From Ancient Times To Modern, Impossible To Imagine Tamil Life And Culture Without Shri Rama

Once again, someone has claimed that Shri Rama is not popular in Tamil Nadu. Once again, here is why such claims are fake news.

Ancient and medieval era

The mentions of Ramayana found in the Sangam literature are not found in the Valmiki Ramayana.

Ergo, the most ancient of Tamil literature speaks of Shri Rama without borrowing from the Valmiki Ramayana.

There are two major references.

The first reference is that of a Tamil king who had achieved brilliant victories over his enemies. He gave the royal ornaments of those defeated kings to a poet, who in turn delivered them to his family as well as distributed some among his kith and kin. As the relatives and his family had never seen ornaments like that, they started wearing them wrongly; and how is this scene described?

That they behaved “like the monkeys who got the ornaments dropped by Sita when she was abducted” when they started to adorn themselves with the jewels, not knowing where to wear each jewel. There is a song about this in Puranaanooru (378).

The second reference is even more beautiful and is important for reasons that will become apparent.

A hero had left his village to pursue his career. His lover was awaiting his return. So every day, she could be seen waiting and watching the road for the return of her beloved. The villagers naturally started gossiping.

Eventually, the hero returned and when the lovers got united, all those gossipers fell silent. And how was this described? That when Sri Rama was planning the attack under this magnificent tree in Kodikarai, the birds residing in the tree were constantly chirping. At one point, Shri Rama just looked up at them signalling them to remain silent. And silent went the birds, just like how the gossipers became silent! (Ahananooru, 70).

Ramayana and Rama in Silapathikaram

In Silapathikaram, supposedly written by a Jain monk, Illango Adigal, Ramayana runs as a subtle thread.

When Kovalan, the hero of the epic, had to leave the city of Pukhar along with his wife Kannagi, we are told that the people of the city got distressed and the city became desolate ‘like Ayodhya after Rama left ’.

When Kovalan is counselled during tough times, it is by citing the Ramayana. He is told that even the Divine Rama had to live in exile, lose his wife and face suffering.

Then again, when the couple, along with a saintly character, pass through the rural settlement of cowherds, the women of the village sang the praise of Vishnu and danced. In this song, Rama is placed in the context of other avatars of Vishnu.

Shri Rama and kings of Tamil Nadu

Kulasekhara Aazhwar (9th century CE), traditionally considered a Chera king, has sung lullabies for Sri Rama — some of the sweetest poetry written in the language. Since then, for centuries, Tamil mothers have identified their own children with Rama as they sing these songs to this day.

The Aazhwar, according to traditional accounts, used to get so emotional hearing the recital of Ramayana that when the portion describing Rama going in search of Sita used to be recited, he ordered his own army to be ‘sent in support of Sri Rama’.

With the ascendancy of the imperial Cholas, Rama was not only a role model but also considered as one of the ancestors of the dynasty. The Cholas considered themselves as coming in the line of the Raghu clan of Kshatriyas.

Their naval expeditions were compared to the march of Sri Rama. Chola king Parantaka-I was called Sangrama Raghava because of his conquest of Sri Lanka. His son Aditya-I had the title Kothanda Rama. An inscription praising the expedition of Rajaraja compares it with that of Sri Rama’s travels.

In the Adikesava Perumal temple, an inscription records that Rajendra Chola donated an areca garden to Sita, as a wedding gift, on the occasion of her marriage to Rama, whom the inscription addresses as Thiru Ayodhyi Chakravarthi .

Ayodhya, indeed, seems to have been much loved and cherished by Tamils. In Uttiramerur under Parantaka Chola's reign, there was a temple for 'Ayodhya Perumal' - the lord of Ayodhya.

And his queen, Seyyabhuvana Sundara Maniyar, gifted a lamp to the Raghava temple, which was called Thiru Ayodhi (auspicious Ayodhya). The Chola period also reinforced the sacred oneness of India by constructing two temples at Manimangalam in Tamil Nadu — one temple for ‘our Master Lord of Dwaraka’ (Thiruvaragapathi Emperuman) and ‘our Master Lord of auspicious Ayodhya’ (Thiruayodhi Emperuman).

At the famous Eri-Katha Ramar (Rama who protected the lake) temple of Chengalpattu, the Chola inscription calls the lord as “Ayodhya Perumal” or Lord of Ayodhya.

Modern times

In modern times, Shri Rama is so ingrained in the daily of Tamil Nadu that it is easy to not notice it.

For example, writing ‘Sri Ramajeyam’ every morning has been an abiding habit across Tamil Nady — a fantastic exercise to keep your handwriting steady and beautiful, combining it with spirituality — another cultural element we are now losing out, like the daily feeding of the crow.

Most of the Hindu families in Tamil Nadu will have at least one ‘Ramaswamy’ in three generations (grandfather-father-son).

Pop culture references

Consider the popular movie Singham by director Hari. The villain’s brother threatens a police officer, asking if he knows whose brother he was. The spontaneous reply in the screenplay was, “Why should I care? Are you the brother of Rama, Lakshmana, that everyone should know?”

Or take the example of John Pandiyan, a Devendrakula Vellalar community leader from southern Tamil Nadu. In a meeting with Thol Thirumavallavan—a leader with no sympathy for Hindu sentiments—a few years back, Pandiyan told their cadre that the two leaders were like ‘Rama and Lakshmana’.