Introduction to Rāma’s Story

The heroic story of prince Rāma tells how he gave up a kingdom to honour his father’s word, fought against a host of powerful enemies to retrieve his kidnapped wife, and lived a life in accordance with Dharma. There are scores of different tellings of the story known in both Sanskrit, all the Indian vernaculars and in the local languages of south-east Asia, where it has had a profound influence on the cultures of the region.

It is known in many different forms also, and has been told in poetry and prose, dance and puppet theatre, and in recent years in film and television all across the region, and has proved to be one of the most enduring stories of mankind. Significantly it is also told in family settings and many children in Asia count the story amongst their earliest memories.

Today the most familiar form, which is regarded as the classical telling, is known as Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa, and this is the version best known at present. I will follow this in the names and terminology, while pointing out the differences that exist.

Another important text is the Old Javanese Rāmāyaṇa-Kakawin which follows the story known to Vālmīki fairly closely at the beginning of the story, but deviates greatly in the latter sections; and a group of texts known as the Malay hikayats (stories), especially the Hikayat Seri Rama. I will refer to these occasionally.

One difficulty that presents itself when the text is unsure, we also find many times at Borobudur: the gods and royals are often portrayed in very similar fashion; as are brahmins and rākṣasas. It is often only context that can help us here, and when that is missing identifications become problematic.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, I outline the story here, bearing in mind the stories we can see on the reliefs at Prambanan.

Rāma, the main hero of our story, was the first born son of King Daśaratha through his wife Kausalyā at the capital city of Ayodhya. Shortly after his brothers Bharata, Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna were born to two of his other wives.

When they had grown up the sage Viśwāmitra came to the king, and requested help because the rākṣasas (supernatural beings with ill intent) were disturbing the sacred sacrifices. The story is then told of how Rāma killed the rākṣaṣī Tāṭakā and her sons.

When he was old enough to marry, the king of Vedehi announced a festival in which a husband would be found for his beautiful adopted daughter Sītā, whom he had found in a furrow when he was living as a hermit in the wilds. There was a test of strength in which Śiva’s bow was to be bent. No one could even lift it, except Rāma, who thereby gained Sītā as his wife.

In a parallel story told shortly thereafter, on the way back from the marriage Rāma was challenged by Paraśurāma, who was the enemy of the warrior class. This time Rāma proved his worth by lifting, stringing and shooting from the bow of Viṣṇu.

Back in Ayodhya Rāma was destined for the throne, but one of the junior wives of the king, being persuaded by her handmaiden, decided to call in a boon the king had granted her, and demanded that her son Bharata be elected crown prince, and that Rāma be banished to the forest for fourteen years.

The king was mightily upset by this, but he had to keep his word and so had no choice. Rāma, however, was unperturbed, understanding that the word of his father was to be accepted, no matter what was asked of him. He and his younger brother Lakṣmaṇa, together with Sītā, therefore left the royal city for a hard life in the wilderness.

King Daśaratha was grief stricken by the loss of his sons and daughter-in-law, and died soon after, being accepted into heaven. Bharata then went into the forest and requested Rāma to return and mount the throne, but Rāma would not break his word given to his father, and determined to live out his exile. Instead he gave his sandals to be placed on the throne as a sign of his authority while Bharata ruled.

After Bharata had left Rāma defeated the rākṣasa Virādha who had seized Sītā in a presage of what was to come. After this episode the heroes met the sage Śarabhaṅga who requested permission to return to heaven, which was granted. He died while in deep concentration.

The trio then entered deeper into the forests and Lakṣmaṇa built a small hut for them there. While living there the rākṣasī Śūrpaṇakhā, the sister of Rāvaṇa, who was full of lust, sought out first Rāma, and then Lakṣmaṇa as husband. She was rejected and sent away after being maimed. Two of her powerful brothers who tried to avenge her were also killed.

She then called upon her brother Rāvaṇa, the king of Laṅkā, and the most powerful rākṣasa on earth to help avenge her honour, and told him of Sītā’s great beauty, which made him desire her for himself. Through trickery Sītā is isolated from Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, and is carried off by Rāvaṇa. As he was carrying her off, he was opposed by the divine bird Jaṭāyus, an old friend of the king Daśaratha’s, but the bird was killed in the fight.

After further adventures in the forest the brothers met the monkey Hanumān and the exiled monkey-king Sugrīva. Rāma agreed to help the king regain his territory if the king will help him find Sītā, and so the deal is agreed. Rāma then kills the usurper Vālin, reinstalls Sugrīva and later calls in his promise.

