This page has nothing to do with the Ramayana. But it is a report of a common day life in India, Bosnia, Chechnya, Sudan, Kosovo, Kashmir, Palestine, Isreal, Iraq, Phillipines, China (though we never get to hear about the Xiajing Province), and all over the world where people are fighting for the self-determination of religion. This is an article about the Hindu/Muslim conflict in India which has been taking place since the 14th century. It shocks me to see how religious faiths can motivate people to commit heinous crimes. I think that all religions are great because they preach humanity and outlaw the killing of innocent people. But people are easily manipulated by the corrupt minded individuals such as bin Laden, Lal Advani, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Ariel Sharon, etc. The BJP destryoed the ancient Babari Masjid in Ayodhya (they also want to destroy the Taj Mahal because it represents Muslim achievement), Taliban destroyed the ancient Buddha sculptures, Sharon wants to ban Muslims in Jerusalem, all because of a religious faith. Innocent people (people in the WTC, Palestanians, Afghans, Muslims in India and China, Jews in Isreal, and I can write a book about it) are caught in the crossfire and killed, all because of religious faiths. But it seems that the blood of poor person is not as thick as a rich person. When 5 Palestanian boys are killed, when innocent Afghans are killed, they are called "mistakes," or "collateral dammage." I think my point is made and I won't say anything further.
The names of the gods in The Ramayana are different then the gods in any other type of literature that we have read. This page summerizes the gods and their duties. It defines the characters in the Ramayana and their relations to eachother. It also summerizes the story of the Ramayana. This page contains the basic facts which are essential in understanding the story of Ramayana.
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This site is one of the best art sites on the net. It is java enabled and is a cartoon film of some of the most significant scenes in the Ramayana. It is interesting to see how people in India draw and view their gods.
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This site has a brief introduction to Rama. It also has two pictures of Rama. In the first he is accompanied by Sita, Lakshamana, and Hanuman. The second picture is a picture of Rama and Sita.
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This site has a real good art gallery of Ramayana, arguably the best. It also has some pictures of sculptures made to honor Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. This site really defines the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words." This may be the best art gallery about the Ramayana and has some interperative pictures of the story.
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Most historians believe that it is impossible to date the Ramayana and to determine exactly when the epic occured. But this page provides astronomical datings of the Ramayana and the events occuring within it. If you scroll down to the bottom, you can see that it provides very concrete dates of events. I am not sure how credible this source really is.
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Hinduism was the most popular religion in southeast Asia for thousands of religion. There are temples and sculputres of Hindu gods located in almost every country in that region, from Afghanistan to the Islands in the Pacific oceans. This page has pictures of a Ramayana puppet show performed in Indonesia. This puppet show summerized the epic and performed the most significant parts.
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The epic of the Ramayana has also influenced the art in Thailand. Thai art is a very different then Indian art. Ancient Indian art includes a lot of scluptures of gods but Thai art is phased into paintings. The scluptures of India are full framed, meaning they have all parts of the body and are 3-D. Thai art also has scluptures but they are usually carved out of mountains and stones. This page has some pictures of Thai paintings of the Ramayana and some sculputres also.
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