ShrIrAmanavamI information

[Jaldhar H. Vyas]

On Wed, 1 Apr 1998, Anand Hudli wrote:

>  || shrI gaNeshAya namaH ||
>
>  The birthday of shrIrAmachandra, known as the rAmanavamI is
>  celebrated in the world by offering Him worship, reading the
>  rAmAyaNa, singing His bhajans, and so on. There are a number
>  of versions of the saga of rAma that is the rAmAyaNa, with the
>  rAmAyaNa of Vaalmiiki being considered the most authentic. For
>  those with a philosophical/spiritual bent of mind, the adhyaatma
>  rAmAyaNa, said to be occurring in the BrahmANDa purANa, is generally
>  the preferred choice, especially in Northern India, where the
>  rAmAyaNa of Tulsidas is also extremely popular.
> The adhyaatma
>  rAmAyaNa combines the story of rAma, that has fascinated so many
>  people all over the world, and pure bhakti (devotion) with the aim
>  of achieving true jnaana. Many hymns in the text attempt to
>  reconcile nondualism with bhakti.
>

There are some other interesting versions of the Ramayana.  There is a
Jain Ramayana which follows most of the main details except after coming
home from Lanka, Shri Rama becomes a Jain Monk!  The Dasharathi Jataka is
supposed to contain a Buddhist rendition of the story (with no doubt a
Buddhist conclusion.)

Ravanavadhamahakavya or Bhattikavya as it is known after its author is a
poetic rendition of the Ramayana that simultaneously also encapsulates all
the rules of Sanskrit Grammar.

The Dharmakuta of Tryambakayajvan is a commentary on the Valmiki Ramayana
which treats the text as a dharmashastra.

Great kavis such as Kalidas and Bhavabhuti have also written poems on the
subject.

The Ramayana story has also spread to contries like Thailand, Cambodia and
Indonesia where it is still prevalent even though the inhabitants of these
counrntries are mostly not Hindus anymore.

--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>