The Significance of the Rama Avatar in Hindu Religious Thought

Hinduism is the third biggest religion in the world with approximately a billion adherents after Christianity and Islam. Being also one of the oldest metaphysical disciplines, Hindusim has continued its existence until today mainly because its sacred texts have been preserved for centuries. The doctrines in the scriptures, the legendary figures who are presented as their embodiment, and their life stories have been considerably influential on the Hindus’ religious and intellectual lives. Foremost among those figures is Rama, who, as an incarnation/avatar of god Vishnu, represents the ideal Hindu with his exemplary life. This significant role of Rama is presented in detail in Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epics. This article offers an account of exemplary characteristics of Rama avatāra as described in Ramayana and discusses the value of Rama for the Hindu religion. This study uses the Ramayana text ascribed to Valmiki and its critical edition made by U. P. Shah and G. H. Bhatt in 1960-1975, which is regarded as the most esteemed version of epic in scholarly circles.