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The Crime of Shambooka

Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is an epic poem of India which narrates the story of its hero, Rama and his journey in life - aayana . This epic poem Ramayana is a smriti which is translated as "from memory", Devout Hindus worship Sri Rama as a God incarnate, He is our revered ancestor who is mentioned in Sri Guru Granth Sahib , the Sikh scriptures, and Indian philosophers make him Maryada Purushottam , the "Perfect Man of Social Virtue", While at the same time, rationalists condemn the legacy of Rama on how women and people of lower caste were treated during his reign.  I came across this interesting story of Shambooka in Valmiki's Ramayana and I would like to share it with you with my dismay on how our ancestors treated fellow Indians belonging to the so called lower caste of the society. This story is described in Uttara-kanda , the last book of Valmiki Ramayana which depicts the period of his reign and demise by suicide. Death of a Brahmin Boy The story

Rama and Sikhism - An Introspection

Fact is that the word " Ram " is mentioned 2533 times in Sri Guru Granth Sahib ... does it signify the King Ram Chandra of Ayodhya ? The pro-Hindutva organizations and individuals would say a resounding yes. Why would it mean anything else, there has been only one Rama in the history of India. Who else would it refer to otherwise? Some Sikh scholars describe that the " Ram " of Sri Guru Granth Sahib is the "Nirguna" Almighty God which is not the same as the Lord Rama of Hindu mythology. In my humble opinion, both categorizations are factually incorrect if seen in silo. In fact the Sikh Gurus utilized duality method to convey their message to the common man. Duality is the principle that determines that a concept may be viewed from two diverse perspectives. The mentions of " Rama " in Sri Guru Granth Sahib is very diverse and can be described in two separate terminologies: Ram - used to denote the all prevailing ominipresent Nirguna God Raja Ra

Birthplace of Rama - Historical Perspective

Rama (/ˈrɑːmə/;Sanskrit: राम Rāma) or Ramachandra is the central figure of the Indian epic Ramayana , which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on earth, his ideals and his greatness. Rama is one of the many popular deities in Hinduism, and revered as an idelistic "Perfect Man".  Other names of Rama include  Ramavijaya  (Javanese),  Phreah Ream  (Khmer),  Phra Ram  (Lao and Thai),  Megat Seri Rama  (Malay),  Raja Bantugan  (Maranao),  Ramudu  (Telugu) and  Ramar  (Tamil). Rama (center) with Lakshamana (left), and Sita (right) Where was Rama Born? There is a lot of controversy these days about the location of the birthplace of Rama. The Hindu organizations in India claim that Rama was born at Ayodhya , an ancient city located in Faizabad district of UP. The " Rama Janma Bhumi " movement was started in 1980s by BJP leader LK Advani to liberate the birth place of Rama and destroy the Babri Masjid , a mosque allegedly built on t