Best Ramayana Poems
Ramayana, a Hindu epic,
written by saint Valmiki, in Sanskrit
one of the two largest ancient epics,
the first ever poem ever created
many many centuries ago.
It depicts story of Lord Rama
as a kind, fair, brave, soft spoken,
handsome prince, who had
the kind benevolence of gods.
Himself an avatar of lord Vishnu
he was bestowed with divine,
powerful weapons of gods
to be used to fight evil forces.
He won over his consort, Sita,
daughter of King Janak,
in a 'swayamvar', a competition.
Keeping the tradition of honouring
a given word or promise at all costs,
a tradition of his sun god lineage
he went to forest for fourteen years
obeying his father, King Dashrath
and forsake the throne of Ayodhya
for his younger brother Bharata,
as demanded by Queen Kaikayi,
the mother of Bharatha.
He went to forests
with Sita and younger brother Lakshman.
There, he often killed many demons
who had terrorised and killed saints worshipping
peacefully in their holy monasteries,
on latter's requests.
In the 14th year of his banishment,
along with younger brother Lakshman,
with help from his follower Hanuman,
and, King of monkeys, Sugreev,
he fought with King of Lanka, Ravana
a demon King, who had kidnapped Sita
and had wanted to marry her.
After this victory of right over wrong,
and freeing Sita and killing Ravana
he returned to his kingdom Ayodhya
and became the king himself theteafter.
Ramayana, steeped in morality,
depicts duties of relationships,
portraying characters, ideal in nature,
like ideal son, ideal father, ideal servant,
ideal brother, ideal husband and ideal king.
Ramayana has greatly influenced
Hindu poetry, life and culture, thereafter.
Presenting teachings of ancient Hindu sages
in narrative allegory, it intermixes
philosophical and ethical elements.
The characters of Rama, Sita, Lakshman,
Hanuman, Ravana are still revered and worshipped,
in some of the culturally conscious
South and East Asian nations even today.
Two great Hindu festivals,
Dussehra and Deepawali
are celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil,
in India and elsewhere
with fervor and gaiety, every year.
8.6.2020
The peacocks dance
at grove near the cool pond;
and the lotuses brace
lamps like raised heads;
Nimbus clouds thrum
like loud drums;
and violet lilies scrutinize
the scene with bulbous eyes;
Hushed wavelets
array like curtains;
and the bees harmonize sweet songs,
like soothing tunes of (fish-shaped) harp;
Amidst this picturesque place,
the MARUDHAM is enthroned
*Marudham- The God of fertile land
The old Tamil literature describes the five species of lands,
kurunji-mountain land
marudam-cultivated land/farm land
mullai- forest land
neydal-beach/maritime tract
paalai- desert
This is my translation of a poem from Kamba Ramayanam
Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King Rama.
Let me set something straight -
Right here, right now!
Let me put India in the right perspective,
Let me banish some myths,
Some gross misconceptions,
And take you beyond elephants,
Sacred cows, snake charmers and yoga,
Beyond Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Taj Mahal,
To a civilization rooted for
over 5,000 years in the past
To a land rich - majestically rich -
In many cultures, customs and traditions,
In a bewildering variety of races,
Religions, languages and folk arts,
In a vibrant tradition of dance and music,
In religious festivals and traditional events,
In saints, sadhus, gurus and sages,
In gods, goddesses, munis and mahatmas,
In temples, palaces, shrines and monasteries;
I'll baby-steps you through a land
Of Vedas and Upanishads,
Of epic stories and incredible mythologies,
Of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita,
Through one of world's great spiritual sanctuaries,
Where religion is a way of life;
An overwhelming, complex land -
Its charm, its vitality and yes, its confusion,
Atonce alarming and enticing.
And that's the way India is:
Elusive, confusing, contradictory,
mysterious and exasperating!
Beyond easy description or analysis,
A phenomenal diversity of dress
and manners making one aware
of a different world -
A veritable fairyland!