Sugrīva sent out his monkey spies in all directions, and Hanumān is the one assigned to go south. He crossed the seas at the bottom of India and entered the remote island of Laṅkā and eventually found Sītā held captive in a grove near the city. He gives tidings of Rāma and promised to help Sītā gain her freedom.

On his way back Hanumān allowed himself to be captured and managed to burn down most of the city, before escaping and reporting back to Rāma. His army then makes its way to the south, but found its progress was blocked by the seas that stand between India and Laṅkā. With the help of the gods a land bridge across the seas was constructed and they crossed over.

On Rāvaṇa’s side many of his allies had tried to persuade him to give up Sītā, who was being held against her will, and against Dharma, but he was too stubborn and vain and refused the requests. His brother Vibhīsaṇa left him over this dispute and came over to Rāma’s side. He would prove to be invaluable to Rāma’s cause.

After crossing over Rāma progressed to the Suvela mountain which overlooked the city of Laṅkā and together with the monkey-hordes took up position. After an indecisive, opening battle Rāma sent Aṅgada as an ambassador to Rāvaṇa, but the king would not accept any terms, and the ambassador returned, having been rebuffed.

There followed a number of single combats, all of which Rāvaṇa’s allies lost. At that point he sent his son Indrajit, who had magic powers, onto the battlefield. He had a set of magical snake-arrows which tied up both Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, bringing despair into their camp. Although all look lost, the snakes fled when Garuḍa appeared, and the brothers regained their strength again.

More battles ensued until Rāvaṇa himself entered the fray and fought against Rāma. The fight ended indecisively, and Rāvaṇa again sent another of his brothers, the giant Kumbhakarṇa, into the battle. He too was beaten, and finally in solo combat Rāvaṇa was killed by Rāma.

Once his great foe is out of the way, it was not long before Rāma was rejoined with Sītā. The prince had some doubts about her fidelity while in custody, but Sītā underwent a trial by fire and proved her innocence to all concerned. Vibhīsaṇa was installed as king of Laṅkā, and the heroes, who had now been in exile for fourteen years made the long trip back to their capital Ayodhya, where they were due to live happily ever after.

That was without doubt the end of the original telling of the story, but later it was extended to include such things as Rāvaṇa’s backstory, Śatrughna’s heroic deeds, and most importantly: the continuation of Rāma’s story till he re-entered heaven. The builders of Prambanan also knew this extension, and allotted the final fifteen reliefs to the telling of the rest of Rāma’s story.

Some time after the return Sītā was found to be pregnant, and the city folk started gossiping about her. Rāma was so ashamed of this scandal that he decided to abandon her to the care of the sages in the wilderness, whom she had expressed a desire to honour.

Lakṣmaṇa therefore took her out into the forests and, after reporting Rāma’s will to her, left her there. She took up residence under the care of the greatest of sages, Vālmīki, in a nearby nunnery, which is where she gave birth. As her sons grew up Vālmīki taught them Rāma’s full history in verse (this is the Rāmāyaṇa itself).

After a long time of living righteously Rāma announced he was giving one of the rarest of the Vedic sacrifices, the horse sacrifice (aśvamedha), a year long festival that only the greatest of kings could afford. Kings, princes and sages from all over the country were invited, including many of the heroes of the story, like the monkey kings.

The sage Vālmīki was also invited and he brought Rāma’s sons with him and told them to perform the Rāmāyaṇa in front of the king. Everyone was enchanted with the story and its performance, which was accompanied by music, and Rāma eventually recognised his sons, and sent once more for Sītā, whom he planned to reinstall as queen.

When Sītā arrived Rāma asked that she make a solemn affirmation of her chastity in court, but Sītā called on the earth goddess to witness to her fidelity, and she descended back into the earth from whence she had come. Rāma then appointed his sons to rule in his place, and with a great many followers returned to heaven, bringing the story to its final conclusion.

Although now the best known version of the story is that known as the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa and the various derivatives in other media, for most of its existence it was known better by the local vernacular version, which was told and retold in the regions and countries it was recounted.

Although it is clear that the main outline of the story, as set out above, was adhered to, it is also certain that the builders of Prambanan knew a story that differed from the Vālmīki telling. It is mainly in the details that the differences appear, and in what follows I have retold the story and pointed out the divergences we can see from Vālmīki’s version of events.

Most of these variations can be accounted for by reference to other tellings of the story, but it is beyond the scope of this book to go that deeply into the matter, which would in many cases require a scholarly treatment, rather than a simple re-presentation.