Ramayana Quotes

Unlike Greek narratives, where achievement is celebrated, and biblical narratives, where submission and discipline are celebrated, in Indic thought understanding is celebrated.

Lord Ram gave Hanuman a quizzical look and said, "What are you, a monkey or a man?" Hanuman bowed his head reverently, folded his hands and said, "When I do not know who I am, I serve You and when I do know who I am, You and I are One.

What we possess is temporary, but what we become is permanent.

Be the best you can be, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching.

You cannot count on the physical proximity of someone you love, all the time. A seed that sprouts at the foot of its parent tree remains stunted until it is transplanted. Rama will be in my care, and he will be quite well. But ultimately, he will leave me too. Every human being, when the time comes, has to depart to seek his fulfillment in his own way.

Janaka told her to bring happiness into marriage, rather than seek happiness from it.

The dog is a loyal, lovable animal but Hindu scriptures do not treat it as an auspicious creature perhaps because loyalty feeds on fear and the purpose of Vedic scriptures is to outgrow fear by expanding the mind.

I came in several times and spoke, but perhaps you were asleep when I thought you were awake.' 'You are very considerate to explain it this way,' Sugreeva said, 'but I was drunk

Valmiki the Poet held all the moving world inside a water drop in his hand. The gods and saints from heaven looked down on Lanka, And Valmiki looked down at the gods in the morning of Time.

The Ramayana has never been a tale of Ram’s life. It is a tale of how Ram lived for others. By retelling his tale, storytellers hope to inspire themselves and others to live as Ram did.

Ravana all your wealth is wasted, what's the use of being rich if you won't spend your gold to do good for other people?

He lit the night he brought with the fire that puts out the planets when time ends.

Allahabad, that is, the City of God, one of the most venerated in India, being built at the junction of the two sacred rivers, Ganges and Jumna, the waters of which attract pilgrims from every part of the peninsula. The Ganges, according to the legends of the Ramayana, rises in heaven, whence, owing to Brahma's agency, it descends to the earth.

Little baby Hanuman was hungry.

Even when you realize that the one before you is an enemy and must be treated sternly, do not hurt with words.

Lust, anger, vanity and covetousness are all paths leading to hell. Abjuring, all these adore the Hero of Raghu’s line, whom saints worship.

War, in some ways, is merciful to men. It makes them heroes if they are the victors. If they are the vanquished - they do not live to see their homes taken, their wives widowed. But if you are a woman - you must live through defeat...

Does rough weather choose men over women? Does the sun beat on men, leaving women nice and cool?' Nyawira asked rather sharply. 'Women bear the brunt of poverty. What choices does a woman have in life, especially in times of misery? She can marry or live with a man. She can bear children and bring them up, and be abused by her man. Have you read Buchi Emecheta of Nigeria, Joys of Motherhood? Tsitsi Dangarembga of Zimbabwe, say, Nervous Conditions? Miriama Ba of Senegal, So Long A Letter? Three women from different parts of Africa, giving words to similar thoughts about the condition of women in Africa.' 'I am not much of a reader of fiction,' Kamiti said. 'Especially novels by African women. In India such books are hard to find.' 'Surely even in India there are women writers? Indian women writers?' Nyawira pressed. 'Arundhati Roy, for instance, The God of Small Things? Meena Alexander, Fault Lines? Susie Tharu. Read Women Writing in India. Or her other book, We Were Making History, about women in the struggle!' 'I have sampled the epics of Indian literature,' Kamiti said, trying to redeem himself. 'Mahabharata, Ramayana, and mostly Bhagavad Gita. There are a few others, what they call Purana, Rig-Veda, Upanishads … Not that I read everything, but …' 'I am sure that those epics and Puranas, even the Gita, were all written by men,' Nyawira said. 'The same men who invented the caste system. When will you learn to listen to the voices of women?

With the fire of acts, Ravana, is Heaven brilliant and Hell aflame.

Seorang perempuan yang sifatnya jahat tidak pantas diperlakukan sebagai seorang perempuan. [Ramayana Mahabharata, hal. 33]

Anything that can be proven cannot last.

