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{{short description|Major deity in Hinduism}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Hindu
| image = Lord Rama with arrows.jpg
| caption = Rama holding arrows, early 19th century depiction
| name = Rama
| Devanagari = राम
| Sanskrit_transliteration = {{IAST|Rāma}}
| member_of = [[Philosophy:Dashavatara|Dashavatara]]
| god_of = {{hlist|The Ideal Man<ref>{{Cite book|last=SATTAR|first=ARSHIA|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmTgDwAAQBAJ&q=the+ideal+man+Rama&pg=PT13|title=Maryada: Searching for Dharma in the Ramayana|date=20 October 2020|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers, {{wipe|India}}|isbn=978-93-5357-713-1|language=en|access-date=15 February 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062200/https://books.google.com/books?id=rmTgDwAAQBAJ&q=the+ideal+man+Rama&pg=PT13|url-status=live}}</ref> |Embodiment of [[Philosophy:Dharma|Dharma]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Dharma Personified|website=The Hindu|date=5 August 2011|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/dharma-personified/article2328340.ece|access-date=16 January 2021|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122100251/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/religion/dharma-personified/article2328340.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| affiliation = {{unbulleted list|Seventh [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]]|[[Philosophy:Brahman|Brahman]] ([[Religion:Vaishnavism|Vaishnavism]], especially [[Religion:Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramanandi Sampradaya]])}}
| day = [[Religion:Thursday|Thursday]]
| parents = {{unbulleted list|Dasharatha (father)|Kausalya (mother)|Kaikeyi (step-mother)|Sumitra (step-mother)}}
| spouse = [[Religion:Sita|Sita]]{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=555}}
| abode = {{hlist|[[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]]|Saketa|[[Unsolved:Vaikuntha|Vaikuntha]]}}
| weapon = [[Engineering:Sharanga|Sharanga]] [[Bow and arrow|(bow)]] and [[Engineering:Arrow|arrow]]s
| texts = {{unbulleted list|[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]|[[Religion:Versions of Ramayana|Versions of Ramayana]]}}
| siblings = {{unbulleted list|Lakshmana (half-brother)|Bharata (half-brother)|Shatrughna (half-brother)}}
| festivals = {{hlist|[[Biology:Rama Navami|Rama Navami]]|[[Religion:Vivaha Panchami|Vivaha Panchami]]|Diwali|Vijayadashami}}
| birth_place = [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]], Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, {{wipe|India}})
| death_place = Sarayu River, Ayodhya, Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)
| children = {{unbulleted list|Lava (son)|Kusha (son)}}
| dynasty = Raghuvamsha-Suryavamsha
| predecessor = Dasharatha
| gender = Male
| successor = Lava
| mantra = Jai Shri Ram<br/>Jai Siya Ram<br>[[Unsolved:Hare Krishna (mantra)|Hare Rama]]<br>[[Philosophy:Ramanama|Ramanama]] repetition
| weapons = Dhanush(Bow)
| army = Vanara Sena<br>Ayodhyan Army
}}

'''Rama''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɑː|m|ə}};<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rama|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rama|access-date=9 March 2021|website=Webster's Dictionary|language=en|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013656/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rama|url-status=live}}</ref> {{Lang-sa|राम|translit=Rāma|translit-std=IAST}}; {{IPA-sa|ˈraːmɐ|lang|Sa-राम.oga}})<!--Do not remove, WP:INDICSCRIPT doesn't apply to WikiProject Hinduism--> is a major deity in [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]]. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''[[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]]s'' of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]]. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Tulasīdāsa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VV7leonJ8aQC&pg=PA871|title=Sri Ramacaritamanasa|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1999|isbn=978-81-208-0762-4|pages=871–872|translator-last=Prasad|translator-first=RC|translator-link=R. C. Prakash}}</ref>

Rama was born to Kausalya and Dasharatha in [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]], the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married [[Religion:Sita|Sita]]. Though born in a royal family, Rama's life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes, such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, and challenges of ethical questions and moral dilemmas.<ref name="Brackney2013p238"/> Of all his travails, the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon-king Ravana, followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds. 

The entire life story of Rama, Sita and their companions allegorically discusses duties, rights and social responsibilities of an individual. It illustrates [[Philosophy:Dharma|dharma]] and dharmic living through model characters.<ref name="Brackney2013p238">{{cite book|author=William H. Brackney|title=Human Rights and the World's Major Religions, 2nd Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZRgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA238|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-4408-2812-6|pages=238–239|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062214/https://books.google.com/books?id=KZRgAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA238|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hindery1978p95">{{cite book|author=Roderick Hindery|title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA95|year=1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0866-9|pages=95–124|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062244/https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rama is especially important to [[Religion:Vaishnavism|Vaishnavism]]. He is the central figure of the ancient Hindu epic ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', a text historically popular in the South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures.<ref name="goldmanrama">{{cite book|author1=Vālmīki|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWX43jnbOngC|title=The Ramayana of Valmiki: Balakanda|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1990|isbn=978-1-4008-8455-1|page=3|translator-last=Goldman|translator-first=Robert P.|translator-link=Robert P. Goldman|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062200/https://books.google.com/books?id=DWX43jnbOngC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Dimock1963>{{cite journal| author = Dimock Jr, E.C.| year = 1963| title = Doctrine and Practice among the Vaisnavas of Bengal| journal = History of Religions| volume = 3| issue = 1| pages = 106–127| jstor = 1062079| doi = 10.1086/462474| s2cid = 162027021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Marijke J. Klokke|title=Narrative Sculpture and Literary Traditions in South and Southeast Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fx3mpR4uKmkC&pg=PA51 |year=2000|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-11865-9|pages=51–57}}</ref> His ancient legends have attracted ''[[Religion:Bhashya|bhashya]]'' (commentaries) and extensive secondary literature and inspired performance arts. Two such texts, for example, are the ''[[Religion:Adhyatma Ramayana|Adhyatma Ramayana]]'' – a spiritual and theological treatise considered foundational by [[Religion:Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramanandi]] monasteries,{{Sfn|Ramdas Lamb|2012|p=28}} and the ''[[Religion:Ramcharitmanas|Ramcharitmanas]]'' – a popular treatise that inspires thousands of Ramlila festival performances during autumn every year in India.<ref name="SchechnerHess51">{{cite journal | last1=Schechner | first1=Richard | last2=Hess | first2=Linda | title=The Ramlila of Ramnagar [India] | journal=The Drama Review: TDR | publisher=The MIT Press | volume=21 | issue=3 | year=1977 | pages=51–82 | doi=10.2307/1145152 | jstor=1145152 }}</ref><ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=389}}.</ref><ref name="Jennifer Lindsay 2006 12–14">{{cite book|author=Jennifer Lindsay|title=Between Tongues: Translation And/of/in Performance in Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ks-nUAO_fJgC&pg=PA12|year=2006|publisher=National University of Singapore Press|isbn=978-9971-69-339-8|pages=12–14}}</ref>

Rama legends are also found in the texts of [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]] and [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]], though he is sometimes called Pauma or Padma in these texts,{{Sfn|Dalal|2010|pp=337-338}} and their details vary significantly from the Hindu versions.<ref name="ClausDiamond2003p508">{{cite book|author1=Peter J. Claus|author2=Sarah Diamond|author3=Margaret Ann Mills|title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA508|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-93919-5|page=508}}</ref> [[Religion:Jain Scriptures|Jain Texts]] also mentioned [[Biology:Rama in Jainism|Rama]] as the eighth balabhadra among the 63 [[Religion:Salakapurusa|salakapurusa]]s.<ref name="King">{{cite book|last=King|first=Anna S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FvH1aCXETwC|title=The intimate other: love divine in Indic religions|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=2005|isbn=978-81-250-2801-7|pages=32–33|access-date=9 August 2020|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062200/https://books.google.com/books?id=0FvH1aCXETwC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Matchett">{{cite book|last=Matchett|first=Freda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1oqTYiPeAxMC|title=Krishna, Lord or Avatara?: the relationship between Krishna and Vishnu|publisher=9780700712816|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7007-1281-6|pages=3–4}}</ref>{{Sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|pp=72-73}} In [[Biology:Rama in Sikhism|Sikhism]], Rama is mentioned as one of twenty-four divine avatars of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar in ''[[Religion:Dasam Granth|Dasam Granth]].''<ref name=":0">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Robin Rinehart|2011|pp=14, 28–30}}.</ref>

==Etymology and nomenclature==
Rama is also known as Ram, Raman, Ramar,{{Refn|Many Indian languages, such as Hindi, delete the terminal 'a' sound in Sanskrit words. Others, such as Tamil and Malayalam, have their own suffixes; -r and -n in this case. [[Social:Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages|Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/15617/why-we-put-a-after-each-hindu-name/15622|title=Why we put 'a' after each Hindu name|website=Hinduism.Stackexchange|access-date=8 March 2021|date=16 October 2016|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417180922/https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/15617/why-we-put-a-after-each-hindu-name/15622|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-greek}} and Ramachandra ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|r|ɑː|m|ə|ˈ|tʃ|ae|n|d|r|ə}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref> {{IAST3|Rāmacandra}}, {{Lang-sa|रामचन्द्र}}). ''Rāma'' is a Vedic Sanskrit word with two contextual meanings. In one context, as found in ''Atharva Veda'', as stated by Monier Monier-Williams, it means "dark, dark-colored, black" and is related to the term ''ratri'', which means night. In another context in other Vedic texts, the word means "pleasing, delightful, charming, beautiful, lovely".<ref name="mmwrama">{{Cite web|title=Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary --र|url=https://sanskrit.inria.fr/MW/218.html#raama|access-date=6 March 2021|website=sanskrit.inria.fr|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508003129/https://sanskrit.inria.fr/MW/218.html#raama|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=parpola264/> The word is sometimes used as a suffix in different Indian languages and religions, such as Pali in Buddhist texts, where ''-rama'' adds the sense of "pleasing to the mind, lovely" to the composite word.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Thomas William Rhys Davids|author2=William Stede|title=Pali-English Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Guw2CnxiucC&pg=PA521 |year=1921|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1144-7|page=521}}</ref>

''Rama'' as a first name appears in the Vedic literature, associated with two patronymic names – Margaveya and Aupatasvini – representing different individuals. A third individual named ''Rama Jamadagnya'' is the purported author of hymn 10.110 of the ''[[Religion:Rigveda|Rigveda]]'' in the Hindu tradition.<ref name=mmwrama/> The word ''Rama'' appears in ancient literature in reverential terms for three individuals:<ref name=mmwrama/>

# [[Religion:Parashurama|Parashu-rama]], as the sixth [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] of Vishnu. He is linked to the ''Rama Jamadagnya'' of the ''Rigveda'' fame.
# '''Rama-chandra''', as the seventh avatar of Vishnu and of the ancient ''Ramayana'' fame.
# Bala-rama, also called ''Halayudha'', as the elder brother of [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]] both of whom appear in the legends of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

The name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu texts, for many different scholars and kings in mythical stories.<ref name=mmwrama/> The word also appears in ancient Upanishads and [[Religion:Aranyaka|Aranyaka]]s layer of Vedic literature, as well as music and other post-Vedic literature, but in qualifying context of something or someone who is "charming, beautiful, lovely" or "darkness, night".<ref name=mmwrama/>

