Ramayana

Minat generasi muda terhadap kebudayaan Wayang semakin menurun, padahal Wayang memiliki banyak manfaat dalam bidang pendidikan dan kebudayaan. Game adalah media interaktif yang dapat digunakan sebagai sarana untuk melestarikan Wayang. Penelitian ini menggunakan logika fuzzy sebagai pendekatan untuk implementasi tingkat kesulitan dinamis pada game. Parameter input diambil dari atribut karakter pemain saat bermain, kemudian sistem akan mengolah dan mengklasifikasi pemain yang nantinya akan berdampak pada tingkat kesulitan dalam game. Parameter yang digunakan adalah sisa lifepoint, sisa waktu, kemampuan menyelesaikan tugas, tingkat kesulitan sebelumnya, tingkat keakuratan tembakan pemain, serta banyaknya pemain melakukan percobaan. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah sistem mampu memodelkan tingkat kemampuan pemain sehingga menghasilkan tingkat kesulitan yang dinamis sesuai dengan kemampuan pemain tersebut.

Cet article paru dans la revue Page 19 reprend les éléments d'une communication donnée dans le cadre des "Doctoriales 2019" du Centre d'histoire du XIXe siècle de l'Université Paris 1/Sorbonne.
L'ouvrage de Jules Michelet paru en 1864, Bible de l'humanité, est pris comme exemple illustratif du processus de démocratisation d'éléments issus des courants ésotériques durant le XIXe siècle.
Après une brève réflexion historiographique sur les difficultés d'intégration de l'histoire des courants ésotériques à l'écriture de l'histoire religieuse, l'article analyse le processus de rédaction de l'ouvrage et la logique de concurrence religieuse mise en œuvre par son auteur, via l'utilisation d'éléments joachimistes et pérennialistes dérivés des courants ésotériques antérieurs et de leur appropriation romantique.

The forest-bound 12 years of the Mahābhārata's Vana-parva saw the flowering of the philosopher in Yudhiṣṭhira. To begin with, he had ethical debates with his two reproachful family members, patiently contending with the logical arguments of Draupadī on the one hand, and the specious sophistry of Bhīma on the other. Second, the forest was a school of learning for him, where he elicited valuable lessons from great sages in contradistinction to the illustrious Rāma, who, also exiled to the forest and with all his superior qualities of leadership, valour, romantic charisma and poetic sensitivity to nature, did not quite match up to the eldest Pāṇḍava in harvesting wisdom from the forester sages.

short-lived relationship between the Theosophical Society and the Hindu reform movement Arya Samaj, while Rudbøg analyzes the origins of Blavatsky's idea of universal brotherhood and its Indian application/dimension. Reading through this superb collection was a pleasure rideinspirational and much recommended.

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Nala (Sanskrit: 0 9 2 8 0 9 3 2 , IAST: nala, lit. lotus), is the vanara (monkey), who is credited as the engineer of the Rama Setu, a bridge across the ocean between Rameswaram (India) and Lanka, identified with modern-day Sri Lanka, so forces of the god Rama can pass over to Lanka. The bridge is also known as Nala Setu, the bridge of Nala Along with Nala, another vanara who is his twin brother called Nila is also credited as the builder of the bridge. Nala is described as the architect of the vanaras. He is described as the son of the architect-god Vishwakarma. Nala is also described to have fought in the battle between Rama and Ravana, the king of Lanka.

The ancient Indian epics carry a kind of authority different from their Western equivalents. The Indian audience has been ready to stay invested in the story for longer, unto the present times. The story of Rama is performed every year in India before the Hindu festivals of Dussehra and Diwali celebrated to mark, respectively, Rama’s victory over Ravana, and his return to Ayodhya.

Reading Mandodari as a new work of creative fiction, based on ancient myths and legends and several hundred versions of Ramayana, made me realize this is a great anti-war novel, which should be read by all womankind. It should open their minds to the errors made by women throughout history, by allowing men, thirsting for wealth and power, to destroy entire families, nations and countries.