No other country offers quite such
A spectacle of teeming masses that
continue to enrich the heritage of mankind,
Nowhere do the past and present
coexist in more colorful promiscuity -
An incomparable country,
Easy to love, hard to forget!
"There's only one India!" raved Mark Twain,
"A wonderland of fabulous wealth
and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags ..."
"The cradle of the human race,
The birthplace of human speech,
The mother of history,
The grandmother of legend and
The great grandmother of tradition."
This, indeed, is my country
Where I was born -
An Indian at heart,
An American in spirit!
Namaste!
Khuda Hafiz, Jai Ramji Ki,
OM Radhe Shyam, Sat Sri Akal,
Jai Hind!!
~Love letters to the sub continent
contest by cyndi MacMillan
You are one of the people whom I admire the most,
I always think to send u in Heaven a post;
Your absence pierces the heart,
Desire to have my name in your good chart;
Long since there no one to tell the stories,
Ramayana and Mahabharata whose heroes enchanted their glories;
Evening walks are missing you,
Alone here needs who say words true;
I haven't experience the death's pain,
The way to get close to God as only gain;
Today sleeping doesn't bring the happiest moments,
Request to God to get me the those days in rent;
I am residing there from where you never came back,
But I know I am filled with people with whom my heart never sag;
Losing u at a very small age of mine isn't so good,
I haven't thought u can be so rude;
Often my dream witnesses u,
Your smile, your goodness everything in u;
The traditions followed by you and from the family attracted me,
The need of hour requests u to stand aside me;
The art of archery taught by u,
Never from my mind in these years this technique flew;
Rudeness can never be in your nature,
The Strongest had given so much in your treasure;
You live in my heart, my instincts,
Patiently waiting for last 15 years to make my problems fix it;
My facebook cover photo to have you underneath a big reason,
Atleast there you are present in my dimension;
Love and emotions between us kept me alive till today,
My memory never gonna skip your birthday;
Wish I could be your stick for your support,
And I have been there to obey your order as your TV's remote;
May there be less time to meet you in Heaven,
Cherishing again the golden days among two men.
Why the urge to gain equal rights by women,
Has become a topic of debate?
If she wants to be as free as a man,
Why a mess this movement create?
A woman during her period is barred from temples,
But a man, even a rapist get blessings in ample.
The case of Nirbhaya struck our heart’s core,
But could it counter the pain she bore?
Ramayana is a part of history,
If Ram asked Sita to walk over fire is a mystery.
But the present man is no less,
Urges a girl to undergo virginity test,to prove her innocence.
Can she demand the same?
No! It will be a matter of shame.
If he asks for it, that’s a matter of pride,
Because it’s his sole right to select his bride.
Is preference of a boy over a girl justified?
Are we ever going to make our mentality wide?
Feminism is required for a better future,
For human race to be considered cultured creatures.
RED SUN
( O BLESS US )
One who dispels misery,
Busts illusions, grants wishes,
Lifts away darkness, and is
Ever eternal ;
Sustainer of life, soft yet
Severe, tender yet tough, the
Ultimate Truth, world’s witness,
Sooryaya Namah:
Form: Dodoitsu (sylls: 7-7-7-5 )/Acrostic.
@ 20 jun 2013
For Anne Currin's 'Any poem'.
Notes:
1)“Sooryaya namah” is Sanskrit, has 5 syllables, and it means “Salutations to the Sun”.
2) The first letters of the above 8 lines put together in its order reads “ O BLESS US”
3) This is an abridged and rough rendering of the famous ‘Aditya Hridaya Mantra’( a prayer to the Sun God) from The Ramayana, India’s age-old epic. Chanting of this is supposed to free one from the three kinds of misfortunes of mankind, viz. 1) Soul-related( diseases, pain, hunger etc), 2) Physical surroundings-related ( robbers, beasts, terrorists etc ), 3) Divine in nature ( earthquakes, floods, droughts, hurricanes, Tsunamis etc)
People sing in praise of a lead performer;
And the person playing the second fiddle
Often goes unsung and unhonoured.
