Rama

A painting of Rama, at Gita Press, Gorakhpur

Ram (Devanagari:राम) also known as Ramchandra (Devanagari: रामचन्द्र or रामचंद्र) is known as the avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hinduism. In Valmiki Ramayana, he was the son of Dasharatha. Rama's character is the Divine protagonist of Epic Ramayana.

Rama is said to have been born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married Sita. Though born in a royal family, their life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, ethical questions and moral dilemmas. Of all their travails, the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon-king Ravana,followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds. The entire life story of Rama, Sita and their companions allegorically discusses duties, rights and social responsibilities of an individual. It illustrates dharma and dharmic living through model characters.

Rama is especially important to Vaishnavism. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. His ancient legends have attracted bhasya (commentaries) and extensive secondary literature and inspired performance arts. Two such texts, for example, are the Adhyatma Ramayana – a spiritual and theological treatise considered foundational by Ramanandi monasteries, and the Ramcharitmanas – a popular treatise that inspires thousands of Ramlila festival performances during autumn every year in India.

Rama legends are also found in the texts of Jainism and Buddhism, though he is sometimes called Pauma or Padma in these texts, and their details vary significantly from the Hindu versions. Jain Texts also mentioned Rama as the eighth balabhadra among the 63 salakapurusas. In Sikhism, Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine incarnations of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar in Dasam Granth.

Several temples use the name of Rama. Ram Temple is located in Ayodhya, India.

Etymology and nomenclature

Rāma is a Vedic Sanskrit word with two contextual meanings. In one context as found in Atharva Veda, as stated by Monier Monier-Williams, means "dark, dark-colored, black" and is related to the term ratri which means night. In another context as found in other Vedic texts, the word means "pleasing, delightful, charming, beautiful, lovely". The word is sometimes used as a suffix in different Indian languages and religions, such as Pali in Buddhist texts, where -rama adds the sense of "pleasing to the mind, lovely" to the composite word.

Rama as a first name appears in the Vedic literature, associated with two patronymic names – Margaveya and Aupatasvini – representing different individuals. A third individual named Rama Jamadagnya is the purported author of hymn 10.110 of the Rigveda in the Hindu tradition. The word Rama appears in ancient literature in reverential terms for three individuals:

1. Parashu-rama, as the sixth avatar of Vishnu. He is linked to the Rama Jamadagnya of the Rigveda fame.
2. Rama-chandra, as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and of the ancient Ramayana fame.
3. Bala-rama, also called Halayudha, as the elder brother of Krishna both of whom appear in the legends of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu texts, for many different scholars and kings in mythical stories. The word also appears in ancient Upanishads and Aranyakas layer of Vedic literature, as well as music and other post-Vedic literature, but in qualifying context of something or someone who is "charming, beautiful, lovely" or "darkness, night".

The Vishnu avatar named Rama is also known by other names. He is called Ramachandra (beautiful, lovely moon), or Dasarathi (son of Dasaratha), or Raghava (descendant of Raghu, solar dynasty in Hindu cosmology). He is also known as Ram Lalla (Infant form of Rama).

Additional names of Rama include Ramavijaya (Javanese), Phreah Ream (Khmer), Phra Ram (Lao and Thai), Megat Seri Rama (Malay), Raja Bantugan (Maranao), Ramudu (Telugu), Ramar (Tamil). In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu. In some Advaita Vedanta inspired texts, Rama connotes the metaphysical concept of Supreme Brahman who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self (Atman, soul) in whom yogis delight nondualistically.

The root of the word Rama is ram- which means "stop, stand still, rest, rejoice, be pleased".

According to Douglas Q. Adams, the Sanskrit word Rama is also found in other Indo-European languages such as Tocharian ram, reme, *romo- where it means "support, make still", "witness, make evident". The sense of "dark, black, soot" also appears in other Indo European languages, such as *remos or Old English romig.

Ram Mandir ("Rama Temple")

The Ram Mandir (lit. 'Rama Temple') is a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism.

Legends

This summary is a traditional legendary account, based on literary details from the Ramayana and other historic mythology-containing texts of Buddhism and Jainism. According to Sheldon Pollock, the figure of Rama incorporates more ancient "morphemes of Indian myths", such as the mythical legends of Bali and Namuci. The ancient sage Valmiki used these morphemes in his Ramayana similes as in sections 3.27, 3.59, 3.73, 5.19 and 29.28.

• Blank 2000, p. 190
• Dodiya 2001, pp. 109–110
• Tripathy 2015, p. 1 He has been depicted in many films, television shows and plays.

Related pages

• Hindu philosophy
• Ramayana
• Vaishnavism
• Ram Mandir
• Religion in India

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Further reading

• Jain Rāmāyaṇa of Hemchandra (English translation), book 7 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra, 1931
• Rajagopalachari, 44 Ramayana, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
• Willem Frederik Stutterheim (1989). Rāma-legends and Rāma-reliefs in Indonesia. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-251-2.
• Vyas, R.T., ed. (1992). Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa. Vadodara: Oriental Institute. Text as Constituted in its Critical Edition,
• Valmiki. Ramayana. Gorakhpur, India: Gita Press.
• J. P. Mallory; Douglas Q. Adams (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5.
• Menon, Ramesh (2008) [2004]. The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-86547-660-8.
• Growse, F.S. (2017). The Ramayana of Tulsidas. Trieste Publishing Pty Limited. ISBN 9-780-649-46180-6.
• Blank, Jonah (2000). Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India. ISBN 0-8021-3733-4.
• Kambar (1980). Kamba Ramayanam.

Rama Ikshvaku dynasty
Preceded by Dasharatha	King of Kosala	Succeeded by Lava
Regnal titles
Preceded by Parashurama	Dashavatara Treta Yuga	Succeeded by Krishna