‘Rivers of rasa and Hearts of Stone: The Female Voice of Pathos in Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacarita’ deals with Bhavabhūti’s Uttararāmacarita, in which its author, unlike many others who base their plays on the Rāmakathā, addressed the tragic events of the traditional Uttarakāṇḍa in his drama. However, Bhavabhūti, bound by the laws of the dramatic genre, introduced such plot twists that the play ends happily with Rāma and Sītā’s reunion. Feller is concerned with the way in which Bhavabhūti ‘feminizes’ the story, introducing a large number of female characters (some of them play very little or no role at all in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa), and with the reasons for this narrative strategy of ‘feminization’. Feller also observes that Bhavabhūti was especially interested in the aesthetic experience, and promoting karuṇa, the primary rasa in his play, was crucial to this work. He achieves this end thanks to the many female voices that not only allow themselves to manifest grief (śoka), but also because they allow the emergence of grief in the male characters, including Rāma himself.
https://crossasia-books.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/xasia/reader/download/530/530-43-88452-2-10-20200407.pdf

Taking the current controversy around the iconic Adam’s Bridge or Ram Sethu (as it is referred to in Hindu sacred mythography) and the proposed Sethusamudram canal project—which has been delayed since the late-twentieth century over several administrative terms, due to litigious procedures and protests by Hindu groups—this paper examines the Ram Sethu as an aquapelago. The Ram Sethu is an aquapelagic zone, not merely in geo-historical terms but also in psychological ways, that is largely experienced in the Indian consciousness through evolution of ancient folkloric motifs in contemporary media-loric polemic. As an aquapelagic imaginary, or indeed a performed aquapelago, the Ram Sethu is sustained by accumulating epistemic plurality from multiple geological, secularist, sacred and environmentalist interpretations. This epistemological plurality or transcendence of (geo-)logocentric meanings is an inevitable function of aquapelagic imaginaries, even more so of the Ram Sethu, which is reproduced by multiple determinate negations of religion (negating ambitions of economic development), developmentalism (negating themes of environmental sustainability), and environmentalism (negating majoritarian discourses of what constitutes the sacred).

Anand Neelakantan’s novel 'Asura: the tale of the Vanquished' is a unique retelling of the epic story of Ramayana as it is from the perspective of the dead, defeated and “vanquished” Ravana. This paper analyses the human condition of the popular villain character Ravana in the text to gain understanding of his psychology and the political standpoint of the novel. In this pursuit to understand the becoming, or construction, of Ravana, this paper also aims to unravel the concept of evil as a construct.

We often feel confounded at the play of destiny in our lives. At times we feel quite paralyzed by its power and surrender ourselves to its whims. Are we really infirm and powerless? Do we have no other option but to bow our heads at the feet of the destiny and accept things as they pass? Yoga Vasista has some very clear answers to these questions.

Greek mythology plays an important role in our understanding of concepts like ‘democracy’, ‘justice’ and ‘nation-state'. When we talk about global village, I would like to see a Chinese author write about Hinduism. Would that be different from a European’s view? There is an imperative the need for understanding the contribution made by ancient Greek philosophical concepts in order to appreciate the modern pluralistic global order.
But to draw links between Indian cultural concepts and those in ancient Greece is not to say that both had the exact same representation. However one might appreciate the fact that there are connections with different depictions, depending on the socio-cultural setup of each. You don’t need to appreciate ‘the’ truth, you need to appreciate ‘a’ truth which may not accommodate all truths.

In present day India, there is an obvious preference for light skin as evidenced by matrimonial advertisements, media and cosmetics. Many scholars have attempted to attribute this phenomenon to a variety of sociological influences -- the theorized Aryan migration, the Islamic Conquest, or the British colonial rule of the subcontinent.  This paper does not seek to determine the precise cause of it, but rather, it shows a dramatic shift in the perception of skin color in Indian society through the examination of historical scriptures and art.

“Some 3500 years ago, Krśńa was born. His ávirbháva (advent) was just at a crucial time – humanity was suffering then. He removed the suffering of humanity by creating Mahábhárata. He gave an assurance to the entire world that there would not be degradation of dharma, that He would come and save it,” explains Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar. “A yuga parivarttana [change in age] is taking place. All of you plunge wholeheartedly into making sadvipra samája [spiritual society]. Do not be indecisive, do not hesitate, and do not under any circumstances feel fear. Your victory is a certainty.” P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual guru in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna. He introduced the empowered universal spiritual mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”, composed a collection of 5018 spiritual songs called Prabháta Saḿgiita, and founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, June 8, 2021.

