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He who does not doubt, does not learn.
by Dutch poet Coornhert.
And learning gives knowledge.
I lucked in on this one as I was only expecting a unit. Anglia Saturday diagrams usually see the last loco hauled train in the afternoon, but this service saw an additional use of
37 409 Lord Hinton and 37 405 with 2J88,the 19:05 Norwich - Lowestoft, seen here slowly crossing Reedham Swing Bridge
Thanks to the other photographers on the bridge who filled me in with the info (my local knowledge is 35 years out of date !!)
According to legend, Johannes Faustus, a German astrologer in the early 1500s, sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge. Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of Shakespeare, wrote The History of the Damnable Life, and Deserved Death of Doctor John Faustus in 1592. Johann Goethe first published his version of Faust in 1808. Damn Yankees was a musical produced on Broadway in 1955. The plot concerned a fan of the Washington Senators baseball team who sold his soul to the devil in order to help the Senators win against the New York Yankees.
Little Shop was first presented as a black and white film in 1960. It was a low-budget production filmed in only a few days on a small rental set that was scheduled to be demolished. It became a cult classic at a time when low-budget science fiction was all the rage. Jack Nicholson played a masochistic dental patient in the film. In 1982 it was produced as a major musical and played for 2,209 performances on Broadway. In 1986 the movie version was produced starring Rich Moranis, Steve Martin and Ellen Greene. It was directed by Frank Oz.
The Drury Drama Team invites you to join us on Skid Row where the Faust legend continues in the “most unlikely of places.”
Drury High School
North Adams, Massachusetts
-from our program booklet
Aeres University of Applied Sciences (Food, Nature & Urban Green) Almere
At the start of the 21/22 academic year, the new building of the green education and knowledge institution Aeres Hogeschool Almere was taken into use on one of the main roads to Floriade Expo 2022. A healthy, inspiring working and learning environment in an energy-neutral, climate-adaptive and circular building. The design reflects both the sustainable identity of the education of the faculty in Almere and the central theme of the upcoming world horticultural exhibition: 'Growing Green Cities'. 'Green' is therefore an important building block for the new building with different types of green walls, plants and trees, moves through the building like a landscape, from entrance to roof. The greenery stimulates the senses and, as part of the living lab, also has an educational value; students in Almere conduct research into urban food supplies and healthy living in the green city and into the way in which greenery in the school contributes to learning performance.
Aeres is the first school in the Netherlands to go for the Platinum WELL certificate. The abundant living greenery itself has many positive effects on the indoor climate. In addition, other relevant factors such as daylight, ventilation, thermal comfort, acoustics, movement and the use of non-toxic materials have also been optimized. Users can control their own lighting, climate and sun protection for each room. Building performance is continuously monitored and controlled by an intelligent building management system. The inspiring interior is also a translation of the educational vision and sustainability ambitions. The functional and varied mix of learning, working and consultation spaces facilitates activity-oriented education, research and project-based and individual work.
The new Aeres University of Applied Sciences is a smart energetic building with smart skin; Depending on the position and orientation, the facades have different properties. For example, PV panels on the west side also provide solar shading in addition to generating energy. The east side, oriented towards the tree garden of the Floriade site, is completely green and changes color with the seasons. The lively nature-inclusive green roof is both a pleasant living space and an inspiring learning and experimental area. A shaded roof of semi-transparent PV panels protects the students from the sun and reduces the heat in the school. Collected rainwater also serves as a heat/cooling buffer and provides watering for the greenery on and around the building. This saves 50% tap water. In keeping with the sustainable ambitions for the new university of applied sciences, we have incorporated various circular materials into the building, such as biocomposite facade cladding, concrete granulate, recycled wood for the grandstand stairs, decking and outdoor furniture and recycled metal studs for the inner walls. In turn, the demountable design itself enables future reuse of materials registered with Madaster.
client: Aeres Group; design: BDG Architects; advisors: HEVO (project management); DGMR (building physics/acoustics and fire); JVZ Engineers (constructions); Innax (installations); The Royal Ginkel Group (green) realization: 2021
Wooo I finally have all (to my knowledge) the gowns from the first two movies! My Belle is complete!? lol A BIG Thanks to my boyfriend who recently purchased the BATB Deluxe Dining Set on clearance for $20. lol
Some notes on Belle's hair. From first glance, it looks like the cheapy stuff they use on the bratz dolls. It's actually not? lol It just looks that way....=/
I've actually brushed it out a couple of times and it hasn't frizzed on me!
Black/white/red images are Terra thermal band image captured October 10, 2017.
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As wildfires burn across California, NASA satellites help gather data about where the fires are and how smoke travels across the state.
The smoke from the fires is even visible a million miles away from Earth, captured by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The Terra spacecraft can see fires in both daylight and at night, helping aid firefighters in tracking and stopping the blazes. NASA's unique vantage point in space helps better understand our home planet.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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" "What would Buddha do to search for perfect knowledge ?"
"Your mind becomes Buddha.
Your mind is Buddha.
All the Buddhas' ocean of perfect knowledge begins in your very mind and thought."
(Amitayur Dhyana Sutra 17)
Buddha doesn't have to do anything to gain perfect knowledge.
He knows he has it already.
He knows we have it already.
But someone we seem to be left out of the loop.
How ironic that we don't know we have perfect knowledge !
What went wrong ?"
(From "What would Buddha do ?" by Franz Metcalf)
Those two Tibetan monks were under the Bodhi Tree which is behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha's attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment), in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
Inspired by Shaun D's superb photos of the newly refurbished Liverpool Library, I went to see it for myself. It is a most wonderful asset to the city, the architecture inside and out is truly fabulous, and the books contained within are a source of knowledge that can't be equalled by the internet in terms of the experience.
America - Science and Knowledge At The Vanguard Of Humanity And For Humanity by Daniel Arrhakis (2024)
Science at the service of Humanity and not only for the profit of the big tycoons ..
A New Series and a reflection about choice, "America - The New Generation", with a positive mood in an America that heads towards the future!!
“There is a saying, “Your own experience need to be treated as knowledge.”
For example if you had gone through some sort of hardships or difficulties in life, you should treat people nicely, instead of feeling, “I had a very difficult time, so I should make life of others difficult too.”
From the view of Bodhisattva or Bodhicitta practice, you should not feel or act like this.
Your experience should be treated as a knowledge, and this knowledge should really make you a more compassionate, more loving and kinder person”
(His Holiness Jigme Pema Wangchen, the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa)
This pillar stands in a temple room of the ancient palace in Leh, the capital of Ladakh in the Himalayan hills, which was modeled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet) and is the highest building in the world of his own times.
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© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.
SANTA RITA, Guam (March 17, 2021) Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 load civil engineer support equipment (CESE) aboard the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Fall River (T-EPF-4) during a mount-out exercise (MOX) on board Naval Base Guam. During the MOX, the Seabees demonstrated their CESE embark skillset and exchanged knowledge with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) crew, enhancing readiness. NMCB 4 is forward deployed throughout the Indo-Pacific region and United States ready to support major combat operations and theater security. Seabees provide general engineering and civil support to Navy, Marine Corps, and joint operational forces globally. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Matthew R. White)
For “Knowledge is Golden” the inspiration was specific to the area which the mural was done. San Francisco is seeing its second gold rush with information and knowledge being the currency of today. SOMA, being slated to be developed as the new downtown of San Francisco with technology leading the transformation, is why we chose this location for our message.
