A Comparative Study of Adhyatma Ramayana and Valmiki Ramayana

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Ramayana is a timeless classic and has universal appeal. It is found almost in all literatures of world in some form or the other.

The Adhyatma Ramayana, though constitutes a part of the Brahmanda Purana, is a complete book in itself. Like Valmiki, the author of the Adhyatma Ramayana deals with the life-story of Rama of the solar race, belonging to the illustrious Iksvaku family. But the value of the work is to be sought not for its life-story of Rama but for the statements of the doctrines of Bhakti marga and Jnana marga (The path of Devotion and the path of Knowledge). Valmiki's Rama is an ideal hero of Dhirodatta nature while its counter part in the Adhyatma Ramayana is a Divine Being invested with the qualities of Godhead, whose activities as the son of Dasaratha are explained as due to his Mays sakti (the creative energy).

The present book divided into five chapters is an attempt to compare both the epics on all aspects. Since a lot of literary studies on Valmiki epic has already been done, the present book touches upon the essentials only as required for comparison.

Since both the epics form the source for almost all Ramayanas in regional languages, references have been made here and there in the chapter, Comparison of stories to give a touch of variety. But the uniformity could not be kept up due to the vastness and due to the richness of the Ramayana Literature and imposition of time-limit.

The story of Rama was known to the Buddhist Jatakas. There is a Dasaratha-Jataka, the date of which is not known. Then, in the Kavya form we have Valmiki Ramayana of pre Christian era. It is said that Valmiki's Rama was not a godhead but a human being possessing human qualities. But there were interpolations in this Ramayana when Rama was made an avatara, in the first and the seventh kandas. This story of Rama became so popular that it gave rise to many other kavyas and plays not only in the Sanskrit language but also in many regional languages. During this process many legends were added and some deleted. In the meantime Bhakti was recognised as one of the main means for Moksa. Many works in the form of stotras too came into existence.

Among the important works based on Valmiki ‘s Ramayana are the Adhyatma-Ramayana of Ramasarman in Sanskrit, Ramacaritamanas of Tulasi in Hindi Ramayana, Ramayana of Potana in Telugu, Ramayana of Kambar in Tamil, Adhyatmaramayanam of Ezhuttacchan in Malayalam and others. Kalidasa's Raghuvamsam and Bhavabhuti's Uttararamcaritam are classical works in Sanskrit based on Rama's story. Even some of the later Upanisads like Muktikopaniṣad, we have Ramacandra advising Hanuman about Kaivalyamukti.

The Rama story even went out of India and became very popular in Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and other neighbouring countries. Here mention should be made of one Ramankanatika of Dharmagupta of Nepal belonging to the 14th C, almost contemporary to the author of Adhyatma Ramayana. The episode of Surpanakha approaching Rama in the guise of Sita, when she had gone to take a bath in the Godavari river, and Rama taking her to be the real Sita, shows that Rama is not the Omniscient God.

Ramayana in any form has always an universal appeal. In the present book based on the thesis submitted by me for the University of Delhi, I have endeavoured to compare Adhyatma Ramayana and Valmiki Ramayana on all aspects. No doubt, Valmiki ‘s epic is first in the chronological order. The present title in no way contradicts but only points out that the study of the Adhyatma Ramayana has been made against the background of Valmiki's work. Since both the epics form the source for almost all Ramayanas in regional languages, I could not resist referring to many Ramayanas found in the other languages in the chapter, comparison of stories. To give a touch of variety, the references have been made here and there, and the uniformity could not be kept up due to the imposition of time limit and vastness and richness of the Ramayanic literature.

Valmiki's Ramayana is known simply as the Ramayana and the Adhyatma Ramayana is so-called on account of its philosophical nature. The epic Ramayana is absolutely silent about and ignorant of the existence of the Adhyatma Ramayana. There is no reference to it either in the text of Valmiki or in its commentaries. The Adhyatma Ramayana on the other hand knows the entire Valmiki Ramayana, freely draws upon it and prunes the story to suit its theme. So there cannot be an iota of doubt regarding the later character of the philosophical version as compared with the earlier epic.

The modernity of the Adhyatma Ramayana is confirmed in many ways. The Adhyatmic character of Rama and Sita stories does not seem to have an earlier basis.