South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c8.s4.1

c8.s4.1

We now come to the *avatār* of Rāma, Rāmachandra or Rāmabhadra, the hero of the beautiful epic *Rāmāyaṇa*, which in its various aspects has permeated the life of the Indian people and moulded their character to a great extent. Rāma was the eldest son of Dasaratha, the king of Ayōdhyā (Oudh). As such, his images do not, like those of the *avatārs* so far described,—*avatārs* which were sudden outbursts of divine energy—exhibit either the four arms of the gods or the distinguishing Vaishnavite symbols of conch, discus, club and lotus. Human in form, but god in essence, Rāma is always represented as a royal personage of bewitching beauty, well developed in body, having broad eyes, long arms, curly tresses, ornaments and auspicious marks that indicate high birth and noble character. Paintings of Rāma’s life are numerous and cover the whole period of his history from his birth to his passing away bodily from this world into the depths of the Sarayū river. In many South-Indian temples may be observed scenes from the *Rāmāyaṇa*, either painted on the walls or cut into panels, forming continuous belts round the central shrine or the *prākāra* wall.¹ When represented as the consecrated deity within a temple, Rāma is generally seen to be a standing figure with his queen Sītā on the left and his faithful brother Lakshmana on the right. He and his brother hold bows and arrows. The bow is called *kōdanda* and so Rāma with the bow is sometimes known as Kōdanda-Rāma.