Introduction

Almost everyone knows the story of the epic though in broad outline,
if not in every detail. Though it makes a good story as well, the
importance of a study of Ramayanam lies in drawing the lessons it
conveys to us through the different characters and different
situations and how far they are relevant to the modern times.
Therefore, our focus will be on the morals conveyed in the various
episodes. This would necessitate retelling the story in brief before
proceeding to comment.



6. VALMIKI AND NAMMAZHWAR
Nammazhwar in his Tiruvoimozhi 7.5.1 puts a rhetorical
question: "Karpaar Ramanai allaal matrum karparO?" meaning "Will
anyone read anything other than Sri Ramapiraan?"
What is so great about Srimad Ramayanam that we are asked to read
it?
And, what is so great about Valmiki Ramayanam over the others?
ANSWER
Srimad Ramayana is the practical guide for proper conduct as
exemplified by the Lord Himself in his Avataara as Sri Rama. If we
desire to regulate our lives on the right lines, it is to Ramayana
that we should turn to.

It shows not only how one WOULD react to situations but more
importantly also how one SHOULD react. This is very important for us
to regulate our lives by adopting the "SHOULD" part of it and
avoiding the "WOULD" part.

But, why are we addicted to the "would" part of it and seem to shun
the "Should" part?

The reason is not far to seek. Our Scriptures say that all living
beings from the four faced Brahma down to the lowly worm are
governed by a mixture of what is known as TriguNa, the trio of
Sattva (virtue), Rajas (emotion laden action) and Tamas
(sullenness). Just as in democracy, the party that gets a majority
rules the nation (at least for the time being), the preponderance of
any particular guNa at any given point of time, governs one's
thoughts and behavior. And, most of the time, we are slaves to the
Rajas and Tamas and we are emotion driven. This leads us to the way
we react to situations. The Rajas while being the motive force for
all our actions provides a breeding ground for the 6 evils that
plague us namely, kaama, krOda, mOha, lObha, mada, maatsarya which w
have to be vigilant to constantly keep under check

In Ramayana, we find three brothers acting differently.
Vibheeshana with Sattva, Ravana with Rajas and Kumbakarna with
Tamas as the predominant traits. We learn from these characters that
we should strive to augment Sattvaguna, regulate Rajas (because we
cannot totally eliminate it) and avoid Tamas altogether.

7. "RaamaayaNam ethanai RaamaayaNam aDi"
The quality and content of the Aadhikavi, has ignited the
imagination of a galaxy of innumerable poets and writers, throughout
the world and over the ages and in a variety of languages. We are
told that there are at least 50 versions of Ramayana. (For example)

- Aananda Ramayana by Pasaurama
- Adbutha Ramayana, by Valmiki himself
- Adhyaatma Ramayana by Sage Viswamitra
- AgnivEshaya Ramayanam by AgnivESya
- Anargha Raghava of Muraari,
- BhaTTi Kaavya by BhaTTi Kavi
- Champu Ramayana by BhOja
- Hanuman- NaaTaka by Hanuman
- Jaina Ramayanam by Hemachandra
- Kamba RamayaNam in Tamil by Poet Kambar
- Mantra Ramayanam by LakshmaNa Arya
- Prasanna Raghava by JayadEva
- Raghava Nishadeeya by Haradatta Suri
- Raghu Vamsam of KaaLidaasa,
- Ramacharita Maanas in Hindi by TuLasidas
- Ramayana Manjari by KshemEndra
- Sangraha Ramayanam by Narayana PaNDita
- Uttara Rama Charita by Bhavabhooti
- Yoga VaasishTam by Valmiki himself and many others.
It is doubtful if any other work of religious literature enjoyed
such a fascination. (Of course, Bhagavad Gita has been translated in
several languages but perhaps, not so prolific like Ramayana).

There is a song in Tamil detailing the various names of Rama that
asks "Raaman ethanai RaamanaDi" We may perhaps ask
similarly "RaamaayaNam ethanai RaamaayaNam aDi"

8. AADI KAAVYAM
But, what makes Srimad Valmiki Ramayana as special and outstanding
is the fact that it is the first ever epic in Literary world.

It is, therefore, known as "Aadikaavya" and its author Valmiki,
the "Aadikavi". It is the most authentic and authoritative account
of the life story of Sri Rama ? the only true account of every
detail as it happened. In fact, it is the first "Ithi-aasa" Meaning:
(Thus it happened)

9. PURUSHARTAS
SaptastOma stipulates that to qualify as an "Itihaasa" the work
should bring out all the 4 Purushartas (Objectives) of Dharma
(Righteousness), Artha (Wealth), Kaama (Desire) and MOksha
(Liberation). Srimad Ramayanam does this in an exemplary manner.
The secondary objectives of Artha and Kaama have been adroitly
sandwiched between Dharma and MOksha to emphasize that they should
be regulated on Dharmic principles if one wants to attain MOksha
(Salvation).

10. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DO NOT REGULATE SO?
- That Artha is secondary to Dharma is brought out by Sri
Rama's abdication of the throne which was his birthright of
primogeniture.
- That a-dharmic Kaama leads to fall is portrayed in the
events in the lives of Dasaratha, Ravana and Soorpanaka.
- That the one who acquires and expends wealth and enjoys
permitted pleasures of life on Dharmic lines ultimately gains mOKsha
are very vividly illustrated in the various episodes in Srimad
Ramayana.
- The delineation of mOKsha is explained in Uttara KhaaNDam.

What is Dharma? It is defined as "That which sustains". What does it
sustain?
It is the inculcation in our lives such noble traits as obedience to
parents, brotherly love between the siblings, chastity which is
common to both man and woman, reverence to elders and holy men,
compassion that forgives the repentant (vide Kaakaasura incident),
commingling of the mighty Emperor Sri Ram with the lowliest of lowly
(Vide Guha the boatman, Sabari the huntress and VibheeshaNa the
Rakshasa) etc.

11. VEDAS AND ITIHASAS
While Vedas command with "Dos and Don'ts" Itihasas like Ramayana act
as good friends and illustrate by examples, interesting stories and
anecdotes how virtuous people prospered and how the evil ones came
to grief ultimately, so that we can learn how we should emulate
characters like Rama and avoid behaving like Ravana and similar
characters.

Rama's obedience to parents (pitru vaakhya paripaalanam),
Lakshmana's Bhagavad Kainkaryam, Bharata's conviction that there was
no refuge other than Rama and Satrughna's Bhaagavata Kainkaryam are
object lessons for humanity for all time to come.

12. DIFFERENT ROLES
The Lord needed different complementary roles for different purposes
and so he cast himself in different characters:
Rama - Bhagavaan
LakshmaNa -Bhagavad Seshatvam
Bharata - Bhaagavata and
Satrugna - Bhaagavata Seshatvam
Taken together, Rama Avatara was as much a PoorNa Avatara as
Krishnaavataara.

13. RAMAYANAM IS THE EXPOSITION OF THE VEDAS
The Upakrama SlOka says that when the Lord decided on his descent as
Rama, the son of Dasaratha, the Vedas also took descent in the form
of Ramayana.
vEda vdDhyE parE pumsi jaatE dasaraatmajE/
vEda: praachatasaad aseeth saakshaat RaamaayaNaatmanaa//

14. OTHER NAMES OF RAMAYANA:
Besides the name "Ramayana" meaning the story of the exploits of Sri
Rama, it is also called "Sitaayaa: Charitam mahath" (the great story
of Sri Sita). In Tamil, it is described as the "Greatness of the
woman who went to jail" (Sirai irundavaL yEtram).
(cf: Mahabharata is known as "thoodu senravan yETram). It is also
called "Poulastya Vadam' meaning the "Killing of the descendent of
Pulastya". Ravana was that descendent.

15. SITAYANAM
Srimad Andavan, Poundarikapuram Swami Asramam, Srirangam explains
how the middle name relating to Sri Sita is more appropriate than
the other two.
The purpose of Avataras is to protect the virtuous (paritraaNaaya
saadoonaam), destroying the vicious (vinaasaaya cha dushkritaam) and
establishment of Dharma (Dharma samsthaapanaarthaaya).
- Sri Rama protected only those who surrendered to him; Sri
Sita protected even those who tortured her.
- Sri Rama gladdened the hearts of people; Sri Sita gladdened
his heart also.
- But for her acting as the mediatrix in all situations, none
of the souls could have secured any protection from Sri Rama.
- Lava and Kusa sang her praise because it was because of
their father's cruelty to their mother in banishing her that they
lived in her company and were more attached to her than to Sri Rama.
- Sri Sita underwent incarceration in order to procure the
release of celestial nymphs whom Ravana had imprisoned. And, it was
the crux of the whole epic

16. WAYS TO MOKSHA.
Our Acharyas tell us that there are only two paths to attain mOKsha,
namely Bhakti (Devotion) and Prapatti (Absolute surrender to
God).Srimad Ramayanam is a work on both Bhakti and Prapatti.
bhaktyaa Paramayaa vaapi prapattyaa Vaa mahaa mate/
praapyOham na anyatAa praapyO mama kainkarya-lipsubhih/ and
prapannaad anyEshaam na disati mukundo Nijapadam
prapannas cha dvEdhaa sucharita-paripaaka-bhidayaa/
vilambEna praaptir bhajana sukham yEkasya vipulam
parasya aasu praaptih parimitarasaa jeevita dasaa//

We find that Srimad Ramayana is a work that delineates both Bhakti
and Prapatti in its own inimitable way.