Gold miners have been replaced by tech innovators. Pickaxes and shovels have been replaced with laptops and desktops. Though the times have changed, the human thirst for chasing opportunity remains prevalent in these times. And with this influx of new people, San Francisco culture as we know it will never be the same.
A ticket for Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge, a musical quiz show featuring bandleader Kay Kyser that ran on radio from 1938 to 1949. Although the ticket displays the correct spelling of "College," the program's name typically appeared as "Kollege" with an initial "K."
Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge
Fox Theatre, San Bernardino.
Hold this ticket! If your number is called—notify a theatre attendant, and he will escort you to the stage.
001015.
Globe Ticket Company, Los Angeles.
The Tree of Knowledge is a ghost gum located in front of the railway station at Barcaldine, under which the workers of the 1891 Shearer's Strike met. An icon of the Labor Party and Trades Unions, it symbolises the foundation of the organised representation of labour in Queensland.
Barcaldine sprang up in 1886 as the terminus of the Central Railway. The area was already settled by pastoralists and had previously been centred on Blackall. Large sheep stations were like small townships with their own working facilities, stores, worker's accommodation and tradesmen such as blacksmiths. The owners and managers of these stations had considerable power to dictate terms to an itinerant workforce recruited for the shearing season. Poor working conditions, low pay and the threat of competition from cheap foreign labour caused discontent within the industry.
Barcaldine was a natural focus for the development of unionism. As the railhead, the town drew many seasonal and casual workers. Besides shearers and hands there were navvies who had worked on the construction of the railway and carriers who had found their work reduced by it. Difficulties in finding work and financial hardship helped to build a sense of mateship and mutual support amongst sections of them. In 1887 the Central Queensland Carriers Union was formed, and discussions leading up to this are said to have been held under the gum tree which provided shade where carriers waited at the front of the railway station. At the same time, the Queensland Shearers' Union was formed at Blackall. Within a year it had 1300 members, indicating a perceived need for collective bargaining to obtain fair pay and working conditions. In 1888 the Central Queensland Labourers' Union was formed at Barcaldine. These three unions were the driving force behind the strike of 1891.
In Brisbane, the Trades and Labour Council was formed in 1885 and in 1889 became the Australian Labour Federation. At Barcaldine in the same year the Pastoral Employers' Association was founded in response and moved to reduce pay rates. Many workers now joined the unions, pushing membership of the Shearers Union over 3000 and the Labourer's Union to 2,250. Only severe wet weather in 1890 delayed a confrontation. By January 1891 union representatives had gathered at Barcaldine for meetings and pastoralists were pressing shearers to sign freedom of contract forms. A strike was called and employers began to import non-union labour from the south. Strikers, some of whom were armed, gathered at Barcaldine and set up a camp at Lagoon Creek and other places around the town.
The government dispatched police and soldiers to the area and the strikers responded by drilling and staging torchlight processions in the town. The tree in front of the station, the Tree of Knowledge, was the location of many meetings and a focus for protest. In March the situation escalated as carriers and railway workers went out in sympathy and military reinforcements arrived. Barcaldine became the focus of the whole country's interest and armed conflict was expected. However, heavy rain which limited movement and the arrest of leaders slowed momentum and strikers began to disperse. On 15 June the strike was officially called off. It had failed, but was to have far reaching effects. The following year, T.J. Ryan became the first representative of labour to be elected to the Queensland Parliament and soon after the Labor Party in Queensland was formed.
Because the area beneath the Tree of Knowledge was the scene of actions and decisions which had a profound effect on the future of labour and politics in Australia, it has become an icon of the Labor Party and Trades Unions. It is also important to the people of Barcaldine as a symbol of the town's identity and historical importance. This is reflected by the name chosen for the commemoration committee formed in 1987, the Tree of Knowledge Development Committee, and by the care given to the tree. In 1990 it was discovered that the tree was infested by termites and other insects and had severe health problems. Treatment by a tree surgeon, pest control and flushing of the root system with thousands of litres of water gave the tree a new lease of life. This treatment was completed in late 1993.
In 1991, there were major celebrations at Barcaldine to mark the centenary of the Shearers' Strike. In preparation for this, the area around the tree was landscaped and a memorial to the strikers erected within the enclosure.
Source: Queensland Heritage Register.
The owl is a universal symbol of wisdom and knowledge. In Zuni culture, fetishes of animals represent their spirits, carved in stone. The owl represents a protector of the home and the keeper of the night. The owl is considered perceptive an observant and can see what others cannot see. He possesses both wisdom and patientce and controls the dark side of nature.
Size of carving 40 mm x 20.5 mm. Picasso marble.
Focus stack (22 images) Shot with two off-camera strobes (Godox AD200Pro/Godox XPro II L trigger). Flash A camera right, 45 degrees, 20 degrees above table surface, modified with two MagMod MagGrids. Flash B camera left at 45 degrees, level with top of subject, modified with MagMod MagSnoot to illuminate left side of subject.
Shot for Flickr Friday, theme - knowledge
Edith Wilson: The first lady who fooled D.C. and ran the White House
Rebecca Boggs Roberts’s ‘Untold Power’ is a riveting look at a president’s powerful spouse and her efforts to conceal his illness
Edith Bolling Galt in her electric automobile. She was the first woman to earn a D.C. driver’s license. (Library of Congress)
By Barbara A. Perry
March 29, 2023 at 8:23 a.m. MST
Unless readers are aficionados of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency, they may possess only vague knowledge that a debilitating stroke incapacitated him in his administration’s final year and that his wife Edith became the unofficial “acting president.” This intriguing tale of how a first lady, with minimal formal education and no government experience, effectively took the reins from the partially paralyzed chief executive and guided his White House, from October 1919 to March 1921, is as riveting as it is improbable.
By virtue of her DNA, author Rebecca Boggs Roberts is well acquainted with Washington’s power dynamics. The daughter of the late political commentator Cokie Roberts and granddaughter of the late House Democratic Majority Leader Hale Boggs, Rebecca also counts on her family tree grandmother Lindy, who served nine terms in Congress after Hale disappeared, and was declared dead, following a 1972 plane crash. Equally genetic, given her father Steven Roberts’s journalistic career, is Rebecca’s flair for writing crisp and engaging narratives. Her book “Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson” is quite simply a compelling yarn.
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. (Library of Congress)
How did Edith Bolling, born and raised in Wytheville, Va., a sleepy town nestled in post-bellum Appalachia, ultimately become one of the most powerful first ladies in American history? As a teenager, she followed her married sister to Washington and embraced the cultural and social life of the booming Gay Nineties city. In 1896, she married the successful, if unexciting, owner of a thriving jewelry store who was almost a decade older than the new Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt. He died a dozen years later, leaving Edith a widow of some means at age 35, unable to bear children after her only pregnancy resulted in a difficult birth and the death of the Galts’ infant son.
Viking
Unlike most women of her era, Edith lived independently, traveling abroad when the spirit moved her, tooling around the nation’s capital in an electric automobile (as the first woman to earn a D.C. driver’s license) and eschewing large soirees for intimate dinners with extended family. She had little interest in politics, opposed women’s suffrage and declined a friend’s invitation to attend Woodrow Wilson’s 1913 inaugural parade and a presidential tea. A friend, the White House physician Cary Grayson, introduced her to the grieving president shortly after Wilson’s first wife, Ellen, died of kidney disease in the second year of his first term.
