The Ramayana: Justice and Modern Man

Consisting of Twenty-Four Thousand worthy Sanskrit verses, the Ramayana is one such epic, which provides a pathway to one committed to justice to establish himself as an ideal human being by following the exemplary life of its hero.

- Dr. Ravindra Kumar

The Ramayana composed by 'Adikavi' Maharishi Valmiki is also called 'Adikavya' and its hero is Maryadapurushottama Shrirama. In the Ramayana, propriety -Maryada, which is a symbol of civilized behaviour, emerges predominantly in almost every relationship, behaviour and practice, or there is a glimpse of it therein. Therefore, the Ramayana is a unique and, perhaps, the only one such epic, full of proprieties, to which, in this form, there is no other scripture to equate it.

Shrirama, the hero of the Ramayana, Who is considered to be the Maryadapurushottama and in this form millions of people have immense reverence for Him even today, established the highest records of proprieties in the form of a son and a son-inlaw, a brother, a husband, a father, a disciple, a friend and an ideal king. This wonderful quality of Shrirama is also evident in His dealings with those who have faith and reverence in Him. Maryadapurushottama Shrirama's propriety -Maryada was inextricably linked with affection, compassion, dutybound high morality, and that reality, which creates the state of human-equality.

Maryadapurushottama Shrirama is accepted as the incarnation of Shrihari, the Sustainer and the Protector. Shrirama was an ideal king. His rule, the Ramarajya (the Kingdom of God on the planet Earth), was an ideal system of governance. Human equality was at the centre of that system. The way justice became the basis of equality in the Ramarajya, everyone, even a dog, received justice without any kind of discrimination in the Ramarajya, thus, making the Rule of Shrirama an all-time ideal. Shrirama had said to the dog who came to seek justice from Him:

"Kim Te Kaaryam Karomyaddha Bruuhi Vistrabdha Maa Chiram/"

It means, "Tell without any fear, which work of yours should I do (to accord justice to you)! Do not delay in telling."