The epic originated in ancient India, where the great poet and sage Valmiki wrote it in ancient languages that were later translated into Sanskit around 400 to 200 B.C. Throughout the coming centuries, this epic has been re-written in several versions throughout the continent. In the 12th century, Bhusundi Ramayana, Adbhuta Ramayana and Adhyatma Ramayana were written. In the 17thg century, came the Ananda Ramayana/ The followers of Jainism, adapted the epic in the form of Paumachariyan in the 3rd or 4th century. In the 15th century, came the Ram Charitra Manas written by Tulsidas.

As Her Holiness GuruMaa has written in Her Hanumat Puran, Tulsidas was the reincarnation of none other than Valmiki, who himself was born with the dharma of reintroducing Lord Sri Hanuman’s version of the Ramcharitra Manas. The Nepali authors composed Sundarananda Ramayana and Adarsha Raghava in the 19th century. Earlier, different versions were written in Assamese (Katha Ramayana), Bengali (Krittivas Ramayan) and Oriya (Jagamohan Ramayana). In Punjabi came Ramavatar, and Ramabalalila was written in Gujarati. The South Indian languages were not left behind. The Malayalan version was titled Ramacharitam, Tamil version was known as Kamban Iramavataram, Rangganatha Ramayanam was the Teluga version, and Torave Ramyana was written in Kannada. Janakiharan was written in Sri Lanka.

Variations of this story have also been found in the north, west and central parts of Asia. Dastan-e-Ram O Sita and Razmnama were written in Persia, Pothi Ramayan in Urdu, Ramavatara Charita was written in Kashmir. In Northwest Chinese district of Xinjiang, the 9th century Khotanese version of Ramakatha had Buddhist orientation. The epic traveled to South East too. The Khmer had Reamker, the Thais had the Ramakien. The Thai capital was called Ayutthaya, possibly named after Sri Ram’s capital of Ayodhya. The story was recomposed as Yama Watthu in Myanmar.

This story consciously and unconsciously, through puppet shows, art, temples, stage shows, etc., continues to exert its influence in all these Asian societies. The role of Sri Hanuman is also beyond comparison in all these versions. All across India, temples dedicated to Sri Hanuman far out-number those of Rama or any other character. In Thailand, tattoos or images of Sri Hanuman worn on their bodies bestow strength, courage, endurance and protection against pain. The Southeast Asian Games in 1997 used Sri Hanuman as its mascot. Our Baba is a popular figure or diety in all these countries. Hanuman or Hanumat or Aanjaneya or Anjata or Maruti is known by different names in these countries:
Hanoman in Balinese, Anoman and Senggana in Javanese, Haliman in Karbi, Anjat or Anujit in Khmer, Hanmone(e), Hulahman, Hunahman, Huonahman, Huorahman in Lao, Haduman, Hanuman Kera Putih, Kera Kechil Imam Tergangga, Pahlawan Udara, Shah Numan in Malay, Laksamana (yes, and Laxman is known as Mangawarna) in Maranao, Hanumant in Sinhalese, Anuman in Tamil, Anchat or Wanon in Thai and Hanumandha or Hanumanta in Tibetan.

So, the key message is that this ancient epic from India, through its continuous recitation in all these lands, in multiple languages, in its various versions, has through these centuries become mantra , with all its positive vibrations. So, let us participate in this holy recitation in the most holy month of Sravan and absorb (bhadra) these positive vibrations. If we are more fortunate, we can grasp the difference between right and wrong, and understand the duties of an ideal ruler, mother, father, son etc. from the characters of Ramayana. As we have seen, national boundaries or language barriers or differences in names do not limit the power of the eternal message of this epic.