Literature - - Posted on October, 23 at 1:07 pm
The Ramayana is termed as Arsha Kavya, the poetry composed by a Rishi. Valmiki, the creator of the work, is believed to be Adikavi or the first Sanskrit poet. The epic has gained tremendous popularity over the years so much so that various versions of the epic have been composed in languages other than Sanskrit. As far as Sanskrit literature is concerned, the poets, writers and dramatists have frequently borrowed from the vast resource base of stories, events and characters of the epic.
In its present form it consists of 24,000 verses divided in seven Kandas or chapters. It is preserved in three main recensions. The five chapters except the Bala kanda and Uttara kanda are originally composed by Valmiki. Some scholars believe that Sundara kanda is also a later addition as it does not gel with the original story line.
Unlike the Mahabharata, the Ramayana has a single story line, centred around Rama. The main story of the epic starts with an account of the city of Ayodhya under the rule of King Dasharatha. The king has three wives and four sons. Rama is the son of Queen Kaushalya. He is married to Sita, the daughter of Janaka, the king of Videha. Rama is supposed to be crowned when Kaikeyi, one of the wives of Dasharatha, asks to fulfil the boon promised by the king. She requests Rama to retire to the forests and crown Bharata, her son, as the king.
Accepting the wish of his stepmother, Rama starts for the jungles with Sita and Lakshmana accompanying him. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the king of Lanka during their stay in Dandakaranya. Rama crosses the ocean and reaches Lanka and kills Ravana in a fierce battle, assisted by an entire army of simians. Sita performs the fire ordeal to prove her fidelity. Rama returns to Ayodhya with Lakshmana and Sita. Bharata hands the reigns to Rama and ushers his subjects into a new golden age.
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