The Vishnu avatar named Rama is also known by other names. He is called ''Ramachandra'' (beautiful, lovely moon),<ref name=parpola264>{{cite book|author=Asko Parpola|title=Studia Orientalia, Volume 84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkBZAAAAMAAJ |year=1998|publisher=Finnish Oriental Society|isbn=978-951-9380-38-4|page=264}}</ref> or ''Dasarathi'' (son of Dasaratha), or ''Raghava'' (descendant of Raghu, solar dynasty in Hindu cosmology).<ref name=mmwrama/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Wagenaar|first1=Hank W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kWROaer5UsC&pg=PA528|title=Allied Chambers transliterated Hindi-Hindi-English dictionary|last2=Parikh|first2=S. S.|publisher=Allied Publishers|year=1993|isbn=978-81-86062-10-4|page=528}}</ref> He is also known as Ram Lalla ''(Infant form of Rama)''.<ref name="News18RamLalla19">{{Cite web|title=Ayodhya Case Verdict: Who is Ram Lalla Virajman, the 'Divine Infant' Given the Possession of Disputed Ayodhya Land|url=https://www.news18.com/news/india/ayodhya-case-verdict-who-is-ram-lalla-virajman-the-divine-infant-given-the-possession-of-disputed-ayodhya-land-2379679.html|date=9 November 2019|access-date=4 August 2020|website=News18|archive-date=28 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928112944/https://www.news18.com/news/india/ayodhya-case-verdict-who-is-ram-lalla-virajman-the-divine-infant-given-the-possession-of-disputed-ayodhya-land-2379679.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additional names of Rama include ''Ramavijaya'' ([[Social:Javanese language|Javanese]]), ''Phreah Ream'' ([[Social:Khmer language|Khmer]]), ''Phra Ram'' ([[Social:Lao language|Lao]] and [[Social:Thai language|Thai]]), ''Megat Seri Rama'' ([[Social:Malay language|Malay]]), ''Raja Bantugan'' (Maranao), ''Ramudu'' ([[Social:Telugu language|Telugu]]), ''Ramar'' ([[Social:Tamil language|Tamil]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rajarajan |first1=R.K.K. |title=Sītāpaharaṇam: Changing thematic Idioms in Sanskrit and Tamil. In Dirk W. Lonne ed. Tofha-e-Dil: Festschrift Helmut Nespital, Reinbeck, 2 vols., pp. 783–97 |date=2001 |isbn=3-88587-033-9 |pages=783–797 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263747582 |language=en}}</ref> In the ''Vishnu sahasranama'', Rama is the 394th name of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]]. In some Advaita Vedanta inspired texts, Rama connotes the metaphysical concept of Supreme [[Philosophy:Brahman|Brahman]] who is the eternally blissful spiritual Self (Atman, soul) in whom [[Philosophy:Yogi|yogi]]s delight nondualistically.{{Sfn|Ramdas Lamb|2012|p=31}}

The root of the word ''Rama'' is ''ram-'' which means "stop, stand still, rest, rejoice, be pleased".<ref name=parpola264/>

According to Douglas Q. Adams, the Sanskrit word ''Rama'' is also found in other Indo-European languages such as [[Social:Tocharian languages|Tocharian]] ''ram'', ''reme'', ''*romo-'' where it means "support, make still", "witness, make evident".<ref name=parpola264/><ref>{{cite book|author1=Adams|author2=Douglas Q. Adams|title=A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EWziAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA587 |year=2013|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=978-90-420-3671-0|page=587}}</ref> The sense of "dark, black, soot" also appears in other Indo European languages, such as ''*remos'' or Old English ''romig''.{{Sfn|Maloory and en|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC&pg=PA160 160]}}{{refn|group=lower-greek|The legends found about Rama, state Mallory and Adams, have "many of the elements found in the later Welsh tales such as ''Branwen Daughter of Llyr'' and ''Manawydan Son of Lyr''. This may be because the concept and legends have deeper ancient roots.{{Sfn|Maloory and en|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC&pg=PA165 165]}}}}

==Legends==
This summary is a traditional legendary account, based on literary details from the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'' and other historic mythology-containing texts of [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]] and [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]]. According to Sheldon Pollock, the figure of Rama incorporates more ancient "morphemes of Indian myths", such as the mythical legends of ''Bali'' and ''Namuci''. The ancient sage Valmiki used these morphemes in his ''Ramayana'' similes as in sections 3.27, 3.59, 3.73, 5.19 and 29.28.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Vālmīki|author2=Sheldon I. Pollock|title=The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Araṇyakāṇḍa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1g6fWIu-kAC |year=2007|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-3164-3|pages=41 with footnote 83}}</ref>

===Birth===
[[File:PM at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Shree Ram Janmaboomi Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh on January 22, 2024 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Balak Ram, the 5-year old form of Rama, is the principal deity of the Ram Mandir in Ram Janmabhoomi]]
The ancient epic ''Ramayana'' states in the ''Balakanda'' that Rama and his brothers were born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]], a city on the banks of Sarayu River.<ref name="Guruge1991p51" /><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/ShrimadValmikiRamayan-SanskritTextWithHindiTranslation-DpSharma10/ShrimadValmikiRamayan-SktHindi-DpSharmaVol01-BalaKanda1927#page/n177/mode/2up ''Valmiki Ramayana''], ''Bala Kanda''</ref> The Jain versions of the ''Ramayana'', such as the ''Paumacariya'' (literally deeds of Padma) by Vimalasuri, also mention the details of the early life of Rama. The Jain texts are dated variously, but generally pre-500 CE, most likely sometime within the first five centuries of the common era.<ref name="cort313">{{cite book|author=Cort|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC|title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-973957-8|pages=313 note 9}}</ref> Moriz Winternitz states that the ''Valmiki Ramayana'' was already famous before it was recast in the Jain ''Paumacariya'' poem, dated to the second half of the 1st century CE, which pre-dates a similar retelling found in the ''Buddha-carita'' of Asvagosa, dated to the beginning of the 2nd century CE or prior.<ref>{{cite book|first=Moriz|last=Winternitz|title=A History of Indian Literature, Volume 1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C&pg=PA491|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited|isbn=81-208-0264-0|year=1981|pages=491–492|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062238/https://books.google.com/books?id=JRfuJFRV_O8C&pg=PA491#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dasharatha was the king of Kosala, and a part of the Kshatriya solar dynasty of Iksvakus. His mother's name Kaushalya literally implies that she was from Kosala. The kingdom of Kosala is also mentioned in [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhist]] and [[Religion:Jain literature|Jain texts]], as one of the sixteen ''[[Religion:Mahajanapadas|Maha janapadas]]'' of ancient India, and as an important center of pilgrimage for Jains and Buddhists.<ref name="Guruge1991p51">{{cite book|author=A. W. P. Guruge |title=The Society of the Ramayana |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116402264364 |url-access=registration |year=1991|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-265-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/trent_0116402264364/page/51 51]–54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=John Cort|title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973957-8|pages=160–162, 196, 314 note 14, 318 notes 57–58}}, Quote (p. 314): "(...) Kosala was the kingdom centered on Ayodhya, in what is now east-central Uttar Pradesh."</ref> However, there is a scholarly dispute whether the modern Ayodhya is indeed the same as the Ayodhya and Kosala mentioned in the ''Ramayana'' and other ancient Indian texts.<ref name="veer157">{{cite book|author=Peter van der Veer|title=Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p29ArJ7j6zgC&pg=PA157|year=1994|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-08256-4|pages=157–162}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-greek|Kosala is mentioned in many Buddhist texts and travel memoirs. The Buddha idol of Kosala is important in the Theravada Buddhism tradition, and one that is described by the 7th-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzhang. He states in his memoir that the statue stands in the capital of Kosala then called Shravasti, midst ruins of a large monastery. He also states that he brought back to China two replicas of the Buddha, one of the Kosala icon of Udayana and another the Prasenajit icon of Prasenajit.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Cort|title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-973957-8|pages=194–200, 318 notes 57–58}}</ref>}}

Rama's birth, according to ''Ramayana'', is an incarnation of God (''Vishnu'') as human. When demigods went to ''Brahma'' to seek liberation from Ravana's menace on the Earth (due to powers he had from Brahma's boon to him), ''Vishnu'' himself appeared and said he will incarnate as ''Rama'' (human) and kill ''Ravana'' (since ''Brahma''<nowiki/>'s boon made him invincible from all, including God, except humans).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rosen |first=Steven |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70775665 |title=Essential Hinduism |date=2006 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=0-275-99006-0 |location=Westport, Conn. |pages=68–69 |oclc=70775665 |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062808/https://search.worldcat.org/title/70775665 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Youth, family and friends===

[[File:An early 20th century Hindu deity Rama painting.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Rama is portrayed in Hindu arts and texts as a compassionate person who cares for all living beings.<ref name="hindery106">{{cite book|author=Roderick Hindery|title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA98 |year=1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0866-9|pages=106–107}}</ref>]]
Rama had three brothers, according to the ''Balakanda'' section of the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]''. These were Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna.{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=555}} The extant manuscripts of the text describes their education and training as young princes, but this is brief. Rama is portrayed as a polite, self-controlled, virtuous youth always ready to help others. His education included the Vedas, the [[Philosophy:Vedanga|Vedanga]]s as well as the martial arts.<ref name="Dalal2010p326">{{harvnb|Dalal|2010|pp=326–327}}</ref>

The years when Rama grew up are described in much greater detail by later Hindu texts, such as the ''Ramavali'' by Tulsidas. The template is similar to those found for [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]], but in the poems of Tulsidas, Rama is milder and reserved introvert, rather than the prank-playing extrovert personality of Krishna.{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=555}}

In the kingdom of Mithilā, Rāma wins a bow-stringing contest and thus the hand of king Janaka's daughter Sītā. After getting married, Rāma takes her back to Ayodhyā.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Goldman |first=Robert P. |title=The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1984 |volume=I: Bālakāṇḍa |pages=248–263}}</ref>

While Rama and his brothers were away, Kaikeyi, the mother of Bharata and the second wife of King Dasharatha, reminds the king that he had promised long ago to comply with one thing she asks, anything. Dasharatha remembers and agrees to do so. She demands that Rama be exiled for fourteen years to Dandaka forest.<ref name="Dalal2010p326" /> Dasharatha grieves at her request. Her son Bharata, and other family members become upset at her demand. Rama states that his father should keep his word, adds that he does not crave for earthly or heavenly material pleasures, and seeks neither power nor anything else. He informs of his decision to his wife and tells everyone that time passes quickly. [[Religion:Sita|Sita]] leaves with him to live in the forest, and Lakshmana joins them in their exile as the caring close brother.<ref name="Dalal2010p326" />

===Exile and war===
[[File:Rama exiled to Forest.jpg|thumb|left|Rama, along with his younger brother Lakshmana and wife Sita, exiled to the forest.]]
Rama heads outside the Kosala kingdom, crosses Yamuna river and initially stays at Chitrakuta, on the banks of river Mandakini, in the hermitage of sage [[Biography:Vasishtha|Vasishtha]].<ref name="dalal99">{{harvnb|Dalal|2010|pp=99, 326–327}}</ref> During the exile, Rama meets one of his devotee, Shabari who happened to love him so much that when Rama asked something to eat she offered her ber, a fruit. But every time she gave it to him she first tasted it to ensure that it was sweet and tasty as a testament to her devotion. Rama also understood her devotion and ate all the half-eaten bers given by her. Such was the reciprocation of love and compassion he had for his people. This place is believed in the Hindu tradition to be the same as Chitrakoot on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The region has numerous Rama temples and is an important Vaishnava pilgrimage site.<ref name="dalal99" /> The texts describe nearby hermitages of Vedic rishis (sages) such as Atri, and that Rama roamed through forests, lived a humble simple life, provided protection and relief to ascetics in the forest being harassed and persecuted by demons, as they stayed at different [[Philosophy:Ashram|ashram]]s.<ref name="dalal99" /><ref name="hindery99">{{harvnb|Hindery|1978|pp=98–99}}</ref>

After ten years of wandering and struggles, Rama arrives at Panchavati, on the banks of river Godavari. This region had numerous demons (''rakshashas''). One day, a demoness called Shurpanakha saw Rama, became enamored of him, and tried to seduce him.<ref name="Dalal2010p326" /> Rama refused her. Shurpanakha retaliated by threatening [[Religion:Sita|Sita]]. Lakshmana, the younger brother protective of his family, in turn retaliated by cutting off the nose and ears of Shurpanakha. The cycle of violence escalated, ultimately reaching demon king Ravana, who was the brother of Shurpanakha. Ravana comes to Panchavati to take revenge on behalf of his family, sees Sita, gets attracted, and kidnaps her to his [[Unsolved:Lanka|kingdom of Lanka]] ''(believed to be modern Sri Lanka)''.<ref name="Dalal2010p326" /><ref name="hindery99" />

