The Advaitist

In this article I will talk about some of the l esser known facts about Ramayana . #1 Lesser known facts about Ramayana Urmila (sister of Sita ) Laxmana's wife slept for the whole period of exile (14 years), so that Lakshmana could stay awake and take care of Sita. Because of advanced culture in ancient Hindu India, Urmila was able to remain in a  state of stasis, and woke up later! #2 Lesser known facts about Ramayana Lakshmana is called Gudakesha or sleep defeater and he does not sleep during the entire period of exile. In those ancient days, Lakshmana was able to acquire artificial insomnia and stay awake for 14 years without any ill effects! #3 Lesser known facts about Ramayana Kubera, the God of Wealth is Ravana's half-brother, both having the same father. Image Courtesy: Drik Panchang #4 Lesser known facts about Ramayana Bharat had two sons, Taksha and Pushka after whom two cities are named in terrorist state of Islamic Pakistan , Takshashila (...

Some of the different recensions of Ramayana are: 1. Ramayana - Valmiki 2. By Kambana in Tamil 3. By Krittivas Ojha in Bengali 4. Ramacharitamanas by Tulsidas 5. By Bhanubhakta of Nepal 6. Janakiharana of Sri Lanka 7. Ramakerti of Kampuchea 8. Ramakir / Ramakien of Thailand 9. Hikayat Seri Rama of Malayasia 10. Serat-Rama of Java 11. Ramakavacha of Bali

Traditionally, Ramayana is believed to have preceded Mahabharata. However, some scholars believe that Mahabharata preceded Ramayana. a. Poetic Style: Ramayana has almost all the characteristics of a mahAkAvya, according to latter poetics tradition. It is also called AdikAvya or first poetic work. On the other hand, Mahabharata has characteristics of the older ballad style. b. Polyandry: Mahabharata depicts Draupadi's polyandry which is believed to have been an ancient custom c. Although MB Vana Parva (273-90) contains the story of Rama, it is not clear whether it was borrowed from Ramayana or the older Rama ballad. d. Harivamsha refers to Ramayana events, but some scholars opine that Harivamsha was a later supplement to Mahabharata. Based on these, the some people feel that the core events of the Mahabharata was earlier than Ramayana events. Another hypothesis is that the core events of Ramayana are older than Mahabharata, but may have been re-composed in a different era in a dif...

The rAmAyaNa consists of the following books: 1. bAla kANDa or Adi kANDa 2. ayodhyA  kANDa 3. aranya kANDa 4. kiShkindhA kANDa 5. sundara kANDa 6 lankA kANDa 7. uttara kANDa Traditionally Valmiki is believed to be the author of Ramayana. Some scholars opine that books 1 and 4, and parts of book 5 and 6, are may be latter additions/ interpolations.

Detailed Genealogy of Lord rAma from viShNu purANa. Status: Complete 1 Manu                                                                                            2  Ikshavaku                                                           ...

The incidents of Lord Rama did happen. May be not in the way described in the various "mythological" texts like Valmiki's rAmAyaNa or Tulsidas's rAmacharitmAnasa or the various regional versions. Genealogy of rAma --------------------------- King dasharatha   Wife 1: kaushalya       | - rAma   Wife 2: kaikeyI       | - bharata   Wife 3: sumitra       | - lakshmaNa     | - shatrughNa           Key Locations in rAmAyaNa -------------------------------- 1. Ayodhya , capital of Kosala and birthplace of rAma, in present day Uttar Pradesh 2. Mithila , capital of Videha and birthplace of sItA, parts of modern day Bihar and Nepal 3. Chitrakuta, panchavati and forest of exile a. Chitrakuta - In present day Madhya Pradesh (11.5 Years) b. Pancha...