Essays on Ramayana

The life, unfortunately, does not always resemble a happy kingdom where people live in peace and harmony. One day it brings you an ocean of happiness and glory, the other day it throws you to the dark abyss of poverty and solitude. In spite of all life’s ordeals, the person should never give up and show courage in overcoming everyday difficulties. Only the bravest and most ingenious ones, who are capable of learning on their own mistakes, will definitely attain success in the adventurous life journey. The courage is surely the most important trait of character which not ...

Draupadi and Sita are two characterizations of feminity. One is more sensual and provocative, while the other is the symbol of purity. Draupadi is a princess, and the daughter of King Drupada. She is one of the main characters of Mahabharata. Sita is the wife of Rama, who is a depiction of the supreme god Vishnu. She is one of the main characters of the Ramayana. Draupadi would be the depiction of strong, controversial feminity, while Sita is the depiction of the perfect wife and woman, which would be the central traits that would make the two women very ...

Everyone likes to be a hero, but being a hero is not a simple process. It is a journey of life from simple to complex; from simplicity to hardship and from ignorance to knowledge. For gaining real knowledge and enlightenment, the hero has to undergo many situations in which his physical abilities, his morals, values and principles are tried by the destiny. The hero’s hardship and ultimate success are portrayed in Western and Eastern Epics. Ramayana is one of the heroic epics in Sanskrit composed by ancient sage Valmiki. It is a story of high idealism and the ...

In the beginning of the semester, I wrote on the Discussion Board that even though I am from Asia and people may think that I am familiar with religions of Asia, I did not have much understanding of various religious faiths in Asia. Because I have never believed or practiced any religion in my whole life, I did not have much interest about religions of Asia or elsewhere.

However, since I first saw the video about the Ramayana, I started to gain some interest in religion. I thought that religion might be amiable and interesting given that some ...

The Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient mythological book written by Narayan R. K. It is a tale that forms an important Hindu Canon and is divided into four parts; the early on life of Rama, his exile, the abduction of Sita, and the defeat of Ravana and Rama’s coronation. It is a story about Rama, an Indian avatar whose wife Sita is abducted by a demon king known as Ravana. The story explores the life in India, human values, and the interaction between humans and the divine world. The Ramayana has become a part of Indian sacred literature that people learn from it ...

Ramayana of Valmiki

The Ramayana reminded me of Odysseus at first just because of the bow. All of the princes who wanted to marry Sita had to try to lift it, but only Rama was able to do that. This was like when Odysseus was wandering. Everyone thought he was dead but his wife. So, to avoid having to remarry she told the men who wanted to marry her that they needed to draw and shoot Odysseus’s bow. No one could do it until he came home and used it to kill the men who had been bothering his wife. ...

Ramayana: The Legend of Rama and Sage Vishwamirta

This is one of the greatest Hindu epic stories that have been told for such a long time. It talks about a young prince that leaves behind everything he possessed so as to save the world from demons. It is a good adventure story talking about both love and morality in the world. The story concentrates on Rama a son to the king of Ayodhya, Dasharatha and his wife Queen Kausalya as well as two other wives, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. The king is blessed with three other sons Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugha with Rama being the eldest. This narrative shows the meaning of ...

In her multilayered multidimensional animation film "Sita Sings The Blues" , Nina Paley attempts to retell an old Hindu epic the Ramayana. The film started out as a series of cartoons published on Internet by Paley. Inspired by Annette Hanshaw’s songs, her travel to India followed by tragic breakup with ex-husband, Nina decided to put it together and tell "her Ramayana". Short colorful cartoons uploaded to Internet were highly appraised by general public but got criticism from conservative Hindus due to sometimes frivolous Americanized images of Sita that bared striking resemblance with Betty Boop; and comic depiction of the story ( ...

Introduction

Folklore comprises of legends, music, oral history, sayings, jokes, mainstream views, children's stories and traditions that are the customs of that society, subculture, or gathering. It is likewise the situated of practices through which those expressive classifications are imparted. The English savant William Thoms in a letter distributed by the London Journal in 1846 initially utilized the expression “old stories”. Old stories can be separated into four zones of the study: antiquity, (for example, voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible substance (oral convention), society, and conduct (customs). These ranges do not remain solitary; on the other hand, as frequently a specific thing ...

Hinduism and Christianity are two biggest religions of the world. Hinduism is the oldest continuing religion and Christianity has enlightened a majority of population of planet earth. Both religions have sacred texts that describe everything about both Hinduism and Christianity. Sacred texts of both these religions have very significant place in establishing and spreading ideas of both these religions. Sacred texts are very important for followers of Hinduism and Christianity and these texts have a function of guiding followers of both these religions. This paper intends to discuss the place of sacred texts in Hinduism and Christianity along with discussing various ...

Compare The Nature Of Ideal Kingship in the Arthashastra and Yoga Vasishth.