17. SRIMAD RAMAYANAM AS A WORK ON DEVOTION (BHAKTI)
Nine kinds of Bhakti have been identified:
sravaNam keerthanam vishNO: smaraNam paada sEvanam/
archanam vandanam daasyam sakhyam aatma nivEdanam//
We can see that all these nine kinds of devotion are exemplified in
Srimad Ramayanam
- sravaNam (Listening to stories of the Lord)
Hanuman, the virtual hero of RamayaNam (RamaayaNa mahaa maalaa
rathnam) refused to go with Sri Rama saying that in Paramapadam he
cannot `hear' the story of Rama but only "Saama-gaanam". He is said
to be present wherever there is talk on or about Rama with hands over
his head and tears of joy in his eyes.
Yatra yatra Raghunaatha keerthanam tatra tatra krita mastaka anjalim/
Baashpavaari paripoorNa lOchanam maarutim namata raakshasa anthakam //
- keerthanam (Singing the praise of the Lord)
Valmiki is known to derive immense pleasure in reciting the name of
Rama. He repeatedly uses the name of Rama wherever he could.
- smaraNam (Remembering the exploits of the Lord)
Sri Sita is known to have been always thinking of her Lord. The way
she remembers and incessantly describes the Lord while at AsOka vana
reveals her "SmaraNa Bhakti"
- paada sEvanam (Serving at the feet of the Lord)
Bharata vowed that if he were not successful in bringing back Sri
Rama to AyOdhya, he would also don the robe like that of Rama and
stay in the forest to serve Rama. But, when Rama gave his Padukas and
bade him to go back to AyOdhya, he obeyed him, installed the Padukas
on the throne and acted as its vassal in the absence of Rama.
- archanam (Offering fruits. flowers etc to the Lord)
Sabari saved tasty fruits for offering to Rama, if and when he
visited her. Recognizing her Bhakti, Rama sent her to VaikunTam. She
did not offer spittle tainted remnants to Rama as some would have us
believe!
- vandanam (Falling at the feet of the Lord)
VibheeshaNa though a born Raakshasa was a "Dharmaatma"
"vibheeshaNastu dharmaatmaa na tu raakshasa chEshTita:"
He gave up everything (including wife, children, wealth etc) to
surrender to Sri Rama. He was an ideal example of the saying: One who
is attached to Paramaatma will be totally detached from all worldly
things"
"Parama aatmani yO raktah, viraktO: a-parama aatmani"
- daasyam (Physically serving the Lord)
LakshmaNa accompanied Sri Rama pledging to do all kinds of service to
Sri Rama in the forest while Rama was awake or while he slept:
"aham sarvam karishyaami jaagrata: svapatas cha tE"
- sakhyam (Being friendly to the Lord)
Sugreeva was so impressed with the qualities of Rama that he became
his best friend and showered on Rama unalloyed love as a friend.
- aatma nivEdanam (Surrendering one's soul to the Lord)
JaTaayu, when he saw Sri Sita being carried away by Ravana gave a
fight with him in which he almost lost his life. Valmiki describes
him as "Sreemaan JaTaayu"- an epithet he uses only in referring to
two others, namely, VibheeshaNa (Antarikshagata: Sreemaan) and
GajEndra (Sa tu naagavara Sreemaan)

Thus Srimad RamayaNam gives examples of the nine kinds of Bhakti
Therefore, it is rightly deemed a treatise on Bhakti

18. SRIMAD RAMAYANAM AS A WORK ON PRAPATTI
In fact, it is known as "Prapatti Saastra". In almost every canto, we
find numerous instances to prove the efficacy of Prapatti (Absolute
surrender to the Lord)

Bala khaaNdam:
- The surrender of Devas seeking his protection
- Trisanku's surrender to Viswaamitra for going to Heaven with
his physical frame
- Surrender of Sunaschepa
AyOdhya khaaNdam:
- Lakshmana's surrender to Rama for accompanying him to the
forest.
- Bharata's surrender that fetched him Paaduka Kainkaryam first
because the earlier DEva SaraNaagati had to bear fruit first and
Bharata's surrender bore fruit in Rama's taking over the kingdom
after the Vanavasam,
AraNYa khaaNdam:
- Sages surrender resulting in the decimation of Kara, DooshaNa
etc
- Mobile and Immobile beings surrender (by being in AyOdhya
which itself is taken as surrender) and thus attain higher worlds.
- The cruel crow surrenders and its life is spared, with a
light punishment for its misdeeds.
- Lord Rama surrenders to the Ocean King who later surrenders
to Rama- These show how surrender can be effective only when a lowly
person does it to an able and capable superior.
Sundara khaaNdam:
- TrijaTa advises the Rakshasis to surrender to Sri Sita saying
that the latter would readily forgive their torturing her.
- PiraaTTi advises the Raakshasis that should Rama emerge
victorious as he was bound to, she would protect them.
- When Hanumaan wanted to take on the Raakshasis, Sri Sita
advised him that they did only their duty asking: "Who has not
erred?"- "KaruNam kaaryam aaryEna, Na kaschit na aparaadyati"
Yuddha khaaNdam:
- * The famous VibheeshaNa SaraNaagati. Sri Rama vows that even
if RavaNa himself had surrendered he would forgive the offender and
accept his surrender.
Uttara khaaNDam:
- Sri Rama's reply to Maalyavaan: Just like, a tiger could be
killed for protecting the cows, the latter killing of the enemies for
honoring an earlier surrender was only just and proper.
Vaali Vadam: The same logic holds good here. In order to honor the
earlier