In the reports read before the visit to Kuala Lumpur, more than once it appeared that next to the main Batu cave there is another one with sculptures of Hindu deities, without any clear details. I decided to sort it out. In the cave "Ramayana" events from the ancient Indian epic of the same name about the life of Rama, one of the incarnations of the god Vishnu, are shown.
The entrance to the cave is located right behind the statue of the god Hanuman, tearing open his chest to demonstrate that Rama and his wife Sita always live in his heart. Perhaps that is why not all tourists know about the Ramayana cave - it is easy to miss the gate on the side of the small sanctuary. Yes, you will have to pay extra for entry.
Monkeys, as well as near the main cave of the Batu complex, behave in a boorish way, look not at all cute and are always in search of food. She snatched a coconut somewhere, gnaws, and herself looks, as if one of her relatives did not come running and take away valuable prey. Is it not because of Hanuman's patronage that the primates in these places feel so at ease?
Directly in front of the entrance to the cave is a statue of one of the supreme gods of Hinduism, Vishnu. To do justice on the planet, Vishnu sometimes descends to Earth in the form of avatars, incarnations, one of which is Rama.
I'll try to stick chronological order and present the sculptures according to the developments in the Ramayana. Rama is one of the sons of King Dasaratha. Intending to get a worthy heir, the king performed a ritual sacrifice, and then shared the consecrated food with his three wives. His wife Kausalya was the first to eat according to her seniority. Rama was born from her, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrungha appeared from the rest of the wives.
Rama and his brother Lakshmana kill the demoness Tagadai in the forest, interfering with the ritual of the sage Vishwamitra.
Vishwamitra takes Rama and Lakshmana to the ceremony of choosing a groom for Sita.
Applicants for the hand and heart of Sita tried to pull the huge bow of the god Shiva himself and shoot an arrow from it. No one could even lift the bow until Rama appeared. Stretching the string and releasing the arrow, he broke the bow into two parts.
Sita is the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu.
Rama and Sita worship Shiva after Sita confirmed her purity and chastity. In Hinduism (and especially Shaivism), it is customary to worship the shivlingam, a symbol of the divine generative power and the unity of male and female energy. Shivalingam - the phallus of Shiva in the womb ("yoni") Parvati.
The cave is unique in that if you climb up the stairs, you can see a large grown stalagmite, in which the Hindus saw the manifestation of the god Shiva and the symbol of his masculinity.
Competent illumination in the cave makes an inspection sculptural compositions more exciting.
Illuminated limestone vaults look more picturesque. We arrived at the caves in the first half of the day, so in the "bright temple" cave, the largest, natural light was preserved and additional light came from the lanterns installed out of place. It is likely that if we were there in the evening, we would turn on the backlight - a visit to the "temple" cave would be remembered for a longer time.
Let's return to the events of the Ramayana. anticipating quick death, King Dasaratha wished to enthrone Rama, the son of his eldest wife Kaushalya. However, another wife, under the influence of an insidious maid, came to the king and began to demand the fulfillment of the desire promised to her earlier. Many years ago, she saved Dasaratha from imminent death, and then the king swore to fulfill her every whim, and the word must be kept. The queen demanded that her son Bharata be placed on the throne, and that Rama be sent to the forest for 14 years. After 14 years of exile, Rama finally received the title of king of Ayodhya.
Ravana, the ten-headed Rakshasa demon lord, kidnapped Sita and took him to his palace in Lanka. Only he could not marry Sita by force, a curse weighed on Ravana - if he had committed violence against a woman, he would have died immediately.
The role of the diplomat was taken over by Hanuman. Approaching the seashore, he increased in size and in one jump found himself in Lanka. Or they say that the monkey god did not jump, but simply stepped over the strait, stretching out into a longitudinal twine. In yoga, this pose, i.e. longitudinal twine, called hanumanasana, in memory of the feat of a friend of Rama. Arriving in Lanka at the palace of Ravana, Hanuman folded his tail in the form of a spiral and sat on it, thus being higher than the leader of the Rakshasas. The enraged king ordered the monkey-like deity's tail to be set on fire.
The guards seized Hanuman, wrapped his tail in an oil-soaked rag, and set it on fire. However, the resourceful Hanuman began to jump from building to building, spreading fire across the possessions of Ravana, and then jumped back to the continent.
Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman lead the troops to the final battle with Ravana.
Attempts to awaken Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, to wage war against Rama. The giant Rakshas wanted to get the throne of the god Indra - "indrasan", but made a reservation and said "nidrasan" - eternal sleep. Kumbhakarna, as a result, managed to wake up, but in the battle he was still defeated by Rama.
One day last son Ravana captured Rama and Lakshmana, imprisoning them in an underground palace. Hanuman discovered that five lamps had to be blown out at once in order to win, and he assumed the form of a five-faced Panchamukhi ("pancha" - five, "mukha" - muzzle). The faces belong to: 1. Hanuman himself - a monkey; 2. Varahe - an avatar of Vishnu with a boar's head; 3. Narasimha - an avatar of Vishnu with a lion's head; 4. Hayagriva - an avatar of Vishnu with a horse's head; 5. Garuda - the driving bird of Vishnu. By blowing out the lamps, Hanuman killed Ravana's son and freed Rama and Lakshmana.
The singer and poet Valmiki records the story of Rama's life, which has come down to us in the form of the epic Ramayana.
It turned out that in fact, there is nothing complicated. Parents can visually show the events from the Ramayana to their children, until their children have grown up to read the epic and the stories about Rama are still perceived as fairy tales. And for Western tourists, the life and exploits of Rama are visually presented; if you go prepared (or suddenly even more so, with a tour), your horizons will expand significantly.
After Batu Caves, we had almost a whole day to explore Kuala Lumpur. Someone will say that one day is negligible for the capital of Malaysia, others will object that there is nothing to do there for more than one day: we went to Batu, looked at the Petronas Towers - and you can fly away. We share the second point of view, I will explain why later. Keep it locked!
Other posts about Malaysia:
| Batu Caves |
Valmika
Literary presentation by E. N. Tyomkin and V. G. Erman
Book one. Childhood
Birth of Rama
First victories over Rakshasas
The Story of the Daughters of Kushanabha
The story of the miraculous cow and the asceticism of Vishwamitra
The bow of Shiva and the marriage of Rama and Lakshmana
Rama duel with Jamadagni's son and return to Ayodhya
Book two. Ayodhya
Renunciation of King Dasaratha
Evil Hunchback Manthara
Two Wishes of Kaikeyi
Rama at Dasaratha Palace
The grief of Kaushalya and the wrath of Lakshmana
Rama leaves Ayodhya
Road to Chitrakuta
Death of Dasaratha
Return of Bharata
Bharata on Chitrakuta
Exiles leave Chitrakuta
Book three. Lesnaya
Exiles in the Dandaka Forest
Surpanakha
Victory over Khara
Ravana's wrath and the appearance of the golden deer
The Abduction of Sita
Sita in Lanka
Rama's Despair
Death to Jatayu
Fight with the forest monster
Book four. Kishkindha
Encounter with Sugriva, the Monkey King
Victory over Valin
Sugriva reigns again in Kishkindha
Sugriva forgets his promise
Monkeys looking for Sita
Encounter with the hawk Sampati
Book five. beautiful
Hanuman jump
Hanuman in Lanka
Hanuman in Ravana's palace
Hanuman finds Sita
Threats of Ravana
Rakshasis threaten Sita
Hanuman's date with Sita
Return of Hanuman
Book six. Battle
Performance on a hike
Council in Ravana's palace
Vibhishana in the camp of Rama
bridge across the ocean
Spies of Ravana
Sorcery of Ravana
Monkeys near the walls of Lanka
Saving Rama and Lakshmana
Angada's victory over Vajradamshtra
Hanuman's victory over Akampana
Nila's victory over Prahasta
Ravana on the battlefield
Awakening Kumbhakarna
Rama's victory over Kumbhakarna
Night attack
Lakshmana's victory over Indrajit
Death of Ravana
Completion of funeral rites
Trial of Sita
Return from exile
Book seven. Last
Dictionary of Indian names and titles
Book one
THE BIRTH OF RAMA
To the south of the mountains of the Himalayas - the abode of snows, on the banks of the calm Sarayu and the abounding Ganges lies the country of Koshala, rich and happy, abundant in grain and cattle, rich pastures and flowering gardens.
