The ''Ramavataram'', popularly referred to as ''Kamba Ramayanam'', is a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

that was written by the

poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

's ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'' (which is in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

), the story describes the legend of King

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

. However, the ''Ramavataram'' is different from the

version in many aspects – both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the storyline. This historic work is considered by both Tamil

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

s and the general public as one of the greatest literary works in

Tamil literature Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the T ...

. Kambar wrote this epic with the

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of Thiruvennai Nallur Sadayappa Vallal, a chieftain of the Pannai lineage. In gratitude to his patron, Kamban references his name once in every 1,000 verses.

Early references in Tamil literature

Even before Kambar wrote the Ramavataram in Tamil in the 12 century CE, there are many ancient references to the story of Ramayana, implying that the story was familiar in the Tamil lands even before the Common Era. References to the story can be found in the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

Akanaṉūṟu The ''Akananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the akam genre"), sometimes called ''Nedunthokai'' (''lit.'' "anthology of long poems"), is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam li ...

,(dated 200 BCE–300 CE) and

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

(dated 200 BCE–300 CE), the twin epics of

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely ''akaval'' (''acir ...

(dated 6th century CE) and

Manimekalai ''Maṇimēkalai'' (, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably somewhere between the 2nd century to the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a ...

, and the

Alvar An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

literature of

Kulasekhara Alvar Kulasekhara ( Tamil: ''குலசேகரர்''; IAST: Kulaśekhara) (''fl.'' 9th century CE), one of the twelve Vaishnavite alvars, was a bhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India. He was the author of " Perumal Ti ...

, Thirumangai Alvar,

Andal Andal (ISO 15919: Āṇḍāḷ), also known as Godhai, Nachiyar, and Godha Devi, is the only female Alvars, Alvar. (Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, ...

and

Nammalvar Nammalvar was one of the twelve Alvars, Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, Naalayira Divya Prab ...

(dated between 8th and 10th centuries CE).

Structure

The book is divided into six chapters, called ''Kandam'' in Tamil. The Kandams are further divided into 113 sections called ''Padalam'' (படலம்) in Tamil. These 113 sections contain approximately 10569 verses of the epic. * Bala Kandam (Chapter: Childhood) * Ayodhya Kandam (Chapter: Ayodhya) * Aranya Kandam (Chapter: Forest) * Kishkindha Kandam (Chapter: Kishkindha) * Sundara Kandam (Chapter: Beautiful) * Yuddha Kandam (Chapter: War)

Compilation

As with many historic compilations, it was very difficult to discard the interpolations and addendum which have been added over a period of time to the original. This task was taken up a committee of scholars headed by T. P. Meenakshisundaram called the Kamban Kazhagam (Kamban Academy). The compilation published by this committee in 1976 is what is used as the standard today. Valmiki's

in Sanskrit has seven chapters. The Tamil poet

Ottakoothar Ottakoothar (c. 12th century CE) was a Tamil people, Tamil court poet and minister to three Later Cholas, Later Chola kings, namely Vikrama Chola, Kulothunga Chola II, Kulotunga II and Rajaraja Chola II, Rajaraja II. He wrote poems in praise of t ...

wrote Uttara Kandam, the seventh (last chapter) kandam of the Tamil epic

Literary significance

Kamban's use of Virutham (Sanskrit: vṛttam) and Santham (Sanskrit:

chandas Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic metr ...

) in various verses is effective in bringing out the emotion and mood for storytelling. He achieves the Virutham and Santham by effective choice of words.

Religious significance

This epic is read by many Hindus during prayers. In some households, the entire epic is read once during the

Tamil calendar The Tamil calendar (தமிழ் நாட்காட்டி) is a Sidereal time, sidereal solar calendar used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry, and by the Tamil ...

's month of Aadi (mid-July to mid-August). It is also read in

Hindu Temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

s and other religious associations. On many occasions, Kambar talks about surrendering to Rama, who is a manifestation of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

himself. The chapter ''Sundara Kandam'' is considered very auspicious and is the most popular. The chapter talks about the hardships faced by the main characters in the epic, their practice of restraint, and their hopes for a better tomorrow.

Translations

Kamba Ramayanam has been translated into English by P. S. Sundaram. Nityananda Mohapatra translated the Tamil work into Odia.

References

External links

Tamil Virtual University: Kamba Ramayanam
*Tamil literature repository: Kamba Ramayanam a

{{Authority control Works based on the Ramayana Epic poems in Tamil