Faiths of Sublanarya: The Ramayana (Sahasranama, Brahma, Shiva, Padma, Sharada, Ravana, Vayu, Hanuman, Jatuya, Mithras, Agni, Indra)

The story of the Ramayana is a central story in Raj-Hamutian religious beliefs but also plays a big part in the cultural oeuvre of the modern Raj-Hamutian. It tells the story of Rama, a prince born in the kingdom of Yodhya and the seventh avatar of the creator god Sahasranama, and his hero's journey. It is an epic that champions of the four sutras: accordance, pursuance, love and liberation. His story is split into tomes of his life.

This article also details of most raj-hamutian dieties.

The Book of Childhood

The rajah of Yodhya, Dasharatha, needed a male heir. So, as was tradition, he set out making a great fire and burned gifts for the gods. The rajah had three wives and, as a reward for his faith, each gave birth to a son: Rama, Bharata and Lakshmana.

The three brothers are each in part incarnations of three gods: Rama is the seventh avatar of Sahasranama, Bharata was gifted with the wisdom of Brahma, and Lakshmana was said to be an incarnation of Shesha the Cosmic Serpent. Sahasranama chose to take mortal form to destroy the fiendish shasa Ravana who could only be destroyed by a mortal, Shesha followed to aid him and Brahma lent some wisdom since he foresaw great struggle.

Rama is often depicted with blue skin as a symbol of his divinity.

The three princes were raised and educated to the best of the king's ability. By the time they would leave adulthood, they were each ideal princes of the Sindahar.

When Rama is sixteen, a sage from the kingdom of Mithila came to the court of Yodhya asking for king Dasharatha's aid against demonic activity on their border of their kingdoms. Rama volunteered his skill as a warrior and Sahasranama followed. Together, the brothers, with their divine gifts, made quick work of the demons. They were then invited to celebrate with the Mithila king Janaka.

Janaka has a beautiful adopted daughter named Sita. The king Janaka worked in the fields alongside his people. He was an old king and had no children. One day, while digging he heard a baby's cry and stopped his plow. He was astonished to find a perfect baby girl. He realized this was a gift from the gods, in fact the child was an avatar of Padma, and he raised her as his own. She grew up to a girl of unmatched beauty, charm and grace. He made a challenge: his family had been gifted a giant bow by Shiva. He declared that any man that could lift it and draw back the string would have Sita's hand in marriage. Rama lifted the bow, drew back the string and broke it.

Rama and Sita are wed, fall in love, and return to the kingdom of Yodhya.

The Book of the Kingdom

After Rama and Sita have been married for a decade, Dasharatha expressed a desire to crown Rama as his successor. This seems agreeable to all but Bharata's mother, Kaikeyi, is fooled by a shasa in disguise as a maid into challenging the succession. The king had promised Kaikeyi a boon when they were married and so he was forced to do her bidding. He is forced by his honor to make Bharata to be his successor and was forced to banish Rama for fourteen years to the forest. Rama, obedient and discipline, agrees to accept his exile. He is joined by his other brother Lakshmana and Sita. When Rama begs her to stay in the safety and comfort of the kingdom of Yodhya until he returns, she tells him that "the forest will be her kingdom as long as her is with her and that, without him, Yodhya would be a prison."

Soon after they leave, the king dies of grief. Bharata then visits his brothers in the forest to ask them to return for the funeral. Rama refuses out of respect for his father's commands. Bharata returns to Yodhya to rule in Rama's stead but keeps Rama's sandals on the throne as a symbol that, should Rama return, he will give him the throne.

The Book of the Forest

Rama, Sita and Lakshmana live peacefully in the forests for twelve years. On the thirteenth year, they begin to be targeted by shasa. First, Shurpanakha, a female shasa, attempts to seduce the brothers and attempts to kill Sita. Lakshmana stops her and disfigures her for her troubles. She flees and when her shasa brothers see her, they want revenge. Their leader, Khara, and his brothers organize an assault on their cottage.


Rama is warned of their plans by Jatayu, a demigod who was a friend of Rama's father and swore to protect them while they were in exile. He saw the fiends scheming while in his preferred form of a giant vulture. With adequate warning, Rama annihilated the fiends.

Hearing of Rama's actions against his minions, the demon general Ravana seeks to destroy Rama and Sita. He sends one of his lieutenants, Maricha, in the form of a golden deer. When Sita sees the deer, she begs Rama to capture it. Rama and Lakshmana believe it is a trick, so Rama chases after it and Lakshmana stays to protect Sita. When Sita realizes that she was enchanted, she begs Lakshmana to go help Rama.  He obeys her wishes but begs her to stay in the cottage and trust no one.

While the brothers are away, an old man approaches the cottage and pleads for aid. Sita, her heart swayed by her kindness, opens the door. The old man turns into Ravana and kidnaps her. The vulture demigod, Jatayu, sees Ravana flying through sky with Sita and tries to rescue her. Ravana is too powerful and mortally wounds Jatayu before flying to his home in the island fortress of Lanka with his prisoner.

