Chapter Seven: Literature of the Rasika Tradition

2. Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa is another principal source text for Rasika worshippers of Rama. It was probably composed in the fifteenth century. It contains several passages from the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa and consists of 12,259 verses in nine kāṇḍas.

The first, the Sāra-kāṇḍa, contains thirteen cantos and relates events from Rama’s birth through Sita’s abduction. The second, the Yātrā-kāṇḍa, contains nine cantos and recounts Rama’s pilgrimages. The third, the Yāga-kāṇḍa, contains nine cantos and describes Rama’s aśvamedha sacrifice.

The fourth, the Vilāsa-kāṇḍa, contains nineteen cantos. It describes Sita from toenails to crown, her many forms of adornment and ornament, Sita and Rama’s water-play, their varied excursions and delights, and their daily routine, all at great length.¹ Cantos 7–19 of this kāṇḍa contain promises to many women that, because Rama observes a vow of monogamy, he will accept them as wives in his next avatāra. The wives of the gods, afflicted by desire, are likewise assured that they will become gopīs in the Krishna avatāra. In the eighth canto, Rama promises Gunavati and Pingala that they will respectively become Satyabhama and Kubja. In the ninth, Rama travels to Kurukshetra with Sita.

The fifth, the Janma-kāṇḍa, contains nine cantos. It relates Rama’s abandonment of Sita, followed by the birth of Lava and Kusha; the war of Kusha and Lava against Rama’s army; and the birth of two sons each to Urmila, Shrutakirti, and Mandavi.

The sixth, the Vivāha-kāṇḍa, contains nine cantos and tells of the marriages of the eight sons of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna.

The seventh, the Rājya-kāṇḍa, contains twenty-four cantos and describes Rama’s many campaigns of victory. Women who see Rama’s form are often overcome with desire, and Rama promises to satisfy their longing in his next, Krishna, avatāra. In approximately—