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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t14: Ramacaritamanas

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t14

Language
English

Ramacaritamanas

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*Rāmacaritamānas* is a representative work of the ‘Rama Branch’ of ‘Saguna School’ of Devotional Literature in medieval India. It is a long narrative poem recomposed in Hindi Avadhi dialect by the devotional poet Tulsīdās (1532-1623), based on the great epic ‘*Rāmāyaṇa*’ and the ‘*Adhyātmarāmāyaṇa*’ written by disciples of Ramananda.

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The poem tells stories about Rāma, one of the incarnations of Mahavisnu, based on the dictation of three people and the retelling of three listeners. The poem is composed of 24,000 eulogies that are divided into seven sections, namely *Bālakāṇḍa*, *Ayodhyākāṇḍa*, *Araṇyakāṇḍa*, *Kiṣkindhākāṇḍa*, *Sundarakāṇḍa*, *Laṅkākāṇḍa* and *Uttarakāṇḍa*.

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Main story: After King Daśaratha of Ayodhyā held a sacrificial ceremony to pray for children, his three queens gave birth to four sons. The oldest son Rāma was intelligent and knowledgeable, and had both integrity and ability when he was still a child. When he was about 15 or 16 years old, he attended a ceremony for choosing a spouse and married Sītā, daughter of King Janaka. King Daśaratha had intended to pass the throne to Rāma, but was forced to send Rāma into exile for 14 years, as he had made

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*Indian miniature painting depicting Hanuman, the Monkey God, paying obeisance to Lord Rama*

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a promise to one of his wives. Rāma was obedient to his father and took his wife and his younger brother Lakṣhmaṇa into the woods. In the woods, Rāma displeased Śūrpaṇakhā, the younger sister of Rakshasa Raja Rāvaṇa of Laṅkā, which led to a series of problems. But Rāma defeated Rāvaṇa with the help of Hānumāna and his army and saved Sītā. The couple was reunited ultimately. After the end of the exile period, Rāma returned home on a carriage made of clouds, took the throne and established the Rāma Dynasty. Since then, he started to rule the state and people started to live and work in peace and contentment.

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*Rāmcaritmānas* describes Rāma as a figure whose divinity is higher than human nature, expressing the poet’s piety and fidelity to Rāma. This is not only a literary work but also an ancient religious book. It is widely sung and has a far-reaching influence in India, especially in north India.

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Chinese translations and studies of *Rāmcaritmānas* started in 1980s. Liu Anwu with the

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*'Ramacharitamanas', front cover of the Chinese edition*

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Department of Oriental Languages and Literature of Peking University published his dissertation *Medieval Indian Great Poet Tulsidas and His Work Rāmcaritmānas* on *South Asian Studies*, Edition 2 in 1983 and gave a detail introduction of Tulsidas and his work *Rāmcaritmānas*. After that, *India Hindi Literature History* (1987), *A History of Ancient Indian Literature* (1991) and *Indian Religious Literature in Medieval Times* (2011) have also introduced the lifetime and creation of Tulsidas, and the contents and influence of *Rāmcaritmānas*. The complete Chinese translation of the poem was translated by Jin Dinghan with the Department of Oriental Languages and Literature of Peking University and was published in 1988.

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(Ren Jing)

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