In a world where we are accustomed to rivalries over possession, authority, and borders, and people clashing over the issue, “Ours,” or “Mine, not yours,” it is rather strange to find two people debating whose the kingdom is not, and asserting: “Yours, not mine.

Dharma is about exchange, about giving and receiving, It is about outgrowing animal instincts, outgrowing fear, discovering the ability to feed others, comfort others, enable others to find meaning.

She had lost her heart the moment she set eyes on him: it was this prince she had always dreamed of and waited for. She knew him from long ago, from countless lives before. They had belonged together since time began.

Every human creates his own imagined version of the world, and of himself. Every human is therefore Brahma, creator of his own aham. Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahma. Tat tvam asi, so are you. We knot our imagination with fear to create aham. Tapasya and yagna are two tools that can help us unknot the mind, outgrow fear and discover atma, our true self.

The sun set beyond the sea, so says the poet—and when a poet mentions a sea, we have to accept it. No harm in letting a poet describe his vision, no need to question his geography.

What is whole, this is whole; what has come out of the whole is also whole. When the whole is taken out of the whole, the whole still remains whole.

Time is hidden from you, charioteer. You can only see his work, not him.

As with the Mahabharata, the Valmiki Ramayana is a smriti text. It has a human origin and composer, it is not a shruti text. Smriti texts are society and context specific.

In Ramayana, we saw Sita was sitting under a tree crying. Meanwhile Hanuman climbed the tree, dropped Rama's ring into her lap, and told her Rama will come and save her. Our crying pure mind is looking for the Rama's ring. Chakra meditation with breath is uniting the pure mind Sita with the pure soul Rama.

When a minister, a physician and a religious preceptor; these three use pleasing words from fear or hope of reward, the result is that dominion, health, and faith, all the three immediately set towards destruction.

To justify one's actions is easy. Acting responsibly and being accountable for actions is very difficult.

The vessel that holds poison becomes equally poisonous. When you are angry at someone, remember, you suffer the most.

Nothing is unattainable, my Lord, to him who enjoys Your grace. Through Your might, a mere shred of cotton can surely burn a submarine fire (the impossible can be made possible).

human capacity for arrogance was only exceeded by its capacity for ignorance.

RAMCHARITMANAS

At this moment, let us not forget that my authority has been challenged not by a warrior but by a monkey!

I would have taken a bullet for you. It just never crossed my mind that you would be the one to shoot.

Whatever a man does, good or evil, comes back to him someday. And he pays for everything.

Selfless love is the elevator that leads you up the great heights of sacrifice to prove your depth of sincerity.

Gentle woman, as a man's deeds are good or evil so are the events which follow them, and which the man must face in their time.

Janaka gave his daughters to the sons of Dashratha, saying, ‘I give you Lakshmi, wealth, who will bring you pleasure and prosperity. Grant me Saraswati, wisdom. Let me learn the joy of letting go.’ This ritual came to be known as kanya-daan,

Flowers make themselves fragrant and offer nectar. Why? To nourish the bees or to get themselves pollinated? Or both? In nature, to get you have to give. There is no charity. There is no exploitation, neither selfishness nor selflessness. One grows by helping others grow. Is that not the perfect society?

Don’t grieve too much. This hour of parting is the hardest; the years will pass before you know they have come and gone. They will pass as night does in sleep, and I will return to you.

Sebutir benih yang bertunas di bawah kaki pohon induknya tetap berada di situ sampai ia dipindahkan..Setiap manusia, kalau sudah tiba saatnya, harus pergi dan mewujudkan potensi masing-masing dengan caranya sendiri. [Ramayana-Mahabharata, hal. 28]

Animals fight to defend their bodies. Humans curse to defend their imagination of themselves. This imagined notion of who we are, and how others are supposed to see us, is called aham. Aham constantly seeks validation from the external world. When that is not forthcoming it becomes insecure. Aham makes humans accumulate things; through things we hope people will look upon us as we imagine ourselves. That is why, Janaka, people display their wealth and their knowledge and their power. Aham yearns to be seen.

Do you know that there are twenty-four letters in the Gayatri Mantra and 24,000 shlokas in Valmiki’s Ramayana? The first letter of every thousandth shloka from Valmiki’s Ramayana, when put together, miraculously results in the Gayatri Mantra. Mathematics yet again. It’s all around you!

