IKSHVAKU KULA TILAKA - RAMA

Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of lord Vishnu, is the central character of Hindu epic Ramayana
and is considered as the most important avatar of the deity. Rama is considered to be an
enlightened man, with great regard for morals and values. He has also been given the title of
Maryada Purushottama, which means the perfect man. One of the main deities in Hinduism,
He is believed to have lived in the Treta Yuga, 1.2 million years ago. He has even been defined
as, “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband, and above all, the
ideal king,” by Swami Vivekananda.

The word Hero in English came from the Sanskrit word Vira (veera). There is popular Sanskrit
couplet about Lord Rama which describes the five ‘heroic’ qualities of Rama. He is

Tyagavira = famous for his sacrifice

Dayavira = famous for his compassion

Vidyavira = famous for his wisdom

Parakramavira = famous for his valour

Dharmavira = famous for his righteousness

One may wonder why the word hero/Vira is attached to virtues such as compassion,
righteousness, sacrifice. Hindus have found out that it is easy to kill anyone but to uphold these
virtues in situations like “To be or Not to be”, is the most difficult one. One can easily deviate
from the set rules in the scriptures for selfish gains; but Rama never did violate any of the rules
in the scriptures and positively showed that one can follow it right to the end.
For the perfection that he personifies, let’s take a look at the best of his qualities

Tyagavira:

He sacrificed his kingship just to obey his father! Even his own brother Lakshmana asked him
to revolt against his father and step mother, but he did not.

Dayavira:

He showed compassion to all those he met. He treated tribal leaders like Guhan, Sabari and
semi civilized people like monkey tribes, bear tribes, eagle tribes as his own kith and kin. When
his opponent Ravana lost all his weapons in the battle, he asked him to go home and come back
next day with the weapons.
Vidyavira:

He showed complete wisdom in all his actions. He gave enough chances to avoid war with
Ravana. He sent Hanuman as ambassador. Wherever he won land, he did not rule those places.
He gave them back to Sugreeva and Vibhisana.

Parakramavira:

He subdued all the demons from his teenage days. He defeated the most feared hero
Parasurama. When Sugreeva doubted his strength, he pierced the seven trees with a single
arrow. In all the cantos of Ramayana there are incidents to show his Parakrama.
Dharmavira:

Valmiki, the author of the original Ramayana, praised his as the embodiment of
Dharma/righteousness. Ramayana is read or acted or recited throughout India and South East
Asia because of the incomparable virtues of Rama. No man until today beat him in following
the scriptures. When a common man doubted the integrity of his wife Sita, he asked her to do
Fire Walking. He spent 14 years in the forest just to satisfy his father’s wishes. He gave equal
respect to his brothers and mother and step mothers. There were many situations where one
can easily slip. Above, all he was the only Indian king who refused to marry more than one
woman. All other Hindu kings married more than one woman according to the rules for the
kings. He never spoke untruth!

Here is the famous couplet

Panchaviiraah samaakyaathaa raama evat u panchadhaa

Raghuviira iti kyatah sarvaviiropalakshnah

Negative Character Traits

Lord Rama is famous as marayada purusottama, the personification of righteousness. So how

can his actions be controversial? Are we missing the broader context that can enable us to see
the righteousness hidden behind these commonly made allegations against Lord Rama?
Lord Rama abandoned his pregnant wife Sita simply relying on vulgar village gossip

This incident is indeed heart-breaking.

After rescuing Sita, Lord Rama, who never doubted Sita’s undivided love for him, anticipated
village gossip in doubt of her chastity; after all, Sita was a captive of Ravana for one full year.
Thus with a heavy heart, Lord Rama had asked Sita to undergo the fire test. But in spite of
being proven through the fire test, some ordinary citizens still did not approve of Sita’s chastity.

