"I said that in principle, there is no difference between Ambal and Vishnu. Now I will tell you a story, which You may not have heard. Ramayanam is known to you all. Other than the Ramayanam as written by Valmeeki, Kambar and Tulasi Das, there are also other versions such as, Ananda Ramayanam, Arbutha Ramayanam and Durvasa Ramayanam and some more. In one of them, this variation that I am going to tell you, is available.
Ambal took birth as Rama and Easwara accompanied the Avatara as Sita, is the story.
"Sri Rama decides to leave Sita in Ayodhya, while going to the forest for 14 years. She blurts out a truth. "It is just sad that My Father Janaka, who selected You as the Groom, did not know that You are a woman in man's get up!". 'sthriyam purusha vigraham' This is a verbatim quote from Valmeeki Ramayanam. Sita thus reminded Sri Rama, that she is Ambal. Reminded of the purpose of Avatara, Sri Rama complied immediately and let Sita accompany."
"The Ravana, who is to be sorted out by Rama, was a great Siva Devotee. His desire was to bring Siva to Ashoka Vana and do pooja there. For that purpose only he tried to lift Kailasa Parvatam. When the mountain moved slightly, Ambal in fear embraced Siva and He pressed the mountain down by the toe of His feet. Ravana extricated himself with great difficulty and ran away to Lanka. As Ravana was a Siva baktha, he knew that Siva has assumed the form of Sita. Earlier it was Ambal's interference that came in the way of his efforts to take Siva to Sri Lanka. Now he did not want Ambal in the form of Rama,coming in the way. So he got Rama removed from the scene by using Maricha as the golden deer and took away Sita to Ashoka Vana."
2) Ramayana, Sanskrit texts:
Valmiki Ramayana by Adi Kavi Valmiki.
Various Ramayanas in Sanskrit like the Adhyatma, Mantra, Adbhuta and Ananda Ramayana were composed.
3) Ramayana Translations:
The original or Adi Ramayan by Sage Valmiki has been adapted or translated into the various regional languages in India. Majority of them are NOT mere literal translation instead they all have their own distinguishing features.
Ramcharitmanas written by Tulsidas in the 16th century is the Ramayana version popular in North India.
In Urdu, it the Pothi Ramayana written in 17th century.
In Jammu and Kashmir, it is Kashmiri Ramavatara Charita written in 19th century.
In Punjab, it is the Ramavatara written in 17th century by Guru Gobind Singh.
In Gujarat, it is the Tulsi-krita Ramayana a Gujarati adaptation of Tulisdas Ramayana in 17th century by poet Premanand.
In Maharashtra, it is the Marathi Bhavartha Ramayana written by Eknath in the 16th century. There is also reference of Ramayana being translated into old Marathi during the 12th or 13th century.
In Assam, it is the Assamese Katha Ramayana or Kotha Ramayana in 15th century by Madhava Kandali.
In Bengal, it is the Bengali Krittivas Ramayan written by poet Krittivas in 15th century.
In Orissa, it is the Oriya Balramadasa Ramayana was adapted by Balarama Das in the 16th century.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Ramayan is known as Sri Ranganatha Ramayana and was adapted by Buddha Reddy.
In Karnataka, it is Kannada versions of the Ramayan – the Kumudendu Ramayana (Jain version) in 13th century and the Kumara-Valmiki Torave Ramayana in 16th century. There is another one titled Ramachandra Charita Purana written by Nagachandra during the 13th century.
In Tamil Nadu, it is the most popular Tamil Kamba Ramayana written by poet Kamban in the 12th century.
In Kerala, it is the Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilipattu written by Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century.
4) Ananda Ramayana:
Contents: 1. Sara-kanda. 2. Yatra-kanda. 3. Yaga-kanda. 4. Vilasa-kanda. 5. Janma-kanda. 6. Vivaha-kanda. 7. Rajya-kanda 8. Manohar-kanda. 9. Purna-kanda.
In the Ananda Ramayana several events of later period have been included which could never appear to have been composed by Valmiki at all. There is a tradition that the Ananda Ramayana was composed by some one in the fourteenth century or so by a great poet, which appears to be acceptable by and large.
One of the most interesting aspect of this Ramayana is the inclusion of the episode of abduction of Kausalya by Ravana which stands included in the first Sarga of the Sara-kanda. Further, this Ramayana portraits iconographical features of Rama and his brothers, describes about birth of Sita, Ravana carrying Parvati, skill of Hanuman etc. This Ramayana also has the unique coverage highlighting the Ramaraksa Stotras, a thousand names of Rama and the formation of several types of Ramabhadra and Ramalingatobhadras, besides Rama, Sita and the other kavacas.
5) Adhyatma Ramayana:
Adhyatma Ramayana represents the story of Rama in a spiritual context and in this version everything is preordained. It comprises around 4200 verses, is embedded in Brahmanda Purana and is considered to be authored by Ved Vyasa.
