Ramayana – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
Ramayana
The
Ramayana (; , , ) is a
Sanskrit epic poem ascribed to the Hindu sage and Sanskrit poet
Valmiki. It is regarded as one of the two great works of
Indian literature, along with the
Mahabharata. The
Ramayana also plays an important role in
Hindu literature (). It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying ideal characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife and the ideal king. The name
Ramayana is a
tatpurusha compound of and ("going, advancing"), translating to "
Rama's Journey". The
Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses in seven books () and 500
cantos () and tells the story of Rama (the seventh
avatar of the Hindu supreme-god
Vishnu), whose wife
Sita is abducted by
Ravana, the king of
Lanka (current day
Sri Lanka). Incidentally the first letter of every 1000 verses (total 24) make the
Gayatri mantra. Thematically, the
Ramayana explores human values and the concept of
dharma.
Ramayana
Noun
1. one of two classical Hindu epics telling of the banishment of Rama from his kingdom and the abduction of his wife by a demon and Rama's restoration to the throne
(hypernym) Sanskrit literature
Ramayana
(n.)
The more ancient of the two great epic poems in Sanskrit. The hero and heroine are Rama and his wife Sita.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
Ramayana
Ramayana (Sanskrit) [from Rama an avatara of Vishnu + ayana goings, adventures] One of the famous epic poems of India, relating the adventures of Rama, an avatara of Vishnu, in 48,000 lines. It is often termed the Iliad of the East.
"The whole History of that period [the struggle between the Atlantean and the Aryan adepts] is allegorized in the Ramayana, which is the mystic narrative in epic form of the struggle between Rama -- the first king of the divine dynasty of the early Aryans -- and Ravana, the symbolical personation of the Atlantean (Lanka) race. The former were the incarnations of the Solar Gods; the latter, of the lunar Devas. This was the great battle between Good and Evil, between white and black magic, for the supremacy of the divine forces, or of the lower terrestrial, or cosmic powers. . . . The Ramayana -- every line of which has to be read esoterically -- discloses in magnificent symbolism and allegory the tribulations of both man and soul" (SD 2:495-6).
The siege and subsequent surrender of Lanka (whose remnant is Ceylon or Sri Lanka) to Rama is placed by Hindu chronology -- based upon the zodiac -- at many hundreds of thousands of years ago, and the statement that the present island of Ceylon is the northern headland of ancient Lanka gives a hint as to how far back these events are to be placed.
Ramayana
The long epic that tells the story of
Rama and his love for
Sita , her capture, the long series of battles and quests Rama carries out to free her, and the aftermath.