Lord Rama set the highest example as a king: Lord Rama, like most political leaders of today,
could have neglected or silenced his citizens’ criticisms. But he chose to act as an exemplary
leader and thus gain the people’s trust in order to serve them properly. This meant acting
according to the cultural norms of the time i.e. to send Sita away. This, however, does not mean
that Lord Rama did not love his wife. Ramayana devotes four chapters describing Lord Rama’s
intense feelings of separation when Sita was kidnapped. He was as devoted to her as she was.
But we cannot comprehend the spirit of sacrifice of Lord Rama because most of us think and
act in a self-centered way. And we are not kings; we cannot imagine the responsibility of a
king towards his citizens. Lord Rama thus ruled Ayodhya for the next 10,000 years in an
exemplary way while crying in separation from Sita.

Sita did not resent Lord Rama for his decision: On hearing the decision of Lord Rama from the
distraught Lakshman, Sita was initially devastated. Soon she regained her composure and
understood the heart of Lord Rama. After all, she was not a timid, emotionally abused woman
who felt forced to act as per her husband’s line of thought. Rather she was independently
thoughtful and knew the complexities of kingly duties. She thus accepted his decision
gracefully as the inevitable twists and turns of life, on which we have little control.

Lord Rama did not ‘abandon’ Sita: The word ‘abandon’ is not the best word to describe Lord
Rama’s decision in sending Sita away. Sita’s life in the forest was not like that of a single
mother in the modern world. She did not have to scour for food, clothing and shelter; they were
well arranged for in the hermitage of sage Valmiki. Lakshman personally escorted her to the
hermitage, where the sage received her with great respect. The elderly lady-hermits lovingly
cared for her and helped her in raising her sons. In this way, Lord Rama indirectly protected
his wife by keeping her in the shelter of sage Valmiki, whose hermitage was within the
kingdom.

Lord Rama continued to love Sita: As a king, Lord Rama was expected to perform sacrifices
for the state’s welfare and the ceremony mandated one’s wife to accompany the performer.
When the priests advised Lord Rama to remarry, he respectfully refused though it was a
common tradition then for kings to have many wives; his father King Dasarath had 300 wives.
Instead Lord Rama honored his promise to Sita that she would be his only wife. Thus he made
a golden image of Sita to sit beside him to meet the traditional requirements of the sacrificial
ceremony and proclaimed that he still considered Sita as his beloved wife.

Lord Rama unnecessarily mistreated Shurpanaka, sister of Ravana, for her innocent
proposal
When Shurpanaka proposed to Lord Rama for marriage, he responded jokingly: “I am already
married to Sita and I vowed not to marry more than once. You could marry my younger brother
Lakshman.” Following Lord Rama, Lakshman also joked: “By marrying me, you will become
the maid servant of Sita as I am dependent on my elder brother Rama.” Soon realizing the play
of the two brothers, Shurpanaka decided to devour Sita who was the cause of her distress. Lord
Rama, seeing the impeding danger to his wife Sita, instructed Lakshman to punish her.
Lakshman instantly chopped off her nose and the embarrassed Shurpanaka left.

It was a common practice in those days to punish an aggressor by either imprisoning or partially
injuring him or her.

Shurpanaka’s story, however, did not end here with the chopping of her nose. Lord Rama, in
his next incarnation as Lord Krishna, fulfilled her innocent desire to love him. According to
Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Shurpanaka later performed penance to achieve Lord Rama as her
husband in her next birth. When Lord Rama came as Lord Krishna, Shurpanaka took birth as
Kubja, the hunch-backed woman. Lord Krishna straightened her up by making the stoops on
her back disappear; he made her beautiful by his divine touch. He then visited her house to
reciprocate with her love. Lord Rama thus satisfied Shurpanaka’s desire to love him.

