Hikayat Seri Rama
Encyclopedia
Hikayat Seri Rama is the Malay literary adaptation of the Hindu Ramayana
epic. The main story remains the same as the original Sanskrit
version but some aspects of it were slightly modified to a local context such as the spelling and pronunciation of names. Numerous branch stories had also been developed as accretions to or extensions of this epic with the upgrading of minor characters to major ones, or the invention of totally new characters. For example, Malay writers and storytellers have produced variations in which Laksmana (Lakshman) plays a larger role, sometimes becoming more important than Rama
the elder prince much like the Lao Phra Lak Phra Lam
. Rama, although righteous and virtuous, was perceived to be weak and his character is often moved to the background while the younger Laksmana is admired for his courage and willingness to react decisively.
, holy revered text of Hindu
s, is a collection of India
n mythological stories concentrating on the work of the gods in the lives of men, and was first written down, as legend states, by the sage Valmiki
during the third century BC. Rama
actually existed, and there are several holy sites in India that point to the reality of Rama's existence, including his birth place, his palace, and the route of his journey to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the Ramayana came to Southeast Asia
by means of Tamil
s traders and scholars who traded with ancient kingdoms such as
Funan, Angkor
and Srivijaya
with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties. Folk versions of the Ramayana
were told through dance dramas and by penglipurlara (professional storytellers). The wayang kulit (shadow theatre) adaptation, called Hikayat Maharaja Wana, was one of the most important shadow-plays. Puppeteers would pick the most exciting episodes for their shows, particularly the scenes relating to the marriage of Seri Rama
, the abduction of Siti Dewi (Sita
), the final battles in Langkapuri (Lanka
), and the heroine's rescue by her husband.
Its ideals of righteousness, love, loyalty and selfless devotion ensured that the Ramayana
remained popular even after Islam's introduction into Asia
. The epic was written in its present form some time between the 13th and 17th centuries under the title Hikayat Seri Rama (Chronicle Of The Great Rama) and is generally regarded as a manifestation of the cultural ideals of the ruling elite. It has survived in several recensions but all share the same plot. They are all believed to derive from the oral tradition of eastern and western India
with the addition of motifs from the Java
nese Panji romance. The name-forms show a distinct Dravidian
influence, indicative of the role played by South India
ns in disseminating the epic.
Despite the high esteem in which the story of Rama
was once held, since the Islamic revival
of the 1980s the Hikayat Seri Rama has drastically decreased in popularity. However, students of Malay literary history still consider it an integral part of Malay culture.
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
epic. The main story remains the same as the original Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
version but some aspects of it were slightly modified to a local context such as the spelling and pronunciation of names. Numerous branch stories had also been developed as accretions to or extensions of this epic with the upgrading of minor characters to major ones, or the invention of totally new characters. For example, Malay writers and storytellers have produced variations in which Laksmana (Lakshman) plays a larger role, sometimes becoming more important than Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
the elder prince much like the Lao Phra Lak Phra Lam
Phra Lak Phra Lam
Phra Lak Phra Lam is the national epic of the Lao people, and is adapted from Valmiki's Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Similar to some Malay versions of the Hikayat Seri Rama, the epic has lost the association with Hinduism and is instead considered a Jataka Story, a previous lifetime of the Buddha...
. Rama, although righteous and virtuous, was perceived to be weak and his character is often moved to the background while the younger Laksmana is admired for his courage and willingness to react decisively.
History
The RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
, holy revered text of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s, is a collection of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n mythological stories concentrating on the work of the gods in the lives of men, and was first written down, as legend states, by the sage Valmiki
Valmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
during the third century BC. Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
actually existed, and there are several holy sites in India that point to the reality of Rama's existence, including his birth place, his palace, and the route of his journey to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the Ramayana came to Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
by means of Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
s traders and scholars who traded with ancient kingdoms such as
Funan, Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
and Srivijaya
Srivijaya
Srivijaya was a powerful ancient thalassocratic Malay empire based on the island of Sumatra, modern day Indonesia, which influenced much of Southeast Asia. The earliest solid proof of its existence dates from the 7th century; a Chinese monk, I-Tsing, wrote that he visited Srivijaya in 671 for 6...
with whom the Indians shared close economic and cultural ties. Folk versions of the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
were told through dance dramas and by penglipurlara (professional storytellers). The wayang kulit (shadow theatre) adaptation, called Hikayat Maharaja Wana, was one of the most important shadow-plays. Puppeteers would pick the most exciting episodes for their shows, particularly the scenes relating to the marriage of Seri Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, the abduction of Siti Dewi (Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
), the final battles in Langkapuri (Lanka
Lanka
Sri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata...
), and the heroine's rescue by her husband.
Its ideals of righteousness, love, loyalty and selfless devotion ensured that the Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
remained popular even after Islam's introduction into Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The epic was written in its present form some time between the 13th and 17th centuries under the title Hikayat Seri Rama (Chronicle Of The Great Rama) and is generally regarded as a manifestation of the cultural ideals of the ruling elite. It has survived in several recensions but all share the same plot. They are all believed to derive from the oral tradition of eastern and western India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with the addition of motifs from the Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese Panji romance. The name-forms show a distinct Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
influence, indicative of the role played by South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
ns in disseminating the epic.
