Ramayana

Published on 12th March, 2023, in Mid-day. In the early 20th century, six incomplete manuscripts containing excerpts of the Ramayana were found in the Mogao caves of Dunhuang, an archaeological site at the eastern end of the Silk Road in Xinjiang province of China. Written in an early Tibetan language, dated to approximately the 8th century, it does not allude to Buddhist Ramayana, and has many plots at variance with Valmiki Ramayana. It belongs to the earlier genre of “royal” Ramyanas, popular with kings of South and Southeast Asia, unlike the later “bhakti” Ramayanas of India. Here Dasharatha worships Arhats (Buddhist sages?) and is given ..

Published on 8th October, 2022. in Times of India. Many people see Ramayana as history. This means they seek the exact location where the events of the Ramayana took place. But this poses a huge problem. Take the case of where Jatayu was killed. If one travels to Kerala, one finds the Chendamangalam site — here, a gigantic statue of a dying Jatayu has been created by the locals, which attracts many tourists. This is considered to be the site where Jatayu died. However, if you travel northward, in the region known as Nashik in Maharashtra, Sita is said to have been abducted there. But ..

Published on 30th January, 2022, in Mid-day. The maternal uncle plays a very important role in Hindu scriptures. He is called the ‘Maama’. He is the brother who visits his sister’s house during the rakhi festival. She visits his house during Bhai Dooj, the final day of Diwali. He watches over her welfare. It is an acknowledged phenomenon in Hindu families. In Purana, mountains are considered brothers of rivers. Many stories in the great Indian epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata involve maternal uncles. Ram’s maternal uncle is Kausalya’s brother. In some versions of the tale, it is said that Dashrata, king of ..

Published on 17th January, 2022, in Mid-day. The Ramayana story reveals the Vedic world that thrived in the Gangetic plains between 1,000 CE and 500 CE, though the story itself came to be written between 200 BCE and 200 CE. Buddhist Jataka tales also written at the same time tell stories that are curiously similar to the plots of the Ramayana. Scholars debate whether the Jataka tales influence Ramayana or the other way around. Such debates will never conclude as the debate is fuelled with political subtexts, and the tension between followers of Hindutva and Navayana ideologies. Be that as it may, it is always ..

Published on 2nd January, 2022, in Mid-day. There are two big mysteries in Hindu mythology. One, why does Kaikai ask Ram to be exiled only for 14 years? Two, why does Duryodhan demand that the Pandavas be exiled only for 13 years? Why did Kaikai not ask for Ram's permanent exile? Or why did Duryodhan not ask for the permanent exile of the Pandavas? Why was the exile in the Ramayana and Mahabharata for a fixed tenure and not permanent? The answer may lie in the idea that, in Indian thought, nothing can be permanent. The only thing that has permanence is the soul or ..

Published on 5th June, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. The Ramayana has been seen differently by different people. It’s a story rooted in Vedic culture that thrived in 1,000 BCE, in the Gangetic plains. But it was put down in writing only 2,000 years ago, in classical Sanskrit. There are many Sanskrit texts claiming to be the original Valmiki Ramayana, but there are many differences between them. Besides written texts, a whole bunch of oral traditions exist, that bypassed Sanskrit texts and appear in regional versions, in written, visual and oral form, a diversity that disturbs politicians who seek homogeneity. One written retelling tells the story ..

Published on 28th February, 2021, in Mumbai Mirror. Temples dedicated to Ravana in MP, and rulers claiming descent from him in this region, indicate that Lanka may not be across the ocean as imagined, but very much within Indian territory. Many people are convinced that the Ramayana they saw on television is history, and that Sri Lanka is Ravana’s Lanka, and that Karnataka is Sugriva’s Kishkinda. This is reaffirmed by pilgrim spots in Nashik (from where Sita was abducted), Hampi (where Ram met Hanuman), and Rameshwaram (from where Ram’s bridge was built), and the many tourists spots in Sri Lanka identified as Ravana’s palace and ..

Published om 6th September, 2020, in Mid-day. While laying the foundation stone of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple on August 5, 2020, it was clear that no other Hindutva leader, other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was in the photograph that would be part of history. No woman was part of the ceremony, either, which is unusual as orthodox Hindu temple rituals demand the presence of the wife. This acquires significance, considering Hindutva consistently shows Ram in posters, without Sita, and uses 'Jai Shri Ram' as its war cry rather than the traditional call to devotion, 'Jai Siya Ram'. Siya is how Sita is addressed endearingly ..

Published on 21st June, 2020, in Mid-day. In Vedic mythology we hear how the Ashwin Kumars were unsuitable gods, not allowed to partake the Soma offering. To get the offering, they approached Dadichi, who said that if he chanted the verses, then his head would split into a thousand pieces. So, the Ashwins replaced Dadichi's head with that of a horse. With the horse head, Dadichi made the offering. Dadichi's horse head split into a thousand pieces, but Ashwins, rich with Soma, replaced the head. Ashwins were now suitable gods, one of the 33, always cheerful, saving people from shipwrecks and rescuing children thrown in ..