Although a strait-laced Presbyterian and stodgy academic, Wilson immediately bonded with Edith, 16 years his junior, finding her beautiful, stylish, charming and vivacious. The merry widow added gaiety to his life, and he was as smitten as a teenage schoolboy. Realizing that his lovesickness would appear unseemly so soon after his first wife’s passing, the president initially confined his ardent courtship to secret assignations with the more restrained Edith.
Roberts’s description of Wilson’s wooing springs to life through her careful research of the love notes the couple exchanged almost daily. In addition, the author skillfully deconstructs the second Mrs. Wilson’s 1939 memoir, the first book of its kind penned by a former first lady. This biography is the only one to reflect the recently transcribed memoir chapters written in Edith’s scribbled penmanship and preserved at her birthplace.
First lady Edith Wilson and President Woodrow Wilson, left, arrive in New York on Oct. 11, 1918, to take part in the Liberty Day Parade. (AP)
The Wilsons’ 1915 marriage cemented a fruitful partnership, as the president’s new spouse sustained him through World War I, accompanied him to the Paris peace talks and supported his dogged efforts to secure Senate approval of the Treaty of Versailles. Establishing what modern political scientists now label “the rhetorical presidency,” Woodrow Wilson firmly believed that he could lead Congress and the people by speaking to them directly and in person. It was his overly ambitious cross-country whistle-stop tour that exhausted the president and induced a catastrophic cerebral hemorrhage, paralyzing his left side, affecting his speech and weakening his cognitive ability.
Roberts’s storytelling soars as she leads the reader through Edith’s machinations to hide her husband’s disabilities while maintaining his White House’s functions. She manipulated the Cabinet, Vice President Thomas Marshall and members of Congress to disguise the worst of the president’s symptoms, while making it appear that he maintained control over his faculties and public policy. She literally became his left hand, holding down documents as he signed them with his dominant and unaffected right hand.
From his 1919 stroke until his death in 1924, Edith Wilson maintained the fiction that her husband was functioning normally. She spent the remainder of her long life promoting his legacy as an advocate for freedom at home and abroad. One of her last public appearances, before her death in December 1961 at age 89, was to meet with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office when he signed the bill creating the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Commission.
First lady Eleanor Roosevelt, left, and former first lady Edith Wilson attend a Girl Scouts exhibit in Washington in 1934, holding jars of marmalade made by the Scouts. (AP)
In that sense, Edith was no different from all the modern first ladies (including Eleanor Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Pat Nixon, Nancy Reagan and Hillary Clinton) who supported their debilitated husbands, laid low by illness or scandal, and tried to solidify their legacies if they outlived them. Yet even the influential Roosevelt and Clinton never became “acting presidents.” As Roberts relates, it was JFK’s assassination that prompted the 25th Amendment’s ratification in 1967, providing for the vice president to assume the presidency upon the chief executive’s documented incapacitation. We can be grateful that Edith Wilson’s unprecedented and unofficial substitution for her husband demonstrated the need for such a constitutional remedy for presidential illness.
Barbara A. Perry, the Gerald L. Baliles professor and presidential studies director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, is the author of “Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier” and “Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch.”
Untold Power
The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson
By Rebecca Boggs Roberts
Viking. 302 pp. $30
Barbara A. Perry, the Gerald L. Baliles professor and presidential studies director at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, is the author of “Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier” and “Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch.”
The Madrasa Ben Youssef, an architectural treasure nestled in the heart of the old Medina of Marrakech, echoes the sounds of a glorious past and embodies an invaluable historical significance. It transports visitors to a fascinating era where art, knowledge, and culture flourished. The Ben Youssef Medersa was constructed by Sultan Abdullah Al-Ghaleb Assaadi between the years 1564 and 1565...
To honor the over 2700 fallen soldiers from WWI to the present whom called Florida home, The Southeastern military Academy and Road to Victory military museum will be displaying a hand made cross for each soldier killed in action. It's a bittersweet site to behold knowing that they died for freedom yet left behind those who loved them. Perhaps one day we wont have to send people to shoot each other over petty ego issues, Oil or other rediculous reasons. Although, I fear that wont happen for many many generations. My brother Cory served in Afghanistan and I'm thankful every day that he made it back. Some of his friends weren't so lucky and each of them deserve to be honored.
I received a text this morning from my mother with pictures of the memorial cemetery. She was covering it for TreasureCoastHappens.com and thought it may be a nice addition to Project365. I agreed and put the word out that I was looking for volunteers. Lauren Milazzo volunteered herself and her two sons Aiden and Christian for the shoot. We setup to meet at 7:30pm just 30 min before sunset. I wanted to get some shots before and after the sun set but knew that working with kids only gave me a short window of cooperation.
Now, just to eliminate confusion, this was a staged shot. Lauren's husband Chris was just out of frame acting as child handler. I wanted to portray loss in today's shot and thought a mother and children in a sort of mourning state. It may be a bit morbid but I feel it was appropriate in light of the holiday. Although, you don't have to have lost to remember.
I arrived 5 minutes late due to an unforeseen vehicle situation. Lauren and family were waiting amongst the sea of crosses. Shawn and his son Rylan stopped by to observe for a bit. I was also joined by China, a German woman who just moved to the states to pursue her love of photography and see where it takes her. This was a quick way for me to meet her and see if she will be able to assist me in future shoots. China, a reserved and quite young woman didn't speak much but I more than made up for her lack of vocalization! I think with her knowledge of photography, she will be a good assistant. I said, as long as she doesn't mind me never shutting up, we'll be ok. That will remain to be seen!
We shot till just after sunset, only moving twice in the cross maze. The last shot turned out to be the winner as I had them hold the dog tag. Christian nailed the expression as he looks sad and deep in thought. I love how it turned out and know I have a new set of models for future shoots.
I feel the need to mention here that everything for this memorial was donated, including time, labor, materials, and money. There will be no profit made yet the town of Tradition couldn't find it in their hearts to donate the use of the land. They had the audacity to charge the organization a fee. I encourage anyone from the towns administration reading this to contact me to explain this. Have none of you ever lost anyone to war? You don't always have to think with your wallets. Stop being cold hearted bastards and pay a little respect.
Anyway, thats enough of that.
Lighting:
AB800 Med Softbox 8:00 1/2 power. Cyber Syncs
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Fang, a Pharmacology major ~ has knowledge of Medicine, Martial Arts, and is in great physical health.
Recently he ran a marathon..
Seriously you want a guy like Fang in your corner ! LOL..
i lighted him up with an AB1600 and a 580 EX II ..
really simple set up.
580 EXII was on FULL power with a shoot thru umbrella and the AB1600 was the 86 PLM..
we did this shot on top of a parking garage.. i don't have a studio that is why.. LOL>.
A man with a lifetime of river knowledge, trip Leader Lew Steiger, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (2015)
Lew Jammed his hands into the boat during passage through one of the bigger rapids... the powerful force of moving water that is awe inspiring to see, hear, and feel first hand, as your tiny boat rocks and rolls in all directions. Those huge forces can sometime take an oar in any direction it may want, in a hand smashing instant. At those times a person like me is very happy to have someone like Lew on the oars making safe passage possible in a small wooden dory... Lew busy keeping the boat on track and right side up. Not a bad guy to have around camp either as many other thankful passengers have found through all the years Lew has been guiding on the Colorado River. Thanks Lew!
