ACK-048 & 049; T-2 &3: Sukhu & Dukhu; The Pious Cat and other tales; Tinkle Collection 1; Tinkle collection 11(World Folk Tales-02)

We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room-by-room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.

A Relaxed Mind, A Peaceful Soul, A Joyful Spirit & Heart full of Love. All these are my Prayers for You......

Wish a Happy New Year

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A folktale is a fictitious story told to amuse and amaze the listeners. The action takes place in a far-off time and place : “Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom...” These stories feature kings and princesses, giants and dragons, fairies and sorcerers, magical objects and talking animals.

What does folktale mean?

Folktales are a type of folk literature (genre) that has 6 elements:

-They usually do not have an identifiable author or often retold.

-They originate as oral tellings.

-They have characters that are either all "bad" or all "good".

-They have fantastic or unrealistic elements (a talking computer....)

-A moral or lesson that is easy to figure out.

-The folktale is set in a vague, historical past "long ago"

(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_folktale_mean)

Definitions of Folktale on the Web:

• A traditional tale.

(www.louisianavoices.org/edu_glossary.html)

• A short narrative handed down through oral tradition, with various tellers and groups modifying it, so that it acquired cumulative authorship.

(h1.ripway.com/peter21ma/GlossaryofLiteraryTerms-MADOE.doc)

• A narrative form, as an epic, legend, myth, fable, etc., that is or had been retold within culture for generations and is well known through repeated storytelling, as an Anansi tale.

(www.nde.state.ne.us/READ/FRAMEWORK/glossary/general_f-j.html)

• A narrative that has been retold and is well known within a culture.

(classic.ycds.org/~lmavros/literary_glossary.htm)

• A simple, timeless story that deals with the customs,traditions, and beliefs of ordinary people.

(www.daffodil.ca/english/glossary_of_literary_terms_dir/glossary_of_literary_terms_3.html)

• A tale circulated by word of mouth among the common folk

(wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)

• The word folklore was first used by the English antiquarian William Thoms in a letter published by the London Journal Athenaeum in 1846.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folktale)

• A tale or story that is part of the oral tradition of a people or a place

(en.wiktionary.org/wiki/folktale)

• A traditional narrative, usually anonymous, handed down orally -- e.g., fables, fairy tales, legends, etc.

(http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/glossary/g/folktale.htm)

Some folktales :

An out of print ACK

Folktales from Bengal

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An out of print ACK

Folktales from Rajasthan

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Tinkle Collection #1

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Tinkle collection #11 (World Folk Tales-02)

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These are Ajay's contributions. All thanks & credits go to him.

ACK-047 : Jesus Christ

May this Christmas end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright new year.
Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Major Religions of the World
Ranked by Number of Adherents

(Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.)

1. Christianity: 2.1 billion
2. Islam: 1.5 billion
3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
4. Hinduism: 900 million
5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
6. Buddhism: 376 million
7. primal-indigenous: 300 million
8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
9. Sikhism: 23 million
10. Juche: 19 million
11. Spiritism: 15 million
12. Judaism: 14 million
13. Baha'i: 7 million
14. Jainism: 4.2 million
15. Shinto: 4 million
16. Cao Dai: 4 million
17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
18. Tenrikyo: 2 million
19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
22. Scientology: 500 thousand

(~ http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html)

Jesus Christ is the central figure of Christianity, one of the world’s largest religions, and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the incarnation* of God. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, and he is an important figure in several other religions. His teachings and deeds are recorded in the New Testament, which is essentially a theological document that makes discovery of the “historical Jesus” difficult. The basic outlines of his career and message, however, can be characterized when considered in the context of 1st-century Judaism and, especially, Jewish eschatology.

Name and title

Ancient Jews usually had only one name, and, when greater specificity was needed, it was customary to add the father’s name or the place of origin. Thus, in his lifetime Jesus was called Jesus son of Joseph (Luke 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42), Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38), or Jesus the Nazarene (Mark 1:24; Luke 24:19). After his death, he came to be called Jesus Christ. Christ was not originally a name but a title derived from the Greek word christos, which translates the Hebrew term meshiah (Messiah), meaning “the anointed one.” This title indicates that Jesus’ followers believed him to be the anointed son of King David, whom some Jews expected to restore the fortunes of Israel. Passages such as Acts of the Apostles 2:36 show that some early Christian writers knew that the Christ was properly a title, but in many passages of the New Testament, including those in Paul’s letters, the name and the title are combined and used together as Jesus’ name: Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus (Romans 1:1; 3:24). Paul sometimes simply used Christ as Jesus’ name (e.g., Romans 5:6).

