Rama, warrior king & 

devaraja ?
The divine incarnation as an Inspiration to SE Asian Monarchs
Dr Uday Dokras PhD Stockholm
SYNOPSIS
The Ramayana portrays RAM as the archetype of the ideal ruler. Spiritual and
martial Gurus trained him to enable him to save the world from oppression. As
part of the great warrior tradition, he transcends religion.

His myth is of the same genre as King Arthur and today’s Luke Skywalker.
Rather than detaching from the world or dominating it, they are all social
activists, fighting the evil powers of the world. In the East, there is a blend of
the human and divine world, as represented in the Ramayana. Rama was the
divine incarnated in human form. Further Vishnu and the other gods regularly
incarnated in human affairs.This mixture of  human and divine, which is
exhibited in both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, doesn't exist in the West.
While the Pope speaks for God, he is not God. The Biblical God is of a
fundamentally different nature; he only incarnated in human form once.
Typically the gods and humans are distinctly different in Western mythology.
This certainly holds true for the God of the Bible. To sum Rama, as warrior
king, represents the classic devaraja/Bodhisattva, the Southeast Asian god-
king. If the South East Asian Kings wanted to be like Rama and idolized him,
emulate him,govern and fihght lie him, become a father figure to the subjects-
WHO ARE WE TO QUESTION THAT DESIRE?

Rama is shown about to offer his eyes to make up the full number - 108 - of lotus blossoms needed in
the puja that he must offer to the goddess Durga to gain her blessing from 1895

1
 Quick guide to the Ramayana
Background

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest

to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an
army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the authorship of the sage
Valmiki and dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of
the very ancient Hindu sages. One of the most important literary works of
ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in the Indian
subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in
the Buddhist canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly
been retold in poetic and dramatic versions by some of India's greatest writers
and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of the staples of later
dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-
puppet theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).

Origins

The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance dealing with
a hero and his exile, the abduction of his wife by a rival king and her rescue
became conflated into seven books in which the hero Rama became an avatar
of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to encompass the whole of India, and the
struggle to recover his wife became a metaphor for the final triumph of the
righteous.

A brief summary of the Ramayana

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful

princess Sita (seen here), but was exiled with her and his
brother Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his
stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and
Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for
her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued
Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was
vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the
couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj)
inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.

Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu.

The eldest and favourite son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous

2
prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from Ayodhya due to the
plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome
of womanly purity and virtue.

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother.

Completely loyal to Rama, he chooses to go with Rama and
Sita when they are exiled from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received a
boon from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons or by
spirits, after performing a severe penance for 10,000 years. After receiving his
reward from Brahma, Ravana began to lay waste to the earth and disturbed the
deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to
defeat him, assisted by an army of monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the
boon given by Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that Rama
be banished to the forest and that her son Bharata be awarded the kingdom
instead.

Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother
Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken hearted,
he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama. When Rama refuses to
return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals
and places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and

Satrughna.

Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his quest to
defeat Ravana and rescue Sita.

Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by his
brother Bali, but Rama helps him to defeat the usurper in return for his
assistance in finding Sita.

3
The importance of the Ramayana  in Indian culture

The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of Rama
has been constantly retold by some of India's greatest writers both in Sanskrit
and regional languages. It is one of the staples of various dramatic traditions,
in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet theatres. In northern
India, the annual Ram-lila or 'Rama-play' is performed at the autumn festival
of Dassehra to celebrate with Rama and Sita the eventual triumph of light over
darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-1988,

drawing over 100 million viewers to become 'the world's most viewed
mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India Today magazine, it was
reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so many people who could
gain access to a television stopped whatever they were doing to watch the small
screen adventures of Rama. From January 2008, a new big-budget primetime
se
https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/exhibitions/ramayana/guide.htmlri
es of the Ramayana has been appearing on television screens across India.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Ramayana to

Southeast Asian culture-a cosmic war between good and evil. Rama, the
epitome of a good warrior king, ultimately conquers the demons led by their
king Ravana, The plot of Ramayana unfolds as follows:

1. The evil demon king, Ravana, has enslaved the gods because in a
moment of weakness they granted him immortality. Later he has become
a nuisance.
2. Since no God or animal can kill him according to a blessing given to him
by Indra Himself, Vishnu incarnates as human Rama to exterminate him
and save the gods; because his blessing is that he will not be killed by
Gods, demons and animals but does not mention humans. Ravana while
asking for that blessing, did not think that humans were capable of such
a thing.