[[File:Rama and Hanuman fighting Ravana, an album painting on paper, c1820.jpg|thumb|Rama seated on back of Hanuman (right) fights Ravana, c. 1820]]
Rama and Lakshmana discover the kidnapping, worry about Sita's safety, despair at the loss and their lack of resources to take on Ravana. Their struggles now reach new heights. They travel south, meet Sugriva, marshall an army of monkeys, and attract dedicated commanders such as Hanuman who was a minister of Sugriva.<ref name="Ramayana">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Wzg6wFJ5xwC | title=Ramayana | publisher=University of California Press | author=B. A van Nooten William | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-520-22703-3 | access-date=9 August 2020 | archive-date=31 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062702/https://books.google.com/books?id=4Wzg6wFJ5xwC | url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, Ravana harasses Sita to be his wife, queen or goddess.{{sfn|Goldman|1996|page=406|ps=:<br>16. ... Ravana is represented as merely requesting that Sita stop thinking of him as an enemy and that she abandon her mistaken notion that he wants her to be his wife. By mentioning his chief queen, he is really saying that he wants Sita to be the chosen goddess of both him and his chief queen, Mandodari.}} Sita refuses him. Ravana gets enraged and ultimately reaches Lanka, fights in a war that has many ups and downs, but ultimately Rama prevails, kills Ravana and forces of evil, and rescues his wife Sita. They return to [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]].<ref name="Dalal2010p326" />{{Sfn|Goldman|1996|p=90}}

===Post-war rule, death and re-appearance===

The return of Rama to Ayodhya was celebrated with his coronation. It is called ''Rama pattabhisheka'', and his rule itself as ''Rama rajya'' described to be a just and fair rule.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ramashraya Sharma|title=A Socio-political Study of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Vo0OJtO6DQC&pg=PA2 |year=1986|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass  |isbn=978-81-208-0078-6|pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gregory Claeys|title=The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFCuoqykV9QC&pg=PA240 |year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-82842-0|pages=240–241}}</ref> It is believed by many that when Rama returned people celebrated their happiness with ''diyas'' (lamps), and the festival of Diwali is connected with Rama's return.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOnuAAAAIAAJ|title=Self-realization Magazine|date=1971|publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lOnuAAAAIAAJ&q=is+diwali+connected+to+lord+rama+returned 50]|language=en|access-date=6 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062702/https://books.google.com/books?id=lOnuAAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Upon Rama's accession as king, rumours emerge that Sita may have gone willingly when she was with Ravana; Sita protests that her capture was forced. Rama responds to public gossip by renouncing his wife and asking her to prove her chastity in front of ''Agni'' (fire). She does and passes the test. Rama and Sita live happily together in Ayodhya, have twin sons named Kusha and Lava, in the ''Ramayana'' and other major texts.<ref name="hindery99" /> However, in some revisions, the story is different and tragic, with Sita dying of sorrow for her husband not trusting her, making Sita a moral heroine and leaving the reader with moral questions about Rama.{{Sfn|Hindery|1978|p=100}}<ref name="Hess2001" /> In these revisions, the death of Sita leads Rama to drown himself. Through death, he joins her in afterlife.<ref>{{cite book|author=Frye|first=Northrope|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AV-zCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA191|title=Northrop Frye's Uncollected Prose|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4426-4972-9|location=Toronto, {{wipe|Canada}}|page=191}}</ref> Depiction of Rama dying by drowning himself and then emerging in the sky as a six-armed incarnate of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]] is found in the Burmese version of Rama's life story called ''Thiri Rama''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Rooney|first=Dawn F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiCEDgAAQBAJ|title=The Thiri Rama: Finding Ramayana in Myanmar|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2017|isbn=978-1-315-31395-5|page=49-51}}</ref>

===Variations===
[[File:Rama's Court, Folio from a Ramayana (Adventures of Rama) LACMA AC1999.127.36.jpg|thumb|Rama darbar (Rama's court), Chamba painting, 1775-1800. Rama and Sita on the throne with Rama's brothers behind. Hanuman with Sugriva and Jambavan pay their respects.]]
Rama's legends vary significantly by the region and across manuscripts. While there is a common foundation, plot, grammar and an essential core of values associated with a battle between good and evil, there is neither a correct version nor a single verifiable ancient one. According to Paula Richman, there are hundreds of versions of "the story of Rama in India, Southeast Asia and beyond".<ref name="richman7">{{harvnb|Richman|1991|pp=7–9 (by Richman), pp. 22–46 (Ramanujan)}}</ref><ref name="Iyengar2005p29">{{cite book|author=A. N. Jani|editor=Kodaganallur R.S. Iyengar|title=Asian Variations in Ramayana: Papers Presented at the International Seminar on 'Variations in Ramayana in Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CU92nFk5fU4C&pg=PA29| year=2005| publisher= Sahitya Akademi|isbn= 978-81-260-1809-3|pages=29–55}}</ref> The versions vary by region reflecting local preoccupations and histories, and these cannot be called "divergences or different tellings" from the "real" version, rather all the versions of Rama story are real and true in their own meanings to the local cultural tradition, according to scholars such as Richman and Ramanujan.<ref name="richman7" />

The stories vary in details, particularly where the moral question is clear, but the appropriate ethical response is unclear or disputed.{{sfn|Richman|1991|pp=10–12, 67–85}}<ref name="Horstmann1991p9">{{cite book|author=Monika Horstmann|title=Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmāyaṇas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40A6s8l1lqQC |year=1991|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03116-5|pages=9–21}}</ref> For example, when demoness Shurpanakha disguises as a woman to seduce Rama, then stalks and harasses Rama's wife Sita after Rama refuses her, Lakshmana is faced with the question of appropriate ethical response. In the Indian tradition, states Richman, the social value is that "a warrior must never harm a woman".{{sfn|Richman|1991|pp=10–12, 67–85}} The details of the response by Rama and Lakshmana, and justifications for it, has numerous versions. Similarly, there are numerous and very different versions to how Rama deals with rumours against Sita when they return victorious to Ayodhya, given that the rumours can neither be objectively investigated nor summarily ignored.{{sfn|Richman|1991|pp=11–12, 89–108}} Similarly the versions vary on many other specific situations and closure such as how Rama, Sita and Lakshmana die.{{sfn|Richman|1991|pp=10–12, 67–85}}<ref name="Padmanabh216">{{cite book |author=Padmanabh S Jaini |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kZFzHCuiFAC |title=Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1381-4 |editor=Wendy Doniger |pages=216–219}}</ref>

The variation and inconsistencies are not limited to the texts found in the Hinduism traditions. The Rama story in the Jain tradition also show variation by author and region, in details, in implied ethical prescriptions and even in names – the older versions using the name Padma instead of Rama, while the later Jain texts just use Rama.<ref>{{cite book|author=Umakant P. Shah|editor=Kodaganallur R.S. Iyengar|title=Asian Variations in Ramayana: Papers Presented at the International Seminar on 'Variations in Ramayana in Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CU92nFk5fU4C&pg=PA29| year=2005| publisher= Sahitya Akademi|isbn= 978-81-260-1809-3|pages=57–76}}</ref>

==Dating==
[[File:The Divine Hero Rama.jpg|alt=|thumb|281x281px|A 5th century terracotta sculpture depicting Rama]]In some Hindu texts, Rama is stated to have lived in the ''Treta Yuga''{{Sfn|Menon|2008|pp=10-11}} that their authors estimate existed before about 5,000 BCE. Archaeologist H. S. Sankalia, who specialised in Proto- and Ancient Indian history, find such estimate to be "pure speculation".<ref name="dhirajlal" /> A few other researchers place Rama to have more plausibly lived around 1250 BCE,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/was-ram-born-in-ayodhya/articleshow/77380259.cms|title=Was Ram born in Ayodhya|first=Devdutt|last=Pattanaik|website=mumbaimirror|date=8 August 2020|access-date=8 August 2020|archive-date=14 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814150318/https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/was-ram-born-in-ayodhya/articleshow/77380259.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> based on regnal lists of Kuru and Vrishni leaders which if given more realistic reign lengths would place Bharat and Satwata, contemporaries of Rama, around that period. Sankalia dates various incidents of the Ramayana to have taken place as early as 1,500 BCE.<ref name="dhirajlal">{{cite book|last=Dhirajlal Sankalia|first=Hasmukhlal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgVkAAAAMAAJ|title=The Ramayana in historical perspective|publisher=Macmillan Publishers|year=1982|isbn=9-780-333-90390-2|location={{wipe|India}} (branch)|pages=4–5, 51|access-date=8 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062703/https://books.google.com/books?id=bgVkAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Aspects of Indian History and Archaeology|page=205|author=Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia|year=1977|publisher=B. R. Publishing Corporation}}</ref>

The composition of Rama's epic story, the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', in its current form is usually dated between 8th and 4th century BCE.<ref name=":02"/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Parmeshwaranand|first=Swami|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6F0ZIBIL2ZAC|title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas|date=2001a|publisher=Swarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-226-3|language=en|author-link=Swami Prameyananda}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Archaeology: Indonesian Perspective : R.P. Soejono's Festschrift|first=Truman |last=Simanjuntak |page=361|year =2006}}</ref> According to John Brockington, a professor of Sanskrit at Oxford known for his publications on the ''Ramayana'', the original text was likely composed and transmitted orally in more ancient times, and modern scholars have suggested various centuries in the 1st millennium BCE. In Brockington's view, "based on the language, style and content of the work, a date of roughly the fifth century BCE is the most reasonable estimate".<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Brockington|author2=Mary Brockington|title=The Other Ramayana Women: Regional Rejection and Response |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GgQzDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-39063-3|pages=3–6}}</ref>

{{clear}}
==Iconography and physical characteristics==
[[File:Ram with companions.jpg|thumb|Rama with Lakshmana (left), Sita (right) and Hanuman at his feet. Tanjore painting, mid 19th century]]
Rama iconography shares elements of avatars of Vishnu, but has several distinctive elements. He has two hands, holds a ''bana'' (arrow) in his right hand, while he holds the ''dhanus'' (bow) in his left.<ref name=raoramaicon/> The most recommended icon for him is that he be shown standing in ''tribhanga'' pose (thrice bent "S" shape). He is shown black, blue or dark color, typically wearing reddish color clothes. Rama is often accompanied with his brother Lakshmana on his left side while his consort [[Religion:Sita|Sita]] always on his right, both of golden-yellow complexion. His monkey companion Hanuman stands nearby with folded arms. The group can be accompanied with Rama's brothers Bharata and Shatrughna too.<ref name=raoramaicon>{{cite book|author=T. A. Gopinatha Rao|title=Elements of Hindu iconography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC|year=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0878-2|pages=189–195|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-date=11 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111033003/https://books.google.com/books?id=MJD-KresBwIC|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Ramayana describes Rama as a charming, well built person of a dark complexion (''varṇam śyāmam'') and long arms (''ājānabāhu'', meaning a person whose middle finger reaches beyond their knee).{{Sfn|Valmiki Ramayan|p=kishkindha kanda}} In the [[Religion:Sundara Kanda|Sundara Kanda]] section of the epic, Hanuman describes Rama to [[Religion:Sita|Sita]] when she is held captive in [[Unsolved:Lanka|Lanka]]  to prove to her that he is indeed a messenger from Rama:

