Lord Rama: The Most Significant Spiritual Character in India….
Maryadapurushottama Rama or Sri Ramachandra is one of the most glorious characters as well as the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama is also known as the ‘Purushottam’ which means the best human incarnation of the supreme personality.
In Sanskrit, this holy personality is defined as ‘Paramatma or Parampurusha’. According to Swami Vivekananda; “Lord Rama is the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the ideal king.”
Ramayana: The Story of Lord Rama
Lord Rama is the most widely worshipped Hindu god who is an embodiment of virtue and chivalry. The entire life and glory of Sri Ramachandra were written in Ramayana, the oldest epic of India as well as the world. Ramayana was written near about 5th Century BCE.
Once Narada (the great devotee of Sri Vishnu) was asked by MaharshiValmiki whether anyone existed in the universe who are possessing all 16 divine qualities. Narada described the spiritual and divine qualities of Lord Rama. To get liberation from the cycle of rebirth and death, Narada asked Valmiki to write the Ballade of Sri Rama. It is the story behind the formation of the epic Ramayana.
Apart from Ramayana, the adventures and slaying of the Ravan are also recounted in the Mahabharata. Another ancient epic of India. The adventures of Lord Rama illustrated the importance and rewards of one’s pious duty which is known as dharma.
In the original context of Ramayana consists of 24000 verses. Maharshi Valmiki said that there is not a single lie present in all these 24000 verses. Many Hindu believe that as long as the Himalayan Mountains exist and water flows in river Ganges, Ramayan will still exist with its complete glory.
This immortal epic is divided into seven individual chapters which are known as Kandas. These Kandas are, Bala Kanda, Ayodhya Kanda, Aranya Kanda, Kishkindhaa Kanda, Sundara Kanda, Yuddha Kanda, and Uttara Kanda.
The father of nation Mahatma Gandhi once said; “Can anyone read Ramayana without tears in their eyes? It is a true Love story.”
The Dynasty and the Family of Lord Rama
Lord Rama belongs to the royal family which was started from Suryadev (the sun god). That’s why this royal family was known as ‘Suryavamsa’. Ikshaku the grandfather of Rama was a kind-hearted and generous king of Ayodhya. His son Dasaratha was also a kind-hearted and famous king. He had three wives, Kausalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra.
Sri Ramachandra was the son of King Dasarath and Queen Kausalya. At the end of the Second Era or Treta Yuga, when the world suffering from the torture of fearsome ten-headed demon Ravana, Lord Rama was born.
On the ninth day of solar month Chaitra, Rama was born. Today this holy day is celebrated as Ramanavami throughout the country. Rama had three brothers — Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. They all with some, albeit lesser, divine qualities.
We know that Sri Ramchandra had four brothers. But it is partially true. King Dasaratha had also a daughter named Shanta. Shanta was older than Ramachandra and Kausalya were her mother. According to the Valmiki Ramayana, Shanta was adopted by the king of Rompad, Angadesh, and his wife Varshini. They took care of Shanta and performed all responsibilities as perfect parents.
Childhood of Lord Rama
King Dasaratha arranged the education and armoury training of these four brothers under the surveillance of two great Acharyas (teachers) Rishi Vishwamitra and Rishi Vashishtha.
Years pass by and these children grew up in a bold, lovable, and brave adolescent. Their grip over arms bow and arrow becomes undoubtedly great. It’s depicted that One-day Rishi Vishwamitra took them into the jungle where some forest-dwelling sages and rishis had faced difficulties and obstacles to perform their daily rituals of Yagngas.
Some evil demons always used to interfere with the rites and the practices of those rishis by beating them and pouring flesh and blood in the holy place and fire altars of their Yagnasthali. These barbaric practices made the whole Yagna impure.
Rishi Vishwamitra asked Rama and Laxman to defeat those demons and rescue the sages and Rishis from the poor conditions. Vishamitra knew that Rama and Laxman can fight against the mighty demons and give a lesson for them forever.
After a tough battle, these young princes were able to defeat the demons and returned to Ayodhya in due course of time. After this incident, the glory and fame of Sri Ramachandra and Laxman spread all over the Aryavatra.
Lord Rama Meets Mata Seeta
After defeating the demons of Kosala, Vishwamitra took them into Vindhyachal to kill a terrible female demon Taraka. Rama successfully killed her and finally reached the kingdom of Videha. Mithila was its capital and it was ruled by the great religious king Janaka.
