The Message of RAMAYANA

The medium and the message is both equally important for any epic poet and Valmiki has done full justice to both. Like the art of expression which expresses itself most effectively when the artist is not conscious of it, the communication of the real content casts itself on a wide canvas when it is ‘commissioned’ and not ‘contemplated’. This is what exactly happened with Valmiki. He never thought that his sincere concern for the pair of birds separated by a cruel shot would result in the magnum opus advocating the basic human qualities like love and compassion. But to his own surprise, it assumed the form of a world classic with a world of message for all time to come and for all living things.

Man making and Non-Killing are the two main themes that emerge from the subject-matter of the Ramayana. Valmiki derives inspiration for advocating these two basic virtues from the pleasant and placid river-water and the tragic scene of the innocent bird separated from its partner. These two incidents therefore form the backdrop for the entire story as narrated by Valmiki.

Valmiki makes his characters speak for him and for themselves through their action, words and thoughts. There are ideal characters like Rama,Bharata, Lakshmana, Sita , Sumitra, Sumantra, Guha, Jatayu, Sabari and Hanuman who serve as a models for various human qualities. They make the readers exclaim, ‘Here is an ideal son, an affectionate father, a loving brother, a faithful wife, a polished lady who has nothing to complain and is always ready to help others, an intelligent and encouraging advisor and associate, a friend in need, a guardian who cares more for his master than for his life, an ascetic who aspires for nothing but absolute bliss, an accomplished man of action with unqualified devotion and dedication to duty’

The Ramayana is essentially a family-epic. It recognizes family as the foundation for social harmony, human dignity and universal brotherhood. Rama and Sita symbolizes perfect union of hearts, Vali and Tara have less in common and Ravana and Mandodari have nothing in common except their objective, admiration and affection for each otherin spite of their ideological differences. All the three ladies- Sita, Tara and Mandodari are highly devoted to their husbands. Of the three, Sita is most admired, but undergoes the worst suffering from the worldly point of view. Tara is happiest and Mandodari is the most modest. It is paradoxical that Sita and Rama are worshipped as the ideal divine couple by many of the orthodox Hindu families; but no couple perhaps would like to lead a life which they lived. That shows how the human suffering gets sublimated in these two characters. Sufferance becomes penance if it promotes universal well-being.

The Ramayana also explains how families, societies and nations can be saved from dreadful disasters by maintaining emotional equilibrium. Rama and Bharata saved Ayodha and the royal family from a catastrophe triggered off by Kaikeyi. Vibhisana rehabilitated Lanka with a foresight and Hanuman re-established law and order in Kishkindha by diplomatic wisdom and dynamic vision. Great rulers like Janaka, Dasaratha, Bharata and Rama provide practical guidance to the administrators all over the world in matters of man management. Bad administrators like Ravana and Vali also serve as object lessons to the masses cautioning them against the evil effects of ill-planned and rashly executed statesmanship. Thus the Ramayana is also a hand book of human resource development for the custodians of peace and prosperity.

There is yet another aspect which takes the theme of the Ramayana beyond the mundane world and places it on a higher plane. That is the Spiritual angel. It is believed that the Vedic message and the maxims have been handed over to mankind through the Ramayana. There are innumerable passages in the Ramayana which sounds like Vedic Hymns conveying the cosmic concord between the life herein and hereafter. The whole sundarakanda is a treasure-house of such expressions. For those who wish to go deep into these deliberations interwoven with the main stream of the epic narration, the Ramayana is a monumental document for serious study. In fact this first poetic expression of the sage has provided inspiration to innumerable writers and still continues to be a model for world-culture.

Even for a common man, Valmiki presents examples of world-culture and its role in handling day to day problems in life. Valmiki frequently uses words like vakyajna, vakya visharada, vakya kovida, vak-sarathi, vagvidamvara only to emphasis the significance of speech in daily life. This world culture finds a prominent place in the Ramayana of Valmiki.

Generally Speaking there are two distinct types of culture presented in the Ramayana-the culture of acquisition and consumption and the culture of restraint and composure. The first one takes its roots from Ravana, depicted as dasamukha, the ten faced and the second one draws its origin from dasaratha, one who drives in ten chariots in ten directions. These two antithetical cultures are always opposed and pose a problem to world-peace. The Ramayana advocates a balanced approach to the problem. Lanka, Kiskindha and Ayodha present three different situations of the same problem and in all three instances, a balance was struck by cultured persons like Rama, Bharata, Sugriva and Vibhisana. This conflict of cultures poses not merely a problem but a threat to human security and prosperity and the Ramayana presents a solution to it.

There are various other cultures also depicted by Ramayana ranging from the Vedic culture to the vulture culture. But the surprising thing is that Valmiki elevates even the vultures (Jatayu and Sampati) to the highest level of the spirit of selfless service and sacrifice. Besides the human culture, we have nature-culture also nurtured by the sage Valmiki. The five elements- space, air, fire, water and land- are personified in the Ramayana. The Ikshvakus belong to the clan of the Sun-god who figures in the battlefield and brings victory to Rama. Sugriva is also presented as the offspring of Sun while Vali belongs to Indra. Hanuman takes his birth from the wind God. The fire-god appers before Rama and all others assembled in Lanka at the time of the fire-ordeal of Sita and testify the chastity of Sita. The sea appears in human form before Rama to apologize for his helplessness but suggests a way out to find his way through the waters. Mother Earth is the mother of Sita who is discovered from the earth in the end. Valmiki presents these five elements as characters- visible and invisible-with his poetic imagination just to make the readers understand the importance of the symbolic interaction of man with nature.

The message of Ramayana to the mankind is manifold. Viewed from any angle, this celebrated work has much to say- much more than what men and women, birds and animals, and all living beings can expect from it. It is an epic for all-relevant and resplendent at any point of time or space. It is a universal epic with eternal values which concern life in all its dimensions.

Bibliography :

Makers Of Indian Literature VALMIKI

(I. PANDURANGA RAO)