Name:

Nor
hiday
aLucmanAmpat
ua

Gr
adeandSect
ion:
8-DI
AMOND

THERAMAYANA

Rav
ana

Ramayana,(Sanskrit
:“Rama’sJourney
”)shorterofthetwogr eatepi
cpoemsofIndia,theother
bei
ngtheMahabhar ata(“
GreatEpi
coft heBharataDynast
y”).TheRamay anawascomposedi n
Sanskr
it
,probablynotbefore300BCE, bythepoetValmikiandi nit
spresentf
orm consist
sof
some24,000coupl etsdivi
dedint
osevenbooks.

Thepoem descr ibest heroyalbirthoft hegodRamai nt heki ngdom ofAy odhy a(Oudh) ,his
tut
elageundert hesageVi shvami t
ra,andhi ssuccessi nbendi ngShi v a’smi ghtybowatt he
bri
degroom t ournamentofSi ta,thedaught erofKi ngJanaka, t
huswi nningherf orhi swi [Link] t
er
Ramai sbani shedf rom hi sposi
tionashei rt otheki ngdom t hroughapal acei ntr
igue, her et r
eats
totheforestwi thhiswi feandhi sf avouritehal fbr ot
her,Lakshmana, tospend14y ear sinexi l
e.
ThereRav ana, thedemon- ki
ngofLanka, car riesof fSit
at ohiscapi t
al whi lehertwopr otect ors
arebusypur suingagol dendeersentt ot hef or esttomisleadt [Link] t
ar esolutelyrejects
Ravana’sat tentions, andRamaandhi sbr ot hersetoutt or escueher .Af ternumer ous
adventures, theyent erintoalli
ancewi t
hSugr iva, ki
ngoft hemonkey s, and, withtheassi st ance
ofthemonkey -gener alHanumanandRav ana’ sownbr other,Vi bhi shana, theyat tackLanka.
Ramasl ay sRav anaandr escuesSi ta,whounder goesanor deal byf i
rei nor dertocl earher sel
f
ofsuspicionsofi nfi
del i
[Link] heyr eturnt oAy odhya,howev er ,Ramal earnsthatt hepeopl e
sti
llquestiont hequeen’ schasti
ty ,andhebani sheshert othef or [Link] eshemeet st hesage
Valmiki(ther eput edaut horoftheRamay ana)andathi sher mi tagegi vesbi rthtoRama’ st wo
[Link] ami l
yi sreunitedwhent hesonscomeofage, butSi ta, afteragai npr otestingher
i
nnocence, plungesi ntot heearth,hermot her ,whor eceivesherandswal l
owsherup.

Thepoem enjoysimmensepopul ari

tyi
nI ndia,
wher eit
srecit
ationi sconsideredanactofgr eat
merit
.Lit
tl
eisknownofVal mikiasahistoricalf
igure,t
houghhei sdescribedashav i
ngbeena
thi
efnamedRat [Link] r
anslationsoft heRamay anaintot he
ver
nacularl
anguagesar ethemselveswor ksofgr eatli
ter
aryarti
st r
y,incl
udingtheTami l
v ersion
ofKampan, t
heBengal i
v ersi
onofKr i
tt
ibas,andt heHindiver
sion, Ramchar i
tmanas,ofTul sidas.
ThroughoutNorthIndi
atheev entsofthepoem ar eenact
edinanannual pageant,
theRam Li l
a,
andinSouthIndiathetwoepi cs,t
heRamay anaandt heMahabhar ata,makeupt hestory
r
epert
oir
eofthekat
hakalidance-
[Link]
ardur
ingthe
Mughalper
iod(
16thcentury)
,anditwasaf
avourit
esubjectofRaj
ast
hani
andPahar
i pai
nter
sof
t
he17thand18thcentur
ies.