Summary of Jesus’ life

Although born in Bethlehem, according to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was a Galilean from Nazareth, a village near Sepphoris, one of the two major cities of Galilee (Tiberias was the other). He was born to Joseph and Mary shortly before the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2; Luke 1:5) in 4 bc.

Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem. Later the "Wise Men" or "Magi" bring gifts to the infant Jesus after following a star which they believe was a sign that the King of the Jews had been born (Matthew 2:1–12). King Herod hears of Jesus' birth from the Wise Men and tries to kill him by massacring all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (the "massacre of the innocents"). The family flees to Egypt and remains there until Herod's death, whereupon they settle in Nazareth to avoid living under the authority of Herod's son and successor Archelaus (Matthew 2:19–23).

According to Matthew and Luke, however, Joseph was only his father legally. They report that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived and that she “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18; cf. Luke 1:35). Joseph is said to have been a carpenter (Matthew 13:55), that is, a craftsman who worked with his hands, and, according to Mark 6:3, Jesus also became a carpenter.

Luke (2:41–52) states that as a child Jesus was precociously learned, but there is no other evidence of his childhood or early life. As a young adult, he went to be baptized by the prophet John the Baptist and shortly thereafter became an itinerant preacher and healer (Mark 1:2–28). In his mid-30s, Jesus had a short public career, lasting perhaps less than one year, during which he attracted considerable attention. Some time between ad 29 and 33—possibly AD 30—he went to observe Passover in Jerusalem, where his entrance, according to the Gospels, was triumphant and infused with eschatological significance.

Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus. They accused him of blasphemy, and had Jesus arrested. Pontius Pilate ( the Prefect of the Roman Judaea province from the year AD 26 until AD 36) is best known as the man who was the judge at the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion. He wanted to release Jesus. In his last attempt to spare Jesus' life, Pilate offers the mob a chance to free him, but they choose Barabbas (a thief).

Death

In Mark, Jesus is stripped, flogged, mocked, and crowned with thorns. He is crucified between two thieves, and his cross states that he is being executed for aspiring to be the king of the Jews. He begins to recite Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." He utters a loud cry and dies. According to all four Gospels, Jesus died before late afternoon at Calvary or Golgotha. In Luke, Jesus faces his crucifixion stolidly. He asks God to forgive those who are crucifying him, possibly the Romans and possibly the Jews. One of the thieves states that Jesus has done nothing wrong and asks Jesus to remember him in the Kingdom, and Jesus replies that the thief will be with him in Paradise.

Burial

His body was placed in the new tomb of a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea. Jesus had promised the disciples he would come back after he died. His enemies knew this. So, to prevent anyone from stealing the body, they had soldiers guard the tomb of Jesus.

Resurrection

On the third day after Jesus died, an angel descended, and the soldiers fled. The disciples came and found an empty tomb. Jesus had risen from the dead! He later appeared to many believers, commanding them to teach and baptize others.

His disciples became convinced that he still lived and had appeared to them. They converted others to belief in him, which eventually led to a new religion, Christianity.

(~based on info from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303091/Jesus-Christ )

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Hindi Version is available HERE. CW has posted in his blog.

All thanks & credits for comics go to Ajnaabi.


