“हरि अनंत हरि कथा अनंता। कहहिं सुनहिं बहुबिधि सब संता॥
रामचंद्र के चरित सुहाए। कलप कोटि लगि जाहिं न गाए॥”
“Hari is endless, his tales eternal. Sages have been singing and listening to his glorious life in many ways. The charita (persona) of Ramachandra is the most beautiful. Even in thousands and hundreds of millions of ages, his legend can not be fully commemorated”
Tulsidas could not have been more right when he wrote these lines. Centuries after him, when A.K. Ramanujan, a scholar of Sanskrit and Indian culture, began his quest for Ramayana across India and the world, the sheer number and retellings that he witnessed were awe-inspiring.
As an ode to the many Ramayanas that he got to know about, and for the many more that existed, hidden in their locales, Ramanujan wrote “Three Hundred Ramayanas”, a work popular world over for its exploration of the many Ramayanas.
What the philosophy of Tulsidas and the scholarly journey of Ramanujan have in common is how they underline the awesome number of Rama stories. The central character of Sri Rama is the same in all these tales.
The difference is the language, narration, context of the story, and the authors, each of whom found Rama around them, in their homes, in the folklores of their regions, and told his story.
The earliest one of them of course is Valmiki’s Ramayana, the most sacred and revered story whose essence can be seen in every other retelling that followed it.
The poetic epic by Valmiki- Ramayana is a Sanskrit text, narrating the story of Sri Rama, his birth in Ayodhya, his young age learning under Valmiki and Vishwamitra, marriage with Devi Sita, Vanavasa of 14 years, abduction of Sita, the war between Rama and Ravana, Rama’s victory and his return to Ayodhya and so on.
This is undoubtedly the most moving narration of the story of Sri Rama. But besides the Ramayana, Valmiki is also credited with writing certain versions of the story in the Ananda Ramayana and Adbhuta Ramayana- texts considerably shorter than the epic, but containing beautiful episodes and mentions of the story of Sri Rama, amongst other topics.
The Yoga Vashishtha, a philosophical text in Sanskrit based on the discussion between Sri Rama and sage Vashishtha, is also attributed to Valmiki, and it brings out the metaphysical and scholarly side of Rama’s personality.
Drawing from the episodes of Valmiki’s Ramayana and enriched by the regional-local traditions, authors across India wrote their own versions of the story, resulting in a rich treasure of tales, each worthy of reverence and appreciation.
Many of these “texts” were originally not written material or books as we understand a text to be, but were oral legends and dramatic performances, which were given a readable format by the learned writers.
श्रीमद्वाल्मीकीय रामायण: The Ramayana of Valmiki: A Set of Two Volumes (Sanskrit Text with Hindi Translation)
The gem in the crown of Indian religious-literary tradition, the Ramacharitamanas by Goswami Tulsidas was written in the northern region of India, in the area known as Awadh (Ayodhya).
The language was Awadhi and the style was poetic (doha and chaupai), making this a popular text among the devotees.
With its rhyming content and emotive verses, the work of Tulsidas went beyond the Ramayana of Valmiki in terms of prevalence as its language was accessible to all, including the illiterate sections, who now relished in the ecstatic narration of the Katha.
The text since then has been a part of India’s religious life, and whenever there is a Rama-Katha recitation in a home or locality, in all probabilities, it is the Ramacharitamanas.
A medieval work, Tulsidas’s Rama-Katha takes inspiration from the story of Valmiki, along with the Adhyatma Ramayana (15th-century work, maybe a part of the Brahmanda Purana, attributed to Veda Vyasa), Hanuman Nataka or Mahanataka and Prasanna Raghava, a work of 12th century CE, written by Jayadeva.
The Ramacharitamans is divided into seven Kanda or sections- Balakanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranyakanda, Kishkindhakanda, Sundarakanda, Lankakanda, and Uttarakanda, making this text a literary masterpiece.
The 19th-century Kashmiri language work- Ramavatar Charita is a lesser-known version of Sri Rama’s story in local Kashmiri, written by Prakash Rama Bhatt.
In the Western states of India, folk and oral versions of the Ramayana are much more popular in comparison to the written forms. Translations of Ramayana in Gujarati, Marathi, and Rajasthani are available and widely read by the devotees of Rama, who also sometimes read and listen to the Ramacharitamans.
The Bhavartha Ramayana written by Sant Ekanath in Marathi is a popular book read in traditional Marathi households and a similar status is enjoyed by the Giridhara Ramayana in Gujarat.
In the folk theatre of these regions such as the Bhavai of Gujarat and Kathaputli of Rajasthan, episodes of the Ramayana are sung and performed by artists in front of large audiences, who draw inspiration from the illustrious life of the king of Ayodhya.
The lyrical appeal of Rama-Katha reaches new heights in the Eastern region of India, appreciated and beautified by the regional poets.
In West Bengal, we find the Krittivasa or Krittibasa Ramayana, written in the 15th century by the poet Krttibasa Ojha, based majorly on the Ramayana of Valmiki, but embellished with the personal touch of the author.
The Chandrabati Ramayana, another Bengali rendition of the story was written by a woman poet, Chandrabati, who lived in 16th-century Bengal and wrote from the perspective of Devi Sita.
Ramacharitam, another important writing from the region, was written by the poet Sandhyakar Nandi, patronized by the Pala ruler Ramapala.