Keeper of the Knowledge #1. The warrior scuplture was carved from a fallen beech tree by Owen Crawford in May 2018.
The Ramayana or Rāmāyaṇa (/rɑːˈmɑːjənə/; Sanskrit: रामायणम्, Rāmāyaṇam, pronounced [rɑːˈmɑːjəɳəm]), is the first of two Sanskrit itihāsas (ancient Indian epic poem) traditionally ascribed to the Hindu muni (sage) Vālmīki - the other one being the Mahābhārata attributed to Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa.
The epic narrates the life of Rāma, a legendary rāja-kumāra (prince) of Kośala, his banishment from his kingdom by his father king Daśaratha, his travels across forests in India with his wife Sītā and brother Lakṣmaṇa, the kidnap of his wife by his enemies, resulting in a war with Rāvaṇa (the king of the island of Laṅkā) and eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned king.
The Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It is comprised nearly 24,000 verses (mostly set in the śloka meter), divided into seven Kāṇḍas (books) and about 500 sargas (chapters). In Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the ādi-kāvya (first kāvya poem). It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life and culture. Like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story: it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The characters Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata, Hanumān and Rāvaṇa are all fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and south-east Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
There are many other versions of the Ramayana in Indian languages, besides Buddhist and Jain adaptations; and also Cambodian, Indonesian, Filipino, Thai, Lao, Burmese, and Malaysian versions of the tale.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Ramayana is a tatpuruṣa compound of Rāma and ayana("going, advancing"), translating to Rama's Journey.
Textual history and structure
Traditionally, the Ramayana is attributed to Valmiki. The Hindu tradition is unanimous in its agreement that the poem is the work of a single poet, the sage Valmiki, a contemporary of Rama and a peripheral actor in the drama. The story's original version in Sanskrit is known as Valmiki Ramayana.
According to Hindu tradition - and according to the Ramayana itself - the Ramayana belongs to the genre of itihāsa like the Mahabharata. The definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events (purāvṛtta) which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, the Ramayana takes place during a period of time known as Treta Yuga.
In its extant form, Valmiki's Ramayana is an epic poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a palm-leaf manuscript found in Nepal and dated to the 11th century CE. A Times of India report dated 18 Dec 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, Kolkata. The Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions, and subrecensions. Textual scholar Robert P. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions: the northern(n) and the southern(s). Scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that "the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind."
There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmiki's Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are integral parts of the book, in spite of some style differences and narrative contradictions between these two chapters and the rest of the book.
Famous retellings include Gona Budda Reddy's Ramayanam in Telugu, Kamban's Ramavataram in Tamil (c. 11th–12th century), Madhava Kandali's Saptakanda Ramayana in Assamese (c. 14th century), Krittibas Ojha's Krittivasi Ramayan(also known as Shri Rama panchali) in Bengali (c. 15th century), Sarala Das' Vilanka Ramayana (c. 15th century) and Balaram Das' Dandi Ramayana(also known as the Jagamohan Ramayana) (c. 16th century) both in Odia, sant Eknath's Bhavarth Ramayan (c. 16th century) in Marathi, Tulsidas' Ramcharitamanas (c. 16th century) in Awadhi (which is an eastern form of Hindi) and Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan's Adhyathmaramayanam in Malayalam.
PERIOD
Some cultural evidence - such as the presence of sati in the Mahabharata but not in the main body of the Ramayana - suggests that the Ramayana predates the Mahabharata. However, the general cultural background of the Ramayana is one of the post-urbanization period of the eastern part of north India and Nepal, while the Mahabharata reflects the Kuru areas west of this, from the Rigvedic to the late Vedic period.
By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons(yuga) of Hindu chronology. Rama is said to have been born in the treta yuga to king Dasaratha in the Ikshvaku dynasty.
The names of the characters(Rama, Sita, Dasaratha, Janaka, Vashista, Vishwamitra) are all known in late Vedic literature. However, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. According to the modern academic view, Vishnu - who, according to bala kanda, was incarnated as Rama - first came into prominence with the epics themselves and further during the puranic period of the later 1st millennium CE. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana. This version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira.
There is general consensus that books two to six form the oldest portion of the epic, while the first and last books(bala kanda and uttara kanda, respectively) are later additions. The author or authors of bala kanda and ayodhya kanda appear to be familiar with the eastern Gangetic basin region of northern India and with the Kosala and Magadha region during the period of the sixteen Janapadas, based on the fact that the geographical and geopolitical data accords with what is known about the region. The knowledge of the location of the island of Lanka also lacks detail. Basing his assumption on these features, archeologist Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia has proposed a date of the 4th century BC for the composition of the text. Historian and indologist Arthur Llewellyn Basham is of the opinion that Rama may have been a minor chief who lived in the 8th or the 7th century BC.
CHARACTERS
Rāma is one of the protagonists of the tale. Portrayed as the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu, he is the eldest and favourite son of Dasharatha - the king of Ayodhya(current day Ayodhya, India) - and his Chief Queen, Kausalya. He is portrayed as the epitome of virtue. Dasharatha is forced by Kaikeyi, one of his wives, to command Rama to relinquish his right to the throne for fourteen years and go into exile. He kills the evil demon Ravana, who abducted his wife Sita and later returned to Ayodhya to form an ideal state.
Sīta is another of the tale's protagonists. She is daughter of Mother Earth, adopted by King Janaka and Rama's beloved wife. Rama went to Mithila (located in Janakpur, Nepal) and got a chance to marry her by breaking the Shiv Dhanush (bow) while trying to tie a knot to it in a competition organized by King Janaka of Nepal in Dhanusa. The competition was to find the most suitable husband for Sita and many princes from different states competed to win her. Sita is the avatara of the goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Sita is portrayed as the epitome of female purity and virtue. She follows her husband into exile and is abducted by the demon king Ravana. She is imprisoned on the island of Lanka, until Rama rescues her by defeating Ravana. Later, she gives birth to Lava and Kusha.
Hanumān is a vanara belonging to the kingdom of Kishkindha. He is an ideal bhakta of Rama. He is born as the son of Kesari, a Vanara king in Sumeru region and the goddess Añjanā. He plays an important part in locating Sita and in the ensuing battle. He is believed to live until our modern world.
Lakṣmaṇa, the younger brother of Rama, who chose to go into exile with him. He is the son of King Dasaratha and Queen Sumitra and twin of Shatrughna. Lakshmana is portrayed as an avatar of the Shesha, the nāga associated with the god Vishnu. He spends his time protecting Sita and Rama during which he fought the demoness Surpanakha. He is forced to leave Sita, who was deceived by the demon Maricha into believing that Rama was in trouble. Sita is abducted by Ravana upon him leaving her. He was married to Sita's younger sister Urmila.
Rāvaṇa, a rakshasa, is the king of Lanka. He was son of a sage named Vishrava and daitya princess Kaikeshi. After performing severe penance for ten thousand years he received a boon from the creator-god Brahma: he could henceforth not be killed by gods, demons,or spirits. He is portrayed as a powerful demon king who disturbs the penances of rishis. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to defeat him, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.
