the Ramayanaprotagonist

story

Hindu religion

• Polytheistic• 3 major gods in the Ramayana:

– Bramha – the Creator– Shiva – the Destroyer of evil– Vishnu – the Preserver of balance (often

depicted as the color of a stormcloud)• Has 10 avatars (incarnations)

– #8 is Ram– #9 is Krishna– #10 is Kulki (yet to come)

Rama

• Used for surprise/shock (“Oh, God!”)• Closest word the Hindi language has to

the word “god”• Used as a greeting (“RamRam”)• Written on EVERYTHING

• In India, the characters of the Ramayana are used to sell products (cigarettes, furnaces, cars, etc.)

Hinduism (con’t)

• Belief in reincarnation

• Dharma – to know and obey one’s duty in life

• Karma – the consequences of doing one’s dharma

Authors

There are as many Ramayanas as there are grains of sand on the seashore.

Old Hindu saying

Valmiki – first to write it down; existed as an oral traditon for several centuries beforehand

TulsiDas – most popular version. Wrote it down around 300 CE & changed the characters actions a little.

15 major languages in India, so some changes to the names (Rama in original Sanskrit becomes Ram in Hindi).

Ramayana text is considered imperfect; it’s a blueprint, a seed. The story lives when it is told.

Expounders – people who take a small section of text and tell it in detail

The Ramayana is not reality; it is a mirror that reflect reality.

REMEMBER: THIS IS A LIVING EPIC!

Themes

• Compassion for the lowly

• Hospitality

• Models of behavior – Perfect son– Perfect brother– Perfect wife– Perfect husband– Perfect King