Despite the high esteem in which the story of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
was once held, since the Islamic revival
Islamic revival
Islamic revival refers to a revival of the Islamic religion throughout the Islamic world, that began roughly sometime in 1970s and is manifested in greater religious piety, and community feeling, and in a growing adoption of Islamic culture, dress, terminology, separation of the sexes, and values...
of the 1980s the Hikayat Seri Rama has drastically decreased in popularity. However, students of Malay literary history still consider it an integral part of Malay culture.
Gods
- Siwa/Betara Guru (ShivaShivaShiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
)- Personifies the dissolving and blissful aspect of divinity - Mahabisnu (Maha VishnuVishnuVishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
)- Personifies the maintaining aspect of divinity - Berama Raja/Betara Berma/Adi Berma (BrahmaBrahmaBrahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
)- Personifies the creative aspect of divinity - Parwati (ParvatiParvatiParvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
)- Siwa's consort - Laksmi (LakshmiLakshmiLakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
)- Wisnu's consort - Betara Indera (IndraIndra' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
)- Leader of the lesser deities - Suria (SuryaSuryaSurya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
)- God of the sun; Sugriwa's father - Raja Bayu (VayuVayuVāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...
)- God of wind; Hanuman's father
Humans
- Seri Rama (Sri RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
)- Wisnu's reincarnation and eldest son of Raja Dasarata - Siti Dewi (Sita DeviSITASITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
)- Seri Rama's wife; adoptive daughter of Maharisi Kali - Baradan (BharataBharata (Ramayana)In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...
), Laksmana (Lakshman) and Citradan (ShatrughnaShatrughnaShatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...
)- Rama's half-brothers; the incarnations of Wisnu's possessions - Dasarata Maharaja (Dasharatha Maharaja)- Father of Seri Rama and his brothers
- Mandudari (MandodariMandodariMandodari is the Queen Consort of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, according to the Hindu epic Ramayana. The Ramayana describes Mandodari as beautiful, pious, and righteous...
)- Ravana's wife. Meghanada's (Indrajit) mother.
Allies of Seri Rama
- HanumanHanumanHanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
- incarnation of lord siwa - Balya Raja (Vali RajVali (Ramayana)In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the vanara Vali , also known as Bali , , , Yuan: Bari, , Lao: Palichan) was king of Kishkindha, a son of Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva...
- King of Lagur-Katagina (Kiskindha) - Sugriwa (SugrivaSugrivaIn the Hindu epic Ramayana, Sugriva , also spelled Sugreeva or Sugreev, was the younger brother of Bali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. Ruma was his wife. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun...
)- Balya's younger brother - Seri Anggada (Sri AngadaAngadaAngada , in the Indian Ramayana epic, is a vanara who helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. He was the son of Bali and Tara and the nephew of Sugriva. Angada and Tara are instrumental in reconciling Rama and his brother, Lakshmana, with Sugriva after Sugriva fails to...
)- Balya's son - Bibusanam (VibhishanaVibhishanaVibhishana or Bibhishan is a character in the epic Ramayana. He was the younger brother of the demon Ravana. Though a half-demon himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion...
)- Rawana's estranged brother - Jambuwana (Jambavan)- King of the bears
Enemies of Seri Rama
- Rawana (RavanaRavana' is the primary antagonist character of the Hindu legend, the Ramayana; who is the great king of Lanka. In the classic text, he is mainly depicted negatively, kidnapping Rama's wife Sita, to claim vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister...
)- Twenty-armed and ten-faced king of the raksasa (demons) on LangkapuriLankaSri Lanka is the name given in Hindu mythology to the island fortress capital of the legendary king Ravana in the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata... - Indrajat/Indrajati (IndrajitIndrajitIndrajit or Meghanatha , a warrior mentioned in the Indian epic Ramayana, was the son of the Lankan king Ravana. The word 'Indrajit' literally means the 'conqueror of Indra '....
)- Son of Rawana - Kumbakarna (KumbhakarnaKumbhakarnaKumbhakarna , is a rakshasa and brother of Ravana in the Indian Ramayana epic...
)- Rawana's younger brother
See also
- RamayanaRamayanaThe Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
- Ramavataram
- Kakawin Ramayana
- RamaRamaRama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
- Phra Lak Phra LamPhra Lak Phra LamPhra Lak Phra Lam is the national epic of the Lao people, and is adapted from Valmiki's Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Similar to some Malay versions of the Hikayat Seri Rama, the epic has lost the association with Hinduism and is instead considered a Jataka Story, a previous lifetime of the Buddha...
- ReamkerReamkerReamker is a Cambodian epic poem, based on the Sanskrit's Ramayana epic. The name means "Glory of Rama". It adapts the Hindu ideas to Buddhist themes and shows the balance of good and evil in the world. More than just a reordering of the epic tale, the Reamker is a mainstay of the royal ballet's...