Ramayan (Little Known Facts)

SanskAI

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  1. 1. Ram’s Sister: Ram had an elder sister named Shanta
  2. 2. How Ravan Got 10 Heads: Ravan was a loyal devotee of lord Shiv and to please the lord, he sacrificed his head, but his head grew again. It happened for ten times and Ultimately lord Shiva gave him all the ten heads.
  3. 3. Original King of Lanka is Kuber: Kuber created Lanka for his own use but his stepbrother Ravan attacked him and took away the palace
  4. 4. Laxman was a spirit of Shesh Naag: Everybody knows lord Ram was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but usually people don’t know that Laxman was deity of Shesh Naag.
  5. 5. Laxman Never Slept during 14 Years of Exile: Laxman never slept while the entire exile of 14 years. He asked the goddess of sleep Nindra to overlook him so that he can take care of Ram and Sita while in exile.
  6. 6. Bali Killed Krishna in His Next Birth: Jara, the hunter who killed lord Krishna was a reincarnation of Bali
  7. 7. Laxman Died Because of Ram’s Words: Once lord Ram met Yam and said anybody to intercept the meeting would be given death punishment and unfortunately, Laxman entered the room where Ram was meeting Yam. To keep the promise of elder brother, Laxman claimed his life
  8. 8. Why Hanuman is Called Bajrangbali: Once Sita told Hanumaan that she puts vermilion (sindoor) on her head for a long and healthy life of lord Ram. Hearing this, Hanuman smeared his entire body with vermilion for making Ram’s life utmost safe. Bajrang is a Hindi term for sindoor, hence Hanuman was given a name after it, and that’s Bajrangbali.
  9. 9. How Squirrels got White Stripes: While monkeys making Ram Setu, the bridge to reach Lanka, a squirrel tried to help them by carrying sand. Monkeys laughed to watch this, but Ram praised the squirrel for its dedication. Ram cuddled the back of squirrel and the stripes appeared as the finger signs.
  10. 10. Surparnkha Wanted Ravan to Die: That’s really surprising but actually Ravan had killed Surpankha’s husband Dushtabuddhi for which she wanted to take revenge from Ravan.
 

SanskAI

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1. According to Valmiki’s Ramayana, Lord Rama was an outstanding human being. But in Rama Charit Manas, Tulsidas referred him as god.​

Lord Rama

Hindus perceive Lord Rama as Maryada Purushottama, the perfect man.

2. Ravana was a devotee of Lord Shiva. To impress god, he sacrificed his head. This happened ten times after which Lord Shiva gave him all those heads.​

Ravana

3. Laxman didn’t sleep at all during the 14 years of exile in an effort to guard Rama and Sita.​

Lakshmana

He’s known as Gudakesh, the man who’s defeated sleep.

4. In place of Laxman, his wife Urmila slept for 14 years, completing both her own, and Laxman’s, share of sleep.​

Urmila

Urmila is a lesser known character in Ramayana.

5. Hanuman covered himself with sindoor to keep Lord Rama safe. That’s the reason he’s called Bajrang Bali.​

Bajrang bali

6. Sita had broken the shiv dhanush ( Lord Shiva's bow) during her childhood. That’s the reason King Janak put the condition of breaking the bow at Sita’s swayamvar.​

Swayamvar

7. The white stripes on a squirrel’s body are given by Lord Rama.​

Squirrel


When the monkeys were making Ram Setu, a squirrel tried to help them. The monkey’s made fun of it, but lord Rama was impressed with its dedication. Ram patted the back of squirrel and the white stripes appeared as his finger prints.

8. Nandi, the bull, had cursed Ravana. He had said that monkeys will become a cause of your destruction.​

Nandi

Remember the incident in Ramayana when Hanumanji puts Lanka on fire?

9. Laxman killed three sons of Ravana - Meghnad, Prahast and Atikay.​

Burning

Out of Ravana’s three sons, only Meghnad has been discussed on several occasions in Ramayana.

10. While Lord Rama is known to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu, Laxman is considered to be an avatar of Sheeshnaag, the serpent associated with Vishnu.​

Lord Vishnu

11. Kuber, god of wealth, had constructed Lanka for himself. However, he was overthrown by his half brother, Ravana.​

Kuber

12. Sita’s name during the exile was Vaidehi.​

Rama
 

SanskAI

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1. Gayatri Mantra is formed from the first letter that comes after every 1000 verses of Ramayan.

The Gayatri Mantra consists of 24 letters and the Valmiki Ramayan has 24,000 verses. The first letter that comes after every 1000 verses of the Ramayan forms the Gayatri Mantra. This mantra is the essence of this sacred epic. The Gayatri Mantra was first mentioned in the Rigveda.

2. Besides Ram and his brothers, King Dasharatha was also the father of a daughter

Almost everyone knows about Shri Ram's parents and brothers, but very few people know that Ram also had a sister named "Shanta".

She was much older than the four brothers. Kaushalya was her mother. It is believed that once Rompad’s king Angadesh and his queen Varshini came to Ayodhya, they had no children.