3. Unlike Krishna, another avatar of Vishnu, who was born a God, Rama as
a human, had to endure the hardships endured by humanity and reach
adulthood. Hence his banishment from his kingdom,his wandering in the
forest. The abdication of his wife by Ravana. All part of a divine plot to
make the two fight each other - the only way for the Gods to Kill Ravana.

4. Hence, Ravana traps Sita and brings her to his demon kingdom.
Distraught, Rama employs the monkey Hanuman to first find Sita and
then assist him in his battle to retrieve her. Eventually, Rama employs

4
 his martial powers to defeat Ravana, the demon king, and restore the
divine order. To accomplish this task, he teams up with his brothers and
a monkey army, including Hanuman. All of Rama’s allies are divine
incarnations.

significance of the plotline?

All the incarnated gods and demons of the Ramayana belong to the warrior

class – the kshatriya caste. None of these incarnated gods and demons are
artists, craftspeople, musicians or writers. Even the mystic Sage, who trains
Rama on both spiritual and martial levels, was formerly a powerful warrior-
king.
The incarnated gods are good warriors, while the demons are warriors gone
bad. As a virtuous warrior, Rama's mission is to destroy the warriors who have
turned to the dark side.

Album painting on paper, from c1820

The demons, led by Ravana, practice austerities, achieve spectacular powers

and misuse them to enslave their teachers, the gods. These austere practices
are rooted in ancient yoga-like disciplines, which include meditation and
martial arts. However, the plot suggests that these practices don’t necessarily
lead to moral behavior. In fact, the considerable powers that results from these
disciplines can be badly abused.
If the martial artist primarily cultivates the body (jing) and mind (chi) at the
expense of the spirit (shen), the temptation to become a bully becomes almost
5
irresistable. It is necessary to integrate body, mind and spirit to become a sage.
A central theme of the Ramayana addresses this need to balance body and
mind with spirit.
Although the gods trained the demons, the moral development of the
demons somehow didn't keep up with their martial training. They became
bullies rather than protectors.

Religious Novels, Ramayana and the Mahabharata, of Prime Importance

With the introduction of books into Southeast Asian Aristocracy, the

Kings,Royals, chiefs and ruling classes were infected with Hindu literature.
One effect of this trend was the rise of kingdoms and the other was the interest
in Hinduism. While the philosophical books like the Vedas and Upanishads
had limited influence, the Indian religious novels, especially
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata,  had a tremendous influence. The
philosophical literature was accessible only to those who could read - the
spiritual elite or the highly motivated. The stories had a much broader appeal.
Both novels dealt with universal themes that anyone could relate to. Both
novels presented plausible heroes and villains that could be held up as models
of virtue and vice. Because stories have an emotional component, they are
more easily assimilated into the individual’s psyche than are dry ideas. As
evidence, human memory tends to retain stories better than philosophy. The
Ramayana in Thailand, for instance, is known as Ramakien, prepared in 1797
under the supervision of (and partly written by) King Rama I. King Rama II
adapted parts of his father's version for Khon dance drama. Archaeological
evidence showing the Ramayana influence, he said, can be found in Southeast
Asian countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. The art forms of
Thailand and Bali, he added, also reference the Ramayana.

The kecak dance from Bali is about the battle between Shri Ram and Ravan. Similarly,
khon, a genre of dance-drama from Thailand, is based on the Ramakien, the Thai
Ramayana.The Ramayana-based folklore, bas-reliefs and art forms in Southeast Asian
countries certainly prove the close cultural connection between India and Southeast
Asia.