{{blockquote|He has broad shoulders, mighty arms, a conch-shaped neck, a charming countenance, and coppery eyes;
he has his clavicle concealed and is known by the people as Rama.
He has a voice (deep) like the sound of a kettledrum and glossy skin,
is full of glory, square-built, and of well-proportioned limbs and is endowed with a dark-brown complexion.<ref>{{harvnb|Valmiki Ramayan|p=1235 (Volume 2 of Śrīmad Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: With Sanskrit Text and English Translation)}}</ref>}}

{{Clear}}

==Philosophy and symbolism==
Rama's life story is imbued with symbolism. According to Sheldon Pollock, the life of Rama as told in the Indian texts is a masterpiece that offers a framework to represent, conceptualise and comprehend the world and the nature of life. Like major epics and religious stories around the world, it has been of vital relevance because it "tells the culture what it is". Rama's life is more complex than the Western template for the battle between the good and the evil, where there is a clear distinction between immortal powerful gods or heroes and mortal struggling humans. In the Indian traditions, particularly Rama, the story is about a divine human, a mortal god, incorporating both into the exemplar who transcends both humans and gods.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Vālmīki|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1g6fWIu-kAC|title=The Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki: An Epic of Ancient India. Araṇyakāṇḍa|last2=Pollock|first2=Sheldon I.|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=2007|isbn=978-81-208-3164-3|pages=41–43|author-link2=Sheldon Pollock}}</ref>

{{Quote box
 |quote  = '''Responding to evil'''
<poem>
A superior being does not render evil for evil,
this is the maxim one should observe;
the ornament of virtuous persons is their conduct.
(...)
A noble soul will ever exercise compassion
even towards those who enjoy injuring others.
</poem>
 |source = —''Ramayana 6.115'', Valmiki<br />(Abridged, Translator: Roderick Hindery)<ref name=hindery103/>
 |bgcolor=#FFE0BB
 |align  = right
}}
As a person, Rama personifies the characteristics of an ideal person (''purushottama'').<ref name = "Hess2001">{{cite journal| author = Hess, L.| year = 2001| title = Rejecting Sita: Indian Responses to the Ideal Man's Cruel Treatment of His Ideal Wife| journal = Journal of the American Academy of Religion
| volume = 67| issue = 1| pages = 1–32| doi = 10.1093/jaarel/67.1.1| pmid = 21994992}}</ref> He had within him all the desirable virtues that any individual would seek to aspire, and he fulfils all his moral obligations. Rama is considered a ''maryada purushottama'' or the best of upholders of Dharma.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LexraSEgRfIC&q=The+Blackwell+Companion+to+Hinduism|title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism|author=Gavin Flood|isbn=978-81-265-1629-2|date=17 April 2008|publisher=Wiley India Pvt. Limited|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062703/https://books.google.com/books?id=LexraSEgRfIC&q=The+Blackwell+Companion+to+Hinduism|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Rodrick Hindery, Book 2, 6 and 7 are notable for ethical studies.<ref name=hindery100>{{cite book|author=Roderick Hindery|title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA100|year =1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 978-81-208-0866-9|pages=100–101}}</ref><ref name="Horstmann1991p9"/> The views of ''Rama'' combine "reason with emotions" to create a "thinking hearts" approach. Second, he emphasises through what he says and what he does a union of "self-consciousness and action" to create an "ethics of character". Third, Rama's life combines the ethics with the aesthetics of living.<ref name=hindery100/> The story of Rama and people in his life raises questions such as "is it appropriate to use evil to respond to evil?", and then provides a spectrum of views within the framework of Indian beliefs such as on [[Philosophy:Karma|karma]] and [[Philosophy:Dharma|dharma]].<ref name=hindery103>{{cite book|author=Roderick Hindery|title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA100|year =1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn= 978-81-208-0866-9|pages=103–106}}</ref>

Rama's life and comments emphasise that one must pursue and live life fully, that all three life aims are equally important: virtue (dharma), desires ([[Philosophy:Kama|kama]]), and legitimate acquisition of wealth ([[Philosophy:Artha|artha]]). Rama also adds, such as in section 4.38 of the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', that one must also introspect and never neglect what one's proper duties, appropriate responsibilities, true interests, and legitimate pleasures are.<ref name=hindery106/>
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==Literary sources==
[[File:Valmiki Ramayana.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Valmiki composing the ''Ramayana''.]]

===''Ramayana''===
The primary source of the life of Rama is the Sanskrit epic ''Ramayana'' composed by Rishi Valmiki.{{Sfn|Valmiki Ramayan}}
[[File:Dashavatara.jpg|thumb|Rama (right third from top) depicted in the Dashavatara (ten incornations) of Vishnu. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma.]]
The epic had many versions across India's regions. The followers of [[Religion:Madhvacharya|Madhvacharya]] believe that an older version of the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'', the ''Mula-Ramayana'', previously existed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Timm|first=Jeffrey R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryswPhIBcZkC|title=Texts in Context: Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia|date=1 January 1992|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-0796-7|pages=118|language=en}}</ref> The Madhva tradition considers it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki.{{Sfn|Griffith}}

Versions of the ''Ramayana'' exist in most major Indian languages; examples that elaborate on the life, deeds and divine philosophies of Rama include the epic poem ''Ramavataram'', and the following vernacular versions of Rama's life story:<ref>{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones|author2=James D. Ryan|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC|year=2006|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|page=355|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-date=20 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020070415/https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''Ramavataram or Kamba-Ramayanam'' in [[Social:Tamil language|Tamil]] by the poet Kambar. (12th century)
* [[Religion:Saptakanda Ramayana|Saptakanda Ramayana]] in [[Social:Assamese language|Assamese]] by poet Madhava Kandali. (14th century)
* ''Krittivasi Ramayana'' in [[Social:Bengali language|Bengali]] by poet Krittibas Ojha. (15th century)
* ''[[Religion:Ramcharitmanas|Ramcharitmanas]]'' in Awadhi by sant Tulsidas. (16th-century)
* ''Pampa Ramayana'', ''Torave Ramayana'' by Kumara Valmiki and ''Sri Ramayana Darshanam'' by Kuvempu in [[Social:Kannada|Kannada]]
* ''Bhavartha Ramayana'' in [[Social:Marathi language|Marathi]] by Sant Eknath. (16th-century)
* ''Ranganatha Ramayanam'' ({{Circa|1300}}) by ''Ranganatha'', and ''Ramayana Kalpavruksham'' by Viswanatha Satyanarayana in [[Social:Telugu language|Telugu]]<ref name="Pollet1995">{{cite book |author=Gilbert Pollet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVnK3q48dL0C&q=ranganatha+ramayana+telugu&pg=PA59 |title=Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact : Proceedings of the 8th International Rāmāyaạ Conference, Leuven, 6-8 July 1991 |date=1 January 1995 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-6831-701-5 |page=59 |access-date=5 April 2023 |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409035526/https://books.google.com/books?id=EVnK3q48dL0C&q=ranganatha+ramayana+telugu&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Vilanka Ramayana'' in [[Social:Odia language|Odia]]
* ''Eluttachan'' in Malayalam (this text is closer to the [[Philosophy:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta]]-inspired rendition ''Adhyatma Ramayana'').{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=4}}

The epic is found across India, in different languages and cultural traditions.<ref>[http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan_sac_inside.aspx?id=36507224368&terms=Regional%20Ramayanas "The Oral Tradition and the many 'Ramayanas'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225123703/https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan_sac_inside.aspx?id=36507224368&terms=Regional%20Ramayanas |date=25 February 2021 }}, Moynihan @Maxwell, Maxwell School of [[Organization:Syracuse University|Syracuse University]]'s South Asian Center</ref>

===''Adhyatma Ramayana''===
''Adhyatma Ramayana'' is a late medieval [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] text extolling the spiritualism in the story of [[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]. It is embedded in the latter portion of ''Brahmānda Purana'', and constitutes about a third of it.<ref name=jnfarquhar158>{{cite book|author=John Nicol Farquhar |title=An Outline of the Religious Literature of India |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100309 |year=1920|publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.100309/page/n356 324]–325}}</ref> The text philosophically attempts to reconcile [[Philosophy:Bhakti|Bhakti]] in god Rama and Shaktism with [[Philosophy:Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta]], over 65 chapters and 4,500 verses.{{Sfn|Rocher|1986|pp=158–159 with footnotes}}<ref name="Tulasīdāsa1989p875">{{cite book|author=RC Prasad |title=Tulasīdāsa's Sriramacharitmanasa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiYt00x5tcQC&pg=PA875 |year=1989|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0443-2  |pages=xiv-xv, 875–876}}</ref>

The text represents Rama as the [[Philosophy:Brahman|Brahman]] (metaphysical reality), mapping all attributes and aspects of Rama to abstract virtues and spiritual ideals.<ref name="Tulasīdāsa1989p875"/> ''Adhyatma Ramayana'' transposes ''Ramayana'' into symbolism of self study of one's own soul, with metaphors described in Advaita terminology.<ref name="Tulasīdāsa1989p875"/> It influenced the popular ''Ramcharitmanas'' by Tulsidas,<ref name=jnfarquhar158/><ref name="Tulasīdāsa1989p875"/> and inspired the most popular version of Nepali ''Ramayana'' by Bhanubhakta Acharya.<ref>{{cite book|author=R. Barz|editor=Monika Horstmann|title=Rāmāyaṇa and Rāmāyaṇas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40A6s8l1lqQC |year=1991|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03116-5|pages=32–35}}</ref> This was also translated by Thunchath Ezhuthachan to [[Social:Malayalam|Malayalam]], which lead the foundation of Malayalam literature itself.<ref>{{citation |last=Paniker |first=K. Ayyappa |date=2006 |orig-date=1977 |title=A Short History of Malayalam Literature |publisher=Information & Public Relations Department Kerala State |page=31 |url=https://archive.org/details/ASHORTHISTORYOFMALAYALAMLITERATURE/page/n29/mode/1up}}</ref><!-- ? {{Sfn|James|2002|p=72}} -->

===''Ramacharitmanas''===
[[File:Tulsidas composing his famous Avadhi Ramcharitmanas.jpg|thumb|Tulsidas hints at several places in his works, that he had met face to face with Hanuman and Rama.<ref name="ralhan-quest2">Ralhan 1997, pp. 194–197.</ref><ref>Pradas 2008, p. 878, quoting J. L. Brockington: ... for in his more personal ''Vinayapatrika'' Tulasi alludes to having visions of Rama.</ref> The detailed account of his meetings with Hanuman and Rama are given in the ''Bhaktirasbodhini'' of Priyadas.<ref name="lutgendorf-darshan2">Lutgendorf 1991, pp. 49–50.</ref> ]]
The ''Ramayana'' is a Sanskrit text, while ''[[Religion:Ramcharitmanas|Ramacharitamanasa]]'' retells the ''Ramayana'' in Awadhi,<ref name="britramcharit" /> commonly understood in northern India by speakers of the several Hindi languages.{{sfn| Lutgendorf|1991}}<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2008|p=217}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Varma|2010|p=1565}}</ref> ''Ramacharitamanasa'' was composed in the 16th century by Tulsidas.<ref>{{harvnb|Poddar|2001|pp=26–29}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Das|2010|p=63}}</ref><ref name="britramcharit">[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramcharitmanas Ramcharitmanas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411223352/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramcharitmanas |date=11 April 2017 }}, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2012)</ref> The popular text is notable for synthesising the epic story in a Bhakti movement framework, wherein the original legends and ideas morph in an expression of spiritual [[Philosophy:Bhakti|bhakti]] (devotional love) for a personal god.<ref name="britramcharit" />{{sfn|Schomer|McLeod|1987|p=75}}{{refn|group=lower-greek|For example, like other Hindu poet-saints of the Bhakti movement before the 16th century,  Tulsidas in ''Ramcharitmanas'' recommends the simplest path to devotion is ''Nam-simran'' (absorb oneself in remembering the divine name "Rama"). He suggests either vocally repeating the name (''jap'') or silent repetition in mind (''ajapajap''). This concept of Rama moves beyond the divinised hero and connotes an "all-pervading Being" and equivalent to ''atmarama'' within. The term ''atmarama'' is a compound of "Atma" and "Rama", it literally means "he who finds joy in his own self", according to the French Indologist Charlotte Vaudeville known for her studies on Ramayana and Bhakti movement.{{sfn|Schomer|McLeod|1987|pp=31–32 with footnotes 13 and 16 (by C. Vaudeville).}}}}

