The Ramayana & the Ramleela
The Ramayana, "Ram's journey", is one of the two great epics of India. It is told in some 24,000 verses attributed to the sage Valmiki, and retold in nearly every language of South and Southeast Asia. Tulsidas's sixteenth-century Ramcharitmanas, in Awadhi, is the version most Ramleelas follow.
The story in seven kandas
- 1
Bal Kand बालकाण्ड
ChildhoodThe birth of the four princes in Ayodhya, their education under Guru Vashishtha, the journey with Vishwamitra, and the breaking of Shiva's bow at Sita's swayamvar in Mithila.
- 2
Ayodhya Kand अयोध्याकाण्ड
The exileA coronation is announced, then undone by Kaikeyi's two boons. Ram, Sita and Lakshman leave for the forest, Dashrath dies of grief, and Bharat takes Ram's padukas back to rule in his name.
- 3
Aranya Kand अरण्यकाण्ड
The forestYears among the sages. At Panchavati Shurpanakha is humiliated, the golden deer draws Ram away, Ravan carries Sita off, Jatayu falls, and Shabri waits with her berries.
- 4
Kishkindha Kand किष्किन्धाकाण्ड
The allianceOn Rishyamook, Ram meets Hanuman and swears friendship with Sugriv. Bali falls, Sugriv is crowned, and the vanars spread out across the earth searching for Sita.
- 5
Sundar Kand सुन्दरकाण्ड
The leapHanuman crosses the ocean, finds Sita in the Ashok Vatika, gives her Ram's ring, faces Ravan's court, and sets golden Lanka on fire.
- 6
Yuddh Kand युद्धकाण्ड
The warVibhishan crosses over. The vanars build a bridge of floating stones, and Kumbhkaran and Meghnad fall. On the tenth day Ravan falls to Ram's arrow, and that day is Vijayadashami.
- 7
Uttar Kand उत्तरकाण्ड
The returnRam returns to Ayodhya after fourteen years and the city lights lamps to welcome him (the first Diwali). Ram Rajya, the reign of justice, begins.
Why Dussehra?
The war in Lanka is said to have ended on the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin: Vijayadashami, "the tenth of victory". That is why Ramleelas reach their climax on Dussehra night, and why effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad burn across India as the arrow flies. Twenty days later, Diwali marks Ram's return to Ayodhya, when the city lit its lamps to welcome him home.
How a Ramleela works
A Ramleela is staged by its own community: costumes stitched at home, crowns made from cardboard and foil, a harmonium and dholak, a narrator to hold the thread, and an audience that knows every line and calls out "Siyavar Ramchandra ki jai!" at the right moments. Ramnagar's Leela in Varanasi is performed across the whole town over a month. Ours fits the story into one evening at the clubhouse.
What it teaches
Every character is a choice. Ram chooses his father's word over a throne, Bharat chooses love over power, Shabri devotion over ritual, Vibhishan dharma over blood, and Ravan, a learned king and a devotee of Shiva, chooses pride. Our Ram's last lines tonight carry the point: the real victory is over the Ravan inside each of us.
Many tellings
Besides Valmiki and Tulsidas there are Kamban's Tamil Ramavataram, Krittibas's Bengali Ramayan, Ezhuthachan's Malayalam Adhyatma Ramayanam, the Thai Ramakien, the Indonesian Kakawin Ramayana and many more. Each changes details; the heart stays the same.
Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan
For most of us, the faces of Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Hanuman and Ravan were set on Sunday mornings in 1987, when Doordarshan aired Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan and the whole country stopped to watch. The serial drew on Valmiki's Ramayana, Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, and regional tellings including Kamban's Tamil Ramavataram and Krittibas's Bengali Ramayan. Its costumes, its shuddh Hindi dialogue and its gentle, unhurried Ram are what our performers are working towards.
- Shri RamArun Govil
- SitaDeepika Chikhalia
- LakshmanSunil Lahri
- HanumanDara Singh
- RavanArvind Trivedi