In this volume which celebrates the scholarly achievements over his long life of Professor Dieter Schlingloff, I take as the starting point for my contribution something which links his interests in the Buddhist manuscripts and art of Central Asia and mine in the Sanskrit epics: the undoubtedly early, though regrettably fragmentary, parvan list for the Mahābhārata found in the Spitzer manuscript (SHT 810), a Sarvāstivādin philosophical manuscript from Qizil belonging to the Kuṣāṇa period. This list, another list found in the Harivaṃśa and the sub-parvan names contained in the colophons of some manuscripts of the Mahābhārata (late as these colophons are) are more useful than the often-quoted parvasaṃgraha list in the second adhyāya of the Mahābhārata for an understanding of the text and its history. My aim in this article is to examine the process of growth of the Mahābhārata on the basis of these items of evidence.

บทความนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาลักษณะความเป็นกษัตริย์ในอุดมคติตามแนวคิดในมหาภารตะและรามายณะที่ปรากฏในจารึกแม่บุญตะวันออกและจารึกแปรรูปของพระเจ้าราเชนทรวรมันที่ 2 โดยศึกษาจากเนื้อหาที่กวีได้ใช้ตัวละครจากมหาภารตะและรามายณะเพื่อเปรียบกับพระเจ้าราเชนทรวรมันที่ 2 ว่าสะท้อนความเป็นกษัตริย์ในอุดมคติด้านใดบ้าง ผลการศึกษาพบว่า เนื้อความในจารึกทั้งสองหลักที่กวีนำตัวละครจากมหาภารตะและรามายณะมาเปรียบเทียบกับพระเจ้าราเชนทรวรมันที่ 2 นั้นสะท้อนให้เห็นลักษณะเด่น 3 ด้าน คือ (1) ความเป็นกษัตริย์นักรบ (2) ความเป็นกษัตริย์นักปกครอง และ (3) ความเป็นกษัตริย์ผู้ทรงธรรม อันแสดงให้เห็นถึงลักษณะความเป็นกษัตริย์ในอุดมคติตามแนวคิดในมหาภารตะและรามายณะ ซึ่งอาจเกิดจากบริบทด้านเมืองหรือการสงครามในสมัยพระเจ้าราเชนทรวรมันที่ 2 กวีจึงอ้างถึงตัวละครจากวรรณคดีทั้งสองเรื่องที่มุ่งเน้นการรบเพื่อเสริมสร้างภาพลักษณ์อันสูงส่งให้แก่สถาบันกษัตริย์

In India and elsewhere, exaggerated imaginary mythological stories or puráńas are often mistaken as history. Superstitious and harmful ideas like the caste system have their origin in puráńas. P.R. Sarkar makes a clear distinction among history as chronological records, history that has educative value, such as the Mahábhárata, which is based on historical facts, and books that carry moral lessons without a historical context, such as the Rámáyańa, a puráńa where all the characters are fictional. Due to ignorance of history, Puráńas can plant seeds of superstitions that are harmful to society. According to P. R. Sarkar, it is time to remove such superstitions through rationality and the light of history and scientific understanding.  P. R. Sarkar (1922-1990) was a spiritual guru and founder of Renaissance Universal to promote worldwide social and cultural renaissance, and the international socio-spiritual organization Ananda Marga (“Path of Bliss”). – Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, December 20, 2020.

The construction of a Ram Temple an the work on the much-awaited Ram temple in Ayodhya has started . The VHP’s Ram Janmabhooml Temple model has been designed by renowned architect Chandrakant Sompura. Nearly 40 per cent of the stone carvings completed. This is an introductory look at the architecture and design elements of this magnificent new Avatar.

The contributions that Asko Parpola has made to the study of the earliest phases of South Asian culture are varied but invariably stimulating. As a small tribute to his scholarly energy and to his leadership in our discipline, I offer this survey of that most outstanding of the Vedic gods, Indra, as he appears in the Sanskrit epics.

Sri  Aurobindo meticulously studied the whole of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and wrote several hundred pages on the greatness of these two epics.  In these pages he has dealt with the creative genius of Valmiki and Vyasa and the problems related to the understanding and misunderstanding of these two epics.  He has also translated many of their passages into English. This writ up highlights the importance of Ramayana in the light of Sri Aurobindo

The astronomical dating of the Rāmāyaṇa to 12209 BCE by Oak is based on his claim of the shifting of lunisolar months from the seasons due to precession. Oak has claimed that a shift of one month occurs relative to the seasons every 2,000 years. Accordingly, Oak claims that during the time of the Rāmāyaṇa, Caitra was part of Śarad season. In this article, it is shown that Oak has used his unproven hypothesis and analogies to claim that the Caitra month was in the Śarad season. Against this claim of his I have provided clear and direct evidence that the Caitra month was in the Vasanta season during the Rāmāyaṇa time.