During the conversation when King Dasaratha learned about this and said that he will give his Shanta to them. On hearing this, Rompad and Varshini were very happy. They took care of him with great affection and performed all the duties of parents.

3. Ram is an avatar of Vishnu but do you know similar facts about his brothers?

Ram is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but do you know whose avatar his other brothers were? Lakshmana is considered to be the incarnation of Sheshnag. While Bharata and Shatrughna are believed to be the incarnation of Sudarshan-chakra and conch-shell respectively. These are carried by Lord Vishnu.

4. Name of Lord Shiva's bow used in swayamvar of Sita

Most of us know that Ram was married to Sita through a swayamvara. All the princes present in swayamvara needed to complete a task, a bow was used for that purpose. That Lord Shiva's bow was named "Pinak".

5. ‘Gudakesh’ is another name of Lakshman

It is believed that during the 14 years of exile, Lakshman never slept to protect his brother and sister-in-law, due to this he is also known as "Gudakesh".

On the first night of exile, when Ram and Sita were sleeping, Nidra Devi appeared to Laxman and Laxman asked her to give blessing so that he would never feel asleep. Devi Nidra asked her if anyone else can sleep instead of you? Laxman advised that her wife Urmila can sleep. After hearing this, Devi Nidra asked Urmila about this and Urmila happily accepted it.

6. Name of the forest where Ram, Laxman and Sita stayed during exile.

Most of us know that Ram, Lakshman and Sita had spent many years in the forest, but few people will know the name of that forest. The name of that forest was Dandakaranya, in which Ram, Sita and Lakshmana spent their exile. C was spread over 35,600 square miles which included parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. At that time this forest was considered to be the home of the most fierce demons. Hence its name Dandakaranya where "Dand" means "to punish" and "Aranya" means "forest".

7. The story of Laxman Rekha is not mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana

The most intriguing episode in the entire Ramayana story is the Laxman Rekha episode, in which Laxman draws a line around his hut in the forest. But this story is not mentioned in Valmiki's Ramayana.

8. Ravana was an excellent veena player

Ravana was the king of all demons. Everyone was afraid of him when he was a child as he had ten heads. He had a strong faith in Lord Shiva. There is strong knowledge that Ravana was a great scholar and he studied Vedas. But did you know what was the reason for Veena as a symbol in Ravana's flag? Ravana was an excellent veena player, due to which the veena was inscribed as a symbol in his flag. Although Ravana did not pay much attention to this art, he liked to play this instrument.

9. Kumbhakarna get the blessing of sleep because Indra was jealous of him

Kumbhakarna was the younger brother of Ravana, whose body was very huge and he was also a gourmet. It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Kumbhakarna sleeps for six consecutive months. He used to get up only one day and only to eat food and sleep again for six months. Do you know why Kumbhakarna was like this?

Once he conducted a Yagya and after the end of Yagya, Brahma appeared in front of this and asked him to make a wish. After listening to this Indra afraid that he might ask his position, Indra requested Saraswati to help. Saraswati sat on Kumbhakarna's tongue and while telling about his wish Kumbhakarna said 'Nindrasan' (Sleep) instead of 'Indrasan' (position of Indra).

10. According to NASA, the story of "Ramayana" and "Adam's Bridge" are related to each other.

The final phase of the Ramayana story describes that Rama and Lakshmana built a bridge to conquer Lanka with the help of the monkey army. It is believed that this story is about 1,750,000 years old. Recently NASA discovered a man-made ancient bridge connecting Sri Lanka and India.

11. Ravana knew that he would be killed by Rama.

After reading the full story of Ramayana, one can learn that Ravana was a cruel and most vile demon that everyone hated.

When Ravana's brothers heard about Rama's attack because of Sita's kidnapping, he asked his brother to surrender. Ravana refused to surrender and expressed his desire to attain salvation by dying at the hands of Rama.

He said that "If Rama and Lakshmana are two normal human beings then Sita will remain with me as I will easily defeat them. And if they are god then I'll get salvation.”

12. Why did Ram punish Laxman?

It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Shri Rama had given the death penalty to his younger brother Laxman, but do you why Lord Rama had given death sentence to Laxman?

This incident is about the time when Sri Ram returned to Ayodhya after Lanka victory and became the king of Ayodhya.

One day Yama Devta came to see Sri Rama and to discuss something important. Before starting the discussion he asked Lord Rama to promise him that nobody disrupts this conversation until it is over otherwise he has to give death penalty to that person.

Ram appointed Laxman as the gatekeeper so that no can disrupt the conversation.

Laxman stands as the gatekeeper. After a short time, Durvasa rishi visited the place and asked Lakshmana to inform Ram about his arrival, Lakshmana humbly denied.

After this, rishi Durvasa got angry on him and he said he will curse the entire Ayodhya. To save Ayodhya, Laxman decided to sacrifice himself. He went inside to inform Lord Ram about his arrival

Now Shri Rama got confused because he had to give death penalty to Lakshman according to his promise. In the event of this dilemma, Shri Ram remembered his Guru Vasishta and asked him to show the other way.

