Ramcharitmanas: Difference between revisions

| caption = An Architectural Panel Depicting Scenes From The Ramcharitmanas, [[Hanuman]] Carrying The Mountain Of Medicinal Herbs (Left); [[Rama]] Battles [[Ravana]] (Right).

|verses=10,902

|chapters=7 Kanada}}'''''Ramcharitmanas''''' ({{lang-deva|श्रीरामचरितमानस|Rāmacaritamānasa}}), is an [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] in the [[Awadhi language]], composed by the 16th-century Indian [[bhakti]] poet [[Tulsidas]] (c. 1532–1623). The word ''Ramcharitmanas'' literally means "Lake of the deeds of [[Rama]]".<ref name="jindal1955">{{Citation | title=A history of Hindi literature | author=K.B. Jindal | year=1955 |publisher=Kitab Mahal | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IkA9AAAAIAAJ | quote=... The book is popularly known as the ''Ramayana'', but the poet himself called it the ''Ramcharitmanas'' or the 'Lake of the Deeds of Rama' ... the seven cantos of the book are like the seven steps to the lake ...}}</ref> It is considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature. The work has variously been acclaimed as "the living sum of Indian culture", "the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Indian poetry", "the greatest book of all devotional literature" and "the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular living faith of the Indian people".<ref name="Lutgendorf 1991, p. 1">Lutgendorf 1991, p. 1.</ref>

Tulsidas was a great scholar of [[Sanskrit]]. However, he wanted the story of Rama to be accessible to the general public, as many Apabhramsa languages had evolved from Sanskrit and at that time few people could understand Sanskrit. In order to make the story of Rama as accessible to the layman as to the scholar, Tulsidas chose to write in Awadhi.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grierson |first=George Abraham |author-link=George Abraham Grierson|date= |title=Linguistic Survey Of India, Volume 6 |url= |location= |publisher= |pages=12 |isbn=}}</ref> Tradition has it that Tulsidas had to face a lot of criticism from the Sanskrit scholars of [[Varanasi]] for being a bhasha (vernacular) poet. However, Tulsidas remained steadfast in his resolve to simplify the knowledge contained in the [[Veda]]s, the [[Upanishad]]s and the [[Puranas]] to the common people. Subsequently, his work was accepted by all.

The ''Ramcharitmanas'' is written in [[vernacular]] [[Awadhi]] language,<ref name="Lochtefeld7132">{{Harvnb|Lochtefeld|2002|p=713}}</ref><ref name="Coogan1412">{{Harvnb|Coogan|2003|p=141}}</ref><ref name="Richman92">{{Harvnb|Richman|2001|p=9}}</ref> The core of the work is considered by some to be a poetic retelling of the events of the Sanskrit epic ''[[Ramayana]]''^[1]<ref name="Agarwal1142">{{Harvnb|Agarwal|2005|p=114}}</ref><ref name="MacFie1152">{{Harvnb|MacFie|2004|p=115}}</ref><ref name="Bakker1222">{{Harvnb|Bakker|2009|p=122}}</ref><ref name="Rajagopal992">{{Harvnb|Rajagopal|2001|p=99}}</ref> by [[Valmiki]]. The Valmiki Ramayana is centered on the narrative of Rama, the scion of the family tree of king [[Raghu]] of the [[Ikshvaku dynasty|Sun Dynasty]]. Rama was the crown prince of Ayodhya and is considered in [[Hindu]] tradition as the seventh [[Avatar]] of [[Vishnu]]. However, the ''Ramacharitmanas'' is by no means a word-to-word copy of the Valmiki ''Ramayana'' nor an abridged re-telling of the latter. ''Ramcaritmanas'' has elements from many other Ramayanas written earlier in Sanskrit and other [[Languages of India|Indian]] [[dialects]] as well as stories from [[Puranas]]. Tulsidas is said to have some spiritual powers to see the events occurred till [[Tretayuga]] that he used to narrate ''Ramcharitmanas''. Tulsidas himself never writes ''Ramcharitmanas'' as being a retelling of Valmiki ''Ramayana''. He calls the epic ''Ramcharitmanas'' as the story of Rama, that was stored in the mind (Mānasa) of Shiva before he narrated the same to His wife [[Parvati]]. Tulsidas claims to have received the story through his guru, Narharidas.Tulsidas was a naive (Acheta) child and the story was stored in his mind (Mānasa) for long before he wrote it down as ''Ramcharitmanas''. Some understand this passage of the ''Ramcharitmanas'' to mean that Tulsidas at first could not grasp the story fully as he was a naïve young boy. His guru graciously repeated it again and again so that he could understand and remember it. Then he narrated the story and named it ''Ramcharitmanas'' as [[Shiva]] himself called it. The epic poem is, therefore, also referred to as ''Tulsikrit Ramayana'' (literally, ''The Ramayana composed by Tulsidas'').<ref name="vyas19922">{{Citation|title=Ramayana, its universal appeal and global role|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AiQqAAAAYAAJ|year=1992|quote=... Its original name is Ram Charit Manas, but people call it Tulsi Krit Ramayan. (This has been the custom to name the Ramayan after its author). Tulsi Krit Ramayan was written in the 16th Century AD. This is the most popular and a work by a world renowned ...|author=Lallan Prasad Vyas|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|isbn = 9788124100011}}</ref>