6
The second World Ramayana Conference was held late January 2020 in Jabalpur, a city in central India.
Photo: Narendra Kaushik

 Reamker Cambodia, like many countries in mainland Southeast Asia, has a

population that predominantly follows Theravada Buddhism; therefore the Reamker
has many Buddhist influences. In it, Rama is known as Phreah Ream, and Sita is
known as Neang Seda. The Khmer text also contains unique episodes not included in
the original Hindu texts. For example, the encounter between Hanuman, the monkey
general, and Sovann Maccha, the mermaid, is a favorite in Cambodia. But perhaps a
key divergence to the original Hindu text is that after Neang Seda’s trial by fire, in
which she passes the test, she becomes deeply offended by her husband’s lack of
trust. Instead of reuniting with him to rule the kingdom of Ayodhya, she decides to
leave him and find refuge with Valmiki the wiseman (who is also attributed for writing
the oldest version of the Ramayana).

Practically speaking, these stories were told and retold in myriad variations and settings with
varying intent and emphasis. They were portrayed in drama, dance and the tangible arts. This
was not possible with Indian philosophy. These well written stories dealing with universal
themes were very inspirational to the Southeast Asian population. They were instrumental in
unifying and motivating the Khmer to create the wonderful temples at Angkor. The sculptures
that adorned the temples illustrate the characters and themes of the above novels. In short,
during the initial centuries of the modern era, the Indianization of Southeast Asia was well
under way. Kingdoms with centralized power began to pop up in areas that had previously

7
been primarily based in smaller tribal units. Kingdoms with a larger cultural gravity absorbed
tribes into their sphere.

Brahmin Priests: With the influx of Hindu businessmen and traders came the Brahmin priests
as well as minstrels to sing the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. These stories were quickly
assimilated and rewritten in the local vernacular.Temples as State Symbols were to be built left
and right- sometimes at a exalting pace. Feverish with ambition, these chiefs formed kingdoms
of which they were the head. The larger and more prestigious the kingdom, the greater the
demands on the local population. The agricultural peasantry were eventually persuaded or
coerced to grow three crops of rice a year to support the needs of the growing kingdoms.
Previously, one crop a year would suffice for their individual needs. The story of Indian
Brahmanas in Southeast Asia is significant in the repertoire of culture, faith, trade,
and perhaps most important, the language of Sanskrit, and its creation of so many
exquisite bridges between India and Southeast Asia. Their great influence lay as much
in the narratives they carried as the language that etched literature, philosophy, and
9
faith into elite and then popular belief.
 
Southeast Asia devoted themselves to the greater good of society, which included feeding the
artisans that were building our magnificent temples the Holy books Ramayana and
Mahabharatha a glue and an influence. Waves of Indians migrated this part of the world
in the first centuries of the modern era. Many were traders in search of fortune. They
came, stayed and intermarried with the indigenous population. On the mainland, this
racial blending gave birth to the modern race of the Khmer. The Indian immigrants
also brought their kingdom-based politics, their religions, their script and their
literature. The sophistication of these innovations blended with local traditions to
create Khmer culture. However, in the beginning at least, the Indian water technology
was more important to the Khmer than their culture.

Accompanying his traders were Indian craftsman and Brahmins, who brought India’s
traditions with them. This included the amazing script and literature of Sanskrit with
the accompanying Hindu mythology. Metaphysical ideologies integrated and
authenticated the lush mythology. Plus, India’s religion claimed to be a universal
cosmic frame of reference. As such, it also included the local religions rather than
excluding it Further, India’s mythology was so rich that one could easily identify
Indian deities with our local spirits. Also the Hindu philosophy of statecraft contained
the conceptual system of kingship, which was used to unify our diverse tribes and
centralize our cities into countries and kingdoms.

The more immediate and pressing need was for control of our devastating annual
floods. India’s people supplied a new technology of hydraulic engineering, which was
used for both flood control and irrigation. In many ways, this was more important
than all of the rest. In fact, this technological ability to control water lent so much
prestige to the Indian traders that we became more interested in the rest of their
culture. Impressed by the complexity of his technology. The Khemers accepted the
immigrant Tamilians.