Thesis: The books Arthashastra and Yoga Vasistha are treasures of the Indian culture. Written thousands of years ago but they hold importance to date. The books have laid the foundation for governance of the state by its head the “king”. Arthashastra (science of wealth) was written by “Chanakya” or “Kautilya” (370 BC to283 BC). A man of great intellect, Chanakya laid the foundation of functions of government. He was a professor of economics and political science at the Takshila University. Patliputra was the capital of Magadha kingdom. Once insulted by the king, Chanakya decided to avenge by overthrowing him. For ...

Heroism, and the notion of what it means to be a hero has been subjected to numerous changes, especially with regard to changes over time and also in the manner at which different cultures perceive heroism. In literature, heroic deeds and significant events are usually captured in an epic. Valmiki’s Ramayana and Homer’s Odyssey, are both ancient epics, therefore, they are the products of the oral traditions that have adopted an array of literary devices. The Odyssey dates back to around 8th to 6th BCE while the Ramayana proximately was recorded in the 5th century. In these two ...

Comparison of the female characters in “The Ramayana”

The Ramayana is a famous Hindu epic tale written by Valmiki approximately 2000 years ago. Although the two thousand years have passed the story is still the basis for popular movies and television shows. Hundreds or even thousands of versions exist, this research is based primarily on the sections of Valmaiki text found in R.K. Narayan’s The Ramayana: A shortened modern prose version of the Indian Epic. The female protagonist is Sita who is the wife of Ramachandra (Rama) and who is also the obsessive desire of the demon, Ravana. Rama is a God descended from Vishnu who has come ...

What is Dharma and how does it show up specifically in the Ramayana?

Hinduism forms a way of life, a Dharma. The term “Dharma” has been derived from the Sanskrit word “dhri” which stands for “to hold together”. The individuals who profess the Dharma of the Hindus and seek to follow it are guided by social, spiritual, moral and social rules, knowledge, actions and duties which are integral in binding the human race together. The word Dharma does not stand for religion; it is basically the law that is capable of governing all actions. The Dharma in the Hindu religion is known by several other names such as Vedic Dharma and Sanatan Dharma. The ...

Ramayana is a mostly read ancient Indian epic that forms important Hindu norms that are followed up to date. Ramayana means the march (ayana) of Rama in search of human values. It contains 24,000 verses in seven books and 50 cantos. The Ramayana is part of Hindus sacred literature for it speaks about the meaning of life and how one should learn from it and it is used as a guideline by the Hindus. It is a story of friendship and adventure at the same time it is a psychological insight that has spiritual meaning and wisdom .The story tells us about ...

Ramayana

The Ramayana has various characters that represent particular event. One of such characters is Rama, the seventh avatar of god Vishnu. He is a representation of virtue and strength and is hence considered the favorite of the king’s sons. The fact that he is the next heir of the throne threatens his older relatives who request him to go for exile for at least fourteen years. The other significant character IN Ramayana is Tita who is the wife to Rama and a kings daughter. She is the epitome of beauty and considered a goddess (Buck & Triest, 110). Apart from her ...

Epic heroes refer to brave main characters in mythical stories and they usually seem to possess extraordinary strength. The following essay is a comparison paper that compares the heroes from Gilgamesh, Rama and Odysseus texts. The main characters in the texts, Gilgamesh, Rama and Odysseys, have several similar abilities and characteristics that explain their relevance as epic heroes. Epic heroes are usually called to complete an adventure that becomes a learning experience for them and other people around them, and once the adventure gets accomplished, it eventually becomes beneficial to their people. In the three stories, the main characters namely ...

This paper attempts to gain a certain cultural and cross-cultural perceptions of some human themes and motifs in the literature and cultures of the world.

Discussion

As mentioned above, Gilgamesh is considered a demigod. Thus, if one were to consider both the above-mentioned Hindu and Mesopotamian epics, there are several similarities in the stories. For example, the leading character is a royal demigod in Epic of Gilgameshi and in Ramayana, the leading charterer is a royal incarnation of a god. Both the characters embark upon adventurous quests that provide discourses of morality and knowledge in literature. Moreover, the allegorical form of spreading knowledge and moral ...

The World Literature and Global Cultures

Different literatures in the world have provided a window into the global cultures (Menon, 2004). The most prominent literature comes from the culture of India known as the Ramayana. The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic related to the Hindu saying, “Valmiki” and is essential to the Hindus (Dutt, 2002). The name Ramayana is a compound of Rama and ayana (‘‘going advancing’’). The Ramayana has seven books (Menon, 2004). In these seven books are 24000 verses. It tells the story of Rama whose wife, Sita, was abducted by Ravana, who was the demon of Lanka.

The Ramayana is linked to Valmiki, ...

Abstract and questions

Consider the story in terms of the Hindu concept of dharma. Narayan does not use the Sanskrit word dharma, but the idea that each character has a duty or destiny which must be fulfilled pervades the book. What is Rama's dharma? What is Sita's dharma? Consider in particular how the marriage of Rama and Sita is restored at the end of the story by divine intervention. What is Hanuman's dharma? Since he is non-human, how does this alter his dharma? What is Ravana's dharma? Since he is a demon, he might fulfill his demon dharma, and yet commit evil as understood ...