That is the fate of all such auxiliary artistes, say,
A guitarist strumming the chords—
To keep up the rhythm
Or, as typically in India,
The tambura player,
providing the continuous harmonic drone,
Which no electronic substitute
Can possibly offer—
Not to the entire satisfaction of the audience,
As it would be lacking in timbre and temper.
Yet, comparatively speaking,
There may not be much money in it.
Percussion artistes, on the drums,
The Mrudangam or Tabala,
Are all worse off,
Though they often perform multiple tasks.
Now striking, for instance, a cymbal,
Now a triangle or a xylaphone.
Even the famous Sivamani has got to do it.
They all, however, go about their tasks on the stage
With as much zest as the lead performer—
Yet a Sivamani or a Zakir Hussein
Hitting the headlines, is very rare.
Their presence is hardly noticed,
Though their absence may surely be felt.
Their role is comparable
To that of the squirrel—in the Ramayana,
Which helped Rama,
In its own humble way,
To put up the bridge
(preparatory to his encounter with Ravana)
Across the Palk Strait to Sri Lanka,
And yet did its best.
Such artistes do exemplify team spirit.
They also serve who stand (or sit)
On the stage and do auxiliary work!
***
Lord Shiva, is the ancient Hindu God............
Lord Shiva is the most ancient and potent divinity in the universe
Although mystery surrounds him but our love and faith for him is great
Lord Shiva is the most powerful God in Hinduism and he is the root of
Saiva Samayam that delve deep into our ancient civilization.
He also known as Maheswara who representing the Trinity by himself
He is a creator, preserver and destroyer of the worlds that he creates.
He is the father of all and the source of all knowledge and mightier still
In the Mahabharata he was worshipped by Krishna and Arjuna for victory
In the Ramayana he was worshipped by demon king Ravenna for power
Lord Shiva's destruction is not negative but positive that ends always with bless
Lord Shiva is a great dancer too and he known as 'Nataraja' that is a
symbolic combination of the most important aspects of Hinduism.
He embrace his devotees who ever pray him and give them protections
He destroys the ill nature in man and he grows heavenly light in their heart
to the emergence of divine nature in man
Not only Lord Shiva, gives immense freedom to his devotees to choose
whatever path they want to follow but also shows the way to live happily
"Om Namasivaya" is the great spell to get bless from him.
Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam
Ha, everyone wants to go to Heaven,
But you, me, no one wants to die for it,
You can't bet your life if it's there even,
It's a hearsay, you just read about it;
You live your life once then forever quit.
If you are so driven, level with me,
What would you trust and what do you decree--
Torah, Bible, Koran, Ramayana?
They are all true as I happen to see;
Heaven's here on earth, So is Nirvana!
~'Dezain Me' contest by Dr. Ram Mehta
It was early morn and
I was dreaming not realizing,
It was nothing but a dream
and here it is what I dreamt.
I was soaring up in the sky
no wings to support my flight,
Except my bare hands and legs,
To propel ; propel to reach heights
higher and higher; I floated horizontally
and swam in the cooler layer of
sratosphere like an ace Falcon;
And suddenly kicked hard to shoot up
vertically like the legendary Hanuman,
till I reached a Hermit's cottage mid-air;
Where he served me a bowl of fruits
which I never tasted back in Earth, my abode.
Suddenly, I heard in my dream a bell buzzing
that shook me off my sleep and I found
myself lying on my cot in my dingy room
holding still a book of Ramayana narrating
Hanuman's flight to Sri Lanka in search of
Sita, Rama's consort, across the sea.
Will my dream come true any day?
And will I ever fly like my hero Hanuman?
RAJARAM RAMACHANDRAN, YOU WILL BE MISSED FOREVER
You’ve left a legacy, a treasure to cherish,
The words of wisdom, the priceless pearls,
Each letter embedded with love and care,
For all the fellow beings, the loving souls!