When Rama and Lakshmana returned to the cabin, they realized they had been tricked. They found Jatayu, dying, and prayed for him. The avatar of Sahasranama's grief was strong and his words helped the noble friend reach moksha. Before Jatayu departed, he advised the brothers seek out the vanaran princes, Sugriva and Hanuman, in the kingdom of Kishkindha.

The Book of the Citadel

Recently, there had been a fight between the three brothers of the monkeyfolk kingdom. Vali, the strongest, had won the crown, wedding the queen Tara, and banished his brothers: Sugriva, who was the rightful king and Hanuman, who was the son of Vayu the wind god. Vali had acquired powerful treasures and used them beat his brothers.

Rama and Lakshmana befriends the similarly exiled brothers and tell them of their plight. Sugriva agrees to help them but only after they help him dethrone his brother. Reluctantly, they agree to aid Sugriva. Between Hanuman, who has incredible strength and powers, the warrior might of Rama, and the support of Lakshmana, they manage to fight their way to the citadel and defeat Vali. Sugriva is made king and quickly loses interest in helping Rama.

Lakshmana becomes furious and, if not for the former queen Tara's intervention, would have destroyed the citadel. She eloquently convinces them to work together and Sugriva agrees to keep up his end of the bargain. He sends hundreds of vanara north, south, east and west to search for Sita.

The Book of Beauty

Hanuman travels south and, along the way, he visits a temple. A sage there tells him that he saw Ravana flying with a girl in his arms to the island of Lanka. Hanuman thanks for the sage for his assistance and acts quickly.

Hanuman was the son of the wind. He had many impressive gifts. Among them were the ability to change his size and to fly. He transforms in a gigantic form and, with a single leap that shook the mountains, took the sky and headed to Lanka. There were obstacles along the way but, before the might of Hanuman, they were nothing. When he arrived at Lanka, he remembered a warning from his youth that not even he could beat Ravana and, wisely, shrank to a small form to explore the island and spy on Ravana.

Hanuman found Sita being held prisoner in Ravana's fortress. Ravana had been trying to woo her into marrying her and, when she refused, threatened to eat her. Hanuman offered Sita hope, showing Rama's signet ring, and then offered to take her home. Sita refused. She explained that it was only proper for Rama to save her. Reluctantly, Hanuman left.

He then grew giant and attacked the fortress. He killed many of Ravana's warriors before allowing himself to be captured. He was then dragged before Ravana and, rather than beg for mercy, he gave Ravana a bold lecture and threatened him to release Sita or that he would be making war with Rama and his allies. Ravana ignored the threat and tried to scare Hanuman by burning him alive. But Hanuman was not so easily cowed.

Hanuman escaped from Ravana's clutches and, for good measure, leapt from rooftop to rooftop, catching the island on fire, before he took a giant leap back to Kishkindha to tell Rama of his adventures and of the war to come.

The Book of War

Upon hearing the good news, that Sita was located and still faithful to Rama, the heroes set about preparing for war. The vanaran army, the aarokocra allies of Jatuya, and the princes of Yodhya made their way to the southern most shore of Sindahar.

The vanara general, Nila, then wrote Rama's name upon many stones and built a floating stone bridge across the sea. The sea god, Mithras, knew Rama was the avatar of Sahasranama and allowed the stones to float across the sea. Using the bridge, the army traveled across the sea to Lanka and met in battle against Ravana's army.

A lengthy battle ensues.

The vanara fight the fiends with everything they have but Ravana's army is mighty. At one point, Ravana's son injures Lakshmana with a poisoned spear and his death would be quick. Hanuman wrestles the demon prince and forces him to tell him where to find the cure-- a herb from Mount Sumeru. He flies to the mountain and, because he can't find the herb quickly enough, he cuts the mountain top off with a single sweep of his tail and carries it back to the mountain. The vanara help him find the herb and save Lakshmana.

But the battle is turning against them.

 Meanwhile countless vanara and shasa died in battle, struck by the bow of Rama or split like saplings by the blade of Ravana, until a mountain of dead rose to the skies. The smell was so foul that it raised Indra's ire and the battle was beset by a typhoon by Indra the Storm King. The vanara blew about until Rama screamed at the heavens, even stopping the king of the gods in his fury, and the sky cleared.

Finally, Rama and Ravana would meet in blows: Rama struck head after head as Ravana charged through vanara like a buffalo blades of grass until the demon king was upon him. He struck the prince down with a heavy swing of his left hand and he would've struck Rama dead when the vanara tackled the demon king. Rama was buried under a mountain of dead and all hope seemed lost when he remembered how the demon king had slain Jatayu, how he had stolen his bride and how he would seek revenge upon the people of Sindahar. Rama rose to his knees and pulled back his bow with the same might that had broken Shiva's bow.

His arrow struck the demon god and sent him tumbling into Naraka.