In that country was ancient city Ayodhya, famous everywhere for the beauty and splendor of its houses, squares and streets. The domes of his palaces and temples towered like mountain peaks, and their walls shone with gold and precious stones. Erected by skillful architects, decorated with marvelous statues and paintings, they were like the heavenly palaces of Indra, the lord of the gods.
The city was rich and populous. There was plenty of food and drink in it, the shops of merchants were full of outlandish goods, and the inhabitants of Ayodhya knew neither need nor disease. Young men and women danced carelessly in the squares, in the gardens and in the mango groves. And from morning to evening, the straight and spacious streets of the city were crowded with people - merchants and artisans, royal messengers and servants, wanderers and buffoons. And there was no one in that city who would indulge in vice and idleness, who would not know literacy and piety. And all men and all women had a good disposition, and all their behavior was blameless.
The city was surrounded by strong walls and deep ditches; there were horses from Cambodia and from the banks of the Indus, war elephants from the Vindhya mountains and the Himalayas, and as mountain caves abound with lions, so the city was full of warriors, hot, straightforward and skillful.
And Ayodhya eclipsed other cities as the moon eclipses the stars. And ruled her glorious king Dasaratha, just and mighty. Wise and devoted advisers served the pious king, beautiful wives delighted him with their beauty and meekness, and all the desires of Dasaratha were immediately fulfilled.
But a great sorrow had already sharpened the soul of the sovereign of Ayodhya for a long time, and nothing amused him. The noble Dasaratha had no offspring, he had no son, there was no one to transfer power and the state to. And one day the lord of Ayodhya decided to make great sacrifices to the gods in the hope that the gods would have mercy on him and give him a son. The royal advisers, pious and omniscient brahmins, happily approved Dasaratha's desire, and his wives blossomed with happiness and hope, as lotuses bloom with the advent of warmth and sun.
On the northern shore of Sarayu, at the place indicated by Dasaratha, the chief adviser of the king Vasistha ordered the construction of an altar, luxurious buildings for noble sovereign guests, comfortable houses for brahmins, merchants, farmers and royal guards. “Everyone should be happy, no one should suffer from a lack of anything,” Vasistha ordered the royal architects and servants.
The masters immediately set to work, and the royal messengers rushed in fast chariots to the east and west, to the south and north. They carried an invitation to the neighboring sovereigns to come to Dasaratha for a great holiday.
When a year had passed and everything was already ready for the great sacrifice, welcome guests began to arrive in Ayodhya: the noble Janaka, the lord of Mithila, a faithful friend of King Dasaratha; well-behaved and eloquent lord of Kashi; Romapada, the brave king of the Angs; the valiant sovereigns of Sindh and Saurashtra; venerable brahmins and merchants, skilled artisans and diligent farmers.
And on the day when the heavenly bodies foreshadowed good luck, King Dasaratha with his wives and household, advisers and numerous guests, under the protection of his faithful army, left Ayodhya to the northern shore of Sarayu.
For three days and three nights, the priests of Dasaratha made great sacrifices to the gods, for three days and three nights they whispered prayers over the sacred fire of the altar and begged the gods to grant offspring to the decrepit sovereign.
A rumor spread throughout the land about a great sacrifice on the northern bank of Sarayu, and destitute people flocked to the altar from everywhere. All day from morning to night there were shouts: “Give me food! Give me some clothes!" - and the servants of Dasaratha did not refuse anything to the newcomers. A lot of gold and silver, precious fabrics, carpets and horses were given away by the generous Dasaratha to pious brahmins, and the priests glorified the sovereign of Ayodhya and wished him many sons and grandsons.
The gods, too, were pleased with the sacrifice they made, each of them received his long. And then they turned to the creator god, the great Brahma, with a request to give the righteous Dasaratha a son. “Give, sir, Dasaratha a son,” the gods asked the almighty Brahma, “give him irresistible power, may he save us and all living things in the world from Ravana and his villainy.”
ShvetashvataraThe composition of the epic
The Ramayana consists of 24,000 verses (480,002 words - about one-quarter of the text of the Mahabharata, which is four times the size of the Iliad), which are divided into seven books and 500 songs called "kandas". The verses of the Ramayana are composed in a meter of thirty-two syllables called anushtubh.