Thestoryalsospreadinv ari
ousf or
mst hroughoutSoutheastAsia(especial
lyCambodia,
I
ndonesia,andThailand),andit
sher oes,t
ogetherwiththePandav abrothersofthe
Mahabharata,werealsot heheroesoftradit
ionalJavanese-Bal
i
neset heatr
e,dance,andshadow
pl
[Link]
dentsfr
om t heRamay anaarecarvedinbas-rel
iefonmanyI ndonesian
monument s—forexampl e,atPanataranineasternJava.
 THEMAHABHARATA

Mahabhar ata,(Sanskr i
t:“
Gr eatEpi coftheBhar ataDy nasty”)oneoft het woSanskr i
tepic
poemsofanci entI ndia(t
heot herbei ngtheRamay ana) .TheMahabhar atai
sani mpor tant
sour ceofi nformat i
onont hedev el opmentofHi ndui sm bet ween400BCEand200CEandi s
regar dedbyHi ndusasbot hat extaboutdhar ma( Hi ndumor al law)andahi stor y(it
ihasa,
l
iterally“that’swhathappened” ).Appear ingi nitspr esentf orm about400CE, theMahabhar ata
consi stsofamassofmy t
hol ogi cal anddidact i
cmat er i
alarrangedar oundacent ralheroic
narrat i
vet hattellsoft hest ruggl ef orsovereignt ybet weent wogr oupsofcousi ns,theKaur avas
(sonsofDhr it
arasht ra,t
hedescendantofKur u)andt hePandav as(sonsofPandu) .Thepoem i s
madeupofal most100, 000coupl ets—aboutsev ent imest hel engt hoft heI
liadandt heOdy ssey
combi ned—di videdi nto18par vans, orsections, plusasuppl ementt it
ledHar ivamsha
(“Geneal ogyoft heGodHar i”;i.e., ofVishnu).Al thoughi ti
sunl ikelythatanysi ngl eper sonwr ote
thepoem, it
saut horshipist radi tionallyascribedt ot hesageVy asa, whoappear sint heworkas
thegr andf atheroft heKaur av asandt hePandav [Link] eandev enthehi storicaloccurrence
ofthewart hatist hecent ral ev entoft heMahabhar ataar emuchdebat ed.

Thestorybegi nswhent hebli

ndnessofDhr itarashtra,theel deroft wopr i
nces, causeshi mt obe
passedov eri nf avourofhi sbrotherPanduaski ngont heirfather’sdeat [Link] sepr event s
Panduf rom fat heringchi l
dren,howev er,andhi swif eKunt iaskst hegodst of atherchildrenin
Pandu’[Link] esult,
thegodDhar maf athersYudhi sht i
ra,theWi ndf athersBhi ma, Indra
fat
hersAr juna, andt heAshv i
ns(twins)f atherNakul aandSahadev a(alsotwi ns;bornt oPandu’ s
secondwi fe,Madr i).Theenmi tyandj ealousyt hatdev elopsbet weent hecousi nsf or
cest he
Pandavast oleav et heki ngdom whent hei rfatherdi [Link] heirexilethef ivejoi
ntlymar ry
Draupadi (
whoi sbor noutofasacr i
fici
al fir
eandwhom Ar junawi nsbyshoot inganar row
thr
oughar owoft arget s)andmeett heircousi nKr ishna, whor emainst heirfri
endand
compani ont her [Link] t
hought hePandav asr et
ur ntot heki ngdom, theyar eagai nexi l
edt othe
for
est,thistimef or12y ear
s,whenYudhi shthiralosesev erythinginagameofdi cewi th
Duryodhana, theel destoft heKaur avas

Thef eudculminat esinaser iesofgr eatbattlesont hef iel

dofKur ukshetra(northofDel hi
,in
Haryanastate).Al ltheKaur av asareanni hil
ated, and,ont hev i
ctoriousside,onlythef i
ve
Pandav abrothersandKr i
shnasur vi
[Link] eswhenahunt er, whomi stakeshimf oradeer ,
shootshimi nhi sonev ulnerablespot —hisfoot —andt hef ivebrother s,
alongwi thDraupadi and
adogwhoj oinst hem ( Dharma, Yudhi st
hthira’sfather,i
ndi sguise),setoutf orIndr
a’sheav en.
Onebyonet heyf allont heway ,andYudhi sthiraaloner eachest hegat eofheav [Link]
test
sofhi sfaithfulnessandconst ancy,heisf inall
yreuni t
edwi thhi sbrothersandDr aupadi,as
wellaswithhi senemi es,theKaur av as,
toenj oyper petual bl
iss.
Thecent r
alpl
otconst i
tut
esli
ttl
emoret hanonefif
thofthetotal [Link]
he
poem addressesawi derangeofmy t
hsandl egends,i
ncludi
ngt heromanceofDamay ant
iand
herhusbandNal a(whogambl esawayhi ski
ngdom justasYudhi sht
hiragamblesawayhis)and
thelegendofSav i
tr
i,whosedevoti
ontoherdeadhusbandper suadesYama, t
hegodofdeath,t
o
rest
orehimt oli
[Link] alsocontainsdescr
ipti
onsofplacesofpi lgr
images.