8
 The Importance of the Tamil culture to Southeast Asia

Tamils have played an important role in the transmission of Indian culture and
customs to that part of the world, as well as the rest of Southeast Asia. Thay have
been a spreading center for Buddhism and Jainism. Having a long history of cultural
achievement, including literature, art and architecture and knowledge of reservoirs,
water towers, and elaborate drainage systems- the Chola Empire, which spread all
over the islands of Southeast Asia, was also a Tamil dynasty. The Aryan culture of the
north has had much less influence on your people of Southeast Asia than have we
Tamils from the south. Tamil brought his political kingdoms, religions, and literature-
their marvelous attributes were essential ingredients of my magnificent Empire at
Angkor.

There has been a close religious and cultural link between Indian Tamils and
Southeast Asia over centuries and the economic globalisation is giving it new
relevance. Culturally, India's influence on Southeast Asia goes back to the earliest
days. Much of that influence emanated from South India, the Tamil components being
the most important. Ethnic business networks become the specialty of Indian groups
like the Parsees, Jains, Sindhis and Marwaris, as also Chettiars themselves a caste
group within the Tamil community. Ancient Tamil epic Manimekalai steeped in Hindu-
Buddhist- Jain tradition, alluded to the close religious and cultural links between the
Tamils of South India and the people of Southeast Asia over centuries and early
Sangam literature described the trade links between South India and Kadaaram on
the Malay Peninsula, now called Kedah. I-Tsing, a Tang Dynasty Buddhist monk who
spent much time studying Buddhism in Sumatra before going to India, reported
regular sailings of ships between Kedah and Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.The date of
the record, AD 1088, corresponded with the reign of the Chola Emperor Kulottunga 1,
whose long and prosperous rule lasted nearly half a century. Under his reign, the
Chola Empire extended its influence into large parts of Southeast Asia and conducted
trade with Indo-China and China.

The people of Southern India were not a small isolated subset of Indians. There are
57 million of them India alone. At the bottom of the Indian peninsula, surrounded by
the Indian Ocean on three sides, they had long been prominent sea traders who
traversed the seas from Sri Lanka, to the Malay Peninsula, to East Africa, South
Africa, Fiji and the West Indies.

Quick guide to the Ramayana

Background

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved wife
Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the
authorship of the sage Valmiki and dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

9
Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of the very ancient Hindu
sages. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in
the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in the Buddhist
canon from a very early date. The story of Rama has constantly been retold in poetic and dramatic
versions by some of India's greatest writers and also in narrative sculptures on temple walls. It is one of
the staples of later dramatic traditions, re-enacted in dance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-puppet
theatre and the annual Ram-lila (Rama-play).

Origins

The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance dealing with a hero and his exile, the
abduction of his wife by a rival king and her rescue became conflated into seven books in which the hero
Rama became an avatar of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to encompass the whole of India, and the
struggle to recover his wife became a metaphor for the final triumph of the righteous.

A brief summary of the Ramayana

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita (seen
here), but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through the
plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and Rama
gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked
Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered
fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's
triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a
golden age for all mankind.

Characters of the Ramayana

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God Vishnu. The eldest and favourite son
of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he is a virtuous prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from
Ayodhya due to the plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the epitome of womanly purity and
virtue.

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother. Completely loyal to Rama, he

chooses to go with Rama and Sita when they are exiled from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received a boon
from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons or by spirits, after
performing a severe penance for 10,000 years. After receiving his reward from Brahma, Ravana began to
lay waste to the earth and disturbed the deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu incarnates as the human
Rama to defeat him, assisted by an army of monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the boon given by
Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

10
Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that Rama be banished to the forest
and that her son Bharata be awarded the kingdom instead.

Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother Kaikeyi had forced Rama into
exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken hearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama.
When Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata obtains Rama's sandals and
places them on the throne as a gesture that Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and Satrughna.

Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his quest to defeat Ravana and rescue
Sita.

Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by his brother Bali, but Rama helps
him to defeat the usurper in return for his assistance in finding Sita.

The importance of the Ramayana in Indian culture

The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of Rama has been constantly retold
by some of India's greatest writers both in Sanskrit and regional languages. It is one of the staples of
various dramatic traditions, in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet theatres. In northern
India, the annual Ram-lila  or 'Rama-play' is performed at the autumn festival of Dassehra to celebrate
with Rama and Sita the eventual triumph of light over darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-1988, drawing over 100 million
viewers to become 'the world's most viewed mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India
Today  magazine, it was reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so many people who could gain
access to a television stopped whatever they were doing to watch the small screen adventures of Rama.
From January 2008, a new big-budget primetime series of the Ramayana has been appearing on
television screens across India.

