define how ramayana teachs hinduism.?

Answer 1

Rama, the hero of Ramayana, is a popular deity worshiped by Hindus, the route of his wanderings being, each year, trodden by devout pilgrims. The poem is not a mere literary monument, it is a part of Hinduism, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or certain passages of it, is believed by the Hindus to free them from sin and grant every desire to the reader or hearer. According to Hindu tradition, Rama is an incarnation (Avatar), of the god Vishnu, who is part of the Hindu Trinity. The main purpose of this incarnation is to demonstrate the righteous path (dharma) for the life on earth.

Answer 2

I mean this only in the educational sense: you would get a lot more of an answer to your question, perhaps even an insight into the cuture of 1/6th of the world's people, certainly a glimpse into part of a very ancient vein of world spirituality, if you read the Ramayana yourself.

It's never the same when someone else is telling you about it, compared to doing it yourself.

;-)

Answer 3

Ramayan set standards for human behaviour. It has been back bone of Hinduism as a culture. It is a good moral story for any person regardless of religion. But hindu culture looks upto it for ideals.

Characters of Ramayana are simple and ideal. Ramayana shows an idealk husband, ideal son, ideal husband, ideal wife, even ideal enemy...

Rama , acts as an ideal son when he decides to forsake his crown heir status thus helping Dashratha in fullfilling his promise to Kakeyee, without breaking his promise to make RAMA the king. And quitely leaves the state with his wife.

Seeta ideally follows Rama into forests. Lakshman , an ideal brother follows his brother to help him. Bharat, returns but refuses to sit on throne because he finds it unfair .

Ravna is the main villain, but he is described as very learned Brahman. Some say he has as much knowledge as ten men!! . And thats why he is symbolised as ten headed man. In fact Ravana Sanhita , is still among one of the most reputable book on astrology and is supposed to be authored by him.

He kidnapped Seeta so that he could go on war with Rama.

But despite being Evil ,as he was, he generally followed all the rules of war .

Indians were the first to fix rules of war described in Manu Smriti and they are on par with modern international law. And Ravna follows them.

He let his brother go and join Rama. He sent his royal medicene man when Lakshman was mortally injured.

His wife Mandodari is called an ideal wife. She though stood behind him during war, but never hesitated and clearly states her stand on the whole issue and disapproval over his action.

Note that Hindu laws of war have been most humane throughout the history.

More than 5000 years ago India recognized that the person of the ambassador was inviolable. This was a great service that ancient Hinduism rendered to the cause of international law. It was the religious force that invested the person of the herald or ambassador with an inviolable sanctity in the ancient world.

As early as as the 4th century B.C. Megasthenes noticed a peculiar trait of Indian warfare.

"Whereas among other nations it is usual, in the contests of war, to ravage the soil and thus to reduce it to an uncultivated waste, among the Indians, on the contrary, by whom husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when battle is raging in their neighborhood, are undisturbed by any sense of danger, for the combatants on either side in waging the conflict make carnage of each other, but allow those engaged in husbandry to remain quite unmolested. Besides, they never ravage an enemy's land with fire, nor cut down its trees."

(source: A Brief History of India - By Alain Danielou p. 106). The modern "scorched earth" policy was then unknown. "

Professor H. H. Wilson says: "The Hindu laws of war are very chivalrous and humane, and prohibit the slaying of the unarmed, of women, of the old, and of the conquered."

At the very time when a battle was going on, be says, the neighboring cultivators might be seen quietly pursuing their work, - " perhaps ploughing, gathering for crops, pruning the trees, or reaping the harvest." Chinese pilgrim to Nalanda University, Hiuen Tsiang affirms that although the there were enough of rivalries and wars in the 7th century A.D. the country at large was little injured by them.

Even Ravna, the evil monster, followed the rules. How many would want to stoop lower than him ?

Ramayana have influenced Indian thinking in a subtle way. Without any show off and without superiority complex.

PS:
Leave out Agni pareeksha and Uttar Ramayana ie rather later addition- when situation of women had started to get more restricted Its not part of original version . Writting style is too different to mistake it as original. Even Tulsi Das had his own version of flying Hanuman. In original Hanuman swims across the sea to reach Lanka.