Jaṭāyu, the son of Aruṇa and nephew of Garuda. A demi-god who has the form of an vulture that tries to rescue Sita from Ravana. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as Jatayu was very old, Ravana soon got the better of him. As Rama and Lakshmana chanced upon the stricken and dying Jatayu in their search for Sita, he informs them of the direction in which Ravana had gone.
Daśaratha is the king of Ayodhya and the father of Rama. He has three queens, Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and three other sons: Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Kaikeyi, Dasharatha's favourite queen, forces him to make his son Bharata crown prince and send Rama into exile. Dasharatha dies heartbroken after Rama goes into exile.
Bharata is the son of Dasharatha and Queen Kaikeyi. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile and caused Dasharatha to die brokenhearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama in the forest. When Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king. Bharata then rules Ayodhya as the regent of Rama for the next fourteen years staying outside the city of Ayodhya. He was married to Mandavi.
Śatrughna is the son of Dasharatha and his second wife Queen Sumitra. He is the youngest brother of Rama and also the twin brother of Lakshmana. He was married to Shrutakirti.
Sugrīva, a vanara king who helped Rama regain Sita from Ravana. He had an agreement with Rama through which Vaali – Sugriva's brother and king of Kishkindha – would be killed by Rama in exchange for Sugriva's help in finding Sita. Sugriva ultimately ascends the throne of Kishkindha after the slaying of Vaali and fulfills his promise by putting the Vanara forces at Rama's disposal.
Indrajit or Meghnadha, the eldest son of Ravana who twice defeated Rama and Lakshmana in battle, before succumbing to Lakshmana. An adept of the magical arts, he coupled his supreme fighting skills with various stratagems to inflict heavy losses on the Vanara army before his death.
Kumbhakarṇa, a brother of Ravana, famous for his eating and sleeping. He would sleep for months at a time and would be extremely ravenous upon waking up, consuming anything set before him. His monstrous size and loyalty made him an important part of Ravana's army. During the war he decimated the Vanara army before Rama cut off his limbs and head.
Sūrpanakha, Ravana's demoness sister who fell in love with Rama and had the magical power to take any form she wanted.
Vibhīṣaṇa, a younger brother of Ravana. He was against the kidnapping of Sita and joined the forces of Rama when Ravana refused to return her. His intricate knowledge of Lanka was vital in the war and he was crowned king after the fall of Ravana.
SYNOPSIS
BALA KANDA
Dasharatha was the king of Ayodhya. He had three wives: Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra. He was childless for a long time and anxious to produce an heir, he performs a fire sacrifice known as putra-kameshti yagya. As a consequence, Rama is first born to Kausalya, Bharata is born to Kaikeyi, Lakshmana and Shatrughna are born to Sumitra. These sons are endowed, to various degrees, with the essence of the Supreme Trinity Entity Vishnu; Vishnu had opted to be born into mortality to combat the demon Ravana, who was oppressing the gods, and who could only be destroyed by a mortal. The boys are reared as the princes of the realm, receiving instructions from the scriptures and in warfare. When Rama is 16 years old, the sage Vishwamitra comes to the court of Dasharatha in search of help against demons who were disturbing sacrificial rites. He chooses Rama, who is followed by Lakshmana, his constant companion throughout the story. Rama and Lakshmana receive instructions and supernatural weapons from Vishwamitra and proceed to destroy the demons.
Janaka was the king of Mithila. One day, a female child was found in the field by the king in the deep furrow dug by his plough. Overwhelmed with joy, the king regarded the child as a "miraculous gift of god". The child was named Sita, the Sanskrit word for furrow. Sita grew up to be a girl of unparalleled beauty and charm. The king had decided that who ever could lift and wield the heavy bow, presented to his ancestors by Shiva, could marry Sita. The sage Vishwamitra takes Rama and Lakshmana to Mithila to show the bow. Then Rama desires to lift it and goes on to wield the bow and, when he draws the string, it breaks. Marriages are arranged between the sons of Dasharatha and daughters of Janaka. Rama gets married to Sita, Lakshmana to Urmila, Bharata to Mandavi and Shatrughan to Shrutakirti. The weddings are celebrated with great festivity at Mithila and the marriage party returns to Ayodhya.
AYODHYA KANDA
After Rama and Sita have been married for twelve years, an elderly Dasharatha expresses his desire to crown Rama, to which the Kosala assembly and his subjects express their support. On the eve of the great event, Kaikeyi - her jealousy aroused by Manthara, a wicked maidservant - claims two boons that Dasharatha had long ago granted her. Kaikeyi demands Rama to be exiled into the wilderness for fourteen years, while the succession passes to her son Bharata. The heartbroken king, constrained by his rigid devotion to his given word, accedes to Kaikeyi's demands. Rama accepts his father's reluctant decree with absolute submission and calm self-control which characterises him throughout the story. He is joined by Sita and Lakshmana. When he asks Sita not to follow him, she says, "the forest where you dwell is Ayodhya for me and Ayodhya without you is a veritable hell for me." After Rama's departure, King Dasharatha, unable to bear the grief, passes away. Meanwhile, Bharata who was on a visit to his maternal uncle, learns about the events in Ayodhya. Bharata refuses to profit from his mother's wicked scheming and visits Rama in the forest. He requests Rama to return and rule. But Rama, determined to carry out his father's orders to the letter, refuses to return before the period of exile. However, Bharata carries Rama's sandals and keeps them on the throne, while he rules as Rama's regent.
ARNYA KANDA
Thirteen years pass and in the last year of exile Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana journey southward along the banks of river Godavari, where they build cottages and live off the land. At the Panchavati forest they are visited by a rakshasa (demon) woman, Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana. She attempts to seduce the brothers and failing in this, attempts to kill Sita. Lakshmana stops her by cutting off her nose and ears. Hearing of this, her demon brother, Khara, organises an attack against the princes. Rama annihilates Khara and his demons.
When news of these events reaches Ravana, he resolves to destroy Rama by capturing Sita with the aid of the rakshasa Maricha. Maricha, assuming the form of a golden deer, captivates Sita's attention. Entranced by the beauty of the deer, Sita pleads with Rama to capture it. Lord Rama, aware that this is the ploy of the demons, cannot dissuade Sita from her desire and chases the deer into the forest, leaving Sita under Lakshmana's guard. After some time, Sita hears Rama calling out to her; afraid for his life, she insists that Lakshmana rush to his aid. Lakshmana tries to assure her that Rama is invincible and that it is best if he continues to follow Rama's orders to protect her. On the verge of hysterics, Sita insists that it is not she but Rama who needs Lakshmana's help. He obeys her wish but stipulates that she is not to leave the cottage or entertain any strangers. He draws a chalk outline, the Lakshmana rekha, around the cottage and casts a spell on it that prevents anyone from entering the boundary but allows people to exit. With the coast finally clear, Ravana appears in the guise of an ascetic requesting Sita's hospitality. Unaware of the devious plan of her guest, Sita is tricked into leaving the rekha and is then forcibly carried away by the evil Ravana.
Jatayu, a vulture, tries to rescue Sita, but is mortally wounded. At Lanka, Sita is kept under the heavy guard of rakshasis. Ravana demands Sita marry him, but Sita, eternally devoted to Rama, refuses. Rama and Lakshmana learn about Sita's abduction from Jatayu and immediately set out to save her. During their search, they meet the demon Kabandha and the ascetic Shabari, who direct them towards Sugriva and Hanuman.
