अद्भुत रामायण

Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa

The Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa, 'the wondrous Rāmāyaṇa', is traditionally attributed to Vālmīki, but scholars regard it as a much later work. It retells the Rāma story with a Śākta emphasis: after Rāma defeats the ten-headed Rāvaṇa, a far mightier thousand-headed Rāvaṇa appears, and when Rāma falls, Sītā takes a terrible form like Kālī and destroys him. Studying it shows how the Rāma tradition was reimagined to honour the Goddess as the supreme power.

What you will learn

• How the Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa differs from Vālmīki's epic
• Sītā as Śakti and the Goddess as supreme
• The many Rāmāyaṇas within Indian tradition

Lessons

1. 1Introduction to the Adbhuta Rāmāyaṇa🔒 Unlocks after enrolment
2. 2Authorship, dating and the many Rāmāyaṇas🔒 Unlocks after enrolment
3. 3Sītā's unusual birth in this telling🔒 Unlocks after enrolment
4. 4The thousand-headed Rāvaṇa🔒 Unlocks after enrolment
5. 5Sītā's fierce form and victory🔒 Unlocks after enrolment
6. 6Śakti theology and the Rāma tradition🔒 Unlocks after enrolment