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The Jagamohana Ramayana () also known as the Dandi Ramayana popularly across
Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
is an epic poem composed by the 15th-century poet
Balarama Dasa ''Krupasiddha'' Balarama Dasa (alternatively spelled ''Balaram Das''; ; ) was a mystic seer-poet who wrote in Odia, best known as the author of the voluminous ''Jagamohana Ramayana'' or ''Dandi Ramayana''. He was one of the five great poets in Odi ...
. This work is a retelling of the
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 ...
, though not a direct translation.


Synopsis

The story of this version is presented as a narration by
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
to
Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...
. The plot moves as a form of dialogue between the two. The story begins with Sati and how Shiva is reunited with Sati in the form of Parvati. After being reunited with the goddess, Shiva narrates the story of Rama to Parvati. The plot of the Ramayana begins with
Dasharatha Dasharatha (, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of Kosala, with its capital at Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Dasharatha married Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He was the father of Rama, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana ...
's efforts of getting a son by holding a . The central plot of the Sanskrit Ramayana is followed in the text, with some significant departures in the plot and the characters, influenced by local tradition. According to the author, Rama is
Jagannath Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...
a or
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,
Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...
is
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, and his brothers are partial incarnations of Vishnu. The gods scheme to have Rama exiled from his kingdom following his wedding so that he would fulfil his destiny of slaying
Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...
, sending the heroes Khala, Durbala, and
Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
to influence
Kaikeyi Kaikeyi,(Sanskrit: कैकेयी, IAST: Kaikeyī) is a princess of Kekeya and the queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Kaikeyi is the third queen and favourite consort of King Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital, A ...
's hostility towards Rama. Shiva is regarded to have achieved
liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...
by chanting the name of Rama. Jagannatha himself is attributed as the author of the work according to Balarama Dasa, who calls himself the scribe. In his chapters, the author employs versions of the legend from the
Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...
, ''kavya''s, southern and northern folk traditions, and ''nataka''s.


Structure

The work is written in a meter called Dandi Vritta. It is a 14 letter meter suitable for narrative style. It is a lengthy work. The epic follows the seven
canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from th ...
s of the original Sanskrit Ramayana. They are: * Adi Kanda - * Ayodhya Kanda - * Vana Kanda - * Kishkindha Kanda - * Sundara Kanda - * Yuddha Kanda - * Uttara Kanda -


Cultural aspects

This work brought the tale of Ramayana to the Odia speaking region and it became quite popular. It faced significant opposition from the Sanskrit proponents and opponents of Odia literature. It is heavily influenced by the Jagannath culture. In multiple places the writer says that the writing is carried out by Jagannath himself. The book also enlightens some significant aspect of contemporary lifestyle. There are descriptions of pregnancy, customs and rituals followed during pregnancy etc. There descriptions of cultural practices that follows the birth of a child. There are descriptions of natural beauty of Odisha, living standards, foods, locations etc. It also contains reference to the popular Indian foods at the time such as
puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...
,
malpua Malpua, or sometimes shortened to pua, is a sweetened breakfast served with morning tea or as a snack with afternoon tea or as a dessert originating from the East Indian subcontinent, popular in Bhutan, India, and Nepal. History Barley was t ...
,
laddu ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' is a spherical sweet from the Indian subcontinent made of various ingredients and sugar syrup or jaggery. It has been described as "perhaps the most universal and ancient of Indian sweets." ''Laddus'' are often serv ...
, and
rasgulla Rasgulla (literally "syrup filled ball") is a syrupy dessert popular in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of South Asia. It is made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. This is done until the syrup perm ...
.


Derivative works

There were multiple books written that summarised the Jagamohana Ramayana called . There were several of these abridged versions. One such work by Maheswara Dasa was just forty printed pages. In southern Odisha, the original Odia Ramayana circulated with new material being added over the years. This eventually grew to a massive volume of 3000 pages. This version is known as .


See also


Jagamohan Ramayana in Devanagari script

Typical Selections from Oriya Literature, B C Mazumdaar, 1918


References

{{Authority control Works based on the Ramayana Hindu texts 15th-century poems Odia literature