Rama: a wise warrior king, not a pacifist

Rama, the demon destroyer, is the classic warrior prince. He has been
trained to follow in his father's footsteps and is destined to become king.
However, his education has been special. The Sage trains Rama on both
spiritual and martial levels. In other words, Rama’s moral development has
been cultivated in equal measure with his military training. Vishnu’s
incarnation, Rama, was born a human, hence imperfect. His innate godly
tendencies had to be encouraged and refined. As a result of this training, Rama
becomes a moral leader as well as a great warrior. A major feature of Rama is
that he is socially active, fighting against evil with the powers at his command.
He is the good warrior who uses his training for the benefit of his people, while
resisting the temptation to use his power for personal gain. He has not received
this intense martial training in order to attain power, wealth or fame. He
receives his martial training so that he can take constructive action in this
world. He is the archetype of the positive warrior king.
Nor does he receive his yogic training in order to detach from and escape
this world of illusion. He does not renounce the world like Buddha or Lao Tzu,
but engages the world to fight the demons in order to restore justice. He has
gained great powers that he will use to fight evil and restore the good.
11
 Rama is no pacifist, no Buddha, no Jesus, no Gandhi. He does not ‘kill with
kindness’, or achieve his ends through negotiation or non-violent protests.
Instead, conflicts are resolved in armed combat on a battlefield, where he
employs his trusted bow and arrow. Rama is a wise warrior king, using
aggressive military techniques to achieve his ends. His Dharma led him into
this world of action, rather than toward personal salvation from suffering.
In like manner, the Ramayana’s Brahmin ascetics, the yogis, did not escape
this world of action to attain personal enlightenment. Sensitive to the universal
order, these Brahmin sages listened to and followed their internal, presumably
divine, directives. Due to self-cultivation, they understood their personal role,
their dharma, as teachers.

The Ramayana presents the image of a warrior king, who has reached a high

level of attainment. He did not achieve this elevated state by removing himself
from the ‘world of illusion', but by engaging in it. As such,
the Ramayana conveys the dharma of the ideal warrior.

Good and Evil Rulers in the context of the Ramayana and the individual,
as divine incarnation

Another powerful underlying theme of the Ramayana is that each human has

the potential to be a divine incarnation. The novel identifies innumerable
Hindu gods who incarnate as living beings in this world. When Hindu gods are
born as a human or animal, they frequently don't remember their divine
origins.

This theme is incredibly empowering. The ruler, as devaraja/god-king or

Bodhisattva 1

1. I am not getting into the discussion of the true translation of DEVARAJA

here. For that see my Papers: Who was Jayavarman Part I, Jayavarman
part II Srivijaya connect, For a complete list of my papers and books on
Cambodia, see end of this paper.

Through his physical and spiritual practices, Rama realizes and manifests his
purified god nature or bodhi/Buddha nature. In Hindu kingdoms, he becomes
a god-king, a devaraja.* Buddhist kingdoms view him as a Bodhisattva. While
Buddhists and Hindus perceive the devaraja/Bodhisattva through different
cultural contexts, the role of the king is essentially identical.
The citizens expected their rulers to fulfill the ideal role by employing
spiritual practices to purify themselves and their kingdom. Many of the kings of
India and Southeast Asia certainly identified with the notion of devaraja or

12
Bodhisattva. In this regard, they attempted to set up the ideal social conditions
that would lead their kingdoms to enlightenment.
The Hindu kings of Java were the first to call themselves devarajas and act
accordingly. Inspired by the Javanese, the Khmer kings, also Hindu,
deliberately identified themselves with Vishnu and his incarnation Rama. To
this end, Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu and the story of Ramayana is
etched into its sandstone walls.
While there is a distinct identification with Rama going on in the Khmer
kingdom, the Thai kings take this act of identification a step further. The Thai
kings call themselves Rama and the Thai people respect them as so. However
as a Buddhist nation, the Thai consider their king to be Bodhisattva, rather
than devaraja.
Ramayana  Outside India