Recommend to read about:

Jesus Christ In Bible & Quran:

1. http://www.jamaat.net/cis/ChristInIslam.html

2. http://www.christianity-islam.com/jesus.html

Jesus:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus

2. http://www.christiananswers.net/jesus/home.html

3. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08377a.htm

Mary (mother of Jesus):

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)

2. http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/mary-motherofjesus.html

Herod the Great:

1. http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great01.html

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great

Pontius Pilate:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate

2. http://www.123exp-biographies.com/t/00034101277/

3. http://www.livius.org/pi-pm/pilate/pilate01.htm

4. http://www.allaboutarchaeology.org/pontius-pilate-faq.htm

ACK-046: Gandhari

[Update- 13 January 2009, 9:30 PM IST] Anon has scanned and provided the cover pages of this ACK. They are being uploaded here. Prabhat sent these in a mail to me. You can add them to the original comic download. Enjoy. - TPH

(May love prevail over hatred, may ACK-47 score over AK-47)

Character info from Wikipedia:

Gāndhārī (Sanskrit: गांधारी) is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. In the epic, she was an incarnation of Mati, as the daughter of Subala, the king of Gandhara, a region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, from which her name is derived. Gandhari's marriage was arranged to Dhritarashtra, the eldest prince of the Kuru kingdom.

Gandhari voluntarily blindfolded herself throughout her married life. Her husband Dhritarashtra was born blind, and on meeting him and realizing this, she decided to deny herself the pleasure of sight that her husband could never relish.

Gandhari bore a hundred sons, (collectively known as the Kauravas), and one daughter Dushala who married Jayadratha. The Kaurava, principally Duryodhana and Dushasana, were the villains of the Mahābhārata, and were all killed in their war against their cousins, the Pandava, at Kurukshetra.

Although Gandhari's sons were portrayed as villains, the Mahābhārata attributes high moral standards to Gandhari. She repeatedly exhorted her sons to follow dharma and make peace with the Pandavas. Gandhari was especially close to Kunti (Mother of Pandavas) who respected her like an elder sister.

Gandhari made a single exception to her blindfolded state, when she removed her blindfold to see Duryodhana rendering his entire body except his loins invulnerable to any foe. This was however to prove fruitless as Bhima smashed Duryodhana's thighs in their decisive encounter on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra battle, a move both literally and figuratively below the belt.

Gandhari was also devout; in particular an ardent worshipper of Lord Shiva. Gandhari's sacrifice of her eyesight and her austere life was to grant her great spiritual power. Gandhari's anguish in the loss of her hundred sons resulted in her cursing Krishna in effect ensuring the destruction of the Yadavas. It is also said that through a small gap in the napkin in which her eyes were blindfolded, her gaze fell on Yudhisthira's toe. The toe was charred black due to her wrath and power. Gandhari ended her life with her husband and her sister-in-law Kunti in the Himalayas, where they died in a forest fire.

ACK's description of the character:

Stories of many great women, their achievements and their sufferings, are recounted in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Sita, Kunti and Draupadi are among the better known. These women went through many painful ordeals, but they had one hope to sustain them - they had noble children.The case of Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas is different. She was a good women who gave birth to wicked sons. All around her there was treachery. Her husband was weak and ambitious, her brother Shakuni, was an arch-villain and her sons were full of violence. Among them, she alone stood for virtue and truth - a single lotus in a marshy swamp.

Author: Gayatri Madan Dutt Illustrator: Dilip Kadam

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(33 pages, 1280 px wide, 10.7 MB)

Unfortunately, the copy of the comic I am having (and from which these scans are made) is coverless. Prabhat made several efforts to arrange the cover. Ajay has the comic in bounds. He provided the snap from his digital camera. Ajnaabi worked on the low resolution thumbnail available from official ACK site, but I finally kept the one I had created from the same source (thumbnail). It is attached with the comic download link. In case someone has the proper/better quality cover of this comic please send its scan for the benefit of the all fellow ACK lovers.

ACK-045: Nagananda

An out of print ACK

Nagananda (Joy of the Serpents) is a Sanskrit play attributed to king Harsha (606 C.E. - 648 C.E.).

Nagananda is one of the best Sanskrit dramas in five acts dealing with the popular story of Jimutavahana's self-sacrifice to save the Nagas. The unique characteristic of this drama is the invocation to lord Buddha in the Nandi verse, which is considered as one of the best examples of the dramatic compositions.

Harsha was a distinguished and creative patron of religions and the arts. He lavished gifts on Buddhist institutions, and it is clear that he was profoundly influenced by Buddhist thought and practices. Still, there is no evidence that he became a Buddhist; rather it would seem that he remained a devotee of Shiva. Late in his life he may have become more concerned with the prosperity of Buddhist institutions as he emulated the manner of Asoka Maurya.

