Rama (mythology)
Rama or Ram ( Sanskrit , m., राम , rāma ), also Ramachandra ( रामचन्द्र rāmacandra ), according to the teachings of Hinduism, is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu , a Hindu god. He is considered educated, beautiful, and endowed with all royal qualities. Rama is revered by his followers as Brahman , that is, as the transcendent, unchangeable primal force or world soul into which the Atman changes, which in turn means the dissolution of the individual soul. His story is told in the Indian epic Ramayana .
Rama is the eldest of the four sons of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya . Prince Rama meets the beautiful Sita at the court of her father King Janaka , where he wins an archery (with Shiva's bow , which he is the only one who can draw). Rama marries Sita. At the urging of his stepmother Kaikeyi , Rama is banished to the forest, where two people accompany him: his half-brother Lakshmana and his wife Sita. Dasaratha orders that Rama live in exile for fourteen years. In the wilderness of Gandaka, the two brothers help the hermits and saints living there, who are threatened by the Rakshasas led by Kharas . The demon king Ravana kidnaps Sita to Lanka after his sister Shurpanakha , who was rejected by Rama and mutilated by Lakshmana, draws his attention to the unique beauty of Sita. The monkey god Hanuman is an essential helper of Rama in the search for his wife and in the fight against Ravana . They learn the place where Sita is being held from Sampati . The monkeys build a bridge to Lanka, the Rama Setu , so that Rama can cross over with an army.
In the Bhagavatapurana , another sacred scripture of Vishnuism , 9.10 f. to find a summary of what happened in the Ramayana. Rama's birthday Ramnavami is an important festival for the Hindus. It falls on the 9th day of the waxing moon in the month of Chaitra (March / April).
literature
- Hari Prasad Shastri: Ramayana . The story of Prince Rama, the beautiful Sita and the great ape Hanuman. In: Diederich's yellow series . Hugendubel, Kreuzlingen / Munich 2004, ISBN 3-89631-431-9 (English: The Ramayana of Valmiki . Translated by Claudia Schmölders).