The following are among the versions of the Ramayana that have emerged outside
India:
East Asia
1.China, Tibet – found in several manuscripts from Dunhuang
o Yunnan – Langka Sip Hor (Tai Lü language)
2.Japan – Ramaenna or Ramaensho
Southeast Asia
3.Cambodia – Reamker
4.Indonesia:
o Bali – Ramakavaca
o Java – Kakawin Ramayana, Yogesvara Ramayana
o Sumatera – Ramayana Swarnadwipa
5.Laos – Phra Lak Phra Lam, Gvay Dvorahbi
6.Malaysia – Hikayat Seri Rama, Hikayat Maharaja Wana
7.Myanmar (Burma) – Yama Zatdaw (Yamayana)
8.Philippines
o Mindanao – Maharadia Lawana, Darangen (Moro)
9.Thailand – Ramakien
o Kingdom of Lan Na – Phommachak
10.singapore-Sri Mariamman
South Asia
11.Nepal – Siddhi Ramayan (Nepal Bhasa), Bhanubhaktako Ramayan (Nepali
language)
12.Sri Lanka – Janakiharan

In the East, there is a blend of the human and divine world, as represented in
the Ramayana. Rama was the divine incarnated in human form. Further
Vishnu and the other gods regularly incarnated in human affairs.This mixture
of  human and divine, which is exhibited in both Hindu and Buddhist
tradition, doesn't exist in the West. While the Pope speaks for God, he is not
God. The Biblical God is of a fundamentally different nature; he only
incarnated in human form once. Typically the gods and humans are distinctly

13
different in Western mythology. This certainly holds true for the God of the
Bible. To sum Rama, as warrior king, represents the
classic devaraja/Bodhisattva, the Southeast Asian god-king. If the South East
Asian Kings wanted to be like Rama and idolized him, emulate him,govern and
fihght lie him, become a father figure to the subjects- WHO ARE WE TO
QUESTION THAT DESIRE?

The Ramayana portrays RAM as the archetype of the ideal ruler. Spiritual and

martial Gurus trained him to enable him to save the world from oppression. As
part of the great warrior tradition, he transcends religion.

His myth is of the same genre as King Arthur and today’s Luke Skywalker.
Rather than detaching from the world or dominating it, they are all social
activists, fighting the evil powers of the world.

Jayavarman II and later Jayaraman VII both the famous Khmer rulers who,
consolidated the Khmer Kingdom by a series of battles and political
arrangements have a parallel reputation.That of helping crystallize the Khmer
rule.

Jayavarman II, in the first and second half of the 9th century ca. ca 802-835
and after a hundred years when Khmer overlordship had been in abeyance,
was consecrated on Mount Mahendra “to ensure that the country of the
Kambujas would no longer be dependent on Java and that there would be no
more than one sovereign who was cakravartin ”.

His inscriptions have never been recovered, but Khmers in later times
remembered his reign as the time when their ancestors, his supporters, were
rewarded with estates. The king's cult, inaugurated on Mount Mahendra, was
innovative in projecting the King in a better frame than before for the subjects
as well as enemies. Three centuries later, Jayavarman VII (ca. 1120–1218) is
another Cambodian “Angkor” leaders, of the stature of self styled RAMA in
part because he was able to unite the numerous small, fragmented Khmer
Cambodian and Cham kingdoms of the day. He ruled his consolidated Khmer
kingdom from 1181–1218, bringing the decentralized Khmer and Cham states
together through political and military alliances. No one ever reads the
Ramayana and the Mahabharatha for the first time in SE Asia. The stories are
there, “always already”. Only that, the story changes a little, with every step
one takes.
Ram, DEVARAJA in Thailand
This concept of "" (Thai: เ ท ว ร า ช า ) (or "divine king") was adopted by the Thai
kings from the ancient Khmer tradition of devaraja followed in the region, and the
Hindu concept of kingship was applied to the status of the Thai king. The concept