He arranged a Swayamvar for his daughters Seeta and Urmila. The objective of this Swayamvar to choose the most suitable groom for two princes. Janaka had promised that who could manage to attach the string to a huge bow. This bow was the gift of Lord Shiva so it was known as ‘Haradhanu’. Lord Rama could able to attach the string with the bow and broke it into two parts.
Finally, Ramachandra married Mata Seeta and welcomed her in his life. It is believed that Mata Seeta was the Avatar of MaaLaxmi (just like Ramachandra is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu).
Mata Seeta is the power of Bhagavan Sri Ramachandra. She is the partial form of Divine mother Parashakti. Mata Seeta wasn’t coming from the mother’s womb. Janaka found her on a ploughed field of his kingdom. That’s why she is known as Ayonisambhuta.
Just like Mata Seeta and Sri Ramachandra, Laxmana was also an incarnation. Laxmana considered as the incarnation of Sheshnag, the thousand-headed snake of Vaikuntha.
Exile of Shree Ramachandra
After the marriage of Lord Rama, King Dasaratha desired to confer his kingdom on his eldest successor. The entire state of Ayodhya prepared to coronate their beloved prince. Meanwhile, Kaikeyi, another queen of Dasaratha plotted to remove Ramchandra from the kingdom of Kosala and coronate Bharata as the new king of the state. For this worse conspiracy, Lord Rama banished to the forest for fourteen years’ tenure. Mata Seeta and Laxman want to go with Rama on this exile.
After leaving the Kosala kingdom, Rama crosses the Yamuna River and stayed at Chitrakuta hill for some days. Chitrakut was a nice place on the bank of holy river Mandakini.
There is a controversy regarding the actual location of Chitrakutpravat. Some mythologists say that it was situated in the middle of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Today you will find several Rama Temples and many Vaishnava pilgrim sites on this location. Bharata was felt angry about his mother’s injustice.
He went to meet Lord Rama in Dandakvan and told him to return his land. But Rama refused Bharata to return to Ayodhya. Rama was determined to fulfil Dasaratha’s wishes and served fortune years of exile. After knowing the Rama’s decision, Bharata took his elder brother’s Paduka (shoes) as a royal symbol of Ramachandra.
After spending a couple of months, Ramachandra left the place and entered Panchavati Jungle, the bank of river Godavari.
The Clash of Rama and Ravana:
For his Exile period, Ramachandra visited several locations of the country. One day a horrible female demon Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana, proposed Laxman. Ravana was a terrible demon of Lanka. Laxman refused her and hurt her nose with his weapon.
To take the revenge of her sister’s disrespect, Ravana attack trio tactfully. He kidnapped Seeta and keep her in an Ashoka garden at Lankapuri. Although Ravana was a demon, he was a great Vedik Scholar and an excellent Veena player. Due to this reason, a symbol of veena was inscribed on his flag.
Meanwhile, Ramachandra met Sugriva, the king of Monkeys. After that Ramachandra met Sugriva, he met Hanuman, the superhero of the monkeys. The monkey army and their followers help Ramachandra to make a furious battle with Ravana.
Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva so it was quite difficult for Rama to won against him. After a series of titanic battles between Rama and Ravana, Ravana was slain and the Lanka captured by the Rama’s monkey army. After defeating Ravana, Ramachandra was able to reunite with Mata Seeta.
Tragic separation
After reuniting with Mata Seeta, it was celebrated as the coronation or ‘Pattabhisheka’ but Ramachandra was forced to examine her by the council of ministry and the people of Ayodhya. Seeta determined to prove her sacredness by entering the fire, Agnipariksha.
Rama Mandir at Ayodhya:
In Ayodhya, there is a disputed land which is claimed as the birthplace of Ramachandra by the local Hindu believers. After the invasion of Mughal emperor Babar, the original temple was destroyed and a mosque constructed on that land.
This mosque is popularly known as Babri Masjid. A major portion of Hindus in India claims that the site of Rama’s birthplace is located inside the premises of the Babri Mosque. After a long-term conflict and court cases, The Supreme Court of India gave a verdict that the Hindus can construct a temple on that exact site.
The Shri Ram JanmabhoomiTeerthKshetra trust began the initial phase of construction of the temple in March 2020. Today the entire Hindu people of India eagerly waiting for the reinstallation of the holy deity of Ramachandra on the actual birthplace of him.
Hope you enjoyed the post,kindly follows us for future updates
click to visit our instagram page.
