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Ramayana is one of the ancient Indian epics. According to Robert P. Goldman, the oldest parts of the Ramayana date to the mid-8th century BCE. The story is narrated by the saint poet Valmiki and tells the tale of Prince Rama of the city of Ayodhya, who is banished into the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and half-brother Lakshmana. During the exile, Sita gets kidnapped by the king Ravana of Lanka, and Rama, with the help of a vanara army, rescues Sita from Lanka. The original set in Sanskrit consists of 24,000 verses, and there are several variations in the story narrated in South Asian and South East Asian cultures, across the Indian subcontinent, Thailand and Indonesia, with several versions re-written in various Indian and other Asian languages.
The historicity of Rama, a central figure in Hindu mythology and revered as an incarnation of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, has been a topic of scholarly inquiry and debate, that whether Rama has historically existed or not. Rama is celebrated in the ancient Indian epic, the Rāmāyaṇa, which narrates his life, adventures, and moral teachings. While Rama's story is deeply embedded in religious and cultural traditions across South Asia, historical scholars have explored the extent to which the character of Rama might be based on a real historical figure or composite of multiple historical personalities. This exploration involves examining archaeological evidence, literary sources, and comparative mythology to understand the origins and evolution of the Rama tradition and its significance within Hinduism and broader Indian culture.
References
- ↑ "77-year-old Kamban Kazhagam becomes a registered body". The Hindu. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ↑ "'Kamba Ramayanam' events exceptional". 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Focus on Kamban, poet extraordinaire". The Hindu. 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Ravana As Antidote". Outlook. 2 November 1998. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "Our many Ramayanas: India's leaders have re-imagined Ram according to their political ideology". The Indian Express. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ "The Kamban dream". The Hindu. 7 March 2013. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ↑ A. GANGATHARAN (9 August 2017). CULTURAL ASPIRATIONS Essays on the Intellectual History of the Colonial Tamil Nadu. Lulu.com. pp. 111–. ISBN 978-1-387-05025-3. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018.
- ↑ Kamath, Rina (September 2000). Chennai. Orient Blackswan. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-81-250-1378-5. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018.
- ↑ "Kamban Kazhagam Australia's 10th Year Celebrations". The Indian Sun. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.