KISHKINDHA KANDA
The kishkindha kanda is set in the ape (Vanar) citadel Kishkindha. Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman, the bigest devotee of Rama, the greatest of ape heroes and an adherent of Sugriva, the banished pretender to the throne of Kishkindha. Rama befriends Sugriva and helps him by killing his elder brother Vali thus regaining the kingdom of Kiskindha, in exchange for helping Rama to recover Sita. However Sugriva soon forgets his promise and spends his time in enjoying his powers. The clever former ape queen Tara (wife of Vali) calmly intervenes to prevent an enraged Lakshmana from destroying the ape citadel. She then eloquently convinces Sugriva to honour his pledge. Sugriva then sends search parties to the four corners of the earth, only to return without success from north, east and west. The southern search party under the leadership of Angad and Hanuman learns from a vulture named Sampati (elder brother of Jatayu), that Sita was taken to Lanka.
SUNDARA KANDA
The sundara kanda forms the heart of Valmiki's Ramayana and consists of a detailed, vivid account of Hanuman's adventures. After learning about Sita, Hanuman assumes a gargantuan form and makes a colossal leap across the sea to Lanka. On the way he faces many challenges like facing a gandharva kanya who comes in the form of demon to test his abilities and he faces a mountain naming Mainakudu who offers Lord Hanuman some help to take some rest but he refuses because of the time is running out and there is a very less time remaining for searching Sita. After entering into Lanka he finds a demon lankini who protects the entire Lanka and Hanuman fights with her and kills her in order to get into Lanka. Here, Hanuman explores the demons' kingdom and spies on Ravana. He locates Sita in ashoka grove, who is wooed and threatened by Ravana and his rakshasis to marry Ravana. He reassures her, giving Rama's signet ring as a sign of good faith. He offers to carry Sita back to Rama, however she refuses and says that it is not the dharma. She says that Rama himself must come and avenge the insult of her abduction.
Hanuman then wreaks havoc in Lanka by destroying trees and buildings and killing Ravana's warriors. He allows himself to be captured and produced before Ravana. He gives a bold lecture to Ravana to release Sita. He is condemned and his tail is set on fire, but he escapes his bonds and leaping from roof to roof, sets fire to Ravana's citadel and makes the giant leap back from the island. The joyous search party returns to Kishkindha with the news.
LANKA KANDA
Also known as Lanka kanda, this book describes the Ramayana War between the army of Rama and the army of Ravana. Having received Hanuman's report on Sita, Rama and Lakshmana proceed with their allies towards the shore of the southern sea. There they are joined by Ravana's renegade brother Vibhishana. The apes named Nala and Nila construct a floating bridge (known as Rama Setu) across the sea, using stones that floated on water because they had Rama's name written on them. The princes and their army cross over to Lanka. A lengthy war ensues. During a battle, Ravana's son Indrajit hurls a powerful weapon at Lakshmana, who is badly wounded and is nearly killed. So Hanuman assumes a gigantic form and flies from Lanka to the Himalayas. Upon reaching Mount Sumeru, Hanuman was unable to identify the herb that could cure Lakshmana, and so decided to bring the entire mountain back to Lanka. Eventually, the war ends when Rama kills Ravana. Rama then installs Vibhishana on the throne of Lanka.
On meeting Sita, Rama asks her to undergo an "agni pareeksha" (test of fire) to prove her purity, as he wants to get rid of the rumours surrounding Sita's purity. When Sita plunges into the sacrificial fire, Agni the lord of fire raises Sita, unharmed, to the throne, attesting to her purity. The episode of agni pariksha varies in the versions of Ramayana by Valmiki and Tulsidas. In earlier versions this event does not occur and many scholars consider it to have been added later as society became more patriarchal. In Tulsidas's Ramacharitamanas Sita was under the protection of Agni (see Maya Sita) so it was necessary to bring her out before reuniting with Rama. At the expiration of his term of exile, Rama returns to Ayodhya with Sita and Lakshmana, where the coronation is performed. This is the beginning of Ram Rajya, which implies an ideal state with good morals.
UTTARA KANDA
The uttara kanda is regarded to be a later addition to the original story by Valmiki and concerns the final years of Rama, Sita and Rama's brothers. After being crowned king, Rama passes time pleasantly with Sita. After some time, Sita gets pregnant with twin children. However, despite the agni pariksha (fire ordeal) of Sita, rumours about her purity are spreading among the populace of Ayodhya. Rama yields to public opinion and reluctantly banishes Sita to the forest, where the sage Valmiki provides shelter in his ashrama (hermitage). Here, she gives birth to twin boys, Lava and Kusha, who become pupils of Valmiki and are brought up in ignorance of their identity.
Valmiki composes the Ramayana and teaches Lava and Kusha to sing it. Later, Rama holds a ceremony during Ashwamedha yagna, which the sage Valmiki, with Lava and Kusha, attends. Lava and Kusha sing the Ramayana in the presence of Rama and his vast audience. When Lava and Kusha recite about Sita's exile, Rama becomes grief-stricken and Valmiki produces Sita. Sita calls upon the earth, her mother, to receive her and as the ground opens, she vanishes into it. Rama then learns that Lava and Kusha are his children. Many years later, a messenger from the Gods appears and informs Rama that the mission of his incarnation was over. Rama returns to his celestial abode.
It was dramatised as the Uttararamacarita by the Sanskrit poet Bhavabhuti.
VARIANT VERSIONS
As in many oral epics, multiple versions of the Ramayana survive. In particular, the Ramayana related in north India differs in important respects from that preserved in south India and the rest of south-east Asia. There is an extensive tradition of oral storytelling based on the Ramayana in Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam and Maldives. Father Kamil Bulke, author of Ramakatha, has identified over 300 variants of Ramayana.
In India
The 7th century CE "bhatti's poem" Bhaṭṭikāvya of Bhaṭṭi is a Sanskrit retelling of the epic that simultaneously illustrates the grammatical examples for Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as the major figures of speech and the Prakrit language.
There are diverse regional versions of the Ramayana written by various authors in India. Some of them differ significantly from each other. During the 12th century, Kamban wrote Ramavataram, known popularly as Kambaramayanam in Tamil. A Telugu version, Ranganatha Ramayanam, was written by Gona Budda Reddy in the 14th century. The earliest translation to a regional Indo-Aryan language is the early-14th century Saptakanda Ramayana in Assamese by Madhava Kandali. Valmiki's Ramayana inspired the Sri Ramacharit Manas by Tulsidas in 1576, an epic Awadhi(a dialect of Hindi) version with a slant more grounded in a different realm of Hindu literature, that of bhakti; it is an acknowledged masterpiece of India, popularly known as Tulsi-krta Ramayana. Gujarati poet Premanand wrote a version of Ramayana in the 17th century. Other versions include Krittivasi Ramayan, a Bengali version by Krittibas Ojha in the 15th century; the Vilanka Ramayana by the 15th century poet Sarala Dasa and the Dandi Ramayana (also known as Jagamohana Ramayana) by the 16th century poet Balarama Dasa both in Odia; a Torave Ramayana in Kannada by the 16th-century poet Narahari; Adhyathmaramayanam, a Malayalam version by Thunchaththu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan in the 16th century; in Marathi by Sridhara in the 18th century; in Maithili by Chanda Jha in the 19th century; and in the 20th century, Rashtrakavi Kuvempu's Sri Ramayana Darshanam in Kannada.