Guru Vasishta, you can leave Laxman and it is same as giving the death penalty. Laxman after listening to this told that he can't stay away from his brother for his whole life. Laxman decided to embrace death by obeying his brother’s word. After that, Lakshman took water samadhi.

13. Rama had abandoned earth by sinking into the river Saryu.

It is believed that when Sita abandoned her body after being absorbed in the earth, lord Ram abandoned the earth after taking water samadhi in the river Saryu.
 

SanskAI

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Ramayan, that eternal epic of the ideal son, king and human. Lord Ram the perfect example of how to lead a life of principles. We - almost all Indians - know the broad tale of Ramayan. We know about the promise King Dashrath made to Kaikeyi years before his eldest son (by another wife) was ready to be anointed king.

We know how Manthara - the old handmaiden - poisoned an otherwise caring Kaikeyi's ears and instigated her to act in the selfish interest of her own son Bharat. We know the love share between the half-siblings Ram, Laxman and Bharat (though Laxman's brother Shatrughan is given much less space in the narrative).

But here are some interesting facts of Ramayan that are rarely mentioned in the broad narrative.

1. Lord Ram's wife Sita wasn't King Janak's own daughter -

Different versions exist about who was the real father of Sita Mata. But one thing they all agree on was that Janak the king of Mithila and his wife Sunaina were not the biological parents of the child. Ramayan says that as a part of worship of the Bhumi (Mother Earth) goddess, Janak was ploughing the field and his plough struck a box that carried a newborn that the Bhumi Devi had meant for him to adopt as his own.

In a startling alternate narrative of the Ramayan, the Jaina version of Ramayana by Sanghadasa - called the Adbhuta Ramayana - Sita is called Vasudevahindi and is said to have been born as the daughter of Ravana and Vidyadhara Maya (Ravana's wife). It also claims that astrologers predict that first child of the duo will destroy his lineage. The child is then abandoned and found by Janaka.

2. Laxman did not sleep for 14 years -

Such was the love between the two siblings (though half-brothers as they were born of two different wives of King Dashrath) that Ram-Laxman are the epitome of brotherly care and adulation. The two were also respectively wedded to Raja Janak's two daughters. Ram wed Sita - the foster daughter of Janak and Queen Sunaina and Laxman wed Urmila the daughter of the duo. When Ram left for exile, Urmila agreed - though reluctantly - to let Laxman follow the elder brother and wife into the jungle. But Laxman had also approached Goddess Nidra - the one who controls sleep of an individual - to free him of the need to sleep for the exile period. He wanted to be vigilant and take care of the safety of Ram and Sita. So he struck a deal with Nidra Devi. Laxman doesn't sleep at all for 14 years and his quota of sleep is availed of or fulfilled by his wife Urmila who stayed back at the palace in Ayodhya.

3. How the squirrel got her stripes -

When Ram and Laxman reached what is today's Rameshwaram, they realised that they needed to build a bridge to cross over to Lanka to rescue Sita. So the army of Ram called the Vanarsena - comprising monkeys and bears got to work immediately. They began piling boulder after boulder to build the bridge to Lanka. A small squirrel saw the drive and was charged up herself to join the endeavour. She began fetching pebbles in her mouth and also brought some mud/sand on her back to add to the bridge-building material. The Vanarsena made fun of her and even warned her to stay safe or risk getting trampled. Soon Ram saw the squirrel's actions. He scooped her into his palm and ran his fingers on the back of the squirrel to appreciate her contribution. They say this is where the squirrel got her stripes from.

4. Laxman's no-sleep penance has a backstory -

Ravan's son Meghnaad (Meghnad) had a boon that he could only die at a Gudakesh person's hands. A Gudakesh is he/she who has conquered sleep. Laxman's quest over slumber qualified him to be the slayer of the Meghnad aka Indrajit. The latter is considered as one of the Atimaharathi class warriors born on the earth who wields Trimurti - the three powerful astras (weapon systems) viz. Brahmandastra, Vaishnavastra and Pashupatastra. Laxmana uses Anjalika-astra to slay Maghnad on Day 3 of the battle.

5. Laxman laughed uncontrollably at Ram's coronation -

After staying awake for 14 years at a stretch, and having defeated Ravan (Dussehra commemorates that) in the month of Kartik, the trio of Ram, Sita, and Laxman arrive at Ayodhya (Diwali is the commemoration of that day). Now Bharat is eager to see elder brother take charge of the empire as he has ruled in Ram's name with the latter's paduka (wooden slippers) placed on the throne as proxy. The coronation ceremony is about to happen when Laxman begins to laugh uncontrollably. That is because Goddess Nidra had promptly appeared before Lakshman and now he must submit to her powers as Ram and Sita are safely back home. So before Ram is crowned king, Laxman falls asleep and his wife Urmila wakes up.
 
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