“Ramayana” which has the distinction of being the greatest epic of India. Which was written in many other regional languages apart from Sanskrit. Taking Adikal to the present, many sages have written it in their own way. If you go to any region of India, you will find a popular Ramayana there. In such a situation, it is natural to have a doubt that who wrote the Ramayana?
According to Hindu religion, Ramayana is the event of Tretayuga and the present period is Kaliyuga. Since then till now Ramayana has been written in many languages. Out of which “Ramcharitmanas” composed by Tulsidas is currently the most popular Ramayana. Some scholars believe that at present there are more than 300 local versions of Ramayana. Maharishi Valmiki is considered as Adikavi of Ramayana, that is, he was the first to compose it. Later, through a verse of Ramcharitmanas composed by Tulsidas, it is said that it was first composed by Lord Shiva and he always kept it in his heart. It has even been said in many books of Hinduism that Ramayana is the secret of Lord Shiva’s immortality. Here is a list of some of the famous local versions of Ramayana written in local languages.
Some famous Ramayana, their author and Language
Name of Ramayan | Author / Poet |
Ramayan (Sanskrit) | Maharishi Valmiki |
Ramcharitmanas (Awadhi) | Goswami Tulsidas |
Adhyathmaramayanam Kilipattu (Tamil) | Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan |
Kamba Ramayana (Tamil) | Kambar |
Ranganatha Ramayanamu (Telgu) | Ranganatha |
Molla Ramayanamu (Telgu) | Molla |
Srimadramayana Kalpavrikshamu (Telgu) | Viswanatha Satyanarayana |
Torave Ramayana Kumara Valmiki (Kannada) |
Torvey Narahari |
Ramachandra Charita Purana (Kannada) | Nagachandra or Abhinava Pampa |
Sri Ramayana Darshanam (Kannada) | Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa |
Dandi Ramayana (Odia) | Balarama Dasa |
Bisi Ramayana (Odia) | Bishwanath Khuntia |
Vilanka Ramayana (Odia) | Sarala Dasa |
Saptakanda Ramayana (Assamese) | Madhava Kandali |
Durgabari-Ramayana (Assamese) | Durgabar Kayastha |
Tulsi-Krta Ramayana (Gujrati) | Premanand Swami |
Bhavartha Ramayana (Marathi) | Sant Eknath |
Mithila Bhasha Ramayana (Maithali) | Chandramani Datta |
Ramayan by Maharishi Valmiki
Ramayana was first written by Maharishi Valmiki. He created it with the blessings of Lord Brahma. That’s why he is known as Adikavi of Ramayana in many places. At that time, with the blessings of Lord Brahma, he got the knowledge of both the events related to the life of Lord Rama which have happened or will happen in the future. The Ramayana written by him is in Sanskrit language and has 7 chapters and a total of 24000 verses. Its chapter is addressed by the name of Kand. All the creations that happened later were written through the medium of Sanskrit Ramayana only.
Ramcharitmanas by Goswami Tulsidas
After Maharishi Valmiki, many poets rewrote Ramayana but the fame of Ramcharitmanas composed by Goswami Tulsidas is special. Ramcharitmanas composed by him is counted among the most successful compositions in the world. He named his work Ramcharitmanas (which describes the character of Lord Rama). According to the facts, he first studied the Sanskrit Ramayana written by Maharishi Valmiki, then later he wrote it in Ayodhya’s local language Awadhi. He wrote it in the 16th century when Akbar was the king of the Mughal Sultanate in India. Many folklores also write that even Akbar was greatly influenced by them. However, the description of Uttarakand is not found in Ramcharitmanas i.e. when Lord Ram returns to Ayodhya after killing Ravana and his coronation takes place, Ramcharitmanas ends after that. Some scholars believe that the incident of Uttarkand is very poignant which was not written by Tulsidas and he did not describe Uttarkand in his Ramcharitmanas.
Other Famous Ramayan (Outside India)
The fame of Ramayana is not limited to India only. Apart from India, poets from many other countries have written it in their local language. Even today, apart from India, plays based on Ramayana are organized in many countries and their character is glorified. Ramayana prevalent in countries other than India is something like this.
- The popular Ramayana in the neighboring country of India is called Janakiharan.
- The Ramayana of Japan is called Ramaensho. He also made an animated film on Ramayana, which was well received in India as well.
- The popular Ramayana in Myanmar is called Yama Zatdaw.
- Similarly, Phra Lak Phra Ram Ramayana is prevalent in Vietnam.
- Ramakien Namak Ramayana is prevalent in Thailand.
- Truyện Dạ Thoa Vương Ramayana is read in Vietnam.
- Cambodia, which used to be a part of Akhand Bharat at one time, has also composed Ramayana, which is popular by the name of Reamer.
- We find two versions of Ramayana in India’s neighboring country Nepal. Which is famous as Bhanubhakta Ramayan and Siddhi Ramayan. There is also a special thing about Nepal, Lord Ram’s in-laws house is in Nepal. Formerly the capital of Mithila, Janakpuri currently falls in Nepal.
- Similarly, the Ramayana prevalent in Bali is called Ramakavaca.
- Similarly, the Ramayana available in Malaysia is called Hikayat Seri Rama. While Malaysia is a Muslim Majority country.