Cosmology - Main figures Of the Ramakian

The Ramayana was written purportedly in the third century B.C. by the Forest Hermit Valmiki. The Brahman Hindus, however, believe that Rama was a real person.There are a few different sacred locations in India which may indicate Rama's existence as a reality.One of them is his birth place, another being his palace. The route taken by Rama on the journey to Lanka (Sri Lanka) is also the source of several interesting things which lend to the belief in Rama's existence.Ramayana spread throughought Southeast Asia travelling with the Tamil Indian merchants and scholars who were then trading with the Khmer> kingdoms of Funan and Angkor and also to Srivijaya(what is now South Thailand), with whom economic and cultural ties had been enjoyed for a long time.In the late part of the era leading up to 1000 A.D, the Ramayana epic was incorporated and absorbed into the mythological Pantheon of Thai Culture and Religious belief system.It arrived with immigrants and merchants who migrated to Southeast Asia from southern China and India too. The oldest examples found of Thai Historical literature, from the early Sukhothai Era (thirteenth century), include stories from the Ramayana. These legends were told in the South's famous Puppet Shadow theater (Hnang Thalung).out of leather in the shape of the Ramayana Characters. Thes puppets were used to enact scenes from Ramayana from behind a cloth screen with backlight to cast shadows from the character on the screen, which was watched from the opposite side as in a cinema. Above picture; Gumpagan, or, Kumbakan.
Valmiki's Ramayana (Hardcover)

Attributed to Valmiki, an ancient Indian poet and sage, Ramayana (the epic story of Rama), is one of the two great epic poems of India. Composed in Sanskrit sometime before 300 B.C.E., it makes for lively reading as a good adventure and love story as well as a guide to spiritual practice and a reflection of the cultural, social, and religious beliefs of India at the time.
Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love and Wisdom

The main figures Of the Ramakian

Deities (Devas)

• Phra Naraayn (Narayana/Vishnu) - Highest God
• Phra Isuan (Isvara/Shiva) - Deputy to Phra Narai
• Phra Phrom (Brahma) - Together with Phra Isuan and Phra Naraayn, forms the Hindu Trinity.
• Nang Uma-devi (Parvati) - Consort of Phra Isuan
• Nang Lakshmi - Consort of Phra Narai
• Phra In (Indra) - The King of tewadas- lesser celestial deities. Father of Pali
• Mali Warat - God of Justice. Grandfather of Totsakan
• Phra Ah-thit (Surya) - the solar deity. Father of Sukreep
• Phra Pai (Vayu) - the wind deity. Father of Hanuman
• Vishvakarman - the artisan god, responsible for rebuilding Lanka after Hanuman burned it down and creating Kitkin

Above image; Phra Naarayn (Vishnu)

Human Characters

• Phra Ram (Rama) - The son of the king Thotsarot of Ayutthaya and the Incarnation of Phra Narai.
• Nang Sida (Sita) - The wife of Phra Ram, who embodies purity and fidelity. Incarnation of Nang Lakshmi
• Phra Lak (Lakshman), Phra Phrot (Bharata) and Phra Satrut (Shatrughna) - half-brothers of Phra Ram, who represent the reincarnated possessions of Phra Narai
• Thotsarot (Dasaratha) -often called Thao Thotsarot. King of Ayutthaya and father of Phra Ram and his brothers
• Nang Kaosuriya (Kausalya) - one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Ram
• Nang Kaiyakesi (Kaikeyi) - one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Phrot
• Nang Samut-devi (Sumitra) - one of the three wives of Thotsarot, mother of Phra Lak and Phra Satrut

Allies of Phra Ram

• Hanuman - God-king of the apes, who supported Phra Ram and acted as the monkey general.
• Pali Thirat (Vali) - King of Kitkin, elder brother of Sukreep and uncle of Hanuman
• Sukreep (Sugriva) - Viceroy of Kitkin, younger brother of Pali and uncle of Hanuman
• Ongkot (Angada) - Ape-prince and son of the Pali Thirat and Nang Montho, cousin of Hanuman
• Pipek (Vibhishana) - enstranged brother of Totsakan. He is an excellent astrologist and provided valuable information to Phra Ram in defeating Totsakan.
• Chompupan - Ape-prince and adopted son of Pali, an expert in the healing arts and acted as the troop's medic.

Enemies of Phra Ram

• Tosakan (Ravana) - King of the Demons of Lanka and strongest of Phra Ram's adversaries. Tosakan has ten faces and twenty arms, and possesses a myriad of weapons.
• Intarachit (Indrajit) - A son of the Tosakan. Phra Ram's second most powerful adversaries. Intarachit uses his bow more than any other weapon. He once fired arrows (Nakabat Arrows) which turned into nagas (or snakes) in mid-air and rained down on Phra Ram's army. He once had a blessing from the Phra Isworn that he shall not die on land but in the air, and if his decapitated head were to touch the ground, it will bring down great destruction.
• Gumpagan (Kumbhakarna) - brother of Thotsakan and commander of demonic forces
• Maiyarap - King of the Underworld, embodied as a donkey
• Thoot, Korn, Trisian - younger brothers of Thotsakan, and the first three to be killed by Phra Ram, in that order.

Above pic; The Yak, "Banlaygan (บรรลัยกัลย์) - tattoo art by Spencer Littlewood, Ramakian Tattoo, Thailand
Homepage; http://thailandtattoos.spaces.live.com


Links;
Wikipedia - Ramakien Shop for Best Deals on Amazon
ManyRamayanas: The Diversity of a Narrative Tradition in South Asia
Ramayana: India's Immortal Tale of Adventure, Love and Wisdom
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