Drawing parallels from the legendary episodes of Ramayana, Nandi wrote a story that included both Rama and the historical king Ramapala, creating a unique text that has religious as well as materialistic and human elements well placed in its narratives.
The Oriya Bichitra Ramayana is a powerful tale of Sri Rama, whose poet belongs to the Shudra caste. Written by Siddheshwara Das or Sarla Das, Bichitra Ramayana, also known as Bisi Ramalila is the first time the Ramayana was retold in an Indian regional language, making it a culturally important text not only for the people of Odisha but also for every Indian.
The poetic prowess of Southern Indian writers is incomparable and the states combined together are a cradle for a divine tradition of Rama stories.
From the Tamil state, the ancient Tamilkam, and home of Sangam literature comes the Kamban Ramayana (RamavataRama) written by Kambar during the 12th century.
The book is divided into six sections called Kandam and contains over 10000 verses in flowing Tamil. The epic of Valmiki also has a firm root in the culture of Southern India and the text is translated into Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam with regional touches to the story.
The mass appeal of Ramayana and its presence in the religious as well as social sphere of India was accepted and appreciated not only within Hinduism but even in the other two prominent religious traditions of the country- Buddhism and Jainism.
In Buddhism, the story of Rama is presented in the ancient and sacred Jataka texts, within a text called Dasharatha Jataka.
It tells the tale of Buddha’s previous birth as Rama Pandita, a great prince and son of King Dasharatha, who was exiled, similar to the story of Valmiki. The tale goes on, ending with the moral that everything in life is impermanent and detachment is key.
Jainism, a tradition rooted in the popular sphere of India, benefited from the retelling of Rama-Katha in Prakrit, a language of the people. Vimalsuri, a Jaina scholar penned the story, titled “Paumachariyu”, one of the earliest texts of the Jaina religion.
Embodying the perfection of Jaina philosophy, Rama in the Jaina version was a practitioner of non-violence, which is why it was Lakshman and not him, who slayed Ravana.
Just as the protagonist of the tale crossed the ocean, the story of Sri Rama traveled far and wide. Beyond the borders of India, Ramayana has as many forms as it has within our country.
From Indonesia to Thailand, from Japan to Sri Lanka, Rama-Katha and all its characters keep on coming back to life, with oral legends, written stories, and stunning folk theatre and performances.
👉 Ramayana in Thailand: A national epic of Thailand, the story of Rama in the country is known as Ramakien. Influenced by the Valmiki Ramayana, Hanuman Nataka, and Vaishnava Puranas as well as Thai Buddhist traditions, Ramakien is an important part of the religious and cultural life of the people. The hero of the epic of Rama, known as Phra Rama, is a form of the mighty Phra Narai (Vishnu).
👉 Ramayana in Indonesia: An ancient and sacred text in Indonesia, the Kakawin Ramayana is written in Javanese, based on the Valmiki Ramayana. A blend of local religious beliefs and deities with the story of Rama, Kakawin Ramayana is believed by many to be inspired by Bhatti Kavyam, a Sanskrit text written by the poet Bhatti in early medieval India.
👉 Ramayana in Cambodia: The epic poetry of Ramayana becomes Reamker (Glory of Rama) in Cambodia. Its most stunning representation is seen in the dance-dRama of the nation, Lakhon, where elaborately dressed actor-dancers perform poetry, which carries traces of the Buddhist heritage of the country, along with the central themes of Ramayana.
👉 Ramayana in Malaysia: With a substantial Muslim population and Islamic heritage, Malaysia has its own complex and interesting version of Ramayana, known as Hikayat Seri Rama. It is the story of Rama along with local legends and Islamic textures. The term “Hikayat” stands for “romantic tale” in Islamic literary traditions, suggesting a unique fusion of ancient Hindu and medieval elements.
Beyond the written word and world, the story of Rama in these countries is also told on the temple walls. The sculptures based on Ramayana in Southeast Asian temples and the walls of sacred spaces are covered in episodes from the Ramayana, delivered in artistic regional shades, creating a tradition of Ramayana that is neither limited by natural nor human-made boundaries.
And the tale goes on! No list, however long, about the many Ramayanas can ever encompass all the Ramayanas. One of the many legends related to this monumental text mentions that after the battle of Rama and Ravana, Lord Hanuman sat on a mountain and wrote down the entire story.
After completing, he threw the pages in the air, scattering the story all over the world. What Valmiki received was only one of these pages! In addition to this nonexhaustive list, there are several other versions of Ramayana such as Pratima Nataka and Abhisheka Nataka by Bhasha (an ancient Sanskrit poet and playwright)
Kundamala by the Buddhist philosopher Diganaga in Sanskrit, Bhavabhuti’s Sanskrit Mahaviracharitam, Uttar Ramacharita of Bhavabhuti and Dasham Grantha, a prominent text in Sikhism written by Guru Gobin Singh, which among other themes, narrates the story of Rama.
The search for all the Ramayanas that there are is a never-ending one. If we count the annual Rama-Lilas and local plays in every mohalla and street, the anecdotes of Rama told by family elders whenever the kin gathers, and the tiny tales of grandmas that to the young ears seem like otherworldly sagas,
Tulsi’s words come to mind again. The story of Rama is truly unending, and any number one might give as the answer to the question- “How many Ramayanas”, would be as futile as counting the drops of the cosmic ocean.
Jai Sri Rama!
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