The Ramayana is one of the two great Indian epics, the other being The Mahabharata. The most common version is a poem of 24,000 couplets, composed by the sage Valmiki in the 4th century BC, although it was not written down until the 6th century AD, having until then been passed from mouth to mouth, learnt by heart. However the story had been told and retold for centuries prior to Valmiki's composition. The story spread from the North East of India to the rest of the country and many different versions have been written ever since.
The Ramayana tells the story of Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, whose mission is to kill the evil demon Ravana whom the gods have endowed with invulnerability from the attacks of gods and demons. The story follows Rama's life from his divine conception through childhood; marriage to the beautiful Sita; banishment from his kingdom; fourteen years spent in exile in the wilderness; the abduction of his beloved wife; his long search to find and free her; his triumphant battle with Ravana; and his joyful return to the kingdom of Ayodhya. It is an intensely moral story, which covers all emotions.
Scholars believe the story has an historical context and evolved from a true story. The events that form the basis of the story probably took place during the early days of the Aryan occupation of Northern India. Rama was likely to have been the son of a chieftain of a small state. The monkeys of the story, it is believed, were a friendly tribe of people who inhabited the enormous forests of Central India, uncivilised compared with the Aryans. The demons were probably an alien race that had made their home on Sri Lanka and were beginning to invade the Southern Indian mainland. However the historical context pales into insignificance when compared with the religious importance of the story.
The Ramayana is one of the most important gospels of the Hindu faith. Rama is an avatar (an incarnation of Vishnu), as in a lesser degree are all his brothers. Sita is both woman and daughter of the gods, found in a furrow of ploughed ground by her father King Janaka. Some believe she is an avatar of Lakshmi, goddess of beauty and fortune.
The Hindu trinity consists of: Brahma, god as creator; Vishnu, god as preserver; and Shiva, god as destroyer and re-creator. Vishnu steps in whenever there is trouble in heaven or on earth and was born as Rama to save the world from the personification of evil, the demon Ravana.
Rama and Sita are the ideal man and woman, examples to every boy and girl. Unlike the solitary figures of Jesus and Buddha, Rama is the perfect son, brother, husband, warrior and king, an earthly rather than purely spiritual example. Sita too is the perfect woman; tender, compassionate and devoted.
Today many boys and girls are named after these heroes, the marriage ceremony in many parts of India is based upon their marriage, and their words are learnt by heart.