The seven books of the Ramayana:
- bala kanda- a book about Rama's childhood;
- ayodhya kanda- a book about the royal court in Ayodhya;
- Aranya-kanda- a book about the life of Rama in the forest desert;
- Kishkindha-kanda- a book about the union of Rama with the monkey king in Kishkindha;
- Sundara-kanda- "A beautiful book" about the island of Lanka - the kingdom of the demon Ravana, the kidnapper of Rama's wife - Sita;
- Yuddha-kanda- a book about the battle of the monkey army of Rama with the army of the demons of Ravana;
- Uttara-kanda- The Final Book.
Plot
The Ramayana tells the story of the seventh avatar of Vishnu Rama (one of the four simultaneous incarnations of Vishnu, the remaining three are his brothers), whose wife Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka. The epic covers themes human existence and the concept of dharma. The poem contains the teachings of the ancient Indian sages, which are presented through allegorical narration combined with philosophy and bhakti.
Main characters
- Frame - main character poems. The eldest and beloved son of the king of the country, Koshala Dasaratha and his wife Kaushalya. He is portrayed as the epitome of dignity. Dasaratha was forced to give in to an ultimatum from Kaikeyi, one of his wives, and ordered that Rama relinquish his claim to the throne and go into exile for 14 years.
- Sita is the beloved wife of Rama, the daughter of King Janaka, "not born of a man." She is the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Sita is portrayed as the ideal of feminine purity. She follows her husband into exile, where she is kidnapped by the Rakshasa king Ravana, ruler of Lanka. Rama with allies saves her from captivity by killing Ravana. Later, she gives birth to Rama's heirs - Kusha and Lava.
- Hanuman is a powerful vanara and the eleventh incarnation of the god Shiva (or Rudra), the ideal of devoted fulfillment of the debt of honor. Son of the wind god. plays important role in the return of Sita.
- Lakshmana - younger brother Rama, who went into exile with him. Represents the snake Shesha and the ideal true friend. He always protects Sita and Rama. He was forced by Sita (bewildered by the Rakshas Maricha, who shouted before his death with the voice of Rama “O Sita! O Lakshmana!”) To leave her in order to find Rama who had gone into the forest, as a result of which Ravana was able to kidnap Sita. was married to younger sister Siths of Armile.
- Bharata is the son of Dasaratha, brother of Rama. When Bharata learns that his mother Kaikeyi sent the heir to the throne Rama into exile and made him king himself, which caused the death of Dasaratha, heartbroken due to the treachery of his wife, he rejects the illegally obtained power and goes in search of Rama. When Rama refuses to return from his exile, Bharata puts Rama's golden sandals on the throne as a symbol that the true king is Rama, and he is only his viceroy. Depicted as the ideal of justice.
- Ravana is a rakshasa king of Lanka. Depicted as ten-headed and twenty-armed; if you cut off his heads, they grow back. From the creator god Brahma received wonderful gift: for ten thousand years, he could not be killed by a god, a demon, or a beast. Even the gods tremble before his power. In order to defeat Ravana, Vishnu incarnates in the guise human- in Rama and his brothers. Ravana, the kidnapper of Sita, intends to make her his wife, whom, however, he does not cause violence, wanting to achieve her favor with threats and persuasion, since a curse weighs on him: in case of violence against a woman, he will immediately die.
The emergence of the plot
The Ramayana has come down to us in several reviews or editions, presenting, in general, the same content, but often differing from each other in the placement of material and the choice of expressions. Initially, it was probably transmitted orally and was written down only later, perhaps independently, in different places. used to accept existence three reviews- northern, Bengali and western, but their number is greater, and the manuscripts of the Ramayana that have come down to us often represent strong deviations from each other. The Bengali review contains 24,000 slokas (in the Mahabharata - more than 100,000) and is divided into seven books, of which the last is a later addition. In addition to Ramayana Valmiki, there is another poem with the same plot, of relatively new origin and smaller size - Adhyatma Ramayana (Adhyâtma-R.), attributed to Vyasabut, in essence, a part of the Brahmanda Purana. Rama is depicted here as more of a god than a man.
According to Hindu tradition, the Ramayana takes place during the Treta Yuga, about 1.2 million years ago. Modern scholars date the Ramayana to the 4th century BC. e.