Kings and princes of India prided themselves on the accomplishments of artists, scholars, and poets whom they attracted to their courts. Harsha was no exception. And he had reason to be proud, for in his court were such great literary personalities as Banabhatta and Mayura.

Harsha's participation in the cultured life of his court was more direct than that of most kings, and it is in his personal contribution to Sanskrit literature that he clearly overshadows them. To him are assigned three plays: Priyadarsika, Ratnavali, and the Nagananda. In addition, he is credited with two significant poems on Buddhist themes--the Ashtamahasricaityastotra (Praise to Eight Grand Caityas [Buddhist assembly halls]) and Suprabhatastotra (Laud to Morning)--and a tract on grammatical gender, the Linganusasanam. Harsha's authorship has been disputed on several occasions, but no decisive contrary arguments have been proposed.

The Priyadarsika appears to be the earliest of Harsha's plays. It and the Ratnavali deal with the amorous adventures of the king Vatsa, his queen Vasavadatta, and newcomers to the royal harem. Both plays borrow from the earlier works of Bhasa and Kalidasa (especially the latter's Malavikagnimitra) and are based ultimately on material in the collection Brhatkatha. These plays lack thematic novelty but sustain interest through brisk dialogue. Both are frequently cited by later writers on dramatic theory and technique.

Harsha's Nagananda is his most important play. This five-act drama draws again on the Brhatkatha for the substance of its first three acts. In them, the hero, Jimutavahana, Prince of the Vidyadharas, meets and marries the Siddha princess Malayavati. To that point, the romance of the fairy prince and princess is quite conventional.

The mood of the play changes sharply in the fourth act. Jimutavahana discovers mounds of skeletons which evidence the daily sacrifice of serpents to the celestial bird Garuda. The hero resolves to offer his own body so that the serpents may be spared (a type of resolution very familiar in Buddhist literature). At the drama's conclusion it is the non-Buddhist goddess Gauri, however, who restores the bodhisattva, Jimutavahana, to life. In this attractive and moving drama, Harsha combined Buddhist and "Hindu" themes adroitly and uniquely, and through it one sees clearly his artistic and political genius.

With Harsha's death passed an age unduplicated in Indian history. There would be other Hindu political structures more extensive and longer-lived than Harsha's; and there would appear Sanskrit authors more facile and ingenious than he. But India has not produced again an individual of such wide-ranging talents who could wield the sword, the scepter, and the pen with equal authority.

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It's an Anonymous contribution.

ACK-044: The Acrobat and Other Buddhist Tales

Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence, it appears that Buddhist tales were compiled in the period third century BC to fifth century AD. They give us invaluable information about Buddha, ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy.
The stories of Buddha have been very popular in the Buddhist world. These stories have not only been translated into almost all the languages closely related to Buddhism - Chinese, Tibetan, Sinhalese, Burmese, Japanese - but also into many modern European languages. Sanchi, Bharhut, Amaravati and Ajanta in India, Borobundur in Java, Pegan in Burma and Sukhodaya in Thailand bear testimony to the popularity of these tales.

This ACK comprises of multiple stories. The first, "The Acrobat", is about Ugrasena's transformation from the royal treasurer's son to an acrobat to a follower of Buddha. In the second story, "The Harvest", Buddha teachers a farmer about the benefits of detachment. Buddha explains the ills of desire to the young Prince Kumara in the third story, "The Golden Maiden". And finally, "Buddha and Krishna Gautami" is one of the more famous stories, wherein Buddha teaches the distraught Gautami about the inevitability of truth.

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ACK-043: Sridutta

An out of print ACK

This ACK is based on Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of Rivers of Stories) by poet Somadeva (11th century). See more detail about Somadeva in earlier post dated 3rd August 2008.

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It's an Ajay's contribution.

ACK-042: Kannappa

An out of print ACK

One hunter who never learnt any holy scriptures and whose discipline was just to kill - hunt, who became an excellent example of devotion. Simple but unparallaled was his love. It may be difficult even for great scholars to put in words that love which even when one tries to visualise takes them to the peaks of the mountains of devotion.