Lord Rama, like a coward, killed Vali unfairly, from behind

Vali, on the verge of death, questioned Lord Rama’s action, “How could you shoot at me from
behind?” Lord Rama replied, “The younger brother should be regarded as one’s own son, and
his wife as one’s daughter-in-law. You sinned by unduly trying to kill your brother Sugriva
and by cohabiting with his wife Ruma. The scriptures prescribe death as the punishment for
such an aggressor.” On hearing Lord Rama’s explanation and sweet voice, Vali felt remorse
and realized his mistake. This shows that Vali was not an evil person like Ravana; his
extraordinary power simply went into his head. But Lord Rama’s words purified him and
brought forth his natural devotion. Vali thus said, “My dear Lord, it is my great fortune to die
in your presence. It is perfection of my life.” He further instructed his son Angada and his
brother Sugriva to be devoted to Lord Rama. This transformation of Vali demonstrates his
conviction in the righteousness of Lord Rama.

Still we may have the question: Why Lord Rama killed Vali from behind? Why didn’t he
confront Vali in a fair battle? This has been explained by the subsequent retellings of
Ramayana. Vali, because of his penance, was blessed by the gods that whenever he fought with
anyone, half of his opponent’s power would come to him. Thus logically, Vali was
unsurmountable in any fair duel. Lord Rama could have easily invalidated this boon, and
defeated Vali in battle. Instead he preferred to honor the benediction of the gods; and that meant
he had to kill Vali without confronting him face to face. Thus Lord Rama risked his own
reputation to honor the words spoken by the gods.

Lord Rama killed Shambuk, a sudra (low caste person), when he was performing
penance
Performance of penance in itself is not a pious activity. What matters is the motivation with
which the penance is performed. Even Ravana did a lot of penance, but his motivation was to
cause harm to the innocent. Similarly even Shambuk’s intention behind his austerity was not
virtuous.

The story of Shambuk begins with a brahmin coming to the court of Lord Rama with a
complaint. The brahmin accused Lord Rama for the untimely death of his son. In those days,
the death of the son before the father was unheard of, and the king was held responsible if such
natural laws were disrupted. Such discrepancies occurred only when something irreligious was
happening in the kingdom. Immediately Lord Rama set out to search for the cause of this
calamity. On seeing Shambuk performing severe penance, Lord Rama enquired his motivation.
Shambuk revealed that he wanted to usurp the position of Indra, the king of heaven. Lord Rama,
seeing his wrong motivation, understood him to be the cause of disruption of natural order of
things in his kingdom, and thus beheaded him. And instantly, the dead son of the brahmin
became alive. Thus Lord Rama, through this incident, taught that penance without virtue is
harmful to the society.

This incident of sudra Shambuk has also been misinterpreted to blemish Lord Rama as a
casteist. If Lord Rama was a casteist, why would he accept the service of the forest dweller
Guha who was considered an outcaste by social standards? Why would he accept the berries
from Shabari, who was also considered an outcaste? Both Guha and Shabari approached Lord
Rama with love and devotion, and Lord Rama reciprocated with their motivation, not caring
for their social status.

Lord Rama put his wife Sita into distress by accepting to live in exile in the forest
When Lord Rama informed Sita about his father’s order, Sita became dumbfounded. Lord
Rama asked Sita to stay back in the kingdom and take care of his parents. Sita wasn’t as upset
with Ram’s decision to follow his father’s wish, as much as she was with Lord Rama’s desire
to go to the forest alone, leaving her behind. She wanted to share her husband’s fortune in all
circumstances. She considered the palace to be as good as hell in the absence of her righteous
husband Lord Rama.

Sita was also fond of the country; she looked forward to associate with Lord Rama amid the
beautiful mountains and lakes. She reminded Lord Rama of an astrologer’s prediction that she
would one day live in the forest. Lord Rama warned her of the wilderness of the dense forest –
the fierce beasts, rugged forest paths, stinging bushes, poisonous snakes, and furious winds –
but she remained determined to accompany him.

Sita even taunted Lord Rama,“Has my father Janaka married me to an impotent person?”
Finally, Lord Rama relented, and took Sita with him.