There is a sub-plot to Ramayana, prevalent in some parts of India, relating the adventures of Ahi Ravana and Mahi Ravana, the evil brother of Ravana, which enhances the role of Hanuman in the story. Hanuman rescues Rama and Lakshmana after they are kidnapped by the Ahi-Mahi Ravana at the behest of Ravana and held prisoner in a subterranean cave, to be sacrificed to the goddess Kali. Adbhuta Ramayana is a version that is obscure but also attributed to Valmiki - intended as a supplementary to original Valmiki Ramayana. In this variant of the narrative, Sita is accorded far more prominence such as elaboration of the events surrounding her birth — in this case to Ravana's wife, Mandodari as well as her conquest of Ravana's older brother in her Mahakali form.
Mappillapattu - a genre of song popular among the Muslims belonging to Kerala and Lakshadweep - has incorporated some episodes from the Ramayana into its songs. These songs, known as mappila ramayana, have been handed down from one generation to the next orally. In mappila ramayana, the story of the Ramayana has been changed into that of a sultan, and there are no major changes in the names of characters except for that of Rama which is `laman' in many places. The language and the imagery projected in the mappilapattu are in accordance with the social fabric of the earlier Muslim community.
BUDDHIST VERSION
In the Buddhist variant of Rāmāyaṇa(Dasarathajātaka, #467), Dasaratha was the king of Benares and not Ayodhya. Rāma [called Rāmapaṇḍita in this version] was son of Kausalya, first wife of Dasaratha, Lakṣmaṇa [Lakkhaṇa] was sibling of Rama and son of Sumitra second wife of Dasaratha, and Sita wife of Rama. To protect his children from his wife Kaikayi, who wished to promote her son Bharata, Dasaratha sent the three to a hermitage in the Himalayas for a twelve-year exile. After nine years, Dasaratha died and Lakkhaṇa and Sita returned; Rāmapaṇḍita, in deference to his father's wishes, remained in exile for a further two years. This version does not include the abduction of Sītā.
In the explanatory commentary on the Jātaka, Rāmapaṇḍita is said to have been a previous incarnation of the Buddha and Sītā an incarnation of Yasodharā.
This version is notable for depicting Rama and Sita as siblings who marry. Such sibling marriages are a common symbolic imagery in early Buddhist literature to denote purity of a dynasty. As the Buddha is supposed to have come from the Ikshvaku dynasty (of Rama).
SIKH VERSION
In Guru Granth Sahib, there is description of two types of Ramayana. One is spiritual Ramayana which is actual subject of Guru Granth Sahib, in which Ravan is ego, Seeta is budhi (intellect), Rama is inner soul and Laxman is mann (attention, mind). Guru Granth Sahib also believes in existence of dasavtara who were kings of their times which tried their best to bring revolution in the world. King Ramchandra was one of those and it is not covered in Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Granth Sahib states:
ਹੁਕਮਿ ਉਪਾਏ ਦਸ ਅਉਤਾਰਾ॥
हुकमि उपाए दस अउतारा॥
By hukam (supreme command), he created his ten incarnations,
This version of Ramayana was written by Guru Gobind Singh, which is part of Dasam Granth. In dasam granth, Guru Gobind Singh also explained that he does not believe Ramchandra as a God. He is equating Ramchandra with a common man.
He also said that the almighty, invisible, all prevailing God created so many of Indras, Moons and Suns, Deities, Demons and sages, so many Prophets and Brahmanas(enlightened people). But they too were caught in the noose of death (KAAL) (Transmigration of soul). This is very well same to as explained in Geeta which is part of Mahabharata.
JAIN VERSION
Jain versions of Ramayana can be found in the various Jain agamas like Padmapurana (story of Padmaja and Rama, Padmaja being the name of Sita), Hemacandra's Trisastisalakapurusa charitra (hagiography of 63 illustrious persons), Sanghadasa's Vasudevahindi and Uttarapurana by Gunabhadara. According to Jain cosmology, every half time cycle has nine sets of Balarama, Vasudeva and prativasudeva. Rama, Lakshmana and Ravana are the eighth baladeva, vasudeva, and prativasudeva respectively. Padmanabh Jaini notes that, unlike in the Hindu puranas, the names Baladeva and Vasudeva are not restricted to Balarama and Krishna in Jain Puranas. Instead they serve as names of two distinct class of mighty brothers, who appear nine times in each half time cycle and jointly rule the half the earth as half-chakravartins. Jaini traces the origin of this list of brothers to the jinacharitra (lives of the jinas) by Acharya Bhadrabahu (3–4th century BCE).
In the Jain epic of Ramayana, it is Lakshmana who ultimately kills Ravana and not Rama as told in the Hindu version. In the end, Rama who led an upright life renounces his kingdom, becomes a Jain monk and attains moksha. On the other hand, Lakshmana and Ravana go to hell. However, it is predicted that ultimately they both will be reborn as upright persons and attain liberation in their future births. According to Jain texts, Ravana will be the future Tirthankara (omniscient teacher) of Jainism.
The Jain versions have some variations from Valmiki's Ramayana. Dasharatha, the king of Saketa had four queens: Aparajita, Sumitra, Suprabha and Kaikeyi. These four queens had four sons. Aparajita's son was Padma and he became known by the name of Rama. Sumitra's son was Narayana: he became to be known by another name, Lakshmana. Kaikeyi's son was Bharata and Suprabha's son was Shatrughna. Furthermore, not much was thought of Rama's fidelity to Sita. According to Jain version, Rama had four chief-queen's: Maithili, Prabhavati, Ratinibha, and Sridama. Furthermore, Sita takes renunciation as a Jain ascetic after Rama abandons her and is reborn in heaven. Rama, after Lakshmana's death, also renounces his kingdom and becomes a Jain monk. Ultimately, he attains Kevala Jnana omniscience and finally liberation. Rama predicts that Ravana and Lakshmana, who were in fourth hell, will attain liberation in their future births. Accordingly, Ravana is the future tirthankara of next half ascending time cycle and Sita will be his Ganadhara.
IN NEPAL
Besides being the site of discovery of the oldest surviving manuscript of Ramayana, Nepal gave rise to two regional variants in mid 19th – early 20th century. One, written by Bhanubhakta Acharya, is considered the first epic of Nepali language, while the other, written by Siddhidas Mahaju in Nepal Bhasa was a foundational influence in the renaissance of that language.
The Ramayana written by Bhanubhakta Acharya is one of the most popular verses in Nepal. The popularization of the 'Ramayana' and its tale, originally written in Sanskrit Language was greatly enhanced by the work of Bhanubhakta. Mainly because of his writing of Nepali Ramayana, Bhanubhakta is also called 'Aadi Kavi' or 'The Pioneering Poet'.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN VERSIONS
Phra Lak Phra Lam is a Lao language version, whose title comes from Lakshmana and Rama. The story of Lakshmana and Rama is told as the previous life of the Buddha. In Hikayat Seri Rama of Malaysia, Dasharatha is the great-grandson of the Prophet Adam. Ravana receives boons from Allah instead of Brahma. In many Malay language versions, Lakshmana is given greater importance than Rama, whose character is considered somewhat weak.