Kannappa Nayanar or Kannappan was one of the 63 Nayanmars (Tamil Poet-Saints) or holy Saivite saints, the staunch devotees of Lord Shiva. The Periya Puranam (Lives of the Saints) compiled by Sekkizhar and also the Tiruthhthondar Thogai by the poet-saint Sundarar enlists the 63 Nayanars. The actual story of Kannappa Nayanar is supposed to have taken place at a Hill Temple in Sri Kalahasti, near Tirupathi, in present day state Andra Pradesh, India. Srikalahasti is also dedicated to the Rahu who is one among the nine grahams or celestial bodies in Indian Astrology. The bad effects of Rahu can be reduced a lot if visit Srikalahasti and offer prayers to Lord Shiva presiding there.

The story goes that there was a forest place called Uduppur. It was an isolated area populated by fierce villagers. Nagan and Tatthai had a great desire for a child but as they were old had to go to a shrine of Lord Murugan to receive his blessings before they were able to conceive. A son was soon born to them who they named Thinnan (meaning strong), because he was so powerful and heavy that even his father could hardly hold him up.

When the boy reached 16 years of age, he took over the position of leader of the hunters. During a pig hunt, Thinnan and some companions had to go deep into the forest. It was there that the youth saw the hill of Lord Siva. Kindled by an unexplainable emotion he went towards the hill.

The culmination of austerities he did in previous births came to him and he proceeded towards the Lord. He saw Him and drank through his eyes the wonderful sight; It flowed over his heart; He lost all control and ran towards the Lingam to embrace and kiss the Diety.

Thinnan started performing service by bringing water from the river Swarnamukhi in his mouth and bathing the image of the Lord by emptying the water he carried in his mouth onto the Lingam. He would chew meat to ascertain its suitability before offering the choicest bits to his deity.

One day, Lord Shiva tested the unshakable devotion of Thinnan. With his divine power, He created a tremor and the roof-tops of the temple began to fall. All the sages ran away from the scene except for Thinnan who covered the linga with his body to prevent it from any damage. Hence he was named thereafter as Dheeran.

When he left for hunting, a sage came who was shocked at the sight of strewn bones and flesh in front of the Lord. After prostrating many times the sage cleaned the altar and performed his own puja before returning to his hermitage.

This continued for many days. One day God explained the love of his huntsman devotee to his wife Parvati, "Don't think he is a scoundrel. His form is full of my love, his mind thinks of me only and his deeds are delightful for me. The water he spits on me is more sacred than Ganga, the flowers he offers taking from his head are holier than that are offered by Devas. It is all because of His love.”

It was the seventh day of Thinnans worship. When he arrived at the Lingam he was shocked to see that one eye of the Diety was bleeding. While worrying about his inability to find a solution, he remembered an old saying flesh for flesh. So, immediately Thinnan plucked out one of his own eyes with a sharp arrow and placed it onto the bleeding eye of the Lords. Thinnan jumped up and down in excitement when the bleeding from the Dietys eye stopped.

But as it stopped in the right eye, it started from the left. After a moment Thinnan told himself, "I know the medicine. I have one more eye. That should cure this".

But when he was about to pluck out his remaining eye, he realised the difficulty of placing the eye in position once he took out his remaining eye. So he held his foot on the Dietys eye as a mark, and raised the arrow to take his remaining eye out. The Lord Himself was not able to bear this great action, and appeared and holding the devotee's hands to stop him from plucking the remaining eye, called out:

"Oh halt Kann Appa, Kann Appa. Since you gave your own eyes for me, you will be called Kannappan (the person who gave eyes to the Lord) hereafter."

And with that contact the devotee's sight was fully restored and the Lord pleased with his devotion granted him eternal bliss.

Although a hunter and meat-eater, Kannappar had such great devotion to Siva that he offered him his eyes. And in Guru Vachaka Kovai, verse 164, Sri Bhagavan gives the meaning of this story.

164
Kannappa, ripe in love, scooped out
And in the Lord's face planted his eyes.
But till he plucked and planted them
He too retained a trace of price
In those bright, beautiful orbs of his.
Attachment to the body dies
Hard, very hard indeed.

165
Why did the three-eyed Lord ordain
That Kanappa should pluck and plant
Those eyes of which he was so proud?
It was to save him from the death,
The deadly folly of deeming he
Was flesh inert. Such is the might
Of Siva.