From the publisher's website: This beautiful collection brings together passages from the renowned stories, poems, dramas, and myths of South Asian literature, including the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. Drawing on the translations published by the Clay Sanskrit Library, the passages feature episodes from the adventures of young Krishna, the life of Prince Rama and Hindu foundational myths, the life of the Buddha, as well as Buddhist and Jaina birth stories.

Pairing key excerpts from these wonderful Sanskrit texts with exquisite illustrations from the Bodleian Library’s rich manuscript collections, the book includes images of birch-bark and palm-leaf manuscripts, vibrant Mughal miniatures, early printed books, sculptures, watercolour paintings and even early photograph albums.

Each extract is presented in both English translation and Sanskrit in Devanagari script and accompanied by a commentary on the literature and related books and artworks. The collection is organised by geographical region and includes sections on the Himalayas, North India, Central and South India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Central and East Asia, and the Middle East and Europe.

This is the perfect introduction for anyone interested in Sanskrit literature and the manuscript art of South Asia – and beyond.

জগদ্রামী রামায়ণ (বা জগদ্রামী রামপ্রসাদী রামায়ণ) অষ্টাদশ শতাব্দীর শেষার্ধে জগদ্রাম রায় ও তাঁর জ্যেষ্ঠপুত্র রামপ্রসাদ রায় কর্তৃক রচিত হয়। তাঁরা প্রাচীন শিখরভূম রাজ্যের অন্তর্গত ভূলুই গ্রামের অধিবাসী ছিলেন। এই রামায়ণ অষ্টকাণ্ডে বিভক্ত। লঙ্কাকাণ্ডের পর অতিরিক্ত একটি কাণ্ড হল পুষ্করকাণ্ড। এই কাণ্ডে অদ্ভুত রামায়ণের গল্প অনুসৃত হয়েছে। এখানে সীতা মহাকালীমূর্তি ধারণ করে সহস্রস্কন্ধ রাবণকে বধ করেছিলেন।

Epic idealism is an interesting field for study. In that context, a striking feature that emerges from a probe into the 'ideal' core of Yudhiṣṭhira's character is that it does not quite fit into any known stereotype. The only other epic figure whose life story bears some outward resemblance to Yudhiṣṭhira's is Rāma. The resemblance is on two counts. First, both are generally driven by an inner urge to pursue the path of sāttvika (pure) dharma; second, and more specifically, both spend long years in forest-bound exile along with wife and brother(s). But there are major differences too in the circumstances and attitudes of the two epic protagonists. Each embarks on exile in the forest to be true to a pledge; but the difference lies in the truth being upheld, and in the nature of the pledge being redeemed. Rāma is innocent in the causality behind his exile, whereas Yudhiṣṭhira's exile is of his own doing. Rāma voluntarily renounces his throne for no fault of his. Yudhiṣṭhira loses his kingdom, not through the machinations of a jealous stepmother, nor by holding himself bound to a henpecked father's words, but due to poor judgement, that causes him to lose, after accepting the challenge to a second round of dice, even after Śakuni's trickery became evident in the first round. Rāma's travails in forest are caused by external agencies; Yudhiṣṭhira's are more intrinsic and psychological, caused by the abiding sense of remorse and guilt (that his imprudence has brought misery upon his dear ones), and aggravated by the words of reproach he hears.

Aranyakanda, one of the most popular books of the Ramayana, describes the adventures of Rama, Lakshmana and Sita in the Panchavati forest, travelling from one ashram to another, meeting ascetics. The forest is described as a wild and dangerous place, the favourite preying ground of wrongdoers and evil creatures. During their stay, both princes are attacked by several rakshasa (demon), and Sita is abducted twice. Not as famous but as popular—if not even more when studying Khmer reliefs—is the rakshsasa (demon) Viradha’s failed abduction of the princess. Not as dramatic, it highlighted the entry of the Dandaka forest and heralded the abduction of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka.

