Avatar 7 of 10 · Treta Yuga · त्रेता युग
Rama Avatar · The Prince of Dharma
राम अवतार · मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम
The prince of Ayodhya who gave up a kingdom to keep his father’s word, and crossed the ocean to rescue Sita from Ravana.
अयोध्या के वे राजकुमार जिन्होंने पिता का वचन निभाने के लिए राज्य छोड़ा, और सीता को रावण से छुड़ाने के लिए समुद्र पार किया।
The story of Rama · राम की कथा
The Crown He Gave Away
On the morning Rama was to be crowned king of Ayodhya, the whole city was dressed in flowers. But during the night, Queen Kaikeyi had reminded King Dasharatha of two boons he had once promised her. She asked that her son Bharata be made king, and that Rama be sent to live in the forest for fourteen years.
The old king was heartbroken and could not bring himself to speak. It was Rama who went to him, heard the news and smiled. “A son’s duty is to keep his father’s word true,” he said. “The forest will be my kingdom.” He left without a single bitter word. Sita and his brother Lakshmana refused to let him go alone.
When Bharata learned what had happened, he walked barefoot into the forest to beg Rama to return. Rama would not break the promise. So Bharata carried Rama’s sandals back to Ayodhya, set them on the throne and ruled only as their servant.
Years passed. In the forest, Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, carried Sita away by trickery. Rama searched for her through forests and mountains, and found friends in unlikely places: the vulture Jatayu, the monkey king Sugriva and, above all, the devoted Hanuman. Together they built a bridge of stones across the sea, each stone carried with love, even by the smallest squirrel.
In the great battle Ravana fell, and Sita was free. Yet what people remember most is not the war. It is a prince who gave away a crown without complaint, treated a ferryman and a forest woman as his equals, and kept his word even when it was hardest.
The lesson
Dharma is not a crown you wear but a promise you keep, especially when it is hard.
Story: Retold from the Valmiki Ramayana
In the scriptures · शास्त्रों में
The original verses, with their romanisation and our own English and Hindi translation.
रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मः साधुः सत्यपराक्रमः । राजा सर्वस्य लोकस्य देवानां मघवानिव ॥
rāmo vigrahavān dharmaḥ sādhuḥ satyaparākramaḥ rājā sarvasya lokasya devānāṃ maghavāniva
Rama is dharma in bodily form: good, and true in his valour. He is the king of all the world, as Indra is king of the gods.
राम धर्म के साक्षात् स्वरूप हैं — सज्जन और सत्य पराक्रमी। वे सारे लोक के राजा हैं, जैसे देवताओं के राजा इंद्र।
नरदेवत्वमापन्नः सुरकार्यचिकीर्षया । समुद्रनिग्रहादीनि चक्रे वीर्याण्यतः परम् ॥
naradevatvamāpannaḥ surakāryacikīrṣayā samudranigrahādīni cakre vīryāṇyataḥ param
Then, becoming a king among men to accomplish the work of the gods, He performed heroic deeds such as bringing the ocean under control.
फिर देवताओं का कार्य करने की इच्छा से मनुष्यों के राजा बनकर उन्होंने समुद्र को वश में करने जैसे पराक्रम किए।
वितरसि दिक्षु रणे दिक्पतिकमनीयम् । दशमुखमौलिबलिं रमणीयम् ॥ केशव धृतरामशरीर जय जगदीश हरे ॥
vitarasi dikṣu raṇe dikpatikamanīyam daśamukhamaulibaliṃ ramaṇīyam keśava dhṛtarāmaśarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
In battle you scatter to the directions the crowned heads of ten-headed Ravana, an offering that pleases the guardians of the directions. O Keshava, who took the body of Rama: victory to you, Hari, lord of the world!
युद्ध में आप दसमुख रावण के मुकुटधारी सिरों की बलि दिशाओं में बिखेरते हैं, जो दिक्पालों को प्रिय है। हे केशव, राम शरीर धारण करने वाले जगदीश हरि, आपकी जय हो!