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Ramayana: the culture behind the poem
The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem written in sanskrit by the hindu Valmiki. This was considered to be highly important within the Indian community, especially among the representation of the god Vishnu on Rama's character in the story. The author narrates the struggle of the prince Rama -considered the 7th avatar of god Vishnu- which tries to rescue his wife, the goddess Sita from the demon king Ravana. This essay aims to analyze and share the context behind the story of the Ramayana to understand better the culture behind it.
The Ramayana belongs to the genre of itihāsa, which is defined as a narrative of past events that includes teachings on the goals of human life. So, the context of the poem develops in the exploration of the ideal relationships among humans and the constant battle between good and evil. In addition, this is an important literary works on the ancient India and it have had a huge impact of culture and art because of the meaning the story may have regarding the Hinduism which is considered to be one of the most prominent religious in the world.
The symbolic significance of Ramayaana has been interpreted in different ways, but it mainly represents the vulnerabilities to which human beings are vulnerable due to their weaknesses and impurities, as well as the conflict between good and evil forces that might arise from them, so it may have a theological symbolism due to the "religious ideals" which also teaches valuable lessons related to family morals and human life.
However, there is a huge difference between the interpretation of the Ramayana text and the illustration. According to the text, this epic poem follows theological and social symbolisms due to the teachings of morals and human life but with religious ideals. On the other hand, the illustration was followed with the Indian method, it is to capture several episodes of the story in one so that the characters appear more than once in the same painting.
In conclusion, the Ramayana is an epic poem considered as sacred among the Indian culture and if you read it, you will learn some principles and ideals of the Hinduism and people who are behind it.
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