Bibek Debroy - The Valmiki Ramayana (Set of 3 Volumes)

T he Ramayana and the Mahabharata are known as itihasa s. The word itihasa means it was indeed like that. Therefore, the word is best rendered as legend or history, and not as myth. This does not mean everything occurred exactly as described. In a process of telling and retelling and oral transmission, embellishments are inevitable. However, the use of the word itihasa suggests a core element of truth. There were two great dynasties surya vamsha and chandra vamsha . The first proper king of the surya vamsha was Ikshvaku and the Ramayana is a chronicle of the solar dynasty, or at least a part of its history. Similarly, the first king of the chandra vamsha was Ila and the Mahabharata is a chronicle of the lunar dynasty. The Puranas also describe the histories of the solar and lunar dynasties. Though there are some inconsistencies across genealogies given in different Puranas, the surya vamsha timeline has three broad segments: (1) from Ikshvaku to Rama; (2) from Kusha to Brihadbala; and (3) from Brihadbala to Sumitra. In that stretch from Ikshvaku to Rama, there were famous kings like Bharata (not to be confused with Ramas brother), Kakutstha, Prithu, Yuvanashva, Mandhata, Trishanku, Harishchandra, Sagara, Dilipa, Bhagiratha, Ambarisha, Raghu, Aja and Dasharatha. These ancestors explain why Rama is referred to as Kakutstha, Raghava or Dasharathi.

Rama had two sonsLava and Kusha. Ikshvaku and his descendants ruled over the kingdom of Kosala, part of todays Uttar Pradesh. The Kosala kingdom lasted for a long time, with the capital sometimes in Ayodhya and sometimes in Shravasti. When Rama ruled, the capital was in Ayodhya. After Rama, Lava ruled over south Kosala and Kusha ruled over north Kosala. Lavas capital was in Shravasti, while Kushas capital was in Kushavati. We dont know what happened to Lava thereafter, though he is believed to have established Lavapuri, todays Lahore. The second segment of the surya vamsha timeline, from Kusha to Brihadbala, doesnt have any famous kings. Brihadbala was the last Kosala king. In the Kurukshetra War, he fought on the side of the Kouravas and was killed by Abhimanyu. The third segment of the surya vamsha timeline, from Brihadbala to Sumitra, seems contrived and concocted. Sumitra is described as the last king of the Ikshvaku lineage, defeated by Mahapadma Nanda in 362 BCE . Sumitra wasnt killed. He fled to Rohtas, in todays Bihar.

The Ramayana isnt about these subsequent segments of the timeline. Though there are references to other kings from that Ikshvaku to Rama stretch, it isnt about all of that segment either. Its focus is on Rama. It is difficult to date the poet Kalidasa. It could be anytime from the first century CE to the fifth century CE . Kalidasa wrote a mahakavya known as Raghuvamsha . As the name of this mahakavya suggests, it is about Raghus lineage, from Dilipa to Agnivarna, and includes Rama. But it isnt exclusively about Rama. Ramayana is almost exclusively about Rama. Thats the reason it is known as = + . means travel or progress. Thus, Ramayana means Ramas progress. There is a minor catch though. means travel or progress and is a meaningless word. The word used in Ramayana is , not . This transformation occurs because of a rule of Sanskrit grammar known as internal sandhi . That is the reason becomes .

Who is Rama? The word means someone who is lovely, charming and delightful. There are Jain and Buddhist versions ( Dasharatha Jataka ) of the Rama account and they differ in significant details from the Ramayana story. For instance, in Jain accounts, Ravana is killed by Lakshmana. In Dasharatha Jataka , Sita is Ramas sister. In Ramayana and Purana accounts, Rama is Vishnus seventh avatara . follow each other and one progressively goes down krita yuga (alternatively satya yuga ), treta yuga, dvapara yuga and kali yuga , before the cycle starts again. In the list of ten avataras, matysa, kurma, varaha and narasimha are from the present krita yuga; Vamana, Parashurama and Rama are from the present treta yuga; Krishna is from dvapara yuga; and Buddha and Kalki are from kali yuga. Rama was towards the end of treta yuga. (In the Uttara Kanda, dvapara yuga has started. ) Just as Krishnas departure marked the transition from dvapara yuga to kali yuga, Ramas departure marked the transition from treta yuga to dvapara yuga.

When did these events occur? It is impossible to answer this question satisfactorily, despite continuous efforts being made to find an answer. At one level, it is an irrelevant question too. There is a difference between an incident happening and it being recorded. In that day and age, recording meant composition and oral transmission, with embellishments added. There was noise associated with transmission and distribution. It is impossible to unbundle the various layers in the text, composed at different points in time. Valmiki is described as Ramas contemporary, just as Vedavyasa was a contemporary of the Kouravas and the Pandavas. But that doesnt mean todays Valmiki Ramayana text is exactly what Valmiki composed, or that todays Mahabharata text is exactly what Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa composed. Therein lies the problem with several approaches to dating.