Spreading cheer abound, filling hearts with joy,
The depth of the ocean delving deep in purity, wisdom,
A seeker of truth, a philosopher, a thinker,
The highest realms of the consciousness, pinnacles reached!
The scriptures enlivened, the epics mastered,
The Ramayana, The Mahabharata, The Holy Bible, The Krishna Leela,
Blessings showered from the Divine, the Grace,
Offering the poetry at the Lotus feet of the Lord!
The greatest humans, the purest souls,
Revered, honoured in your words galore,
Gautama Buddha, Harichandra, Adi Sankara, Saint Thyagaraja,
Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa, Saint Bernadette Sobirous!
A master of letters with expertise, finesse,
A devotee of Krishna, the mellifluous tunes that you sung,
From the depth of your heart, from the core of your soul,
Shedding off all darkness, dissipating ignorance!
You taught me to live the life to the fullest,
With the brightest smiles sparkling on the way,
The life lessons learnt, the messages spread,
The guidance, the compassion illuminating all!
As a shimmering candle, your aura shines,
A sudden bliss, a gleaming hope,
A modest, humble self-effacing guide,
Enlightening the path, unfurling tranquil peace!
My heart refutes, the mind repels,
The cruel death snatches the mortal being,
Your memories I treasure to reminisce and cherish,
Your words my companion in the journey of life!
Lord Shiva Is the Ancient Hindu God...
Lord Shiva is the most ancient and potent divinity in the universe
Although mystery surrounds him but our love and faith for him is great
Lord Shiva is the most powerful God in Hinduism and he is the root of
Saiva Samayam that delve deep into our ancient civilization.
He also known as Maheswara who representing the Trinity by himself
He is a creator, preserver and destroyer of the worlds that he creates.
He is the father of all and the source of all knowledge and mightier still
In the Mahabharata he was worshiped by Krishna and Arjuna for victory
In the Ramayana he was worshiped by demon king Ravenna for power
Lord Shiva's destruction is not negative but positive that ends always with bless
Lord Shiva is a great dancer too and he known as 'Nataraja' that is a
symbolic combination of the most important aspects of Hinduism.
He embrace his devotees who ever pray him and give them protections
He destroys the ill nature in man and he grows heavenly light in their heart
to the emergence of divine nature in man
Not only Lord Shiva, gives immense freedom to his devotees to choose
whatever path they want to follow but also shows the way to live happily
'Om Namasivaya' is the great spell to get bless from him.
Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam
Remember dewali in Trinidad
We use to decorate the streets
Then all my Hindu friends
Bring me foods and sweets
My table was full with
Food and all kind of goodies
Because my Hindu friends
Use to bring so much for me
Dewali marks the return
To ayodhya of lord Rama
He returns to his kingdom
After defeating demon king ravana
It was the victory of good over evil
In the epic story of Ramayana
And also the slaying of evil demon
King Narakasura by Lord Krishna
Ravana had 10 heads and 20 arms
He saw Rama beautiful wife sita
While they were hunting in the forest
And he plot to kidnap her
So he disguises his servant maricha
As a golden deer to lead Rama
And lakshman away in the forest
Lakshman drew a circle around her
And told her not to step out
But ravana turn as a beggar man
And ask her for food and water
Then turn back as he holds her hand
She cried for help and a fierce bird
Jatayu attacked ravana to save her
But ravana cut off his wings
And when away with princess sita
She threw her necklace downs
So Rama can follow to save her
They slay ravana and Narakasura
And they return to his kingdom in Ayodhya
And the people light the streets
And every houses celebrating
With foods and sweets and music
To welcome home their beloved king
And that is the origin of dewali
And every year on that date
Around the world every where
Diwali are being celebrated
Sorry have to end this poem now
Because my Hindu friends at the gate
With bags of food and goodies
And I’m drooling I just can’t wait
No man's too small to hoist a helping hand,
Nor any a deed too small if well-meant,
Nor a task too tough for a noble end,
Mind can if means can't make a mighty dent.
