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Plate 1 A tall bow strung and drawn, an arrow laid across it

Rama

Rama is the hero of the Ramayana and one of the two most popular incarnations of Vishnu. He carries a bow and arrow, and is shown with his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana and his devotee Hanuman.

Hindu deities and their symbols. Also called Lord Rama, Ram, Rama bow and arrow, Ramachandra, rama symbol, rama symbols.

Meaning

The Himalayan Academy calls Rama the venerated hero of the Ramayana epic and, with Krishna, one of the two most popular incarnations of Vishnu; his worship is almost universal among Vaishnavas and widespread among Smartas and other Hindus. The Hindu American Foundation describes him as the embodiment of dharma, righteousness. His emblems are the bow and arrow. A Kalighat painting of about 1890 in the Cleveland Museum of Art shows him crowned king in Ayodhya after his fourteen years of exile, still holding “his signature emblems of bow and arrow”, with Sita beside him, Lakshmana holding a flywhisk and Hanuman prostrate before them.

Origin and history

In the Ramayana, the demon king Ravana carries off Sita to his kingdom of Lanka, and Rama, with his brother Lakshmana and an army of monkeys, builds a bridge across the ocean, kills Ravana and rescues her; the Hindu American Foundation tells the story in its account of the festivals that remember it. A Pahari painting of about 1765 in Cleveland shows the last battle: the blue Rama aims a crescent-shaped arrow at Ravana, who wields twenty weapons, and the museum notes that Ravana’s defeat fulfils the purpose of Vishnu’s incarnation as Rama. In the foundation’s telling of another episode, Rama, said to descend from a long line of kings who come from Surya, the sun, was taught a hymn to the sun, the Aditya Hridayam, by the sage Agastya during a break in the fighting (see Surya).

Rama was also a great worshipper of Shiva, the Himalayan Academy notes, and the Shiva temple at Rameshvaram, at the southern tip of India, was built in his name.

Ram Navami

Ram Navami celebrates Rama’s birth. The Hindu American Foundation describes special prayers to him on the day, charitable giving and community meals, and readings or retellings of the story in dance and drama in the days before.

Dussehra

Vijayadashami, the tenth and last day of Navaratri, remembers Rama’s victory over Ravana. In the north, the Hindu American Foundation notes, Navaratri is a time for Rama Lila, dramatic retellings of his story, and the defeat of Ravana is celebrated as Dussehra. Anuttama Das of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness describes Dussehra at the society’s temple in Potomac, Maryland, which keeps images of Sita, Rama, Lakshmana and Hanuman: a Ravana about 30 feet high with many heads is built outside the temple and burned, after a play in which children dressed as monkeys and demons shoot arrows of fire into him. The festival, he adds, also marks Rama’s return to Ayodhya.

Rama and Sita

Sita is Lakshmi on earth. In the Vishnu Purana, which follows Lakshmi through each of Vishnu’s descents, when he was Raghava (Rama) she was Sita, and the Hindu American Foundation names Sita with Rama among the avatars of Lakshmi that accompany his. The foundation also reads the Ramayana as a story of Shakti, the energy of the Divine: Rama’s energy, motivation and power are fuelled by his love for Sita and his desire to rescue her.

See also

Vishnu, Hanuman, Surya, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha.

Sources

  1. Dancing with Śiva: glossary (Rāma), Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Dancing with Śiva: Hinduism’s Contemporary Catechism, glossary, Himalayan Academy (Kauai’s Hindu Monastery), glossary, s.v. Rāma
  2. Ram Navami (Hindu American Foundation), “Ram Navami”, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  3. 9 things to know about Navaratri (Syama Allard, Hindu American Foundation), Syama Allard, “9 things to know about Navaratri”, Hindu American Foundation, 2020, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  4. Ma Kali (Sivagami Natesan, Hindu American Foundation), Sivagami Natesan, “Ma Kali”, Hindu American Foundation, 2020, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  5. Lakshmi: Goddess of Prosperity (Hindu American Foundation), “Lakshmi: Goddess of Prosperity”, Hindu American Foundation, 2017, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  6. On celebrating Navaratri and Dussehra: through the lens of ISKCON Communications Director, Anuttama Das (Hindu American Foundation), “On celebrating Navaratri and Dussehra: through the lens of ISKCON Communications Director, Anuttama Das”, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  7. Rama and Sita enthroned (recto), from a Kalighat album (2003.134.a, Cleveland Museum of Art), Rama and Sita enthroned (recto), from a Kalighat album, c. 1890, Cleveland Museum of Art, 2003.134.a, collection description, Cleveland Museum of Art, Description
  8. Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series (1953.357, Cleveland Museum of Art), Rama and Lakshmana Fighting Ravana, from a Dashavatara (Ten Incarnations [of Vishnu]) series, c. 1765, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1953.357, collection description, Cleveland Museum of Art, Description
  9. The Hindu roots of yoga: Surya Namaskar (Syama Allard, Hindu American Foundation), Syama Allard, “The Hindu roots of yoga: Surya Namaskar”, Hindu American Foundation, Hindu American Foundation, article text
  10. The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, Translated by H. H. Wilson, 1840, John Murray, London (Internet Archive, Digital Library of India copy), Book I, chapter 9

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Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 10, 2026. How we research

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