14
centered on the idea that the king was an incarnation (avatar) of the
god Vishnu and that he was a Bodhisattva (enlightened one), therefore basing his
power on his religious power, his moral power, and his purity of blood.
Brahmins took charge in the royal coronation. The king was treated as
a reincarnation of Hindu gods. Ayutthaya historical documents show the official
titles of the kings in great variation: Indra, Shiva and Vishnu, or Rama. Seemingly,
Rama was the most popular, as in "Ramathibodhi". However, Buddhist influence
was also evident, as many times the king's title and "unofficial" name
"Dhammaraja", an abbreviation of the Buddhist Dharmaraja. The two former
concepts were re-established, with a third, older concept taking hold.
The king, portrayed by state interests as a semi-divine figure, then became—
through a rigid cultural implementation—an object of worship and veneration to
his people. From then on the monarchy was largely removed from the people and
continued under a system of absolute rule. Living in palaces designed after Mount
Meru ("home of the gods" in Hinduism), the kings turned themselves into a
"Chakravartin", where the king became an absolute and universal lord of his
realm. Kings demanded that the universe be envisioned as revolving around them,
and expressed their powers through elaborate rituals and ceremonies. For four
centuries these kings ruled Ayutthaya, presiding over some of the greatest period
of cultural, economic, and military growth in Thai History.
In Thailand: All kings in the current Chakri dynasty of Thailand are often referred
to as Rama. The name Rama was adopted from the name of the Hindu God Rama,
an avatar of Vishnu. While "Rama" was used as a title for all the kings, it was not
always taken on as the name. In the present dynasty, the first king to call himself
Rama was Phra Mongkutklao or King Vajiravudh, who was the sixth to reign. His
reigning title was Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua; later in his reign, he preferred to
style himself as Phra Ram thi Hok (พระรามทีห่ ก lit. Rama VI). It was presumed that
he was influenced by the European practice of numbering the rulers with similar
names while he studied in England.
Quite conveniently, it coincided with another practice of the Thai people.
Traditionally, the name of the king is sacred and would not normally be said.
Instead, people would refer to the king by other words; currently, Nai
Luang or Phra Chao Yu Hua. When King Phutthayotfa Chulalok founded the
dynasty, he was commonly referred to as Phan Din Ton (แผ่นดินต ้น literally 'the First
Reign'); and when his son inherited the throne, he was referred to as Phan Din
Klang (แผ่นดินกลาง lit. 'the Middle Reign'). That then became awkward when Prince
Jessadabodindra (King Nangklao) became the third king, as the obvious referral
would then be Phan Din Plai (แผ่นดินปลาย literally 'the Last Reign'), which did not
sound very auspicious.

The use of the name "Rama 'n'th" is in line with Thai practice of giving numbers to
the king in the current dynasty. However, the translation was not exact and can
give rise to some confusion as to whether this was actually the name adopted by
the king on his coronation.

15
 | Photo Credit: SR Praveen
The deep and enduring cultural impact of the Ramayana reverberates in
Thailand, from its national epic to the names of kings. Amid the ruins of
Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya, the Thai city that was the capital of
the Siamese kingdom for over four centuries from 1351, until it was
overrun by the Burmese army is RAM himself. Unlike Ayodhya, situated
3,500 km away in India, which inspired its name,
Thailand attracts the attention of many Indians, be it the name ‘Rama’ that
all of the Thai kings of the Chakri dynasty to the present day are referred by, or
the centrality of the ‘Ramakien’, the Thai Ramayana, in the society here.

A Buddha head trapped amid roots of a Bodhi tree   |

But moving beyond the names and into the heart of the Ramakien, the current
version of which was composed in the 18th century by King Rama I, it diverges
from the popular Indian versions of the Ramayana. Demon king Thotsakan
(Ravana) is much more prominent in the epic than Phra Ram (Rama).
As AK Ramanujan notes in his classic essay ‘300 Ramayanas’, the Ramakien
admires “Ravana’s resourcefulness and learning, while his abduction of Sita is
seen as an act of love and is viewed with sympathy. The Thais are moved by
Ravana’s sacrifice of family, kingdom and life itself for the sake of a woman.
Unlike Valmiki’s characters, the Thai ones are a fallible, human mixture of good
and evil. The fall of Ravana here makes one sad. It is not an occasion for
unambiguous rejoicing, as it is in Valmiki.”

