The Ramayana is sometimes said to be like the Iliad, the Bible and the Arthurian romances all rolled into one. Originating in India more than 2,500 years ago, the epic spread to diverse cultures throughout and beyond Asia and has remained popular even today. It has served as poetry, as the embodiment of religious principles, as the basis for festivals and rituals and as a timeless tale of love, duty and the battle between the forces of good and evil.
 
 
A significant oral and literary South Asian text, the Ramayana maintains an important cultural influence in South Asia. For many Hindus, Rama and Sita embody the ideals of dharma – the code of conduct that can guide the individual in religious, political and private life. The protagonists’ exemplary actions (their adherence to dharma) render them heroic and offer a lasting source of artistic inspiration. A highly significant oral and written text, the Ramayana can serve as a very effective, central, organizing principle for an introductory course on South Asia.

Outside of India, the Ramayana has also become an important text in South East Asia. Performed in shadow-plays and dance-dramas, the story is popular in Java, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma.

Valmiki Teaches the Ramayana
Udaipur, 1719 - Courtesy of the British Library.

| Return to Top |
 
 

A multifaceted and multilayered text, the Ramayana maybe used to introduce South Asia in terms of both the Language Arts/Literature and Social Studies. Suggested below are links to internet resources that include adaptations, histories of the text, analyses and even preprepared course plans.

The sites below have been generally categorized under broad rubrics. All links were selected with regard to the benchmarks as specified by the State of Michigan Sample Curriculum and Plans for Education (SCoPE).

During the preliminary stages of course planning, instructors may wish to:

| Return to Top |
 
Please read the site disclaimer prior to browsing any of the links offered herein.
  Introductory Links: Texts & Contexts 
  (relevant to middle school and high school language arts curricula, with particular emphasis on seventh grade and eleventh grade units on world literature)
 

Texts
 
  • Verse Translations of the Mahabarata and Ramayana (from R. C. Dutt’s version of the epic):
    http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/dutt/ (Note see Dutt’s Epilogue for his statement assessing the importance of the Ramayana in contemporary South Asia)
  Contexts
 

| Return to Top |

 
  Other Ramayana Project Sites 
  (relevant to middle school and high school language arts curricula, with particular emphasis on seventh grade and eleventh grade -high school units on world literature)
 
 

"The Abduction of Sita"

Stone Color on Paper
Artist Kailash Raj

11.5" X 8.5"

Courtesy of www.exoticindia.com
 

| Return to Top |

 
  Oral Literature
  (high relevance to eleventh grade units on oral traditions)
 
   
  South Asia: Geography, History and Hindu Culture
  (high relevance to seventh grade units on Eastern cultures)
 
   
  The Protagonists: Lessons in Hindu Dharma
  (high relevance to seventh grade units on myth/legend/heroes and heroines)
 
 

| Return to Top |

 
  Literary Interpretations of the Epic
  (relevant to eleventh grade units on world literature)
 

| Return to Top |

 
  The Ramayana and the Plastic Arts
  (relevant to seventh grade and eleventh grade units on world literature)
 

| Return to Top |

 
  Representations and Dissemination in Southeast Asia
  (relevant to eleventh grade units on drama)
 

A Ramakien Mask --
Courtesy of http://ramayana.freeservers.com/catalogue.htm

Click on the link for more information on the art of maskmaking.
 
 

| Return to Top of "Online Resources" | Contact | SCoPE | Return to CSAS K-12 Outreach I Return to CSAS Homepage I