Alongwi thitsbasicpl otandaccount sofnumer ousmy ths, theMahabhar atarev ealsthe

evolutionofHi nduism andi t
sr el
at i
onswi t
hot herreligi
onsdur i
ngi t
scomposi ti
[Link] i
od
duringwhi chtheepi ct ookshapewasoneoft ransit
ionfrom Vedi csacri
fi
cetosect ari
an
Hindui sm, aswel lasat i
meofi nter acti
on—somet imesf riendly,sometimeshost ile—wi t
h
Buddhi sm andJai [Link] fferentsect ionsoft hepoem expr essvaryi
ngbelief
s, oftenincreati
ve
[Link] ions—suchast heNar ayaniy a(apartofbook13) ,t
heBhagav adgita(book6),
theAnugi ta(book14) , andt heHar i
v amsha—ar eimpor t
antsour cesofearlyVaishnav atheology,
i
nwhi chKr i
shnai sanav ataroft hegodVi [Link] eall,theMahabhar ataisanexposi ti
onof
dhar ma( codesofconduct ),
includingt hepr operconductofaki ng,ofawar ri
or,ofani ndivi
dual
l
ivingint imesofcal ami t
y ,andofaper sonseeki ngtoat tainmoksha( fr
eedom f rom samsar a,or
rebirt
h) .Thepoem r epeat edlydemonst r
atesthatt heconf li
ct i
ngcodesofdhar maar eso
“subtle”that ,i
nsomesi t
uat i
ons, theher ocannothel pbutv i
olatethem insomer espect,no
mat terwhatchoi cehemakes.

TheMahabharatastor
yhasbeenr et
oldinwr
it
tenandoralSanskri
tandver
nacularversi
ons
thr
oughoutSouthandSoutheastAsi
[Link]
svar
iousi
ncident
shav ebeenport
rayedinstone,
notabl
yinscul
ptur
edreli
efsatAngkorWatandAngkorThom inCambodia,andinIndian
miniat
urepai
nti
ngs.
Name:
Sit
ti
eAshi
[Link]

Gr
adeandSect
ion:
8-DI
AMOND

[Link]
ana

Thewor dRamay anali

terall
ymeanst hejour [Link]
oryoft
hetr
iumphofgood
overevi
lthatisshownt hroughthev i
ctoryofRamawhodef eat
edthedemonRavanawhohad
abduct
edhi [Link] sperceiv
edast heideal
mani nHinducul
tur
[Link]
sportr
ayedasl
oyal
,
duti
ful
,ri
ghteous,cour
ageous, wise,str
ong, andevenhandsome.

Ramawasbor nastheel
destofthesonsoftheKingoft heKosal [Link] er ,
duet o
tur
moili
nfamil
yrel
ati
onshi
ps,hewasexiledforf
our t
eeny [Link] i
fulson,
hewi l
li
ngly
wentonexi
lewit
hhiswife,
Sit
a,andhisyoungerbrother
, [Link] i
ngtheexile,Sit
awas
abduct
edbyRavana,t
hedemonki ngofLanka(present-
daySr iLanka).I
nhissearchf orSit
a,
Ramabefri
endedHanuman,amonkey -
humangod, whowasagr eathelptotheprince.