Lord Rama irresponsibly quit his kingdom without considering the citizens’ welfare

Kaikeyi, the favourite queen of Dashrath, demanded two boons from the King, “Firstly,
coronate my son Bharat as the king of Ayodhya, and secondly, send Lord Rama on exile to the
forest for 14 years.” When Lord Rama was informed of this, he did consider its implications
upon the citizens of Ayodhya. After careful analysis he concluded that Bharat was fully
qualified to rule the kingdom; taking the orders of his father upon his head, he left for the forest.

Lord Rama’s acts of sacrifice are exemplary, but also extreme. They are hard to imitate, but
we can derive inspiration from them even today.

Asurula Chakravarthi Lankadipathi Ravana

Ravana is the mythical multi-headed demon-king of Lanka in Hindu mythology. With ten
heads and twenty arms, Ravana could change into any form he wished. Representing the very
essence of evil, he famously fought and ultimately lost a series of epic battles against the
hero Rama, seventh avatar of Vishnu.

A Great Poet and a scholar of Vedas

Ravana was a great poet. He was well versed in Vedas and is attributed to have written the
Shiva Tandava Stotram praising Lord Shiva. Ravana mastered all the four Vedas and was a
chanter of Sama Veda.

Ravana was not only a great warrior but also a scholar of many subjects and sciences. He
wrote a treatise on astrology called Ravana Samhita. He also possessed a thorough
knowledge of Ayurveda.

A Great Shiva Devotee

Ravana was a great Shiva devotee and even obtained Chandrahas (moon sword) by Lord
Shiva. He wanted to show Lord Shiva his devotion and powers and thus he lifted Mount
Kailash (the abode of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati) but Lord Shiva placed it back just by
pressing his toe-crushing Ravana’s fingers, seeing Lord Shiva’s power and might Ravana
sings Shiva Tandava Stotram.

A great musician
Ravana was a great musician and played veena exceptionally well. He is credited to have
invented an instrument called Ravanhatha.

An Excellent Warrior
Ravana was a very powerful and skillful warrior. Lord Rama could not kill Ravana easily, it
was only on the tenth day of the battle that he could kill Ravana. Ravana conquered many
territories and defeated asuras as well as devas. He also possessed Shiva’s weapon
Chandrahas.
Good Politician
Ravana is said to be a great politician and had immense knowledge of political science, so
much so that Lord Rama asked Lakshman to go and learn politics and duties of a King from
Ravana when he was on his deathbed.
10 Heads (Negative Traits) of Ravana Meaning from Perspective of Emotion

1. Love your designation, your position or ability – to promote ego.

2. Loving your family and friends – Anurag, attachment or moha.
3. Loving your ideal nature – which leads to repentance.
4. Expecting perfection in others – leading to anger or anger.
5. Loving the past – leading to hatred or hatred.
6. Loving the future – leading to fear or fear.
7. Want to be number 1 in every region – it provokes jealousy.
8. Loving things – which awakens greed or greed.
9. Lust is attracted to the opposite sex.
10. Fame, money, and love to children – also brings insensitivity.

These are all negative emotions or “distorted forms of love”. If seen, every action, every
emotion is a form of love. Ravana was also plagued with these negative feelings and due to
this, he was destroyed despite knowledge and prosperity.

In the end, it would not be wrong to say that the ten heads of Ravana show that if you have
more than you need, then it has no purpose, that is, all these desires lead to the destruction.

10 Heads (Negative Traits) Of Ravana Meaning from Perspective of Human Nature

1. Ahamkara – Ego
2. Moha – Attachment
3. Krodha – Anger
4. Ghrina – Hatred
5. Paschataap – regret
6. Irshya – jealousy
7. Lobha – Greed
8. Kama – Lust
9. Jaddata – Insensitivity
10. Bhaya – Fear
1. Ravana did a big Tapasya (Penace) and got blessing of Lord Brahma. After that he
captured Lanka and established it as his Kingdom. Before that Lanka was ruled by his elder
(step) brother Kuber. He also snatched a huge wealth and a hi-tech Viman (Aeroplane) from
Kuber which Kuber had earned.