Tulsidas was inspired by ''Adhyatma Ramayana'', where Rama and other figures of the ''Valmiki Ramayana'' along with their attributes (''saguna'' narrative) were transposed into spiritual terms and abstract rendering of an ''Atma'' (soul, self, [[Religion:Brahmana|''Brahman'']]) without attributes (''nirguna'' reality).<ref name=jnfarquhar158/><ref name="Tulasīdāsa1989p875"/>{{sfn|Schomer|McLeod|1987|pp=31, 74–75 with footnotes, Quote: "What is striking about the dohas in the Ramcharitmanas however is that they frequently have a sant-like ring to them, breaking into the very midst of the saguna narrative with a statement of nirguna reality".}} According to Kapoor, Rama's life story in the ''Ramacharitamanasa'' combines mythology, philosophy, and religious beliefs into a story of life, a code of ethics, a treatise on universal human values.<ref name="Pollet1995p181"/> It debates in its dialogues the human dilemmas, the ideal standards of behaviour, duties to those one loves, and mutual responsibilities. It inspires the audience to view their own lives from a spiritual plane, encouraging the virtuous to keep going, and comforting those oppressed with a healing balm.<ref name="Pollet1995p181">{{cite book|author=A Kapoor|editor=Gilbert Pollet|title=Indian Epic Values: Rāmāyaṇa and Its Impact|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVnK3q48dL0C&pg=PA181 |year=1995|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=978-90-6831-701-5|pages=181–186}}</ref>

The ''Ramacharitmanas'' is notable for being the Rama-based play commonly performed every year in autumn, during the weeklong performance arts festival of ''Ramlila''.<ref name="Jennifer Lindsay 2006 12–14"/> The "staging of the ''Ramayana'' based on the ''Ramacharitmanas''" was inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity.<ref name="unescodussehra">{{Cite web|title=Ramlila-The traditional performance of Ramayana|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/ramlila-the-traditional-performance-of-the-ramayana-00110|access-date=8 March 2021|website=[[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]]|archive-date=31 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131032510/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/ramlila-the-traditional-performance-of-the-ramayana-00110|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''Yoga Vasistha''===
{{main|Philosophy:Yoga Vasistha}}
{{Quote box
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''Yoga Vasistha'' is a Sanskrit text structured as a conversation between young Prince Rama and sage Vasistha who was called as the first sage of the [[Philosophy:Vedanta|Vedanta]] school of Hindu philosophy by [[Biography:Adi Shankara|Adi Shankara]]. The complete text contains over 29,000 verses.<ref name=chappleix>{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|pp=ix–xi}}</ref> The short version of the text is called ''Laghu Yogavasistha'' and contains 6,000 verses.<ref name="Leslie2003-105">{{Harvnb|Leslie|2003|pp=105}}</ref> The exact century of its completion is unknown, but has been estimated to be somewhere between the 6{{Rp|th}} century to as late as the 14{{Rp|th}} century, but it is likely that a version of the text existed in the 1{{Rp|st}} millennium.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|p=x}}</ref>

The ''[[Philosophy:Yoga Vasistha|Yoga Vasistha]]'' text consists of six books. The first book presents Rama's frustration with the nature of life, human suffering and disdain for the world. The second describes, through the figure of Rama, the desire for liberation and the nature of those who seek such liberation. The third and fourth books assert that liberation comes through a spiritual life, one that requires self-effort, and present cosmology and metaphysical theories of existence embedded in stories.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii"/> These two books are known for emphasising free will and human creative power.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii"/><ref>Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-521-04779-1}}, pages 252–253</ref> The fifth book discusses meditation and its powers in liberating the individual, while the last book describes the state of an enlightened and blissful Rama.<ref name="Chapple1984-xii">{{Harvnb|Chapple|1984|pp=xi–xii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Valmiki |title=The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1984 |isbn=0-87395-955-8 |location=Albany |translator-last=Venkatesananda |translator-first=S}}</ref>

''Yoga Vasistha'' is considered one of the most important texts of the Vedantic philosophy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tigunait|first=Rajmani|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&q=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition|title=The Himalayan Masters: A Living Tradition|date=2002|publisher=Himalayan Institute Press|isbn=978-0-89389-227-2|location=Itanagar|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&dq=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition&pg=PA33 33]|language=en|access-date=9 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062742/https://books.google.com/books?id=gukW2iojhrQC&q=The+Himalayan+Masters:+A+Living+Tradition#v=snippet&q=The%20Himalayan%20Masters%3A%20A%20Living%20Tradition&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The text, states David Gordon White, served as a reference on [[Philosophy:Yoga|Yoga]] for medieval era Advaita Vedanta scholars.<ref name="whiteysxvi">{{cite book|last=White|first=David Gordon|title=The "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": A Biography|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-691-14377-4|pages=xvi–xvii, 51}}</ref> The Yoga Vasistha, according to White, was one of the popular texts on Yoga that dominated the Indian Yoga culture scene before the 12th century.<ref name=whiteysxvi/>

===Other texts===
[[File:A relief summary of Ramayana at Hindu temple cave 16 Ellora India.jpg|thumb|left|The Rama story is carved into stone as an 8th-century relief artwork in the largest Shiva temple of the Ellora Caves, suggesting its importance to the Indian society by then.<ref name="vatsyayan335">{{cite book |author=Kapila Vatsyayan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ar2Qfr-UeQC&pg=PA339 |title=The Ramayana Revisited |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-516832-7 |editor=Mandakranta Bose |pages=335–339}}</ref>]]Other important historic Hindu texts on Rama include ''Bhusundi Ramanaya'', ''Prasanna raghava'', and ''Ramavali'' by Tulsidas.{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=555}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Edmour J. Babineau|url=https://archive.org/details/loveofgodsociald0000babi|title=Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1979|isbn=978-0-89684-050-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/loveofgodsociald0000babi/page/85 85]–[https://archive.org/details/loveofgodsociald0000babi/page/85 86]|url-access=registration}}</ref> The Sanskrit poem ''Bhaṭṭikāvya'' of Bhatti, who lived in Gujarat in the seventh century CE, is a retelling of the epic that simultaneously illustrates the grammatical examples for Pāṇini's ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'' as well as the major figures of speech and the Prakrit language.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhaṭṭi|title=Bhaṭṭikāvya|publisher=Clay Sanskrit Library|year=600|isbn=978-0-8147-2778-2|location={{wipe|New York City}}, {{wipe|United States}}|pages=22.35|translator-last=Olliver|translator-first=Fallon|orig-year=2009}}</ref>

Another historically and chronologically important text is ''Raghuvamsa'' authored by [[Biography:Kalidasa|Kalidasa]].<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Dalal|2010|p=323}}.</ref> Its story confirms many details of the ''Ramayana'', but has novel and different elements. It mentions that Ayodhya was not the capital in the time of Rama's son named Kusha, but that he later returned to it and made it the capital again. This text is notable because the poetry in the text is exquisite and called a ''Mahakavya'' in the Indian tradition, and has attracted many scholarly commentaries. It is also significant because Kalidasa has been dated to between the 4th and 5th century CE, suggesting that the Ramayana legend was well established by the time of Kalidasa.<ref name=":1" />

The ''Mahabharata'' has a summary of the ''Ramayana''. The Jainism tradition has extensive literature of Rama as well, but generally refers to him as Padma, such as in the ''Paumacariya'' by Vimalasuri.<ref name=cort313/> Rama and Sita legend is mentioned in the Jataka tales of Buddhism, as ''Dasaratha-Jataka'' (Tale no. 461), but with slightly different spellings such as ''Lakkhana'' for ''Lakshmana'' and ''Rama-pandita'' for ''Rama''.<ref name= Francis325>{{cite book|author1=H. T. Francis|author2=E. J. Thomas|title=Jataka Tales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WYjRAwAAQBAJ |year=1916|publisher=Cambridge University Press (Reprinted: 2014) |isbn=978-1-107-41851-6|pages=325–330}}</ref><ref name="cowell78">{{cite book|last1=Cowell|first1=E. B.|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.553497|title=The Jātaka: Or, Stories of the Buddha's Former Births|last2=Rouse|first2=WHD|publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}|year=1901|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.553497/page/n94 78–82]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Suvira|last=Jaiswal|title=Historical Evolution of Ram Legend|journal=Social Scientist|date=1993|volume=21|issue=3 / 4 March April 1993|pages=89–96|doi=10.2307/3517633|jstor=3517633}}</ref>

The chapter 4 of ''Vishnu Purana'', chapter 112 of ''Padma Purana'', chapter 143 of ''Garuda Purana'' and chapters 5 through 11 of ''[[Religion:Agni Purana|Agni Purana]]'' also summarise the life story of Rama.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=84 with footnote 26}} Additionally, the Rama story is included in the ''Vana Parva'' of the ''[[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]]'', which has been a part of evidence that the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'' is likely more ancient, and it was summarised in the ''Mahabharata'' epic in ancient times.<ref>{{cite book|author=Buitenen|first=J. A. B. van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2QG_ZgsM13IC|title=The Mahabharata, Volume 2: Book 2: The Book of Assembly; Book 3: The Book of the Forest|publisher=[[Organization:University of Chicago Press|University of Chicago Press]]|year=1973|isbn=978-0-226-84664-4|pages=207–214}}</ref>

==Worship and temples==

=== Worship ===
Rama is a revered Vaishanava deity, who is worshipped privately at home or in temples.

As part of the Bhakti movement, Rama became focus of the [[Religion:Ramanandi Sampradaya|Ramanandi Sampradaya]], a ''sannyasi'' community founded by the 14th-century North-Indian poet-saint Ramananda. This community has grown to become the largest Hindu [[Philosophy:Sannyasa|monastic]] community in modern times.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Raj|first1=Selva J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ov2oltTLinkC|title=Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia|last2=Harman|first2=William P.|date=1 January 2006|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-6708-4|language=en}}</ref>{{Sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|pp=98-108}} This Rama-inspired movement has championed social reforms, accepting members without discriminating anyone by gender, class, caste or religion since the time of Ramananda who also accepted Muslims wishing to leave Islam.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Larson|first=Gerald James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6jmckIUHMAC|title=India's Agony Over Religion: Confronting Diversity in Teacher Education|date=16 February 1995|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-2412-4|language=en|access-date=6 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062746/https://books.google.com.bd/books?id=g6jmckIUHMAC&redir_esc=y|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Harvard citation no brackets|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=1}}.</ref> Traditional scholarship holds that his disciples included later Bhakti movement ''poet-saints'' such as [[Biography:Kabir|Kabir]], [[Biography:Ravidas|Ravidas]], Bhagat Pipa and others.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lorenzen|first=David N.|date=1999|title=Who Invented Hinduism?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SO-YmMWpcVEC|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|volume=41|issue=4|pages=630–659|doi=10.1017/S0010417599003084|issn=0010-4175|jstor=179424|isbn=9788190227261|s2cid=247327484|via=Book|access-date=6 March 2021|archive-date=23 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223185737/https://books.google.com/books?id=SO-YmMWpcVEC|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Festivals ===

====Rama Navami====
[[Biology:Rama Navami|Rama Navami]] is a spring festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri, and falls on the ninth day of the bright half of Chaitra month in the traditional Hindu calendar. This typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year.{{Sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch/page/562 562]}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=City News, Indian City Headlines, Latest City News, Metro City News |url=https://indianexpress.com/section/cities/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407143924/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=175953 |archive-date=7 April 2009 |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

