New Delhi: The dust has now settled on disputes over the existence and birth of Lord Ram, with his temple being constructed in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, after 500 years of struggle by Hindus and the 2019 Supreme Court decision after a protracted legal battle in courts.
On the occasion of Ram Navami, here’s a look at the writings by foreign travellers on the Hindu god and his influence over the last two millennia.
Early works on and around Ram
As early as 251 AD, Buddhist monk K’ang-seng-hui rendered the Jataka form of the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic on Ram, into Chinese, according to Ramjanmabhoomi: Truth, Evidence, Faith (Prabhat Prakashan, 2020).
Another Chinese translation was prepared of the Nidana of Dashratha Jataka from a lost Sanskrit text, by Kekaya in 472 AD.
The Sinhala poet-king, Kumaradasa, composed the Janakiharana, the earliest Sanskrit work of Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka), in the 6th century.
In 7th century Cambodia, a Khmer citation attested to the popularity of the Ramayana. An inscription declared that a certain Somasharman presented “the Ramayana, the Purana and the complete Bharata” to a temple.
Towards the close of the 9th century, an east Iranian version of the Ramayana appeared in Khotanese, an Iranian dialect. The story of Ram spread in the northernmost lands of Asia from Tibet, where it was found in two versions in manuscripts from 7th-9th centuries.
“The oldest manuscript of the Ramayana of Valmiki, dated AD 1075, is preserved in Nepal,” writes noted historian Meenakshi Jain in her seminal work Rama and Ayodhya.
“The Rama story occurred in three early Buddhist texts — the Dasharath Kathanam, the Anamakam Jatakam and the Dashrath Jataka. The Dasharath Kathanam, the earliest, belongs to the first-second century A.D,” she added.
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What the Europeans wrote
William Finch, the English merchant who visited Ayodhya (1608-11), has written in his travel account: “Rama was born in the human form to see the tamasha (theatrics) of the world”.
Noted English author and traveller Sir Thomas Herbert described Ram’s significance and influence in his published work, Some Years’ Travels into Diverse Parts of Asia and Afrique, in the 17th century.
“Ducerat (Dashrath), who beget Rama, a king so famous for piety and high attempts, that to this day his name is exceedingly honoured, so that when they say Ram-Ram, it’s as if they should say ‘all good betide you’. That is, all good will fall on you. From addressing Ram-Ram it is expected that all good would fall on the caller and listener,” wrote Herbert.
French traveller Jean de Thevenot also wrote a book, The Travels of Monsieur de Thevenot, based on his travels in India in 1666. The book was translated in English and published in London in 1687.
He wrote: “The Indians render him divine honours in their pagodas and elsewhere; and when they salute their friends they repeat his name, saying ‘Ram Ram’. Their adoration consists in joining their hands, as if they prayed, letting them fall very low, and then lifting them up again gently to their mouth, and last of all, in raising them over their heads.”
In 1689, J.Oingvton wrote A Voyage to Surrat (Surat in Gujarat), describing a practice by the Hindus of incessantly chanting ‘Ram-Ram’ during funerals.
Another description came from European missionary Joseph Tiefenthaler’s written accounts in the form of book, Descriptio Indiae, (Description of India). The Austrian Jesuit priest, who stayed in Awadh (1766-71), had lived in India for over two decades and he was well versed with both Persian and Sanskrit.
Tiefenthaler visited Ayodhya (then known as Fyzabad) and travelled the whole of Awadh (known as Oudh then) during 1766-1771. Its appearance in 1770 is thus described by Tiefenthaler: “Avad called Adjudea by the learned Hindoos, is city of the highest antiquity… The most remarkable place is that which is called Sorgodoari, that is to say, the heavenly temple because they say that Rama carried away from thence to heaven all the inhabitants of the city.”
He added, “On the 24th of the month Tshet (Choitru) a large concourse of people celebrate here the birthday of Rama, so famous throughout India.”
A French scholar, C. Mentelle, also wrote about Ayodhya in great detail in his book, Cosmography on Geography, on Chronology and on Ancient and Modern History.
“Avadh, also known as Aoude and Oude in our country (France), and the learned Indian name it Adjudea, is one of the most ancient cities, situated on the banks of the River Ghagra and we consider that the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu happened in this city, in the form of Ramaji, whose father was the king of Avadh,” wrote Mentelle.
“The Indians come here from far off places on a big pilgrimage. In those days at Ayodhya there was an edifice called the celestial temple, from where it is said that Rama and Ramaji had taken to the heaven all the inhabitants of the city. This temple and several others were destroyed,” he added.
In 1783, English painter William Hodges visited Ayodhya and made a beautiful sketch of Ayodhya on the Saryu ghat (bank of Saryu river). Six years later, another English painter, William Daniells visited Ayodhya and made some sketches.
The writer is research director with Delhi-based think-tank Vichar Vinimay Kendra. He has authored two books on RSS. Views expressed are personal.
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