Some Saivite traditions believe that Kannappa was the reincarnation of the Pandava - Arjuna. Arjuna worshipped Siva for seeking the Pasupatha Astra (a divine weapon) and failed to recognize Shiva when He appeared before Arjuna in the form of a hunter. Thus, due to this reason, Arjuna had to be born as the hunter and adore the Lord before attaining final liberation. This belief is not adopted by all Hindus though.

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All thanks & credits go to anonymous for his selfless effort.

ACK-040 & 041:Valmiki's Ramayana; The Bridegroom's Ring

According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Valmiki is the name of a famous maharishi (the great sage) who wrote the Ramayana. The Ramayana is one of the two most famous Hindu epics, the other is the Mahabharata.

About Valmiki

Early Life

Maharishi Valmiki was born as Ratnakara to sage Prachetasa. At a very young age, Ratnakara went into the forest and got lost. A hunter, who was passing by, saw Ratnakara and took him under his own care. Under the love and care of his foster parents, Ratnakara forgot his original parents. Under his father's guidance, Ratnakara turned out to be an excellent hunter. As he approached marriageable age, Ratnakara was married to a beautiful girl from hunter's family.

Turning into a Robber

As his family grew larger, Ratnakara found it next to impossible to feed them. As a result, he took to robbery and began looting people passing from one village to another.

Meeting with Narada and Transformation

One day, the great sage Narada, while passing through the jungle, was attacked by Ratnakara. As Narada played his Veena and sang praises of the Lord, he saw a transformation coming over Ratnakara. Then, he asked Ratnakara whether the family, for whom he was robbing others, will partake in his sins also. Ratnakara went to ask the same question to his family and on being refused by all his family members, he went back to sage Narada. Narada taught him the sacred name of 'Rama' and asked him to sit in meditation, chanting the name of Rama, till the time Narada came back.

Ratnakara followed the instructions and kept sitting in a meditative posture for years, during which his body got completely covered by an anthill. At last, Narada came to see him and removed all the anthills from his body. Then, he told Ratnakara that his tapasya (meditation) paid off and the God was pleased with him. Ratnakara was bestowed with the honor of a Brahmarshi and given the name of Valmiki, since he was reborn from the Valmika (the ant-hill).

Receiving Lord Rama

One day, Valmiki had the fortuity of receiving Lord Rama's wife Sita (later gave birth to her twins Lav & Kusha in his ashram), later Lord Rama and his brother Lakshman at his ashram. On Valmiki's suggestion, Lord Rama built his hut on Chitrakuta hill, near the ashram.

Writing Ramayana

Narada visited Maharishi Valmiki in his ashram once and there, he narrated the story of Lord Rama. Thereafter he received a vision from Brahma in which the Lord instructed him to write Ramayana in slokas, which the sage readily followed.


Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is an epic poem of India which narrates the journey of Virtue to annihilate vice. Sri Rama is the Hero and aayana His journey. In India, there is believe that Sri Rama lived in Treta Yug, millennia BC.

Srimad Valmiki Ramayana is composed of verses called Sloka, in Sanskrit language, which is an ancient language from India and a complex meter called Anustup. These verses are grouped into individual chapters called Sargas, wherein a specific event or intent is told. These chapters or sargas are grouped into books called Kaandas where Kaanda means the inter-node stem of sugar cane, or also a particular phase of the story or an event in the course of story telling.

Srimad Valmiki Ramayana contains 24,000 verses or [sloka] arranged into numerous cantos [sarga], which are contained in six Kaandas or Books, and they are:
Bala Kanda ( Book of Youth) [77 chapters]
Ayodhya Kanda (Book of Ayodhya) [119 chapters]
Aranya Kanda (Book of Forest ) [75 chapters]
Kishkindha Kanda (The Empire of Holy Monkeys) [67 chapters]
Sundara Kanda ( Book of Beauty ) [68 chapters]
Yuddha Kanda ( Book of War ) [131 chapters]

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All credit and thanks go to UNKOWN friend.

*In future try to provide better version of this ACK.

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An out of print ACK

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This one is Ajay's contribution. All thanks & credits go to him.