Ramayana the epic

The Ramayana is undoubtedly the most popular and timeless Indian epic, read and loved by all. The term Ramayana literally means "the march ( ayana) of Rama" in search of human values. The story is the narration of the struggle of Prince Rama to rescue wife Sita from the demon king, Ravana. As a literary work, it has been said to combine "the inner bliss of Vedic literature with the outer richness of delightfully profound story telling." About the Poet Universally acclaimed and accepted as the first among Sanskrit poets, Valmiki was the first to discover a metrical expression of epic dimension and vision to match the emotional ecstasy of the story of Rama. According to a legend, Valmiki was a robber who one day met a hermit who transformed him into a virtuous being. Ramayanaand eulogize them with epic dignity and secular simplicity. The Seven 'Kandas' or Sections The epic poem is composed of rhyming couplets (known as slokas in high Sanskrit), employing a complex meter called anustup . These verses are grouped into individual chapters, or cantos called sargas , in which a specific event or intent is told. The sargas themselves are grouped into books called kandas. • Bal Kanda, the boyhood section • Ayodhya Kanda, Rama's life in Ayodhya, until his banishment • Aranya Kanda, Rama's life in the forest and Sita's abduction by Ravana • Kishkindha Kanda, Rama's stay at Kishkindha, the capital of his monkey ally, Sugriva • Sundara Kanda, Rama's passage to Sri Lanka • Yuddha Kanda ...

Early Life of Rama Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, an ancient kingdom that was located in present day Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya was its capital. Dasharatha was loved by one and all. His subjects were happy and his kingdom was prosperous. Even though Dasharatha had everything that he desired, he was very sad at heart; he had no children. During the same time, there lived a powerful Rakshasa king in the island of Ceylon, located just south of India. He was called Ravana. His tyranny knew no bounds, his subjects disturbed the prayers of holy men. The childless Dasharatha was advised by his family priest Vashishtha to perform a fire sacrifice ceremony to seek the blessings of God for children. Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, decided to manifest himself as the eldest son of Dasharatha in order to kill Ravana. While performing the fire worship ceremony, a majestic figure rose from the sacrificial fire and handed to Dasharatha a bowl of rice pudding, saying, "God is pleased with you and has asked you to distribute this rice pudding (payasa) to your wives - they will soon bear your children." The king received the gift joyfully and distributed the payasa to his three queens, Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. Kausalya, the eldest queen, gave birth to the eldest son Rama. Bharata, the second son was born to Kaikeyi and Sumitra gave birth to the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna. Rama's birthday is celebrated now as Ramanavami. Viswamitra blessed Dasharatha and asked him to send Ra...