Sri Ram in Bengali Heritage

🔴 From Ramayana and Raghuvamsam it is known that Maharaja Raghu fought against the Kaivartas of Bengal and he incorporated Vanga into his empire. Also during the reign of King Dasharatha, Bengal is mentioned as a rich land. 

🔴 The three main versions of Ramayana in India are:- Udichya Ramayana, Dakshini Ramayana and Gaudiya Ramayana. The earliest extant commentary on the Gaudiya Ramayana dates back to the Gupta Empire

🔴 In India, most versions Ramayana is written in Bengali language:- 25 types

🔴 A vernacular version of the Ramayana written in Bengal in the sixth century is found

🔴 "Ramcharit" Ramayana was composed by Gaud Avinanda in the court of Gaudeshvara Devpala in the 9th century AD

🔴 During the 10th century in Pala rule, Murari Misra composed the poetic play "Anargha Raghava" which was staged in the Jagannath temple at Puri.

🔴 Sandhyakar Nandi composed his famous "Ramcharita" in the 11th century in the court of Gaudeshwar Rampal.

🔴 In the twelfth century, Bengali poet Piyushvarsha wrote the poem "Prasanna Raghav". At the end of the twelfth century Govinda Acharya composed the "Arya Saptasati" in the reign of Gaudeshwar Lakshmanasena, in which the influence of Bengali's own Ramayana is noticeable.

🔴 Sridhar Das, son of Samanta Batudas of Gaudeshwar Lakshmanasena, composed the book "Sadukti Karnamrita" in the early thirteenth century. Among its five streams there are two poems on Sri Ram

🔴 Poet Jayadeva's Gita Govinda says

"।। Bitrasi Dikshu Rane Dikpati Kamaniyam।

Dashamukh-Maulibaling Ramaniyam||

Keshav Dhrit-Ramsharir e Jai Jagadish Hare।।"

🔴 One of the best literary examples of Bengali in the Middle  Ages is "Shriram Panchali" written by poet Krittibas Ojha. This poem was written under the patronage of either Maharaja Mahendra Dev or Gaudeshwar Ganeshnarayan. In this book, Ramayana and Bengali life have become one. It is in this book that we get the story of Ghandurbadal Ramchandra of Bengal. Krittibasi Ramayana is read in every house in Bengal.

🔴 The famous poet Kabichandra Shankar Chakraborty of Rarha wrote the famous Vishnupuri Ramayana under the patronage of the kings of Mallabhum. In this composition we find the words Ramlila Rammangal.

🔴 The oldest Ram Temple in Bengal was built on the Panchkot hill under the patronage of the Kings of Shikharbhum. This temple is believed to be more than 800 years old. The now ruined ancient temple was rebuilt in Pancharatna style 500 years ago. Many kings of this dynasty were named Ramachandra, Ramnarayana etc.

🔴 Ram temples were built at different places in Bankura and Medinipur under the patronage of the kings of Mallabhum. Notable among these is the famous Raghunath Jeu Temple built by Maharaja Raghunath Singh Dev. Two kings of Mallabhum were named Raghunath Singha Dev, also the first Mallaraja Adi Malla was also named Raghunath. Also the Ravanakata dance of Mallabhum is very famous. The Jagadrami Ramayan of Bankura is also famous

🔴 The name of Sri Ram is taken along with Sri Krishna in Mahamantra of Vaishnava community in Bengal. Sri Ramachandra's name is found in various Gaudiya Vaishnava poems. Sri Rama is worshiped with great reverence according to Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Sri Nityananda's visit to Rama Janmabhoomi is mentioned in Vaishnava literature

🔴 Vaishnav Sadhaka Murari Gupta wrote Ramvakti Geet dedicated to Sri Ram. This was highly praised by Sri Chaitanya

🔴 Madhusudan Saraswati, a well-known 16th century Bengali Advaita Vedantic monk, openly accepted Lord Vishnu and his incarnations Sri Ramachandra and Sri Krishna as the Supreme Being. His commentary on Srimad Bhagavad Gita is called 'Gurharthdeepika'. The book is the first commentary on Srimad Bhagavad Gita written in Bengali. In the mangalacharana sloka of this book, he worships Lord Sri Narayana and his incarnation Sri Ramachandra. He bows down to Bhagwaan Sri Ramachandra whose abode is in the heart of all devotees. Kuldevataa of many Bengal scholars was Sri Ramachandra; Ramachandra's Vandana in Saraswati's commentary is like:-

"O Namo Narayanaya

Om Namah Paramahangasaswaditacharanakamalchinmakarandaya Vaktajanmanasanivasaya Sriramchandraya.."

🔴 The famous Tantra Sadhaka Mahamahopadhyaya Sri Krishnananda Agambagish, the author of "Brihat Tantrasara" mentions the worship of Sri Rama and Sri Ram Stava in his book.

🔴 Sitakunda of Bangladesh is a very holy land associated with Ramayana. The greatness of this place is mentioned in various Puranas.

🔴 Ramnavami was once a very popular festival in the Bhati region of East Bengal. The Ramanandi community had a great influence in East Bengal. In East Bengal, the names of Sri Ramachandra and Mata Sita are taken in marriage songs.

🔴 In different regions of Bengal, when someone dies, Ramayana is sung at Shraddha. However, in South Bengal it is almost mandatory to sing Ramayana Gaan in Shraddha. A Ramayana Gaan is an integral part of Bengali folk culture.

🔴 Through Krittivasi Ramayana, the story of Sri Ramachandra's Akalbodhan is associated with Durga Puja.

🔴 Sriramchandra's name is involved in the folk culture of Bengal. Bengalis take the name of Sriram to get rid of the fear of ghosts. Swami Vivekananda, poet Rabindranath Bengali mentions the greatness of Sri Ramachandra many times in his life. Thakur Sri Ramakrishna's kuldevata was Raghuveer, Raja Rammohan Roy used to refer himself as "Sri Ramachandra Dassya" at the end of his writings.