After Rama and Sita are reunited and, with his term of exile over, they can return to Yodhya. Before they do so, Rama wants Sita to prove her purity and that she didn't allow Ravana to corrupt her while she was his prisoner. Sita decides to prove her purity via a trial by fire. She steps into a pyre and, if she kept her loyalty to her husband, her soul will be lifted to the heavens. It is the ultimate test of loyalty. Upon seeing her devotion, Rama was moved and, if Sita burned, he would've been killed by the anguish. Instead, Sita is saved from the fire by the god Agni.

Rama and Sita return to Yodhya and rule over the kingdom for many years.

 

THE END

SAHASRANAMA OF A THOUSAND NAMES

Title(s)

The Almighty God, The Supreme Being, The Lord of All Things, The Liberator, The Creator AND Destroyer

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

??? Deity

Alignment

Lawful Good

Symbol

A red flame between two white lines or A red eagle

Portfolio

Preservation, Life, Justice, Truth, Order

Domains

Life, Protection, War

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Mace

BRAHMA THE CREATOR

Title(s)

The Lord of Speech, The Alpha, He-Who-Sees-All, The Lord of Direction, The Ultimate One

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

??? Deity

Alignment

Neutral

Symbol

A compass made of geese

Portfolio

Creation, Balance, Time, Space, Fate

Domains

Nature, Life

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Unarmed

SHIVA THE DESTROYER

Title(s)

The Lord of Speech, The Alpha, He-Who-Sees-All, The Lord of Direction, The Ultimate One

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

??? Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Symbol

A trident or a bull-headed dragon

Portfolio

Destruction, Endings, Dance, Transformation, Persistence

Domains

Death, War

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Trident

PADMA THE LOTUS-DWELLER

Title(s)

The Bride of Sahasranama, The Fortunate Queen, Opulent, Supreme Mother, The Beloved

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Neutral Good

Symbol

A red or pink lotus or an owl

Portfolio

Faithfulness, family, good fortune, trade, travel

Domains

Life, Protection

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Dagger

SHARADA THE DIVINE TEACHER

Title(s)

The Wise Lady, The Artist, The Possessor of Knowledge, The Graceful, The Muse

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Lawful Good

Symbol

A swan and/or a cittern

Portfolio

Arts, music, education, wisdom, beauty

Domains

Knowledge

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Unarmed

RAVANA THE HUNDRED-HEADED

Title(s)

Lord of Lanka, The Bride-Thief, Naraka's Commander, The Chief Shasa, The Warmonger

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

A bleeding throne

Portfolio

Weaponry, war, determination, strength, conquerors

Domains

Death, War

Worshipers

Military commanders, soldiers, warriors, trolls, brutes

Favored Weapon

All weapons

VAYU THE BREATH OF LIFE

Title(s)

The Lord of Winds, The Purifier, The Swift, The Servant of Brahma, The Sky-Rider

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Symbol

A flag with a stag's antlers upon it

Portfolio

Wind, travel, breath, sound, destruction

Domains

Tempest

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Swords

HANUMAN THE MIGHTY

Title(s)

The White Monkey, The Prince of Kishkindha, Devotee of Segriva, Son of the Wind, The Gentle Sage

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Symbol

A white monkey holding a mountain on its tail

Portfolio

Strength, monkeys, mountains, martial arts, loyalty

Domains

War, Trickery

Worshipers

Vanara (monkeyfolk), martial artists, monks, athletes, warriors

Favored Weapon

Maces

JATAYU THE PRINCE OF VULTURES

Title(s)

The Martyr, The Fierce Guardian, Son of Garuda, The Broken Wing, The Forsworn Friend

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Lesser Deity

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Symbol

A silver vulture

Portfolio

Loyalty, sacrifice, birds, flight, death

Domains

Death

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk, garuda

Favored Weapon

Unarmed (Claws)

MITHRAS THE OCEAN MASTER

Title(s)

The World-Whale, The God of the Hamutian Sea, The Great Divider, The Lifebringer, The Deep Lord

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Symbol

A whale blowing its spout

Portfolio

The sea, marine life, water, nobility, sailing

Domains

Tempest

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk, merfolk

Favored Weapon

Bows

AGNI THE PURIFYING FLAME

Title(s)

The Everflame, The First-In-Order, The Shining Word, The Transformer, The Guide

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Neutral

Symbol

A burning bull

Portfolio

Fire, purification, funeral rites, purity, destruction

Domains

Light

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk

Favored Weapon

Axes

INDRA THE STORM KING

Title(s)

The Thunderer, The Divine Tiger, The Dragon-Slayer, The Pride of Heaven, The Firstborn

Pantheon(s)

Hamutian

Power Level

Greater Deity

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Symbol

Tigers and the vajra: a double-headed spherical mace

Portfolio

Storms, royalty, rain, pride, warfare

Domains

Tempest

Worshipers

Hamutians, vanara, haathraji, tigerfolk, leopardfolk, birdfolk

Favored Weapon

Maces and spears