Adhyatma Ramayana provides several valuable insights as follows;
The provocation of the Queen Kaikeyi by her maid Manthara, was not an evil act of her choice as presented in the Valmiki's version Ramayana, but mastered by the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, thus Manthara appears only to be playing her character in the larger drama of destiny, which lead to the killing of Ravana, the sole reason Lord Vishnu had incarnated as Rama.
Similarly, according to this text, real Sita was never really abducted by Ravana. Rama being the all-knower in this version, has premonition about the abduction, and thus instructs Sita to invoke Agni, the God of Fire and creates an illusionary self, or Maya Sita, thus when Ravana finally appears, Sita plays along the character, and illusionary Sita is abducted, and is regained after the fire ordeal, once Ravana is killed.
It makes us aware of the larger than life aspects of Lord Ram and the fact he being the Brahman (Supreme Creator) incarnate, acts to instruct. Adhyatma Ramayana raises every mundane activity of Rama, to a spiritual or transcendent level, thus instructing the seeker to view his own life through the symbolic vision for his soul, where the external life is but a metaphor for eternal journey of the soul.
Adhyatma Ramayana presents Ramayana as a divine allegory, where an exiled king, a man out of his elements, gets beguiled by the lure of maya or the illusions, - maya mrigya, hence loses his Beloved - Sita, to the demon or dark forces - Ravana. Later when he repents and asks for divine grace, he is given the strength and friends (Hanuman) to help him reclaim his divinity - (his Beloved).
6) Adbhuta Ramayana:
Adbhuta Ramayan is also said to be authored by sage Valmiki.
This classic book can be broadly divided into two parts. The first (canto 1-16) elaborately describes the Ramayana upto killing of Ravana.
The second part (canto 17-27) presents the story of Sri Ram's campaign against the thousand headed demon king Ravana of Pushakar who was the elder brother of the ten headed Ravana of Lanka, and much stronger and powerful than latter. In this war, Sita assumed the form of Makhakali, the dark-skinned Goddess worshipped as Shakti, to slay this Ravana and his demon force. The demon army has been described in great detail.
The climax of the book and the aspect which makes it so unique and holy is when lord Ram prays to the cosmic Goddess or Shakti uning 1008 divine names or mantras which describe and enumerate the various glories virtues and attributes of the magnificent Shakti of Mother Nature. This is the only classic Composition where the Shakti has been worshipped using these profound mantras.
7) Mantra Ramayana:
Nilakantha compiled a collection of mantras from the Rig Veda that correspond to the story of Rama. This collection is called the Mantra- Ramayana.
The Mantra Ramayana itself has more than 150 Riks.
Ambal took birth as Rama and Easwara accompanied the Avatara as Sita, is the story.
"Sri Rama decides to leave Sita in Ayodhya, while going to the forest for 14 years. She blurts out a truth. "It is just sad that My Father Janaka, who selected You as the Groom, did not know that You are a woman in man's get up!". 'sthriyam purusha vigraham' This is a verbatim quote from Valmeeki Ramayanam. Sita thus reminded Sri Rama, that she is Ambal. Reminded of the purpose of Avatara, Sri Rama complied immediately and let Sita accompany."
"The Ravana, who is to be sorted out by Rama, was a great Siva Devotee. His desire was to bring Siva to Ashoka Vana and do pooja there. For that purpose only he tried to lift Kailasa Parvatam. When the mountain moved slightly, Ambal in fear embraced Siva and He pressed the mountain down by the toe of His feet. Ravana extricated himself with great difficulty and ran away to Lanka. As Ravana was a Siva baktha, he knew that Siva has assumed the form of Sita. Earlier it was Ambal's interference that came in the way of his efforts to take Siva to Sri Lanka. Now he did not want Ambal in the form of Rama,coming in the way. So he got Rama removed from the scene by using Maricha as the golden deer and took away Sita to Ashoka Vana."
2) Ramayana, Sanskrit texts:
Valmiki Ramayana by Adi Kavi Valmiki.
Various Ramayanas in Sanskrit like the Adhyatma, Mantra, Adbhuta and Ananda Ramayana were composed.
3) Ramayana Translations:
The original or Adi Ramayan by Sage Valmiki has been adapted or translated into the various regional languages in India. Majority of them are NOT mere literal translation instead they all have their own distinguishing features.
Ramcharitmanas written by Tulsidas in the 16th century is the Ramayana version popular in North India.
In Urdu, it the Pothi Ramayana written in 17th century.
In Jammu and Kashmir, it is Kashmiri Ramavatara Charita written in 19th century.
In Punjab, it is the Ramavatara written in 17th century by Guru Gobind Singh.
In Gujarat, it is the Tulsi-krita Ramayana a Gujarati adaptation of Tulisdas Ramayana in 17th century by poet Premanand.
In Maharashtra, it is the Marathi Bhavartha Ramayana written by Eknath in the 16th century. There is also reference of Ramayana being translated into old Marathi during the 12th or 13th century.