The Cambodian version of Ramayana, the Reamker, is the most famous story of Khmer literature since the Kingdom of Funan era. It adapts the Hindu concepts to Buddhist themes and show's the balance of good and evil in the world. The Reamker has several differences from the original Ramayana, including scenes not included in the original and emphasis on Hanuman and Sovanna Maccha, a retelling which influences the Thai and Lao versions. Reamker in Cambodia is not confined to the realm of literature but extends to all Cambodian art forms, such as sculpture, Khmer classical dance, theater known as lakhorn luang (the foundation of the royal ballet), poetry and the mural and bas reliefs seen at the Silver Pagoda and Angkor Wat.
Thailand's popular national epic Ramakien(thai:รามเกียรติ์.,from Sanskrit rāmakīrti, "glory of Rama") is derived from the Hindu epic. In Ramakien, Sita is the daughter of Ravana and Mandodari(thotsakan and montho). Vibhisana(phiphek), the astrologer brother of Ravana, predicts calamity from the horoscope of Sita. Ravana has her thrown into the water, but is later rescued by Janaka(chanok). While the main story is identical to that of the Ramayana, many other aspects were transposed into a Thai context, such as the clothes, weapons, topography and elements of nature, which are described as being Thai in style. It has an expanded role for Hanuman and he is portrayed as a lascivious character. Ramakien can be seen in an elaborate illustration at Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.
Other Southeast Asian adaptations include Kakawin Ramayana of Java, Ramakavaca of Bali(Indonesia), Maharadia Lawana and Darangen of the Moro Muslims of Mindanao (Philippines) and the Yama Zatdaw of Myanmar.
Influence on culture and art
One of the most important literary works of ancient India, the Ramayana has had a profound impact on art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia with the lone exception of Vietnam. The story ushered in the tradition of the next thousand years of massive-scale works in the rich diction of regal courts and Hindu temples. It has also inspired much secondary literature in various languages, notably the Kambaramayanam by the Tamil poet Kambar of the 12th century, the Telugu-language Molla Ramayanam by poet Molla and Ranganatha Ramayanam by poet Gona Budda Reddy, 14th century Kannada poet Narahari's Torave Ramayana, and 15th century Bengali poet Krittibas Ojha's Krittivasi Ramayan, as well as the 16th century Awadhi version, Ramacharitamanas, written by Tulsidas.
The Ramayana became popular in southeast Asia during the 8th century and was represented in literature, temple architecture, dance and theatre. Today, dramatic enactments of the story of Ramayana, known as Ramlila, take place all across India and in many places across the globe within the Indian diaspora.
The Ramayana has also been depicted in many paintings, most notably by the Malaysian artist Syed Thajudeen in 1972. The epic tale was picturized on canvas in epic proportions measuring 72 x 453 cm in 9 panels. The painting depicts three prolific parts of the epic, namely The Abduction of Sita, Hanuman visits Sita and Hanuman Burns Lanka. The painting is currently in the permanent collection of the Malaysian National Visual Arts Gallery.
RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE
Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, is one of the most popular deities worshipped in the Hindu religion. Each year, many devout pilgrims trace their journey through India and Nepal, halting at each of the holy sites along the way. The poem is not seen as just a literary monument, but serves as an integral part of Hinduism, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or certain passages of it, is believed by Hindus to free them from sin and bless the reader or listener.
According to Hindu tradition, Rama is an incarnation (Avatar) of the god Vishnu. The main purpose of this incarnation is to demonstrate the righteous path (dharma) for all living creatures on earth.
IN THE MEDIA
A number of movies and television serials have been produced based upon the Ramayana.
STAGE
Starting in 1978 and under the supervision of Baba Hari Dass, the Ramayana has been performed every year by Mount Madonna School in Watsonville, California. Currently, it is the largest yearly, Western version of the epic being performed. It takes the form of a colorful musical with custom costumes, sung and spoken dialog, jazz-rock orchestration and dance. This performance takes place in a large audience theater setting usually in June, in San Jose, CA. Baba Hari Dass has taught acting arts, costume-attire design, mask making and choreography to bring alive characters of Sri Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshmana, Shiva, Parvati, Vibhishan, Jatayu, Sugriva, Surpanakha, Ravana and his rakshasa court, Meghnadha, Kumbhakarna and the army of monkeys and demons.
WIKIPEDIA
Strictly speaking doctrinal knowledge is independent of the individual. But its actualization is not independent of the human capacity to act as a vehicle for it. He who possesses truth must none the less merit it although it is a free gift. Truth is immutable in itself, but in us it lives, because we live.
If we want truth to live in us we must live in it.
Knowledge only saves us on condition that it enlists all that we are, only when it is a way and when it works and transforms and wounds our nature even as the plough wounds the soil.
To say this is to say that intelligence and metaphysical certainty alone do not save; of themselves they do not prevent titans from falling. This is what explains the psychological and other precautions with which every tradition surrounds the gift of the doctrine.
When metaphysical knowledge is effective it produces love and destroys presumption. It produces love, that is to say the spontaneous directing of the will towards God and the perception of "myself" - and of God - in one's neighbour. It destroys presumption, for knowledge does not allow a man to overestimate himself or to underestimate others. By reducing to ashes all that is not God it orders all things.
All St. Paul says of charity concerns effective knowledge, for the latter is love, and he opposes it to theory inasmuch as theory is human concept. The Apostle desires that truth should be contemplated with our whole being and he calls this totality of contemplation "love".
Metaphysical knowledge is sacred. It is the right of sacred things to require of man all that he is.
Intelligence, since it distinguishes, perceives, as one might put it, proportions. The spiritual man integrates these proportions into his will, into his soul and into his life.
All defects are defects of proportion; they are errors that are lived. To be spiritual means not denying at any point with one's "being" what one affirms with one's knowledge, that is, what one accepts with the intelligence.
Truth lived: incorruptibility and generosity.
Since ignorance is all that we are and not merely our thinking, knowledge will also be all that we are to the extent to which our existential modalities are by their nature able to participate in truth.
Human nature contains dark elements which no intellectual certainty could, ipso facto, eliminate...
Pure intellectuality is as serene as a summer sky - serene with a serenity that is at once infinitely incorruptible and infinitely generous.
Intellectualism which "dries up the heart" has no connection with intellectuality.
The incorruptibility- or inviolability- of truth is bound up neither with contempt nor with avarice.
What is man's certainty? On the level of ideas it may be perfect, but on the level of life it but rarely pierces through illusion.
Everything is ephemeral and every man must die. No man is ignorant of this and no one knows it.
Man may have an interest that is quite illusory in accepting the most transcendent ideas and will readily believe himself to be superior to some other who, not having this interest (perhaps because he is too intelligent or too noble to have it) is sincere enough not to accept them, though he may all the same be more able to understand them than the other who accepts them. Man does not always accept truth because he understands it; often he believes he understands it because he is anxious to accept it.
People often discuss truths whereas they should limit themselves to discussing tastes and tendencies ...
Acuteness of intelligence is only a blessing when it is compensated by greatness and sweetness of the soul. It should not appear as a rupture of the equilibrium or as an excess which splits man in two. A gift of nature requires complementary qualities which allow of its harmonious manifestation; otherwise there is a risk of the lights becoming mingled with darkness.
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Frithjof Schuon
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Quoted in: The Essential Frithjof Schuon (edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)