Oak claims that the Laṅkā of the Rāmāyaṇa was not Sri Lanka. There was no need for Rāma Setu in 12209 BCE as India and Sri Lanka were connected by land. This fact itself should have made it obvious to Oak that his dating of the Rāmāyaṇa is wrong. However, Oak claims that the Laṅkā of the Rāmāyaṇa was on the equator This is based on the description given in Indian astronomy texts. These texts also state that at 90° east of Laṅkā on the equator is the city called Yamakoṭi, at 90° west of Laṅkā on the equator is the city called Romaka, and directly opposite Laṅkā on the equator at 180° in either the east or west direction is the city called Siddhapurī (or Siddhapura). There never was any city at any of these locations. These were just four mathematically defined points.

All versions of the Ramayana are unanimous in reiterating Sita Ji's fidelity and devotion towards Rama even in times of extreme adversity. For example, when Shri Rama is preparing to go to exile in the forest all alone, she addresses him thus: "O son of an illustrious monarch, a father, a mother, a brother, a son or a daughter-in-law, all enjoy the fruit of their karma individually and receive what is their due. It is only the wife who actually shares the fortunes of her husband. When you depart this day for the dense forests which are difficult to penetrate, I shall walk ahead of you crushing under my feet, all the thorns that lie on your way."

This paper analyses the Yuddha Kand, the war between Ram and Ravan depicted in the great epic Ramayana using Johan Galtungs’s ABC triangle. This paper examines the trends that led to the war, and how the subsequent canonisation of the parable of the same has had lasting consequences on the social fabric of the nation-state of India, the early mitigation of which could have perhaps, led to the prevention of certain moral biases. The relevance of this moral biases has had outstanding consequences in the 21st century, when we see issues like the Ayodhya-BabriMasjid dispute become politicised and become flagship policy issues that political parties champion to “solve” as a part of their political mandate during elections, often leading to communal tensions and violence.

This paper discusses the selected paintings narrating the Hindu epic Ramayana produced during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) in the sixteenth century and during the reign of the Rajput ruler, Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar (r. 1628-52) in the seventeenth century.
The paper specifically examines the manuscript production and painting tradition of Akbar’s court and aims to demonstrate the cosmopolitan court culture of Akbar, which had appropriated various painting traditions from Timurid and Persian courts, as well as absorbed various Indic painting traditions. Further, Akbar’s interest in understanding pre-Islamic Indic traditions led to the development of the illustrated manuscripts of the Hindu epics. Secondly, the paper aims to examine the Mughal appropriation on the Rajput painting. The paper argues that although Mughal painting had an impact on Rajput painting, the Mewari Ramayana, when compared to earlier Mughal Ramayanas retained its distinct style fusing Mughal and early Buddhist, Hindu and Jain narrative techniques.

The theory of the yugas has been connected to the story of the Mahābhārata since the late layers of the Epic itself, and it subsequently became a fundamental element of the justification for explaining its adharmic elements by linking its story to the Kali Yuga.  The story of Rāma, on the other hand, never had an important link to the yuga theory, except for a rather vague placement of Rāma’s story in the Tretā Yuga. This chapter looks at Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa in order to ascertain if the text provides a basis for a connection between the Rāmāyaṇa and the Tretā Yuga.

Ramayana the epic for its greatness owes a lot to the characters of Kaikeyi and Manthra. Ramayana has been composed to glorify the victory of the nobility of Rama over the evil of Ravana. Rama has been portrayed as an ideal man who possesses all possible noble qualities and as a role model for societies of all ages. The other characters by their small or large role act as catalysts to enrich his greatness. Of the various characters in the Ramayana, the female characters portray no less importance. The characters of Sita, Kaushalya, Mandodri, Trijata, Tara, Urmila, Kaikeyi and Manthra are prominent and play a vital role in the unfolding of the epic. These characters rise eminently with real performance of their roles of mothers, wives or daughters. The feminine characters beautifully display the rise and fall of the elements of human psychology. However, the character of Kaikeyi holds a separate place as it is she who changes the course of the epic. Initially, in the epic, the three queens Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi had harmonious relationship amongst them. However, an environment of strained relations and disbelief soon generates as the story unfolds. The attributory vices of Kaikeyi's characters that are generally visible include jealousy, cruelty and surmounting ambitions. However, the less visible