Influence
The ideas and images of the epic inspired almost all Indian writers and thinkers from Kalidasa to Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, who, according to some sources, professed a variant of Hinduism associated with the name of Rama, and emitted his last breath with his name on his lips. The content of the Ramayana has been transcribed in countless works over the centuries. visual arts, literature, folk theater and pantomimes. IN modern India, on the square of almost any Indian village or city, you can meet storytellers who read the Ramayana in a singsong voice for hours and even days. The story of the Ramayana inspired a large number of literary adaptations, the most famous of which are the works of such poets as Krittibas Ojha ("Krittivasi Ramayana"), Tulsidasa ("Ramacharitamanas"), Kambar and Narahari Kavi ("Torave Ramayan").
The Ramayana has been translated into most modern Indian languages, including Tamil. These "translations" are not identical to each other in everything. So, in the Tamil version of the Ramayana, one of the characters, Bharadvaja, is called the son of Rishi Atri (in other editions of the epic, he is considered the son of Brahmanaspati (Brhaspati). The words of the compiler or author of the Ramayana in the introduction to the poem testify to the respect enjoyed by the Ramayana among the Hindus : “whoever reads and repeats this Ramayana, which gives holy life, is free from all sins and with all his offspring will ascend to the highest heaven." Brahma in the second book of the Ramayana put the following words into his mouth: "as long as mountains and rivers exist on the earth's surface until then the story of the Ramayana will go around the world.”
Attitude towards the Ramayana in Sri Lanka
Due to the peculiarities of the plot, the Ramayana can be perceived as a work with some anti-Lankan orientation. In Sri Lanka, this is manifested, for example, by the fact that the name "Rama" is not popular among the Sri Lankans. The very legend of Rama and Sita in medieval Sinhala poetry is presented as a work that “is told by people who follow erroneous views” (Poem “The Parrot’s Message”, sing. “Gira sandesha vivarana”, stanza 114).
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Literature
Ramayana. Per. V. Potapova. \\ In the book: Mahabharata. Ramayana. Library world literature. Series one. Volume 2. M. 1974.
Screen adaptations
- The film "Sampurna Ramayana" (produced by India, 1961)
- Cartoon "Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama". Directed by: Rem Mohan, Yugo Sako, Koichi Saski (India-Japan co-production, 1992)
- "Sita sings the blues" - a modern musical, animated interpretation by director Nina Paley (USA, 2008)
- Three-dimensional cartoon "Ramayana: Epic" directed by Chetan Desai (produced in India, 2010)
- TV series "Ramayana" (1987-1988). Directed by: Ramanand Sagar. Country: India. Starring Arun Govil.
- The film "Vishnupurana" (produced in India, 2002-2003), spiritual, feature films. Director: Ravi Chopra. Country: India. Starring Nitish Bharadwaj.
- TV series "Ramayana" (2008-2009). Country: India. Starring Gurmeet Chaudhary.
- TV series "Ramayana" (2012). original name: "Ramayan: Sabke Jeevan ka Aadhar". Country: India. Broadcast on Zee TV. Starring Gagun Malik.
- Short cartoon "Ramayana". Creative association 420. 2016
- TV series "Sita and Rama" (2015-2016). Original title: "Siya Ke Ram" Country: India. It was broadcast on the Star Plus channel. Starring Ashish Sharma, Madirakshi Mundle.
see also
- Adam's Bridge - also: "Rama's Bridge", a shoal in the form of a road connecting the mainland with the island of Sri Lanka (from the end of the 15th century it was destroyed in three places). According to the Ramayana, it was built on the orders of Rama.
Notes
Links
- - detailed presentation (5 books)
- - literary presentation by E. N. Temkin and V. G. Erman (7 books)
- - a short poetic translation of "Ramayana" by B. Zakharyin and Potapova V. A.
- - Ramayana as narrated by Sathya Sai Baba
- - audiobook
- Bhakti Vigyan Gosvami
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Expulsion of Rama from his native lands for 14 years. 
The evil demon Ravana himself is involved in the kidnapping of Sita. 
Ravana tries to seduce Sita. 
The battle of the army of monkeys and the novices of the demon Ravana. 
Purification of Sita by fire. 
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