2. His marriage to Mandodari was an interesting story. Ravana introduced himself as relative
of Brahma. Mandodari's father the influential Mayasur later felt cheated.

3. All the people in Lanka were actually his relatives from her mother's side who were
Rakchhasa. The female Rakchhasa were having the blessing that they can produce many
children in short time and also they will be grown in short time. All these Raksasa were blind
followers of Ravana. Ravana built up an strong army with them.

4. Ravana went out to win the world. He attacked any King and asked either you accept my
supremacy or fight with me. Many of the people surrendered. Those who did not got killed
mercilessly.

5. He even killed the husband of his sister Surpankha. Later when Surpankha complained he
said he did it by mistake. He sent her to Janasthan near Panchavati where she later met Rama.

6. At a point of time he won everybody in the world. Only few like Arjun and Baali could not
be defeated by him. He made friend with Arjun and did not care for Baali. (It is different
Arjun than the one in Mahabharata)

7. Ravana brought looted money from all places and brought to Lanka. It is written in
Ramayana that even the lamp-post (Yes there were lampposts) in Lanka were made of gold.
When Hanumaan fired the Lanka, the melted gold and precious stones were flowing
everywhere.

8. Ravana brought woman from all over the world. He thought that it was his right to use
women he won in war. At the time of Rama-Ravana war he was having 1000 wives.

9. He never gets sexually satisfied. He once raped his daughter in law. Wife of his brother
Kuber's son, NalKoober. NalKoober cursed Ravana that from now if you intercourse with
any woman against her wish then your head will be broken in 7 pieces.
10. He once attacked the most influential and superpower Indra. He was almost to be
defeated by Indra. His wicked son Meghnaad who was knowing illusionary tactics then saved
the situation. He had stocks of poisonous weapons similar to chemical or biological weapons.
The whole army of Indra got fainted by his weapon and he captured Indra alive and made a
prisoner in Lanka. Later, he was released by intervention of Brahma.

11. Meghnaad then known as Indrajeet was a big problem in Rama-Ravana war. He used to
worship Nikumbhalla Goddess and sacrifice a live Goat to Fire before going to war. He once
used Naagpash (Snake trap) and later another deadly poisonous weapon on Rama's army. The
only one who was aware of this poison cure was Jambwant. He prescribed medicine known
as Sanjeevani which Hanumaan brought.

12. Ravana was a big cheater. To abduct Rama's wife Sita, he came in the form of a brahmin.
He was also a coward and took away Sita when she was alone.

13. He was a lier. He hidden Sita from his own people also. Only when Rama reached Lanka
he informed his ministers that he actually has brought Sita. He also informs them wrongly
that Sita has given him one year time. Actually he had given her one year time.

14. His sister Surpankha also was a big lier. In front of Rama she told that Sita is ugly, but
was praising Sita's beauti when she described it to Ravana.

15. He was having groups of people like Maarich and Subahu who were appointed by Ravana
to terrorise people all over world (India at that time).

16. These people were knowing all sort of cheating techniques. He even used to force these
people to do his jobs. Maarich was not ready to go before Rama but Ravana threatened to kill
him. Maarich was knowing he is going for suicide mission but he felt better to be killed by
Rama instead of Ravana.
Conclusion:
To make a long story short, Starting from GODS to COINS, every story has 2 sides, every
character has positive & negative shades.
But, in the end of RAMA RAVANA RAMAYANA,
Lord Rama Wins over Ravana.
It means
GOOD wins over BAD(EVIL)
VALUES wins over WEALTH
POSITIVITY wins over NEGATIVITY
So, Lets work on being positive by spreading positivity!