Understanding ramayan part2-Why Ramayan is an EPIC

Why Ramayan is an epic?

Indian literature has two great epics - Ramayan and Mahabharat. Why should they be categorized under epic? To understand this first we will have to understand the characteristics of an epic and which book can be categorized as an epic.

1. Epic is the story, or a biographical description of a great man or leader of the society or a country, from his birth till death in chronological order.

2. It must start from prayer of God.

3. An epic has to have all the nine Ras in it.
(1) Vaatsalya - Kaushalyaa's love towards her Ram
(2) Shringaar - Milan (when Ram sees Sita in Pushp Vatika) and Virah (when Ram weeps for Sita after She has been abducted)
(3) Shaant - while discoursing
(4) Haasya - in Naarad Moh
(5) Veebhats - in description of war,
(6) Veer - also in war

Originally posted by: Chandraketu

What is the Sanskrit word for 'epic'? Reason I ask is that in English, 'epic' doesn't have this elaborate a definition/description. Note that I don't disagree with the categorization of Ramayan and Mahabharat being epics: I just think that the meaning of the word epic is overly complicated out here, even though I otherwise agree with everything Rajnish has written above - I've read it elsewhere before, but had the same questions.

Any explanations?

Thank you so much Rajnish ji. I never knew most of this before, though I did have a doubt as to why some literary works were classified as epics.

Please do post as much information as possible. I'd love to know it all.

Originally posted by: godisone

👏Great information Rajnish, thanks for posting it!👏

I have a question though: According to your definitions, I can definitely see why Ramayana and Mahabharata are epics, but some literary works written these days (like Harry Potter, Lord or the Rings, Eragon, etc.) are called epics. Why is that? I can't see them as epics according to your definitions. Does that then mean that epics are defined differently by Westerners and Indians?

Originally posted by: rajnish_here

The sanskrit literature is divided into two main periods'the Vedic , when the Vedic form of Sanskrit generally prevailed, and the Sanskrit , when classical Sanskrit (a development of Vedic) predominated. now i will start with vedic 😊

The vedic period- The first part of the Vedic period that of the veda( four veda i think u all know ), was a poetic and creative age, but afterward the priestly class transferred its energies to sacrificial ceremonial. They produced the Brahmanas, prose commentaries, in a later form of Vedic, explaining the relations of the Vedas (which had become sacred texts) to the ceremonials of the Vedic religion. In time the Brahmanas, like the Vedas, came to be considered sruti [Skt.,=hearing, i.e., revealed].

All later works, in contrast, are called smriti [Skt.,=memory or tradition] and are considered to be derived from the ancient sages. The later portions of the Brahmanas are theosophical treatises; since they were meant to be studied in the solitude of the forest, they are called Aranyakas [forest books]. The final parts of the Aranyakas are the philosophical Upanishads [secret doctrine]. In language structure the Aranyakas and the Upanishads approach classical Sanskrit.

The Sutras [Skt.,=thread or clue] were written in the third and final stage of the Vedic period. They are treatises dealing with Vedic ritual and customary law. They were written to fulfill the need for a short survey in mnemonic, aphoristic form of the past literature, which by this time had assumed massive proportions. There are two forms of sutra; the Srauta Sutras, based on sruti, which developed the ritualistic side, and the Grihya Sutras, based on smriti. Those Grihya Sutras dealing with social and legal usage are the Dharma Sutras, the oldest source of Indian law

The body of works composed in the Sutra style was divided into six Vedangas [members of the Veda]'Siksha [phonetics], Chhandas [meter],Vyakarana [grammar], Nirukta [etymology], Kalpa [religious practice], and Jyotisha [astronomy]. A sutra that is particularly well known in the West is the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana concerning the art and practice of love. Linguistic standards were stereotyped in the middle of the sutra period by the grammar of Panini , regarded as the starting point of the Sanskrit period.

latter i will write about sanskrit period i hope i am not going too elaborate😊😃