A journey of a daunting task off shore
Begins with but a single step forward,
‘Drop by drop filleth lakes’ is no vain lore,
An ounce of action… oft have we this heard.
Many a learned man knows this truth well,
But rather than help he spins hyper hypes.
Intention matters more, how a squirrel
Strove to earn mythical laurels and stripes,
So goes a tiny squirrel's tallest lore,
Silent did she work building a barrage—
An episode from an epic of yore,
So sang sage Valmiki of ancient age.
A folktale, an aside from Ramayana:
Rama's spouse abducted was to an isle—
Confined to a far off spot by Ravana,
That came camouflaged in a monk's fair guile.
When lured and mislead by a golden deer,
That too was the demon's bewitching guile,
In stealth when cried out, ‘O Lakshman, my dear',
And destiny unfolded in a while.
In Rama's voice the wily demon cried,
And Sita beseeched Lakshman, forcing him
To render help; what followed, a bad dream,
For, Ravan waited hiding in monk's hide.
The search began thence in woods and deep vales,
Hilly terrains, meadows and leas and dales,
And they came searching to where ends the land,
An ocean spread forth, looking like no friend.
Hanuman, Rama's key aid, a legend,
To whom no task too big was, such was he,
Then volunteered to leap across the land
To luring Lanka, a land across sea.
And returned soon with hopeful but sad tale:
Captive Sita’s safe in Ravan's red hands,
Who, in no mood peace parleys to avail,
Oh had to be dealt with on Lankan sands.
________________________________________
Originally Ramayana was written in Sanskrit by Valmiki, a sage who was a fierce bandit in his early life.
Epic | 06.04.13 |
Continued in Part II
"you are more than I deserve. It's a love I never dreamed I'd find. Happinesd like this is worth dying for..."
- Yasunari Kawabata-
Looking down, while flying midway between sky and earth,
I saw a dog on the grey tongue of an abandoned road,
Licking its genitals under summer-noon's hot slogan.
And I understood how badly I had drifted from your hills.
The hearth, that eatthen hearth, we often mended with butter-clay scooped out of a shallow river called "wahumkhra",
every time it cracked, pitilessly, after meals we managed to cook, sparingly though, will always remain as the only string that holds the chandelier of my fragile existence.
O that sweet hunger, how I yearn for it now.
The pallet of pine-needles stiched with old sacks,
on which we gathered dreams with smell of pine forests,
was no lesser than the priest's preachings on sunday mornings about His heaven's promised infinite sleep.
The narrow streets on which I doddered looking for work,
with constantly slipping away toes from outworn sandals,
while you waited for me with the blossoming seed in your belly, a future, full of honeyed beehives, over which I staggered drunk with restlessness of a beggar, for which I repent till this day.
I never knew, honestly, that I will become an irrelevant thread in the embroidery of jasmines on the hem of mekhala chaddar worn by a naiad, for the first time, shyly, when she attained puberty, and on the day of her subsequent gandharva marriage to an alchemist.
For the time being, I exist as a windless flag with no colors, neither white nor of any color known to mankind.
My soul and heart stay bled, like the butchered wings of Jatayu, but sweetheart, you will hear me flutter, sometimes, in the chuckling of a wounded squirrel and wailing of a cicada in the pine-hills where winds tease clouds, where you dwell reminiscing shadows of our silhouetting nonsenses.
Notes :
1. Mekhala chaddar, a traditional of Assamese women.
2. Gandharva marriage is one of the eight classical types of hindu marriage. This ancient marriage tradition from the Indian subcontinent was based on mutual attraction between to people, with no rituals, witnesses or family participation.
3. Jatayu was a vulture, in the hindu epic ramayana, whose wings were severed by ravana's sword, while attempting to rescue sita when the latter kidnapped her.
Form: