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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
This probably is the historical reality behind the Rama Ravanna story. In the Ramyana story Vibhishana (brother of Ravana) with the help of Rama took over the Kingdom of Ravana.
It is interesting to note that Ravanna was both a Brahmin and an Asura - most probably a Buddhist of North Indian Aryan origin. He is still a ten headed Asura being a Buddhist an opponent of Vedism. Thus all through the history of Sri Lanka, we see the Rama - Ravanna war repeated over the centuries that preceded the Christian Era.
The Route of the Ramayana
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The Route of Ramayana epic as traced by Syracus University studies (http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/sac/Outreach/ramayana/images/rou te.jpg) indicates the movement of conquest of Hinduism from the North of India to Sri Lanka
Jain Traditions in Ramayana Story
There is no doubt that Rama was a hero of history in the folklore of the nation. But the way his character and the characters of the opponents were dealt with in accordance with the theology of the sect that dealt with the story. Jain Ramayana also contains the traditional characters like Dasaratha, Janaka, Ravana, Sugriva, Vali, Hanuman etc. However Jain theology being atheistic has no place for incarnations and being a rationalistic school of thought existing long before the new Hinduism presents the characters as truly human. There are no monkey tribes nor rakshasas. They are human
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| SR No. | 007303 |
| Book Title | Development of Hinduism |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | M M Ninan |
| Publisher | M M Ninan |
| Publication Year | |
| Total Pages | 582 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 45 MB |