In Assam, it is the Assamese Katha Ramayana or Kotha Ramayana in 15th century by Madhava Kandali.
In Bengal, it is the Bengali Krittivas Ramayan written by poet Krittivas in 15th century.
In Orissa, it is the Oriya Balramadasa Ramayana was adapted by Balarama Das in the 16th century.
In Andhra Pradesh, the Telugu Ramayan is known as Sri Ranganatha Ramayana and was adapted by Buddha Reddy.
In Karnataka, it is Kannada versions of the Ramayan – the Kumudendu Ramayana (Jain version) in 13th century and the Kumara-Valmiki Torave Ramayana in 16th century. There is another one titled Ramachandra Charita Purana written by Nagachandra during the 13th century.
In Tamil Nadu, it is the most popular Tamil Kamba Ramayana written by poet Kamban in the 12th century.
In Kerala, it is the Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilipattu written by Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century.
4) Ananda Ramayana:
Contents: 1. Sara-kanda. 2. Yatra-kanda. 3. Yaga-kanda. 4. Vilasa-kanda. 5. Janma-kanda. 6. Vivaha-kanda. 7. Rajya-kanda 8. Manohar-kanda. 9. Purna-kanda.
In the Ananda Ramayana several events of later period have been included which could never appear to have been composed by Valmiki at all. There is a tradition that the Ananda Ramayana was composed by some one in the fourteenth century or so by a great poet, which appears to be acceptable by and large.
One of the most interesting aspect of this Ramayana is the inclusion of the episode of abduction of Kausalya by Ravana which stands included in the first Sarga of the Sara-kanda. Further, this Ramayana portraits iconographical features of Rama and his brothers, describes about birth of Sita, Ravana carrying Parvati, skill of Hanuman etc. This Ramayana also has the unique coverage highlighting the Ramaraksa Stotras, a thousand names of Rama and the formation of several types of Ramabhadra and Ramalingatobhadras, besides Rama, Sita and the other kavacas.
5) Adhyatma Ramayana:
Adhyatma Ramayana represents the story of Rama in a spiritual context and in this version everything is preordained. It comprises around 4200 verses, is embedded in Brahmanda Purana and is considered to be authored by Ved Vyasa.
Adhyatma Ramayana provides several valuable insights as follows;
The provocation of the Queen Kaikeyi by her maid Manthara, was not an evil act of her choice as presented in the Valmiki's version Ramayana, but mastered by the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, thus Manthara appears only to be playing her character in the larger drama of destiny, which lead to the killing of Ravana, the sole reason Lord Vishnu had incarnated as Rama.
Similarly, according to this text, real Sita was never really abducted by Ravana. Rama being the all-knower in this version, has premonition about the abduction, and thus instructs Sita to invoke Agni, the God of Fire and creates an illusionary self, or Maya Sita, thus when Ravana finally appears, Sita plays along the character, and illusionary Sita is abducted, and is regained after the fire ordeal, once Ravana is killed.
It makes us aware of the larger than life aspects of Lord Ram and the fact he being the Brahman (Supreme Creator) incarnate, acts to instruct. Adhyatma Ramayana raises every mundane activity of Rama, to a spiritual or transcendent level, thus instructing the seeker to view his own life through the symbolic vision for his soul, where the external life is but a metaphor for eternal journey of the soul.
Adhyatma Ramayana presents Ramayana as a divine allegory, where an exiled king, a man out of his elements, gets beguiled by the lure of maya or the illusions, - maya mrigya, hence loses his Beloved - Sita, to the demon or dark forces - Ravana. Later when he repents and asks for divine grace, he is given the strength and friends (Hanuman) to help him reclaim his divinity - (his Beloved).
6) Adbhuta Ramayana:
Adbhuta Ramayan is also said to be authored by sage Valmiki.
This classic book can be broadly divided into two parts. The first (canto 1-16) elaborately describes the Ramayana upto killing of Ravana.
The second part (canto 17-27) presents the story of Sri Ram's campaign against the thousand headed demon king Ravana of Pushakar who was the elder brother of the ten headed Ravana of Lanka, and much stronger and powerful than latter. In this war, Sita assumed the form of Makhakali, the dark-skinned Goddess worshipped as Shakti, to slay this Ravana and his demon force. The demon army has been described in great detail.
The climax of the book and the aspect which makes it so unique and holy is when lord Ram prays to the cosmic Goddess or Shakti uning 1008 divine names or mantras which describe and enumerate the various glories virtues and attributes of the magnificent Shakti of Mother Nature. This is the only classic Composition where the Shakti has been worshipped using these profound mantras.
7) Mantra Ramayana:
Nilakantha compiled a collection of mantras from the Rig Veda that correspond to the story of Rama. This collection is called the Mantra- Ramayana.
The Mantra Ramayana itself has more than 150 Riks.
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