Dramatic Literature
The Ramayana
The hero of the story, Rama, is the chosen successor of retiring King Dasharatha of Ayodha. However, one of his wives, Kaikeyi, asks him to banish Rama for fourteen years and to name their son, Bharata, as his successor instead. He is compelled to do so after she reminds him of the two boons she is owed from a long time ago. Rama, along with his beautiful wife Sita and brother Lakshamana, go to live in in the forest and exchange their riches for a simpler life.
In the forest, Rama has an encounter with the demoness Surpanakha, a demoness, whose brother is Ravana, the evil ten-headed king of Lanka. She falls in love with Rama but he rejects her, prompting her to seek revenge by telling her brother about the encounter and of Sita’s beauty. Ravana, upon hearing her tale, decides to have Sita for himself and makes plans to abduct her. He whisks her off to Lanka while Rama and Lakshamana are distracted.
Ravana tries to woo Sita, who continuously rebuffs his attempts and pines for her husband. Rama and Lakshamana enlist the help of monkey king Sugriva. The latter has been usurped from his throne by his brother Vali. He pledges his army to Rama’s cause if the latter helps restore him to his rightful place as king. Rama enlists the help of Hanuman, the leader in charge of the monkey army, to send a message to Sita, identifying himself to her by presenting Rama’s ring. However, he gets caught by Ravana who sets his tail on fire. Hanuman escapes and sets fire to Lanka in return.
Rama, Lakshamana, and Hanuman lay siege on Ravana and the island of Lanka. The monkey army builds a bridge allowing them to reach the island and wreak havoc on the city. Ravana’s renegade brother, Vibhishana, joins forces with Rama. After a lengthy fight of spears and arrows, Rama manages to kill Ravana, and Vibhishana takes the vacated throne. However, before Rama accepts Sita’s return to his side, he doubts her chastity after having lived in the house of another man. He asks her to go through a test of fire, to which she agrees. She successfully completes the test, and finally reunites with Rama.
After some time has passed since the war on Lanka, Sita falls pregnant. However, rumors of her “purity” begin to abound and Rama, ceding to public opinion, banishes Sita. She finds shelter with the sage Valmiki and gives birth to twin boys, Lava and Kusha, who are brought up under the sage’s tutelage and with no knowledge of their true identity. Valmiki teaches them the song Ramayana. After singing the song at a ceremony in Rama’s presence, the two are finally reunited with their father.
The Ramayana is one of the largest ancient Sanskrit epics, written in about 1000 BCE and consisting of around 24,000 verses. It originated from India, and is one of the most significant oral and traditional texts of South East Asia. It serves as an insight to Indian civilization, especially on the country’s most prominent religion Hinduism, and it showcases the values that are maintained in Indian society. Unlike the other popular Indian epic Mahabharata, which showcases human follies and failings, the Ramayana focuses on the most desired or ideal state to achieve as according to Hinduism and serves as an allegory of spiritual experiences (Basu, 2016) .
The names presented in the epic also hold spiritual significance. The title, which is a compound of the words Rama, meaning ‘soul’, and ayana meaning ‘go’, translates to the journey of the soul or spiritual path. The name of Rama’s father, Dasharatha, means ‘ten chariots’, which are the five senses and five organs of action used to interact with the world (hands, feet, rectum, genitals and mouth). His mother’s name, Kaushalya, means ‘skillful’. When the two come together and conduct Ashwamedha meaning ‘purifying in the present moment’, Rama, the reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, is born (Decoding Ramayana, 2013). Interspersed with philosophical and ethical ideas, the Ramayana focuses on the mental, physical, social, and spiritual aspects of life and serves as a guide towards the enlightenment and achieving dharma or ‘righteousness’ on earth.
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Aside from its country of origin, the Ramayana has also made an impact on South East Asian literature. It has been translated in different languages such as Cambodian, Filipino, Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian, and adapted to suit the local situation and beliefs of that particular country or society. Hundreds of creative works have been created based on or inspired by the Ramayana.. It is the staple of various dramatic traditions. In India, they have a yearly play called the Ram-lila, which has gained popularity and recognition worldwide (Purohit, 2016). It has also been recreated orally continuously, from traditional bards to singers to film and television shows. In 1987-1989, a television series version of Ramayana was aired and captivated Indian audiences (Maxwell Syracuse University, n.d.).