Final
ly,
theywereabl
et odefeatRavanathroughafier
cebattl
eandsav eSit
[Link]
,thi
swas
nottheendofthestoryasSitahadt oproveherchasti
tybywalki
ngthroughfi
rebef
oreRama
waswi l
li
[Link]
y,wi
ththehelpofthegods,shewasabletodosoand
remainedunharmed.

[Link]
ata

TheMahabhar
atai
sessenti
all
ythestor
yoftheri
valr
ybetweent
wobandsofbr
other
sint
he
Hast
inapur
aKi
ngdom,whichculminat
esinagreatbatt
le.

ThePandav asar
et hefi
vesonsofPandu, theri
ghtf
ulkingoftheHastinapur [Link]
el
destt wosonswer eYudhi
sti
raandAr j
[Link], t
heKaur avasaret heone
hundredsonsofDhr i
tar
asht
ra,whoisPandu' sbl
indelderbrot
[Link] heKaur
avasi
s
Duryodhana,whoisthemainantagonisti
nt hest
[Link]
vesagai nstdharma(moral
order)andispor
trayedasgreedy
,jeal
ous,andev i
l.

Inthestory,Duryodhanainvi
tedthePandav astoagameofdi cewheretheYudhist
ir
astaked
everythi
ngandl [Link]
y,thePandavasthenhadtogoonexileforatotal
ofthi
rteen
years,duri
ngwhi [Link]
heendoftheirexi
l
e,thePandavas
andt heKauravasgat her
edtheiral
li
esandwentt owaragainsteachother
Name:
Sit
ti
eNur
hal
i
[Link]

Gr
adeandSect
ion:
8-DI
AMOND

[Link]
ana

Thewor dRamay anali

terall
ymeanst hejour [Link]
oryoft
hetr
iumphofgood
overevi
lthatisshownt hroughthev i
ctoryofRamawhodef eat
edthedemonRavanawhohad
abduct
edhi [Link] sperceiv
edast heideal
mani nHinducul
tur
[Link]
sportr
ayedasl
oyal
,
duti
ful
,ri
ghteous,cour
ageous, wise,str
ong, andevenhandsome.

Ramawasbor nastheel
destofthesonsoftheKingoft heKosal [Link] er ,
duet o
tur
moili
nfamil
yrel
ati
onshi
ps,hewasexiledforf
our t
eeny [Link] i
fulson,
hewi l
li
ngly
wentonexi
lewit
hhiswife,
Sit
a,andhisyoungerbrother
, [Link] i
ngtheexile,Sit
awas
abduct
edbyRavana,t
hedemonki ngofLanka(present-
daySr iLanka).I
nhissearchf orSit
a,
Ramabefri
endedHanuman,amonkey -
humangod, whowasagr eathelptotheprince.

Final
ly,
theywereabl
et odefeatRavanathroughafier
cebattl
eandsav eSit
[Link]
,thi
swas
nottheendofthestoryasSitahadt oproveherchasti
tybywalki
ngthroughfi
rebef
oreRama
waswi l
li
[Link]
y,wi
ththehelpofthegods,shewasabletodosoand
remainedunharmed.

[Link]
ata

TheMahabhar
atai
sessenti
all
ythestor
yoftheri
valr
ybetweent
wobandsofbr
other
sint
he
Hast
inapur
aKi
ngdom,whichculminat
esinagreatbatt
le.

ThePandav asar
et hefi
vesonsofPandu, theri
ghtf
ulkingoftheHastinapur [Link]
el
destt wosonswer eYudhi
sti
raandAr j
[Link], t
heKaur avasaret heone
hundredsonsofDhr i
tar
asht
ra,whoisPandu' sbl
indelderbrot
[Link] heKaur
avasi
s
Duryodhana,whoisthemainantagonisti
nt hest
[Link]
vesagai nstdharma(moral
order)andispor
trayedasgreedy
,jeal
ous,andev i
l.

Inthestory,Duryodhanainvi
tedthePandav astoagameofdi cewheretheYudhist
ir
astaked
everythi
ngandl [Link]
y,thePandavasthenhadtogoonexileforatotal
ofthi
rteen
years,duri
ngwhi [Link]
heendoftheirexi
l
e,thePandavas
andt heKauravasgat her
edtheiral
li
esandwentt owaragainsteachother