Abandon pride, which is the same as Tamas-guna (darkness), rooted as it is in ignorance and is a source of considerable pain; and adore Lord Shri Rama, the Chief of the Raghus and an ocean of compassion. (Page 787).

Opening lines of The Great Indian Novel narrated as a modern day MahaBharata. They tell me India is an underdeveloped country. They attend seminars, appear on television, even come to see me, creasing their eight-hundred-rupee suits and clutching their moulded plastic briefcases, to announce in tones of infinite understanding that India has yet to develop. Stuff and nonsense, of course. “These are the kind of fellows who couldn’t tell their kundalini from a decomposing earthworm, and I don’t hesitate to tell them so. I tell them they have no knowledge of history and even less of their own heritage. I tell them that if they would only read the Mahabarata and the Ramayana, study the Golden Ages of the Mauryas and the Guptas and even of those Muslim chaps the Mughals, they would realize that India in not an underdeveloped country but a highly developed country in an advanced stage of decay.” They laugh about me pityingly and shift from one foot to the other, unable to conceal their impatience, and I tell them that, in fact, everything in India in over-developed, particularly the social structure, the bureaucracy, the political process, the financial system, the university network and, for that matter, the women. Cantankerous old man, I them thinking, as they make their several exists

Yama is that way. Oh Ravana, be gone, I am Kala...I am Time....I am Time...

Nos alegramos cuando vemos al sol alzarse cada mañana y cuando se pone durante la tarde, sin comprender que con él se van también nuestras vidas.

B.R. Ambedkar believed the tale was not so much about Ram’s character as it was about the unsustainability of the caste system that needed violence for its enforcement.

The notions of creation, preservation and destruction in Hindu mythology thus deal with culture, not nature.

a past incident is not what agitates the mind; it is the amount of attention we give it that unsettles us.

the degree of insult is inversely proportional to the size of the entity causing it.

Then be human. Let go and move on. They who hurt you cannot expand their mind. But surely you can.

No text, being human creation, is free from flaws – it is the human mind that should be conscientious enough to accept their good elements and discard the bad ones.

Within infinite myths lies an eternal truth Who sees it all? Varuna has but a thousand eyes Indra, a hundred You and I, only two.

Is there anyone who has conquered the gods and lived continuously in that victory? Sooner or later retribution has always come. Do not be contemptuous of men or monkeys.

Great gifts are not given easily and I waited years before I had you.

The Shastras say that a son who does not obey his father has no place in heaven.

It is not that mother Kaikeyi is evil, or that she hates me; only that destiny uses her, even against her own nature.

Knowledge is like a floating log of wood that helps us stay afloat in the ocean of misery. To find the shore, we have to kick our legs and swim. No one can do that for us,

in Jain accounts, Ravana is killed by Lakshmana. In Dasharatha Jataka, Sita is Rama’s sister. In Ramayana and Purana accounts, Rama is Vishnu’s seventh avatara.

He is perfect and will be a perfect ruler. He has compassion, a sense of justice, and courage, and he makes no distinctions between human beings — old or young, prince or peasant; he has the same consideration for everyone. In courage, valor, and all the qualities — none to equal him. He will be your best protector from any hostile force, be it human or subhuman or superhuman.

No ancient story, not even Homer's Iliad or Odyssey, has remained as popular through the course of time. The story of Rama appears as old as civilization and has a fresh appeal for every generation.

Abandon pride, which is the same as Tamas-guna (darkness), rooted as it is in ignorance and is a source of considerable pain; and adore Lord Shri Rama, the Chief of the Raghus and an ocean of compassion.

Rama glanced at her whenever a beautiful object caught his eye. Every tint of the sky, every shape of a flower or bud, every elegant form of a creeper reminded him of some aspect or other of Sita’s person.

I want you to remember, always, that no man who sits upon a throne likes to hear another man being praised. Never praise me in Bharata’s presence or show how much you miss me. Don’t speak of me at all before him.