The day is marked by recital of Rama legends in temples, or reading of Rama stories at home. Some Vaishnava Hindus visit a temple, others pray within their home, and some participate in a bhajan or kirtan with music as a part of [[Religion:Puja (Hinduism)|puja]] and aarti.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121104195645/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-02/mysore/28056195_1_ramanavami-music-festival-temples-devotees Ramnavami]</ref> The community organises charitable events and volunteer meals. The festival is an occasion for moral reflection for many Hindus.<ref name="bbc">{{Cite web |title=BBC – Religions – Hinduism: Rama Navami |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/rama.shtml |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=25 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725153056/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holydays/rama.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bp">{{cite web |date=8 April 2014 |title=President and PM greet people as India observes Ram Navami today |url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/president-and-pm-greet-people-as-india-observes-ram-navami-today/ |access-date=8 April 2014 |work=IANS |publisher=news.biharprabha.com |archive-date=9 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409001520/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/04/president-and-pm-greet-people-as-india-observes-ram-navami-today/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some mark this day by vrata (fasting) or a visit to a river for a dip.<ref name="bbc" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Portal of India |url=https://www.india.gov.in/ |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=Govt. of India |archive-date=14 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314045800/http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=4282 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="dna8apr2014">{{Cite web |last=John |first=Josephine |date=8 April 2014 |title=Hindus around the world celebrate Ram Navami today |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-hindus-around-the-world-celebrate-ram-navami-today-1976344 |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=DNA India |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225011544/https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-hindus-around-the-world-celebrate-ram-navami-today-1976344 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The important celebrations on this day take place at [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]], Sitamarhi,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sitamarhi {{!}} India |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sitamarhi |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |quote=A large Ramanavami fair, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama, is held in spring with considerable trade in pottery, spices, brass ware, and cotton cloth. A cattle fair held in Sitamarhi is the largest in Bihar state. The town is sacred as the birthplace of the goddess Sita (also called Janaki), the wife of Rama. |archive-date=27 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427100105/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546790/Sitamarhi |url-status=live }}</ref> Janakpur (Nepal), Bhadrachalam, Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta and [[Place:Rameswaram|Rameswaram]]. Rathayatras, the chariot processions, also known as ''Shobha yatras'' of Rama, Sita, his brother Lakshmana and Hanuman, are taken out at several places.<ref name="bbc" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Latest News, India News, Breaking News, Today's News Headlines Online |url=https://indianexpress.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407015100/http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990325/ige25105.html |archive-date=7 April 2009 |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=City News, Indian City Headlines, Latest City News, Metro City News |url=https://indianexpress.com/section/cities/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407143929/http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=47910 |archive-date=7 April 2009 |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> In Ayodhya, many take a dip in the sacred river Sarayu and then visit the Rama temple.<ref name="dna8apr2014" />

Rama Navami day also marks the end of the nine-day spring festival celebrated in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh called ''Vasanthothsavam'' (Festival of Spring), that starts with Ugadi. Some highlights of this day are ''Kalyanam'' (ceremonial wedding performed by temple priests) at Bhadrachalam on the banks of the river Godavari in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, preparing and sharing ''Panakam'' which is a sweet drink prepared with jaggery and pepper, a procession and Rama temple decorations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Satpathy |first=Kriti Saraswat |date=14 April 2016 |title=Did you know these rituals of Ram Navami celebration in Karnataka? |url=https://www.india.com/travel/articles/did-you-know-these-rituals-of-ram-navami-celebration-in-karnataka-3234872/ |access-date=6 March 2021 |website=India News, Breaking News {{!}} India.com |language=en |archive-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112131440/https://www.india.com/travel/articles/did-you-know-these-rituals-of-ram-navami-celebration-in-karnataka-3234872/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Ramlila and Dussehra====
[[File:Ramlila artists.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.85|In Northern, Central and Western states of India, the Ramlila play is enacted during Navratri by rural artists (above).]]
Rama's life is remembered and celebrated every year with dramatic plays and fireworks in autumn. This is called Ramlila, and the play follows the ''[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]'' or more commonly the ''[[Religion:Ramcharitmanas|Ramcharitmanas]]''.{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|p=389}} It is observed through thousands<ref name="SchechnerHess51" /> of Rama-related performance arts and dance events, that are staged during the festival of Navratri in {{wipe|India}}.{{sfn|Encyclopedia Britannica|2015}} After the enactment of the legendary war between Good and Evil, the Ramlila celebrations climax in the Dussehra (Dasara, Vijayadashami) night festivities where the giant grotesque effigies of Evil such as of demon Ravana are burnt, typically with fireworks.<ref name="unescodussehra" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kasbekar |first=Asha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C&q=Jatra+bengal&pg=PA44 |title=Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle |date=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-85109-636-7 |language=en |access-date=8 March 2021 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062704/https://books.google.com/books?id=Sv7Uk0UcdM8C&q=Jatra+bengal&pg=PA44 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Ramlila festivities were declared by UNESCO as one of the "Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity" in 2008. Ramlila is particularly notable in historically important Hindu cities of [[Place:Ayodhya|Ayodhya]], Varanasi, [[Place:Vrindavan|Vrindavan]], Almora, Satna and Madhubani – cities in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.<ref name="unescodussehra" />{{sfn|James G. Lochtefeld|2002|pp=561–562}} The epic and its dramatic play migrated into southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, and ''Ramayana'' based ''Ramlila'' is a part of performance arts culture of Indonesia, particularly the Hindu society of [[Place:Bali|Bali]], Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.<ref>{{cite book |author=Bose |first=Mandakranta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ar2Qfr-UeQC |title=The Ramayana Revisited |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-516832-7 |pages=342–350}}</ref>

====Diwali====
In some parts of India, Rama's return to Ayodhya and his coronation is the main reason for celebrating Diwali, also known as the ''Festival of Lights''.{{Sfn|Gupta|1991|p=fontcover}}

In Guyana, Diwali is marked as a special occasion and celebrated with a lot of fanfare. It is observed as a national holiday in this part of the world and some ministers of the Government also take part in the celebrations publicly. Just like Vijayadashmi, Diwali is celebrated by different communities across India to commemorate different events in addition to Rama's return to Ayodhya. For example, many communities celebrate one day of Diwali to celebrate the Victory of Krishna over the demon Narakasur.{{Refn|As per another popular tradition, in the Dvapara Yuga period, [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]], an [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]], killed the demon Narakasura, who was the evil king of Pragjyotishapura, near present-day Assam and released 16000 girls held captive by Narakasura. Diwali was celebrated as a sign of the triumph of good over evil after Krishna's Victory over Narakasura. The day before Diwali is remembered as Naraka Chaturdasi, the day on which Narakasura was killed by Krishna.{{Sfn|Richman|1991|p=107}}|group=lower-greek}}

===Temples===
[[File:Painting of Lord Rama on a temple at Bhadrachalam in Khammam District.jpg|thumb|A rare 4th-armed Rama with Sita on his lap (left) and Lakshmana is the central icon of Bhadrachalam temple]]
Temples dedicated to Rama are found all over India and in places where Indian migrant communities have resided. In most temples, the iconography of Rama is accompanied by that of his wife [[Religion:Sita|Sita]] and brother Lakshmana.{{Sfn|Gupta|1991|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XQjgAAAAMAAJ&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman 36]}} In some instances, Hanuman is also included either near them or in the temple premises.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhat|first=Rama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79|title=The Divine Anjaneya: Story of Hanuman|date=2006i|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-41262-4|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&dq=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79 79]|language=en|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062747/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZMgclIr9aeEC&q=why+Rama+always+drawn+with+sita+and+lakshman&pg=PA79#v=snippet&q=why%20Rama%20always%20drawn%20with%20sita%20and%20lakshman&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hindu temples dedicated to Rama were built by early 5th century, according to copper plate inscription evidence, but these have not survived. The oldest surviving Rama temple is near Raipur (Chhattisgarh), called the Rajiva-locana temple at Rajim near the Mahanadi river. It is in a temple complex dedicated to Vishnu and dates back to the 7th-century with some restoration work done around 1145 CE based on epigraphical evidence.<ref>{{cite book|author=J. L. Brockington|title=The Sanskrit Epics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C |year=1998| publisher=BRILL |isbn=90-04-10260-4|pages=471–472}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Meister | first=Michael W. | title=Prasada as Palace: Kutina Origins of the Nagara Temple | journal=Artibus Asiae | volume=49 | issue=3/4 | year=1988 | pages=254–280 (Figure 21) | doi=10.2307/3250039 | jstor=3250039 }}</ref> The temple remains important to Rama devotees in the contemporary times, with devotees and monks gathering there on dates such as [[Biology:Rama Navami|Rama Navami]].<ref name="Harle1994p207">{{cite book|author=James C. Harle|title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent|url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06217-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl/page/148 148]–149, 207–208}}</ref>

Some of Rama temples include:
* Rama temple, [[Biology:Ram Janmabhoomi|Ram Janmabhoomi, Ayodhya]], Uttar Pradesh.
* Bhadrachalam Temple, Telangana.
* Kodandarama Temple, Vontimitta, Andhra Pradesh.
* [[Place:Ramateertham|Ramateertham Temple]], Andhra Pradesh.
* Ramaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu
* Kola Valvill Ramar Temple, Tiruvelliyangudi, Tamil Nadu
* Veeraraghava Swamy Temple, Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu
* Adi Jagannatha Perumal Temple, Tamil Nadu
* Mudikondan Kothandaramar Temple, Tamil Nadu.
* Vijayaraghava Perumal temple, Tamil Nadu.
* Punnainallur Kothandaramar Temple, Tamil Nadu
* Eri-Katha Ramar Temple, Tamil Nadu
* Sri Kalyana Ramaswamy temple, Tamil Nadu
* Kothandarama Temple, Thillaivilagam, Tamilnadu.
* Kothandaramaswamy Temple, [[Place:Rameswaram|Rameswaram]], Tamil Nadu.
* Sri Kothanda Ramaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu
* Kothandaramar temple, Vaduvur, Tamil Nadu
* Sri Yoga Rama temple, Tamil Nadu
* Kodandaramaswamy temple, Tamil Nadu
* Kothandaramaswami Temple, Nandambakkam, Tamil Nadu
* Triprayar Sriramaswami Kshetram, Triprayar, Kerala.
* Kalaram Temple, Nashik, Maharashtra.
* Raghunath Temple, Jammu.
* Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
* Kodandarama Temple, Chikmagalur, Karnataka.
* Odogaon Raghunath Temple, Odisha.
* Ramchaura Mandir, Bihar.
* Sri Rama Temple, Ramapuram, Kerala.
* Thakurdwara Bhagwan Narainji, Gurdaspur, Punjab
* Vilwadrinatha Temple, Thiruvilwamala, Kerala.

==Influence==
[[File:Burmese Ramayana dance.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Rama (Yama) and Sita (Thida) in Yama Zatdaw, the Burmese version of the Ramayana]]
Rama's story has had a major socio-cultural and inspirational influence across [[Place:South Asia|South Asia]] and [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]].<ref name="goldmanrama" />{{sfn|Richman|1991|p=17 note 11}}

[[File:Rama and Ravana.jpg|thumb|Rama and Ravana as depicted in Yakshagana, a traditional theater art from Karnataka, a southern state in India.]]

