# रामायण (rāmāyaṇa)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/ramayana

रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) is a Sanskrit word meaning relating to Rama, the female descendant of the Black One, an epic Hindu poem celebrating Ramchandra, name of an epic poem, a name for several poems on the life of Rama, the name of a renowned epic poem. Its 10 recorded definitions are grouped into 6 contexts, among them Vālmīki's Epic Poem Rāmāyaṇa, Epic & General Rāma Narratives, Adjective: Relating to Rāma.

- **Etymology:** E. राम the prince so named, and अयन abode — E. rāma the prince so named, and ayana abode
- **SLP1:** `rAmAyaRa`  **IAST:** rāmāyaṇa  **Devanagari:** रामायण
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana
- **Declensions:** 48 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/ramayana/declensions.md

## Meanings by context

### Vālmīki's Epic Poem Rāmāyaṇa (4 definitions)
- The celebrated epic poem by Valmiki describing the life of Rama and Sita.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > रामायण (yaṇa) (rāmāyaṇa) n. ( रमा (ramā) यण (yaṇa) ) N. of Vālmīki's celebrated poem, describing the ‘goings’ [ अयन (ayana) ] of Rāma and Sitā (it contains about 24000 verses in 7 books called Kāṇḍas, viz. 1. Bāla-kāṇḍa or Ādi- k°; 2. Ayodhyā- k°; 3. Araṇya- k°; 4. Kiṣ-kindhyā- k°; 5. Sundara- k°; 6. Yuddha- k°; 7. Uttara- k°; part of the 1st book and the 7th are thought to be comparatively modern additions; the latter gives the history of Rāma and Sītā after their re-union and installation as king and queen of Ayodhyā, afterwards dramatized by Bhava-bhūti in the Uttara-rāma-caritra; Rāma's character, as described in the Rāmāyaṇa, is that of a perfect man, who bears suffering and self-denial with superhuman patience; the author, Vālmīki, was probably a Brāhman connected with the royal family of Ayodhyā; and although there are three recensions of the poem, all of them go back to a lost original recension, the ground work of which, contained in books 2-6, in spite of many amplifications and interpolations, may be traced back to one man, and does not like the Mahābhārata, represent the production of different epochs and minds), MBh.; Hariv. &c. ( cf. Indian Wisdom, by Sir M. Monier-Williams (Title) 335 ). [ ID=177657 ]
- An epic Hindu poem celebrating Ramchandra.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 629-b ] रामा _ यण ( णं ) (rāmā_yaṇa(ṇaṃ)) 1. n. An epic poem of the Hindus celebrating Rāmchandra. [ ID=31848 ]
- The name of a renowned epic poem  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 0768-b ] रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) rāmāyaṇa, i. e. rāma-ayana (or rather + āyana ), n. The name of a renowned epic poem, Utt. Rāmac. 110, 9. [ ID=12081 ]
- the epic poem by Valmiki  
  *Index to the Names in the Mahabharata*
  > रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 592-1 ] Rāmāyaṇa, the well-known work of Vālmīki. § 424 (Bhīmakadalīkhaṇḍapr.): III, 147, 11177 ( °e ativikhyātaḥ śrīmān vānarapuṅgavaḥ, sc. Hanūmat).—§ 795 c (Mahā- bhārata): XVIII, 6, 300 ( °e…Hariḥ sarvatra gīyate ). Cf: Rāmacarita. [ ID=8983 ]

### Epic & General Rāma Narratives (2 definitions)
- 1. The first epic poem of the Hindus, recording the adventures of Rama and written by Valmiki. 2. A name for several poems about the life and adventures of Rama.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राम (rāma) ायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 704 ] राम (rāma) ायण (rāmāyaṇa) n. ( - णं (-ṇaṃ) ) 1 The first epic poem of the Hindus, recording the adventures of RĀMA the son of DAŚARATHA, sovereign of Oude; written by the poet VĀLMIKI. 2 A name of several poems on the life and adventures of RĀMA. E. राम (rāma) the prince so named, and अयन (ayana) abode. [ ID=32278 ]
- 1. The first epic poem of the Hindus by Valmiki, recording the adventures of Rama. 2. A name for several poems on the life of Rama.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > राम (rāma) ायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 604-a ] राम (rāma) ायण (rāmāyaṇa) n. ( - णं (-ṇaṃ) ) 1. The first epic poem of the Hindus, written by the poet VĀLMIKI, recording the adventures of RĀMA, the son of DAŚA RATHA, sovereign of Oudh. 2. A name of several poems on the life and adventures of RĀMA. E. राम (rāma) the prince, and अयन (ayana) abode. [ ID=33615 ]

### Adjective: Relating to Rāma (1 definition)
- relating to Rama  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 878,3] रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) b mf( ई (ī) )n. relating to Rāma (Dāśarathi), ŚārṅgP. [ ID=177655 ]

### Cross-Reference to Rāmāyaṇa (1 definition)
- See Ramayana  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H3) [Printed book page 878,2] रामा (rāmā) यण (yaṇa) a See रामा (rāmā) यण (yaṇa) (rāmāyaṇa), col. 3. [ ID=177590 ]

### Epic Poem and Adjectival Senses (1 definition)
- 1. Relating to Rama. 2. Name of an epic poem.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) [Printed book page 449 ] रामायण (rāmāyaṇa) f. ई (ī) relating to Rāma; n. N. of an epic poem. [ ID=26948 ]

### Noun: Female Descendant of Rāma (1 definition)
- the female descendant of the Black One  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 878,3] राम (rāma) ायणी (rāmāyaṇī) ( ई (ī) ), f. the female descendant of the Black One ( राम (rāma) ), Atharva-veda (Title) vi, 83, 3 [ ID=177656 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Index to the Names in the Mahabharata; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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