Thais enjoy the details of war, the techniques and the fabulous weapons more
than the partings and reunions. This interest in war is not an accident, but has
everything to do with Thailand’s own history.The Ramayana is believed to have
reached these regions as early as the seventh century, through the trade routes
from South India.

Though Buddhism was the main religion of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, Hindu
scriptures had a major influence on its culture and society. This easy blending of
the two religions might not be visible to a visitor at present, as mostly Buddhist
symbols stand out, except when you travel back to Bangkok along the Chao
Phraya River. At the centre of the city, near the Grand Palace stands Wat Phra
Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

16
A big undamaged statue of Buddha at Wat Phra Mahathat   | Wat Phra Mahathat   |
Photo Credit:  SR Praveen

Inside, one would come across an imposing statue of Thotsakan, the Thai
Ravana. There’s more. One of the compound walls is filled with giant murals,
which tell the complete story of the Ramakien sequentially through 178 images.
Painted in the eighteenth century, just a few years after the sacking of Ayutthaya
by the Burmese, it might take some time for those from India to recognise the epic
being represented here, for the attires and presentation are starkly different from
the images we are used to watching in the television version of the Ramayana.

The ruins of Ayutthaya, now a UNESCO World Heritage site spread over a vast
area, still retain some of the majesty of the once thriving empire. At Wat Phra Si
Sanphet, three bell-shaped stupas stand at the centre of the site, with each
containing the ashes of former kings. Steps lead half-way up these stupas, from
where the pillars at a distance give one the outline of a large hall that existed
here. Red brick structures of myriad shapes and sizes dot the area, which once
served as the temple of the royal family and venue of royal ceremonies.

Situated by a vast lake is Wat Phra Ram, initially built as a cremation site for one
of the first Ayutthayan king, Ramathibodi I, but later turned into a temple.
Buddha’s head in the roots is just one of the many marvels at Wat Maha That,
built in 1374 and set to fire in 1767 by the Burmese. Walking past the many
limb-less Buddha statues that line the periphery of the large open hall, one would
be caught by surprise by a giant undamaged statue of a seated Buddha, with an
elevated mountain-like platform and a hexagonal pagoda forming a perfect
backdrop.

It was in one of these sites that the Thai dance drama form of ‘Khon’ originated,
again with the Ramakien, and by extension the Ramayana, playing a role as
source material. Back in those days, it was performed only by members of the
royal family, with the audience too from the upper classes. Performed with
elaborate costumes and sets, it is still performed under royal patronage, but with
the doors open to the larger public, both as performers and the audience. The
Ramakien continues to be the major source material.

17
The ruins of Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Ayutthaya   | Photo Credit: SR Praveen

REFERENCES

1 Jayavarman II's Military Power: The Territorial Foundation of the Angkor Empire,
O. W. Wolters1973
2. Jayavarman VII and the Crisis of the Thirteenth Century,Chapter,A History of
Cambodia, David Chandler, 2018
3. Sectarian Rivalry in Ninth-Century Cambodia: A Posthumous Inscription Narrating
the Religious Tergiversations of Jayavarman III (K. 1457),Dominic
Goodall,Chhunteng Hun,Kunthea CHHOM,Nina Mirnig
4. Sectarian Rivalry in Ninth-Century Cambodia: A Posthumous Inscription Narrating
the Religious Tergiversations of Jayavarman III (K. 1457),Dominic
Goodall,Chhunteng Hun,2018
5. Source
6. www.The Problem of the Ancient Name Java and the Role of Satyavarman in Southeast
Asian International Relations Around the Turn of the Ninth Century CE , Arlo Griffiths -
https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_2013_num_85_1_4384 ALSO
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289730725_The_Problem_of_the_Ancient_Name
_Java_and_the_Role_of_Satyavarman_in_Southeast_Asian_International_Relations_Around_t
he_Turn_of_the_Ninth_Cent
7. An example is the Wat Phra Ram -  Ayutthaya: The other Ayodhya
8. By /S.R. Praveen,2019

18
19