<blockquote style="background-color:none;margin-right:5em;margin-left:0em;border-left:solid 6px #FFE0BB;padding:1.0em">
Few works of literature produced in any place at any time have been as popular, influential, imitated and successful as the great and ancient Sanskrit epic poem, the ''Valmiki Ramayana''.
:– Robert Goldman, Professor of Sanskrit, [[Organization:University of California, Berkeley|University of California]] at Berkeley.<ref name="goldmanrama" /></blockquote>

According to Arthur Anthony Macdonell, a professor at Oxford and Boden scholar of Sanskrit, Rama's ideas as told in the Indian texts are secular in origin, their influence on the life and thought of people having been profound over at least two and a half millennia.<ref name="Goldmanramabp">{{Cite book |last=Goldman |first=Robert |url=http://southasia.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/shared/documents/Ramayana.pdf |title=The Valmiki Ramayana |publisher=Center for South Asia Studies |year=2013 |location=[[Organization:University of California, Berkeley|University of California]], Berkeley, California |access-date=10 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028145411/http://southasia.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/shared/documents/Ramayana.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Sundaram |first=P S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPTcCd32pJIC |title=Kamba Ramayana |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-93-5118-100-2 |pages=1–2}}</ref> Their influence has ranged from being a framework for personal introspection to cultural festivals and community entertainment.<ref name="goldmanrama" /> His life stories, states Goldman, have inspired "painting, film, sculpture, puppet shows, shadow plays, novels, poems, TV serials and plays."<ref name="Goldmanramabp" />

=== Hindu arts in Southeast Asia ===
[[File:L'exposition "Angkor - la naissance d'un mythe" (musée Guimet) (11804234493).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Rama's story is a major part of the artistic reliefs found at [[Astronomy:Angkor Wat|Angkor Wat]], Cambodia. Large sequences of Ramayana reliefs are also found in Java, Indonesia.<ref>{{cite book |author=Willem Frederik Stutterheim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OoitUqGk8PAC |title=Rāma-legends and Rāma-reliefs in Indonesia |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1989 |isbn=978-81-7017-251-2 |pages=109–160}}</ref>]]

Rama's life story, both in the written form of Sanskrit ''Ramayana'' and the oral tradition arrived in southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE.<ref name="Brandon2009p22">{{cite book |author=James R. Brandon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-tAlBV5_LkC |title=Theatre in Southeast Asia |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-674-02874-6 |pages=22–27 |access-date=10 April 2017 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062705/https://books.google.com/books?id=g-tAlBV5_LkC |url-status=live }}</ref> Rama was one of many ideas and cultural themes adopted, others being the Buddha, the Shiva and host of other Brahmanic and Buddhist ideas and stories.<ref name="Brandon2009p15">{{cite book |author=Brandon |first=James R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-tAlBV5_LkC |title=Theatre in Southeast Asia |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-674-02874-6 |pages=15–21 |access-date=10 April 2017 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131062705/https://books.google.com/books?id=g-tAlBV5_LkC |url-status=live }}</ref> In particular, the influence of Rama and other cultural ideas grew in Java, [[Place:Bali|Bali]], Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.<ref name="Brandon2009p15" />

The ''Ramayana'' was translated from Sanskrit into old Javanese around 860 CE, while the performance arts culture most likely developed from the oral tradition inspired by the Tamil and Bengali versions of Rama-based dance and plays.<ref name="Brandon2009p22" /> The earliest evidence of these performance arts are from 243 CE according to Chinese records. Other than the celebration of Rama's life with dance and music, Hindu temples built in southeast Asia such as the Prambanan near [[Place:Yogyakarta|Yogyakarta]] (Java), and at the Panataran near Blitar (East Java), show extensive reliefs depicting Rama's life.<ref name="Brandon2009p22" /><ref>Jan Fontein (1973), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4171579 The Abduction of Sitā: Notes on a Stone Relief from Eastern Java] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506025631/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4171579 |date=6 May 2020 }}, Boston Museum Bulletin, Vol. 71, No. 363 (1973), pp. 21–35</ref> The story of Rama's life has been popular in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kats |first=J. |year=1927 |title=The Ramayana in Indonesia |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=4 |issue=3 |page=579 |doi=10.1017/s0041977x00102976 |s2cid=162850921}}</ref>

In the 14th century, the [[History:Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya Kingdom]] and its capital Ayuttaya was named after the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya, with the official religion of the state being Theravada Buddhism.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Francis D. K. Ching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciywCgAAQBAJ |title=A Global History of Architecture |author2=Mark M. Jarzombek |author3=Vikramaditya Prakash |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-40257-3 |page=456}}, Quote: "The name of the capital city [Ayuttaya] derives from the Hindu holy city Ayodhya in northern India, which is said to be the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Michael C. Howard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QPWXrCCzBIC |title=Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies: The Role of Cross-Border Trade and Travel |publisher=McFarland |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7864-9033-2 |pages=200–201}}</ref> Thai kings, continuing into the contemporary era, have been called Rama, a name inspired by Rama of ''Ramakien'' – the local version of Sanskrit ''Ramayana'', according to Constance Jones and James Ryan. For example, King Chulalongkorn (1853–1910) is also known as Rama V, while King Vajiralongkorn who succeeded to the throne in 2016 is called Rama X.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Constance Jones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA443 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |author2=James D. Ryan |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5 |page=443}}</ref>

===Jainism===
[[File:Swarn Jain temple, Gwalior - Ram.jpg|thumb|''Rama'', ''Lakshmana'', and ''Sita'' with Jain acharya ''yugal-charan'', Swarn Jain temple in Gwalior.]]


In [[Philosophy:Jainism|Jainism]], the earliest known version of Rama story is variously dated from the 1st to 5th century CE. This Jain text credited to Vimalasuri shows no signs of distinction between Digambara-Svetambara (sects of Jainism), and is in a combination of [[Social:Maharashtri Prakrit|Maharashtri]] and Sauraseni languages. These features suggest that this text has ancient roots.<ref name="Doniger1993p190">{{cite book |author=John E Cort |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kZFzHCuiFAC |title=Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7914-1381-4 |editor=Wendy Doniger |page=190}}</ref>

In Jain [[Astronomy:Cosmology|cosmology]], people continue to be reborn as they evolve in their spiritual qualities, until they reach the Jina state and complete enlightenment. This idea is explained as cyclically reborn triads in its Puranas, called the Baladeva, Vasudeva and evil Prati-vasudeva.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jacobi |first=Herman |title=Vimalsuri's Paumachariyam |publisher=Prakrit Text Society |year=2005 |edition=2nd |location=Ahemdabad}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Iyengar |first=Kodaganallur Ramaswami Srinivasa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CU92nFk5fU4C&pg=PA80 |title=Asian Variations in Ramayana |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=2005 |isbn=978-81-260-1809-3}}</ref> Rama, Lakshmana and evil Ravana are the eighth triad, with Rama being the reborn Baladeva, and Lakshmana as the reborn Vasudeva.<ref name="Padmanabh216" /> Rama is described to have lived long before the 22nd Jain Tirthankara called Neminatha. In the Jain tradition, Neminatha is believed to have been born 84,000 years before the 9th-century BCE Parshvanatha.{{sfn|Zimmer|1953|p=226}}

Jain texts tell a very different version of the Rama legend than the Hindu texts such as by Valmiki. According to the Jain version, Lakshmana (Vasudeva) is the one who kills Ravana (Prativasudeva).<ref name="Padmanabh216" /> Rama, after all his participation in the rescue of Sita and preparation for war, he actually does not kill, thus remains a non-violent person. The Rama of Jainism has numerous wives as does Lakshmana, unlike the virtue of monogamy given to Rama in the Hindu texts. Towards the end of his life, Rama becomes a Jaina monk then successfully attains siddha followed by [[Philosophy:Moksha|moksha]].<ref name="Padmanabh216" /> His first wife Sita becomes a Jaina nun at the end of the story. In the Jain version, Lakshmana and Ravana both go to the hell of Jain cosmology, because Ravana killed many, while Lakshmana killed Ravana to stop Ravana's violence.<ref name="Padmanabh216" /> ''Padmapurana'' mentions Rama as a contemporary of Munisuvrata, 20th ''[[Religion:Tirthankara|tirthankara]]'' of Jainism.{{sfn|Natubhai Shah|2004|pp=21–23}}

===Buddhism===
[[File:Bharhut Dasaratha Jataka.jpg|thumb|Scene from Dasaratha Jataka, Bharhut, c. 200-300 CE]]
The ''Dasaratha-Jataka'' (Tale no. 461) provides a version of the Rama story. It calls ''Rama'' as ''Rama-pandita''.<ref name="Francis325" /><ref name="cowell78" />

At the end of this ''Dasaratha-Jataka'' discourse, the Buddhist text declares that the Buddha in his prior rebirth was Rama:

{{Blockquote|The Master having ended this discourse, declared the Truths, and identified the Birth (...): 'At that time, the king Suddhodana was king Dasaratha, Mahamaya was the mother, Rahula's mother was Sita, Ananda was Bharata, and I myself was Rama-Pandita.
|Jataka Tale No. 461|Translator: W.H.D. Rouse<ref name=cowell78/>}}

While the Buddhist Jataka texts co-opt Rama and make him an incarnation of Buddha in a previous life,<ref name="cowell78" /> the Hindu texts co-opt the Buddha and make him an [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Bassuk |first=Daniel E |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ |title=Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man |date=1987 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-349-08642-9 |pages=40 |access-date=9 April 2017 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063255/https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Edward Geoffrey Parrinder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkV5AAAAMAAJ |title=Avatar and Incarnation: The Divine in Human Form in the World's Religions |publisher=Oxford: Oneworld |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-85168-130-3 |pages=19–24, 35–38, 75–78, 130–133}}</ref> The ''Jataka'' literature of Buddhism is generally dated to be from the second half of the 1st millennium BCE, based on the carvings in caves and Buddhist monuments such as the Bharhut stupa.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Claus |first1=Peter J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ienxrTPHzzwC&pg=PA306 |title=South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia |last2=Diamond |first2=Sarah |last3=Mills |first3=Margarat |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-93919-5 |pages=306–307}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-greek|Richard Gombrich suggests that the Jataka tales were composed by the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{cite book|author=Naomi Appleton|title=Jātaka Stories in Theravāda Buddhism: Narrating the Bodhisatta Path |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86Kaus872e0C&pg=PA51 |year=2010|publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-1-4094-1092-8|pages=51–54}}</ref>}} The 2nd-century BCE stone relief carvings on Bharhut stupa, as told in the ''Dasaratha-Jataka'', is the earliest known non-textual evidence of Rama story being prevalent in ancient India.<ref>{{cite book |author=Mandakranta Bose |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_vuoXvAUfQC&pg=PA337 |title=The Ramayana Revisited |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-19-803763-7 |pages=337–338}}</ref>

===Sikhism===
{{Main|Biology:Rama in Sikhism}}
[[File:Sikh_woodcut_of_a_battle_scene_from_the_Ramayana,_Lahore_or_Amritsar,_about_1870.png|thumb|Sikh woodcut of a battle scene from the Ramayana, Lahore or Amritsar, about 1870]]
Rama is mentioned as one of twenty four divine incarnations of [[Religion:Vishnu|Vishnu]] in the Chaubis Avtar, a composition in ''[[Religion:Dasam Granth|Dasam Granth]]'' traditionally and historically attributed to [[Biography:Guru Gobind Singh|Guru Gobind Singh]].<ref name=":0" />{{Refn|Ath Beesvan Ram Avtar Kathan or Ram Avtar is a Composition in the second sacred Granth of Sikhs i.e Dasam Granth, which was written by Guru Gobind Singh, at Anandpur Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh was not a worshiper of Ramchandra, as after describing the whole Avtar he cleared this fact that ਰਾਮ ਰਹੀਮ ਪ੝ਰਾਨ ਕ੝ਰਾਨ ਅਨੇਕ ਕਹੈਂ ਮਤਿ ਝਕ ਨ ਮਾਨਿਯੋ ॥. Ram Avtar is based on Ramayana, but a Sikh studies the spiritual aspects of this whole composition.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpTXAAAAMAAJ&q=Nihang+sikhs+and+shri+ram|last=Singh|first=Govind|title=Dasamgranth|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|isbn=978-81-215-1044-8|year=2005|access-date=6 March 2021|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063211/https://books.google.com/books?id=wpTXAAAAMAAJ&q=Nihang+sikhs+and+shri+ram|url-status=live}}</ref>|name=rGts|group=lower-greek}} The discussion of Rama and Krishna avatars is the most extensive in this section of the secondary Sikh scripture.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |author=Doris R. Jakobsh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NBJPAQAAIAAJ |title=Sikhism and Women: History, Texts, and Experience |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-806002-4 |pages=47–48 |access-date=3 July 2018 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063328/https://books.google.com/books?id=NBJPAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The name of Rama is mentioned more than 2,500 times in the [[Biography:Guru Granth Sahib|Guru Granth Sahib]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Judge |first1=Paramjit S. |last2=Kaur |first2=Manjit |date=2010 |title=The Politics of Sikh Identity: Understanding Religious Exclusion |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23620888 |journal=Sociological Bulletin |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=219 |doi=10.1177/0038022920100303 |issn=0038-0229 |jstor=23620888 |s2cid=152062554 |via=Book |access-date=6 March 2021 |archive-date=29 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529013855/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23620888 |url-status=live }}</ref> and is considered as [[Philosophy:Avatar|avatar]] along with the [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]].{{Refn||name=rGts|group=lower-greek}}

