The 7th avatar of the God Vishnu, Lord Rama, also known as Ramachandra is a major deity of Hinduism, and one of the most cherished and worshipped gods in the Hindu Culture. He is also the central figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals, and greatness. While we have all the seen Indian epic Ramayana, there are several instances and facts you might have not known about Lord Rama. In this article, we will be taking a look at some of the lesser-known facts about Lord Rama.
Unknown Facts About Lord Rama
- Lord Rama’s name was given by Vashishtha Maharshi, the guru of the Raghu dynasty.
- His name had a significant meaning, as it’s composed of two “beeja aksharas” – the Agni Beeja (Ra) and the Amrutha Beeja (Ma). While the Agni Beeja served to vitalize his soul and body, the Amrutha Beeja rejuvenated him from all the fatigue.
- According to Valmiki’s Ramayana, Lord Rama was an outstanding human being. But in Rama Charit Manas, Tulsidas referred him as god.
- Rama is the 7th incarnation of the God Vishnu, and next to Krishna, he is considered to be his most important avatar.
- Most Hindus believe that Rama lived 1.2 million years ago, in the Treta Yuga- though the text is dated 7th-4th BC.
- For the sake of honoring his father, Rama accepted 14 years in exile with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana.
- Rama’s bow was so powerful that it could wipe out an entire army.
- After defeating the evil Ravana, Rama ruled his kingdom Ayodhya for 11,000 years of complete peace and prosperity.
- Lord Rama, as a child, once threw his toy playfully and it hit Manthara’s hunch back. Manthara took her revenge through Kaikeyi and sent Lord Rama on a 14-year exile
- Parshuram, another incarnation of Lord Vishnu, had once challenged Lord Rama to string Lord Vishnu’s bow. Lord Rama accepted the challenge and achieved the feat quite easily. Parshuram then realised that he was no ordinary human being.
- Lord Rama had lifted and broken the bow of Lord Shiva during Sita’s Swayamvar – this fact has only been mentioned in Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas. Valmiki’s Ramayana doesn’t contain this fact.
- Ram intended to use brahmastra a couple of times, Once, on Jayanta & 2nd time on Sagar (the god of Sea).
- When Lord Rama, Sita and Laxmana were in exile in the Dandakaranya forest, Lord Rama and Sita had a swimming race. Lord Rama was well ahead of Sita in the race but decided to slow down and let her win because he wanted to see her happy.
- Rama would not die as Hanuman would not allow Yama to enter Ayodhya in order to claim Rama. To divert Hanuman’s attention Rama dropped his ring through a crack in the floor and sent Hanuman to fetch it back for him. After going down Hanuman reached the land of serpents and asked the King for Rama’s ring. The king showed Hanuman a vault filled with rings all of which were Rama’s. He told a shocked Hanuman that when in the cycle of time a Rama is to die he drops a ring down the crack so that a Hanuman can be diverted from his guard.
- The white stripes on a squirrel’s body are given by Lord Rama.
- Rama thought of to be the perfect man and an ideal human; not only physically, however mentally and spiritually
- The Rama story is carved into stone as an 8th-century relief artwork in the largest Shiva temple of the Ellora Caves, suggesting its importance to the Indian society by then.
- Rama’s story is a major part of the artistic reliefs found at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Large sequences of Ramayana reliefs are also found in Java, Indonesia.
- Lord Rama is known to be the oldest deity worshipped in human form, as Lord Rama was born in Treta Yuga and it is believed that Treta Yuga has ended 1,296,000 years before today. In addition to Lord Rama in Treta Yuga, Lord Vishnu incarnated as Vamana and Parashurama.
- Lord Rama was born in the “Ikshvaku” dynasty, which was founded by “King Ikshvaku”, son of Lord Surya. That is why Lord Rama is also called “Suryavanshi”.
- The book named Vishnu Sahasranama lists a thousand names of Lord Vishnu. According to this list, “Rama” is the 394th name of Lord Vishnu.
- It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that once Lord Shiva said that reciting the name of Rama thrice gives the grace equal to pronouncing the names of thousand deities. You will be surprised to know that Lord Shiva is also the name of Lord Rama in meditation.
- Lord Hanuman fought with Lord Rama to protect “Yayati”, the king of Kashi. On the orders of Rishi Vikramaditya, Lord Rama came to kill the King of Kashi. To help the King of Kashi in the battle, Lord Hanuman started reciting Lord Rama. Because of this, Lord Rama’s arrows had no effect on Hanuman and Lord Rama had to accept his defeat.
- Ravana’s brother Ahiravan kidnapped Lord Rama and Lakshmana and took them to the Hades to offer sacrifices to Mahamaya Devi. But Lord Hanuman freed Lord Rama and Lakshmana by killing Ahiravan.
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