Ram is the
7th incarnation of Vishnu and the central figure of the Ramayana
(Ramayan)epic. The Ramayan is the very soul of India. It is a complete guide to
God-realization., the path to which lies in righteousness. The ideals of man
are beautifully portrayed in it. Everyone should emulate those ideals nd grow
into ideal human beings and ideal citizens.
Ram took
birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sins of the demon King Ravana
(Ravan). Ravana had practiced austerities in order to propitiate Shiva and
Brahma, who had granted him immunity from being killed by gods, gandharvas or
demons. One of the gods had to take on a human form in order to be able to
defeat Ravana.
Ram was
born as the first son of Dasharata, king of Ayodhya. Ram's mother was Kausilya.
Ram had three brothers : Bharat (Bharat) born from the second wife Kaikeyi, and
Lakshmana (Lakshman) and Shatrughna born from the third wife Sumitra.
One day
Saint Vishwamitra visited Ayodhya and asked Dashratha to send Ram and Lakshmana
with him because the Yakshini (demon) Tarka – with her two sons Mareech and
Subahu – were terrifying him and the other saints at his ashram. They were not
letting them worship and meditate. Ram went with Lakshmana and Vishwamitra to
kill Tarka. On the way to Saint Vishwamitra's ashram there was a dense forest.
When they entered the forest Tarka came to kill them but Ram killed her and her
son Subahu with a weapon given to him by Vishwamitra. Ram also shot an arrow at
Mareech and threw him 100 yojan far away.
Later Ram
went with Saint Vishwamitra to Mithila where the wise King Janak ruled. King
janak had organized a svayamvaraa (an acient custom wherein the bride chose her
husband of her own accord from amongst a number of suitors). It was announced
that whosoever will bend the bow of Lord Shiva will marry King Janak's daughter
Sita. Sita was an incarnation of Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. But none
of the suitors was able to lift Lord Shiva's bow, except Ram. Ram lifted the
bow with his one lhand and bended it so hard that it even broke.
So Ram got
married to Sita, and his brothers got happily married to Sita's sisters. After
returning and living happily in Ayodhya the old King Dashrath decided that it
was time to give his kingdom to his beloved son Ram. There Kaikeyi, the third
and youngest wife of the King, claimed the throne for her son Bharat. A long
time before the young Queen had saved the King's life and he had promised to
fulfill her two wishes. Manthara, the crooked and evil-minded maid-servant to
Kaikeyi influencerd the queen to claim her wishes now in favour of her son and
to request Dashrathto banish Ram from the kingdom for fourteen years, and to
install Bharat on the throne instead. The King was shocked, his heart was
broken, but he knew that truth is the highest Dharm, and that he had to fulfill
his promise to his wife. So Ram went to exile happily, knowing that to obey and
serve his father was the highest duty of a son.
After Ram
left to the forest, Dashrath died from the pangs of separation from his beloved
son Ram. Bharat went to the forest to meet his brother Ram and to request him
to come back to Ayodhya. When Ram refused to return, in honor of the promise to
his father, Bharat took Ram's "khadau" (wooden sandals) and placed
them symbolically on Ayodhya's throne. Until his brother returned from the
exile Bharat served the kingdom as a true and honest caretaker of Ram.
Once
Surpnakha, the sister of Ravana, passed by the place where Ram was living. She
saw Ram and became impressed by his beauty. She transformed herself into a
beautiful lady and went to Ram and asked him to marry her. When Ram refused and
told her he is already married to Sita, she became angry. Coming back to her
original form she ran towards Sita to kill her. When Lakshman saw that he cut
her nose and one ear. Sirpnakha then send her brother Khardushan with fourteen
thousand rakshasas to avenge her. But all were killed by Ram.
Surpnakha
now sought vengeance through her older brother Ravana, but only got his
interest by pointing out that the beautiful Sita would be a fitting wife for
him. Ravana lured Ram and Lakshman away from Sita by sending an enchanted deer
of extreme beauty and then took Sita to his kingdom of Lanka.
On the way,
Jatayu, a vulture bird and old friend of Ram's father Dashrath, fought Ravan
but was fatally wounded. He lived only long enough to tell Ram what had happened
upon his return.
In Lanka,
Ravana tried to threathen Sita into marrying him, but was rejected again and
again. Meanwhile, Rammade an alliance with the monkey King Sugreeva, who had
been exiled from his kingdom by his brother Bali. Ram helped Sugreeva to regain
his kingdom and in return Sugreeva raised an army of monkeys and bears, led by
Hanuman. When they reached the sea, Hanuman flew across. On the way he had many
adventure, which can be found on the Hanuman page 24.
In Lanka,
Hanuman promised Sita that help would come soon. When he was then captured by
the rakshasas, Ravana ordered them to set fire to Hanumanan's tail, wrapping it
with only rags. But Hanuman increased the length of his tail so much that there
seemed no end to it. He escaped and used his burning tail to set fire to all of
Lanka.
Meanwhile,
Ram's army had build a uge bridge between Lanka and the mainland. They crossed
the ocean and attacked Ravana's army.
During the
battle, Lakshmana was heaily wounded, but he was cured by a magic herb which
Hanuman flew all the way to the Himalayas to obtain. Not finding the herb at
first, Hanuman brought the entire mountain just to be sure.
Finally,
all rakshasa generals were killed and the battle become a single combat between
Ravana and Ram. Finally, Ram killed Ravana with a special weapon given to him
by saint Agastya.
This was
moment of great rejoicing. Ram and Sita were finally crowned King nd Queen of
Ayodhya.
--------
Ramayana in one Sloka
Poorvam
Rama-tapo-vanaadi-gamanam Hatva Mrugam Kaanchanam
Vaidehee-haranam
Jatayu-maranam Sugreeva-sambhashanam
Valee-nigrahanam
Samudra-taranam Lankapuri-daahanam
Paschaat
Raavana-kumbhakarna-hananam Hyetatdri Ramayanam.
Lord Rama
went to the forest in order to fulfill the romise his father had given to one
of his wives (Kaikeyi). In the forest, Seeta was attracted by the golden deer
and Rama went after it. At that time, the wicked Ravana kidnapped Seeta. Jatayu
tried to defend Seeta and save her, but was killed by Ravana. Lord Rama then
befriended Sugriva and killed Vali, the unrighteous. He crossed the ocean and
entered the city of Lanka. He then destroyed the city of Lanka, killed the
wicked demons Ravana and Kumbhakarna and set Seeta free. This is the story
contained in the Ramayana.
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