blessed with a child. He prepared a sacrifice to the gods and during the ritual a strange being appeared carrying some magic gruel for his wives. He gave half of the gruel to his first wife, Kausaalya, three-quarters of the remainder to Sumitra, his second, and the rest to his third, queen Kaikeyi. The gruel enabled Vishnu to be incarnated as four ksatriya (princes): Kaikeyi’s son Bharata; Sumitra’s twins Laksmana and Satrughna and, most important of the four, the avatar Rama, born to Kausaalya.
From birth the twins were destined to serve Rama and Bharata became devoted to him.
The bows of Shiva and Vishnu
Rama and Laksmana journeyed to Mithila where king Janaka was in possession of Shiva’s bow but had not the strength to lift it. He promised the hand of his daughter, Sita, to anyone who could perform the feat. Rama succeeded in raising the bow and not only won Sita’s hand but also obtained wives for his brothers.
Next he met Parasurama, another avatar of Vishnu, who challenged him to raise Vishnu’s bow. When Rama also passed this task, Parasurama recognised his divinity.
Kaikeya’s treachery
Following his successes with the bows, Rama returned home, only to find that queen Kaikeyi had called in a favour from the king. Having previously saved Dasaratha’s life, she had been told to choose her reward and had chosen to take the crown for her own son, Bharata. The king died of grief after Rama was exiled to the forest, Sita accompanying him.
Bharata succeeded but refused to rule after learning of his mother’s involvement. Instead he tracked down Rama who told him that the oath was unbreakable until whoever made it had died. Bharata eventually agreed to minister in Rama’s absence.
Rama: demons’ bane
Rama was involved in a number of battles with the demons. While living with Dasaratha, Rama was asked to assist king Visvamitra who was being bothered by the raksasa (demons). The prince taught the king spells of invincibility and then, with an array of incredible weapons, he rendered the demons harmless and killed Tataka, one of their mothers.
Rama travelled to Pancavati to protect the rsi (sages). While there, Surpanakha, demoness and brother of the demon Ravana, fell in love with him and tried to seduce him. He resisted and Laksmana cut off Surpanakha’s nose and ears (below left). The raksasa were determined to avenge her but Rama destroyed them all.
The tale of Rama and Sita
In retaliation for her defeat, Surpanakha hatched a plan. She sought her brother and described to him the charms of Rama’s wife, Sita. Ravana visited Pancavati and roused the passions of a stag, attracting Sita’s gaze. When Rama pursued the stag Ravana kidnapped Sita, grabbing her hair and taking her away to Lanka. Despite his constant attempts to seduce her, Sita’s virtuous nature enabled her to resist him.
Meanwhile, Rama and Laksmana tracked down Hanuman who was counsellor to king Sugriva, deposed by his brother Valin who had also helped himself to his brother’s wife. In return for Rama’s assistance, Hanuman agreed to find Sita, which he did by following her trail of jewels to Lanka.
After assuring Sita of her rescue, Hanuman lit the fires of war and Rama destroyed Lanka. Ravana’s brother, Vibhisana, took the throne and freed Sita…but there was no happy ending to this tale.
Doubting her fidelity, Rama exiled Sita to the forest but repented after their sons pleaded for her return, after hearing nothing but praise about her conduct within Ravana’s palace. However, Rama was too late. Sita had already asked the ground of her forest home to swallow her up.
Rama gave up his royalty and prayed one final time on behalf of those who had loved and supported him in battle. He entered the river, along with his entire retinue, and was received by Brahma. He ascended to ‘heaven’ and regained his divinity.
Do you have any personal experience of, or interest in, Parasurama or Hinduism that you would like to share? If so, please leave a comment below.
References/Sources used (please use my bookstore if you want to order the books):
Comte, F. (1991) ‘The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology’, Wordsworth, Kent
Kamadeva [online], link, Wikipedia, last accessed 16th Jul 2010
Image attributions
All images in the public domain
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