This poem declares the absence of a Hindu canon. This poem declares itself the Hindu canon. This poem follows the monkey. This poem worships the horse. This poem supersedes the Vedas and the supreme scriptures. This poem does not culture the jungle. This poem jungles the culture. This poem storms into temples with tanks. This poem stands corrected: the RSS is BJP’s mother. This poem is not vulnerable. This poem is Section 153-A proof. This poem is also idiot-proof. This poem quotes Dr.Ambedkar. This poem considers Ramayana a hetero-normative novel. This poem breaches Section 295A of the Indian Penile Code. This poem is pure and total blasphemy.

king is a servant when he mimics other kings without understanding. A king is a trader when he uses rules to get all the things that he desires. A king is a master when he uses rules to impose his thoughts on those around him. A king is a seer when he understands the thought behind the rules and so appreciates the many reasons why a rule is followed and why another rule is not.

Shri Ram said: “Ever since I have been separated from you, Sita, everything to me has become its very reverse. The fresh and tender leaves on the trees look like tongues of fire; nights appear as dreadful as the night of final dissolution and the moon scorches like the sun. Beds of lotuses are like so many spears planted on the ground, while rain-clouds pour boiling oil as it were. Those that were friendly before, have now become tormenting; the cool, soft and fragrant breezes are now like the hissing serpent. One’s agony is assuaged to some extent even by speaking of it, but to whom shall I speak about it? For there is no one who will understand. The reality about the chord of love that binds you and me, dear, is known to my heart alone; and my heart ever abides with you. Know this to be the essence of my love.

Válmíki,(2)bird of charming song,(3)   Who mounts on Poesy’s sublimest spray, And sweetly sings with accent clear and strong   Ráma, aye Ráma, in his deathless lay. Where breathes the man can listen to the strain   That flows in music from Válmíki’s tongue, Nor feel his feet the path of bliss attain   When Ráma’s glory by the saint is sung!

Dharma is a subtle thing. One can be true to it only if one’s mind is entirely without desire

Brihadbala was the last Kosala king. In the Kurukshetra War, he fought on the side of the Kouravas and was killed by

You cannot count on the physical proximity of someone you love, all the time.

A seed that sprouts at the foot of its parent tree remains stunted until it is transplanted.

One who moderates the senses, also the God of the regions of the dead.

A good teacher teaches through words. A Great teacher teaches through actions. A good teacher is appreciated. A great teacher is emulated.

The circle of indifference has the self at its centre. The circle of compassion has others at the centre. The former leads to apathy; the latter to empathy.

In fact the English word ‘demon’ is full of a value judgement that is wrongly attributed to the words rakshasa and asura.

a desired qualification must be preceded by the endeavor to prove that it is deserved

Convenience is about changing the law to suit your life but maturity is about changing your life to salute the law

Stay true to the idea of dharma. Be the best you can be, in the worst of circumstances, even when no one is watching

Ram became revered because he functioned on the basis of the principle that life was not just about pleasure and hoarding things: it was about finding meaning and purpose.

Fear is a constant, and faith is a choice. Fear comes from karma, from faith arises dharma.

Success embraces those with one eye intensely focused on the goal, and the other carefully monitoring the challenges in achieving that goal.

You can't protect Dharma if you don't know what it is.

a blind insistence on rationality could cloud one’s mind as easily as superstition.

How to do without, in order to grow within.

Rámakerti especially classical Rámakerti that is the beating heart of the country—remained an entertaining, if not exotic subject of international and social gatherings.

Ram, taken by surprise at what was happening, rushed to stop his wife, hold her hand and pull her out, but the earth had closed before he could reach her. All that he could clutch were the ends of her hair that turned into blades of grass. Would the pain have been less had she chastised him before she left? Would the pain have been less had they at least spoken before she left? Would the pain have been less had she at least looked at him before she left? But then she was under no obligation. He had liberated her long ago from the burden of being Ram’s wife. But he would always be Sita’s husband.