The ''Ramcharitmanas'' is a masterpiece of vernacular literature. Some believe it to represent a challenge to the dominance of high-class [[Brahmanical]] Sanskrit,<ref name=Miller161>{{Harvnb|Miller|2008|p=161}}</ref><ref name=Lamb39>{{Harvnb|Lamb|2002|p=39}}</ref><ref name=AscherHeffron27>{{Harvnb|Ascher|Heffron|2010|p=27}}</ref> echoing the revolt of [[Buddha]] against Brahmanical [[elitism]].<ref name=Mehta243>{{Harvnb|Mehta|1992|p=243}}</ref>

==Stories behind theincarnation of Rama==

Prior to the birth of Rama, Muni [[Bharadwaja]] is told the story of King Pratapbhanu by [[Yajnavalkya]]. There is a kingdom called Kaikay where Satyaketu is king. He has two sons, Pratapbhanu and Arimardana and rules his kingdom with his prime minister Dharamaruchi. Satyaketu abdicates and hands the reign to Pratapbhanu, who becomes conqueror of the world.

Shiva asks her to tell the truth of how she tested Ram. Sati is unable to tell the truth and says that she did not test Ram, but praised his as You had. Sati forgets that Shiva knows all that has happened and is disappointed that she was disguised as his Sita. He decides that Sati is too chaste to abandon and it is a sin to continue to be her Husband and so from then he has no connection with Sati in her current body. Sati concludes that Shiva has come to know everything and feels very foolish for having tried deceiving Him. Shiva sits under a banyan tree and enters into a long trance. Sati feel extremely sorry but accepts that providence is repaying her for her sins. Many years pass and Shiva finally ends his trance whilst praising Ram. Sati bows down at Shiva's feet, after which he seats Sati opposite him and he begins to tell stories of Vishnu's exploits.

When she reaches her father's abode, no one welcomes her apart from her mother. Daksha does not even acknowledge her and actually burns with anger that she has turned up uninvited. Sati looks around and sees no oblations set apart for Shiva and the lack of respect of her father causes her mind to rage with great anger. She faces her father's court and announces that Shiva is the father of the universe and the beneficent of all. It is the same Shiva that her father vilifies. She burns her body with the fires of Yoga. Her guards are beaten and thrashed. When Shiva came to know this, he sends Virabhadra, who wreaks havoc of the sacrifice and Daksha is slain. As Sati is about to die, she asks Lord Hari of the boon that she be devoted to Shiva's feet in successive births. She is reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himachal and Maina.

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