"Ramayana" is "The Life of Rama" or "The Biography of Rama". It and "Mahabharata" are called the two ancient Indian epics, and they are also the Indian people's contribution to world literature. A major contribution, it occupies a lofty position in the history of Indian literature and the history of world literature.
The legendary author of the epic is Yan Qian. There are many legends about this man in India, many of which are full of mythology. However, the existing form of "Ramayana" was not written by Yiqiang alone. Some scholars believe that maybe at the beginning, Yanqiang wrote the prototype of "Ramayana" in poetic form. Later, on the basis of it, After continuous dissemination and modification by later generations, it was gradually enriched and perfected; Mr. Ji Xianlin pointed out after many years of research that perhaps Yiqian had done outstanding processing and arrangement work on the Ramayana that had been transmitted orally before, making this A great work achieves greater unity in content and style, so he becomes the "author". Of course, after him, "Ramayana" still has a long-term spread and development process. So Ramayana is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Indian people. At the time when it was written, there were also different opinions, with dozens of opinions. Some believe that it may have been formed before the 5th century BC, some say that it was formed between the 4th century BC and the 2nd century AD, and so on.
The epic "Ramagana" is smaller than the "Mahabharata". The whole poem is divided into seven chapters, with about 24,000 verses, but its story is concentrated and the structure is smooth. , set an example in themes, artistic techniques and even rhetorical metaphors, and was a pioneer of classical poets. Therefore, "Ramayana" is called the "original poem" in India, setting a shining example for later long narrative poems and laying the foundation for the format.
The main content of "Ramayana" is the story of the life of the hero Rama and his wife Siddha. It can be said to be an ode to the hero who overcame hardship and rape. However, due to the changes in the tradition of this folk narrative poem by Brahmin dignitaries, the entire Ramayana is full of the idea that the lower class obeys the orders of the upper class and resigns itself to fate.
Today, orthodox Hindus consider the Ramayana and Mahabharata to be inviolable sacred texts and regard them as resolving disputes on religious, philosophical and moral issues. guide. Therefore, in India, "Ramayana" is a household name, known to all women and children. For more than 2,000 years, women have worshiped Siddha as a model of a good wife and mother. Hundreds of millions of people worship Rama and regard him as a sage and role model. When expressing greetings and blessings, people even call out "Rama, Rama". When two acquaintances meet, they also say: "Rama, Rama" "That is, hello; when something unexpected happens, express surprise and say "Rama, Rama".
As for Hanuman, the monkey god in the "Epic", he is even more fanatically worshiped. There are many monkey temples in many places, and there are many monkeys in them, especially in the north. All these are closely related to Ramayana. To this day, people are very far away from that mythical era, but the story of "Ramayana" still affects people's lives, thoughts and culture. At festival gatherings in many places, instead of watching "Ramayana" The relevant drama performances are to enjoy the song and dance performances related to this, staying up all night, for several days, ten days, or even longer, they linger and never know how tired they are.
"Ramayana" is not only loved by the Indian people, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and widely circulated. It has a huge impact on the religious beliefs of the Indian people, and also has a great influence on the world. For a long time, it has been translated into German, French, English, Russian, etc., and has especially had a greater impact on the literature and people's thoughts in South and Southeast Asia. Fortunately, a Chinese translation has now been published. Mr. Ji Xianlin started translating Ramayana as early as 1973. After five years of hard work, he has fully translated this immortal and glorious masterpiece. It will certainly benefit greatly. Understanding India will further promote the development of research on Sino-Indian cultural relations. Created by Liu Hongping.