I do not need your permission. I am your wife and I am supposed to accompany you, to the throne, into war and to the forest. What you eat, I shall taste. Where you sleep, I shall rest. You are the shaft of the bow that is our marriage; you need the string to complete it. My place is beside you, nowhere else. Fear not, I will be no burden; I can take care of myself. As long as I am beside you and behind you, you will want for nothing.

human can also sense another’s hunger and produce food through yagna to satisfy another’s hunger. That is also the distinguishing feature of humanity,’ said Shakti. ‘When tapasya is done without yagna, solitude thrives, no relationships are established and society collapses. You become the destroyer.’ Shiva then said, ‘When yagna is done without tapasya, we exploit other people’s hunger to satisfy our own. Thus a corrupt society comes into being.

That villainous crew- greed, infatuation, jealousy, arrogance, and pride haunts the mind only so long as the Divine does not take up His abode there. Attachment to the world is like a dark night fully advanced, which is so delightful to the owls of attraction and aversion; it abides in the heart of a creature only so long as the sun of the Lord’s glory does not shine there. Having seen Your lotus feet, O Rāma, I am now quite well and my grave fears have been set at rest. The threefold torments of mundane existence cease to have any effect on him who enjoys Your favor, my gracious lord. I am a demon vilest of nature and have never done any good act. Yet the Lord whose beauty even sages fail to perceive with their mindís eye has been pleased to clasp me to His bosom.

Rules vary with context. In the Ramayana, which takes place in Treta yuga, Vishnu is Ram, eldest son of a royal family. In the Mahabharata, which takes place in Dvapara yuga, Vishnu is Krishna, youngest son of a noble family, who is raised by cowherds but who performs as a charioteer. They are expected to behave differently. Ram is obligated to follow the rules of the family, clan and kingdom, and uphold family honour. Krishna is under no such obligation. This is why Krishna tells Arjuna to focus on dharma in his context (sva-dharma) rather than dharma in another’s context (para-dharma). Arjuna, better to do what you have been asked to do imperfectly than try to do perfectly what others have been asked to. All work has inadequacies; even fire is enveloped by smoke.—Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, verses 47 and 48 (paraphrased). In the Ramayana Ram upholds rules, while Ravana breaks them. In the Mahabharata Duryodhana upholds rules, while Krishna breaks them. As eldest sons of their respective clans, Ram and Duryodhana are obliged to uphold rules. Ravana, son of a Brahmin, and Krishna, raised by cowherds, are under no such obligations. Dharma, however, is upheld only by Ram and Krishna, not Ravana and Duryodhana. Ram is constantly concerned about his city Ayodhya’s welfare, while Ravana does not care if his Lanka burns. Krishna cares for the Pandavas, who happen to be the children of his aunt, but the Kauravas do not care for the Pandavas, who happen to be the children of their uncle. Dharma thus has nothing to with rules or obligations. It has to do with intent and caring for the other, be it your kingdom or your family.

But then, he was a wise prince and realized that kingship was always more a burden than a privilege. But he had been raised to be a king since he was born, and it was not only this thought that now worried him. Another, deeper anxiety stirred in his heart, for no reason he could name. Something malignant seemed to mock him, from far away, but quite clearly.

Brahmins were essentially transmitters and stewards of Vedic hymns and rituals, not its interpreters or owners. Over time, however, they used their exalted position to dominate society and claim entitlements. It was an irony of history that those who carried knowledge of how to expand the mind failed to expand their own minds, and chose the common path of domination instead.

Cutting off the nose is a metaphor for shame. The notion of locating honor in the women of the household has led to women in India being objectified and denied their freedom and choices. Whether Sita is physically abused or not, Ram's honor has been stained. Modern notions of justice mock these deep-rooted traditional notions of shame that have been used to justify the violent oppression of women.

I am the most unhappy man alive, Lakshmana," said Rama. "Giving up the kingdom, I came to the forest, and here I have lost my Sita. This Jatayu, who was a second father to us, has, laid down his life for my sake. Why, if I fell into the fire, I fear my bad luck will put even the fire out. If I fell into the sea, I fear it would dry up. What a terrible sinner I am, Lakshmana! Who knows, one day I might lose you too, Lakshmana." Embracing Jatayu, he said: "O, my father! Really, did you see Sita?" But Jatayu lay speechless on the ground. After a few moments Jatayu spoke again in a low voice: "Be not afraid, Rama. You will surely find Sita. No harm will come to her. Regaining the treasure you have lost, you will greatly rejoice." With these words, he spat out blood and gave up life.