===Other===

In Assam, Boro people call themselves ''Ramsa'', which means ''Children of Ram''.<ref>{{Harvard citation no brackets|Dodiya|2001|p=139}}.</ref> In Chhattisgarh, Ramnami people tattooed their whole body with name of Ram.{{Sfn|Ramdas Lamb|2012|pp=31–32}}

Rama has been considered as a source of inspiration and has been described as ''Maryāda Puruṣottama Rāma'' ({{Trans|The Ideal Man}}).{{Refn|
* {{harvnb|Blank|2000|p=190}}
* {{harvnb|Dodiya|2001|pp=109–110}}
* {{harvnb|Tripathy|2015|p=1}}|group=lower-greek}} He has been depicted in many films, television shows and plays.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rajadhyaksha |first1=Ashish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOtkAAAAMAAJ |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |date=1994 |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=9780851704555 |access-date=6 March 2021 |archive-date=31 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063252/https://books.google.com/books?id=jOtkAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col}}
* Ayodhya dispute
* [[Religion:Genealogy of Rama|Genealogy of Rama]]
* [[Philosophy:Ramanama|Ramanama]]
* Ram Statue
* Jai Shri Ram
* ''Ramayan'' (1987 TV series)
* [[Philosophy:Dashavatara|Dashavatara]]
* Balak Ram
{{div col end}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|30em|group=lower-greek}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Chapple|first=Christopher|title=The Concise Yoga Vāsiṣṭha|translator=Venkatesananda, Swami|translator-link=Swami Venkatesananda|contribution=Introduction|publisher=State University of New York Press|location=Albany|year=1984|isbn=0-87395-955-8|oclc=11044869|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FFdOj2dv8cC|access-date=10 April 2017|archive-date=16 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316063559/https://books.google.com/books?id=1FFdOj2dv8cC|url-status=live}}
* {{citation|last=Das|first=Krishna|title=Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart of Gold|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pOdvo4DcwtkC&pg=PA63|date=15 February 2010|publisher=Hay House, Inc|isbn=978-1-4019-2771-4}}
* {{cite web|title=Navratri – Hindu festival|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=21 February 2017|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navratri|ref={{sfnref | Encyclopedia Britannica | 2015}}|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222124136/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Navratri|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Flood|first=Gavin|title=The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LexraSEgRfIC&pg=PA192|date=17 April 2008|publisher=Wiley India Pvt. Limited|isbn=978-81-265-1629-2|}}
* {{cite book|last1=Hertel|first1=Bradley R.|last2=Humes|first2=Cynthia Ann|title=Living Banaras: Hindu Religion in Cultural Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC&pg=PA78|year=1993|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-1331-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Leslie|first=Julia|year=2003|title=Authority and meaning in Indian religions: Hinduism and the case of Vālmīki|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=0-7546-3431-0|url=https://archive.org/details/authoritymeaning00lesl|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|author=Morārībāpu|title=Mangal Ramayan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XJjAAAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Prachin Sanskriti Mandir}}
* {{cite book|title=Balkand|last=Poddar|first=Hanuman Prasad|year=2001|url=http://www.gitapress.org/|location=Gorakhpur, India|publisher=[[Organization:Gita Press|Gita Press]]|isbn=81-293-0406-6|series=94|language=awa, hi|access-date=10 June 2014|archive-date=19 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219222556/http://www.gitapress.org/|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Lutgendorf|first=Philip|title=The Life of a Text: Performing the Rāmcaritmānas of Tulsidas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19zvfkwXyzUC&pg=PA27|year=1991|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-06690-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Naidu|first=S. Shankar Raju|title=A Comparative Study of Kamba Ramayanam and Tulasi Ramayan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmUOAAAAYAAJ|year=1971|publisher=University of Madras}}
* {{cite book|last1=Platvoet|first1=Jan. G.|last2=Toorn|first2=Karel Van Der|title=Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=178X5n7zArwC&pg=PA191|year=1995|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10373-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Richman |first=Paula |title=Many Rāmāyaṇas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkifYfljHP4C |year=1991 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-07589-4 }}
* {{Cite book|first=Ludo|last=Rocher|year=1986|title=The Puranas|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-02522-5}}
* {{citation|last1=Schomer|first1=Karine|last2=McLeod|first2=W. H.|title=The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkKhOivXrhgC&pg=PA31|date=1 January 1987|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0277-3}}
* {{citation |last=Shah |first=Natubhai |title=Jainism: The World of Conquerors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC |volume=I |date=2004 |orig-year=First published in 1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-1938-1 |ref={{sfnref|Natubhai Shah|2004}} |access-date=3 May 2020 |archive-date=2 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702115326/https://books.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last1=Stasik|first1=Danuta|last2=Trynkowska|first2=Anna|title=Indie w Warszawie: tom upamiętniający 50-lecie powojennej historii indologii na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim (2003/2004)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izBuAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa|isbn=978-83-7151-721-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Varma|first=Ram|title=Ramayana : Before He Was God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p9CJ8Hl6DOcC&pg=PT1565|date=1 April 2010|publisher=Rupa & Company|isbn=978-81-291-1616-1}}
* {{citation |last=Zimmer |first=Heinrich |title=Philosophies Of India |date=1953 |orig-year=April 1952 |editor-first=Joseph |editor-last=Campbell |publisher=[[Company:Routledge|Routledge]] & Kegan Paul Ltd |url=https://archive.org/details/Philosophy.of.India.by.Heinrich.Zimmer |isbn=978-81-208-0739-6 }}
* {{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQRkuduNXTkC&pg=PA139|last=Dodiya|first=Jaydipsinh|title=Critical Perspectives on the Rāmāyaṇa|pages=139|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=2001|isbn=978-81-7625-244-7|access-date=9 August 2020|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063329/https://books.google.com/books?id=QQRkuduNXTkC&pg=PA139#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}} 
* {{cite book|author=Bassuk|title=Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man|first=Daniel E|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ|date=1987|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-349-08642-9|ref={{SfnRef|Daniel E Bassuk|1987}}|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063255/https://books.google.com/books?id=k3iwCwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|author=Parrinder|title=Avatar and Incarnation: The Divine in Human Form in the World's Religions|first=Edward Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkV5AAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=Oxford: Oneworld|isbn=978-1-85168-130-3|ref={{SfnRef|Edward Geoffrey Parrinder|1997}}}}
* {{Cite book|last=Tripathy|first=Amish|title=[[Biology:Scion of Ikshvaku|Scion of Ikshvaku]]|publisher=Westland Publications|year=2015|isbn=9-789-385-15214-6|location=[[Place:New Delhi|New Delhi]], India|}}
* {{cite book|author=Rinehart|title=Debating the Dasam Granth|first=Robin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qe6WnpbT2BkC|year=2011|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-984247-6|ref={{SfnRef|Robin Rinehart|2011}}}}
* {{cite book|author=Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z|first=James G.|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3180-4|pages=|ref={{SfnRef|James G. Lochtefeld|2002}}}}
* {{cite book|author=Lamb|title=Rapt in the Name: The Ramnamis, Ramnam, and Untouchable Religion in Central India|first=Ramdas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R51OEErb9g8C&pg=PA28|year=2012|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-8856-0|pages=28–32|ref={{SfnRef|Ramdas Lamb|2012}}}}
* {{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Shakti M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XQjgAAAAMAAJ|title=Festivals, Fairs, and Fasts of India|publisher=Clarion Books|year=1991|location=University of Indiana, {{wipe|United States}}|isbn=9-788-185-12023-2|oclc=1108734495}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dalal|first=Roshan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA338|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6}}
* {{cite book|first=Roderick|last=Hindery|title=Comparative Ethics in Hindu and Buddhist Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FswBLvTkvQC&pg=PA98|year=1978|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-0866-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Goldman|first=Robert P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFmsrEszbxgC|title=The Ramayan of Valmiki|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-691-06662-2|location=New Jersey, {{wipe|United States}}|}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Van Der Molen|first=Willem|date=2003|title=Rama and Sita in Wonoboyo|journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde|volume=159|issue=2/3|pages=389–403|doi=10.1163/22134379-90003748|doi-broken-date=25 January 2024 |jstor=27868037|issn=0006-2294|doi-access=free}}
{{refend}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Blank|first=Jonah|title=Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India|year=2000|publisher=Grove Press |isbn=0-8021-3733-4}}
* {{citation|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869|title=Ramayana|last=Griffith|publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]]|access-date=28 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724185021/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24869|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|author1=J. P. Mallory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC|title=Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture|author2=Douglas Q. Adams|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1997|isbn=978-1-884964-98-5|ref={{SfnRef|Maloory and en|1997}}|access-date=9 April 2017|archive-date=19 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219032618/https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU3RIV2BWIC|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Menon|first=Ramesh|orig-year=2004|year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmQuLwAACAAJ|title=The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-86547-660-8|access-date=28 October 2020|archive-date=31 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131063210/https://books.google.com/books?id=JmQuLwAACAAJ|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Valmiki|ref={{SfnRef|Valmiki Ramayan}}|title=[[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]]|publisher=[[Organization:Gita Press|Gita Press]]|location=Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation | title= Jain Rāmāyaṇa of Hemchandra (English translation), ''book 7 of the Trishashti Shalaka Purusha Caritra'' | url= https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc213981.html | year= 1931 | access-date= 31 January 2018 | archive-date= 27 January 2018 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180127084219/https://www.wisdomlib.org/jainism/book/trishashti-shalaka-purusha-caritra/d/doc213981.html | url-status= live }}
* {{cite book|author=Willem Frederik Stutterheim|title=Rāma-legends and Rāma-reliefs in Indonesia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OoitUqGk8PAC|year=1989|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-251-2}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Vyas|editor-first=R.T. |title=Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa|quote=Text as Constituted in its Critical Edition'',|publisher=Oriental Institute|location=Vadodara|date=1992}}
* {{cite book|title=The Ramayana of Tulsidas|last=Growse|first=F.S.|year=2017|isbn=9-780-649-46180-6|publisher=Trieste Publishing Pty Limited}}
* {{cite book|last=Kambar|title=Kamba Ramayanam}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons and category-inline|Rama}}
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{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|Ikshvaku dynasty}}
{{s-bef
| before = Dasharatha
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = King of Kosala
}}
{{s-aft
| after = Lava
}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-reg|[[Philosophy:Dashavatara|7th Avatar of Vishnu]]
}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Religion:Parashurama|Parashurama]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Philosophy:Dashavatara|Dashavatara]]<br />{{small|Treta Yuga}}
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Religion:Krishna|Krishna]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Subject bar|d-search=Q160213|commons=y|d=y|n-search=y|q=y|wikt=y|wikt-search=Rama|portal1=Hinduism|portal2=Philosophy|v=Hinduism/Rama}}

[[Category:Rama| ]]
[[Category:Buddhist gods]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Names of God in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Names of God in Sikhism]]

{{Sourceattribution|Rama}}