The Ramamrita series of Ramayana Kalpavrksam 2025 is a thoughtfully curated segment of talks that explore various facets of the Rāmāyaṇa. The devotee, the curious, the academic, the rasika - all, shall have something to take from the these talks. We are honored to open Ramamrita with Sri Yashodeep Deodhar, the creator of “21Notes Valmiki Ramayana”, @21Notes_Ramayan series of short videos on the ancient epic. Known for his fresh, unbiased, and rational approach, Yashodeep ji shall talk on the relevance of Vālmīki’s Ādikāvya, imparting the timeless wisdom of the Rāmāyaṇa to the modern mind. Join us for his talk: Title: “Adi-Ananta - The Eternal Relevance of Valmiki’s Adikavya” Date: February 1, 2025 Time: AM – AM Venue: CCRT, Kondapur, Hyderabad Register now: ramayanakalpavrksam.com @anandasjayant

This is the 100th and the final episode of the 21Notes Valmiki Ramayan series.🙏🏼🙏🏼 How is Ramayan, the oldest epic, relevant in today’s world? How does it matter in our day-to-day lives? youtube.com/watch?v=PPi2IoIs…

Ravan is dead. The war has just ended. After any war, how do we typically imagine the winning army will treat the defeated side, especially the women? Contrast that with Ram’s exemplary behaviour. Valmiki Ramayan | S7 E18 | Ravan's Last Rites youtube.com/watch?v=g575jqfG…

It was the final battle between Ram and Ravan. The battle raged on and on. Ram wondered why the weapons that had worked so well earlier were unable to finish off Ravan. Ram realized that he had to try something different... youtube.com/watch?v=3YNIq9Kp…

Ramrajya is the ideal system of governance. But what does that mean exactly? In Ramrajya, what is the role of the King and the government officials? What kind of a lifestyle do the citizens enjoy? What are their duties? How are the government finances managed? How is justice delivered? Find out what Maharshi Valmiki has said about this topic. youtu.be/kvU7Qlrr2TQ?si=a_fN…

चिरस्य पूर्णः खलु मे मनोरथः Finally, my wish has been fulfilled. -- Bharat said to Hanuman upon learning that Ram will soon come back to Ayodhya. (Valmiki Ramayan, Yudhhakand Sarga 126, Shlok 55)

Sita’s Agnipareeksha?? Did Ram treat Sita unfairly?? What do you think? But remember, the most important and often-missed words in this incident are – स विज्ञाय मनश्छन्दम् रामस्याकारसूचितम् Ram made a gesture. Lakshman then understood Ram’s intent, and he prepared the pyre. What was Ram’s intent? Let us understand what really happened - ------------------------------------------- Maharshi Valmiki says – As Sita walked up to Ram, her face reflected confusion, affection and love. And then, Ram and Sita looked at each other. Months of pain and longing were finally over. Their faces lit up with joy! But then, to everyone’s astonishment, Ram said – By abducting you, Ravan had insulted me. I had to avenge it. I fought this war for the glory of the Ikshvaku dynasty. But now there is a doubt about your character. प्राप्तचारित्रसन्देहः And I cannot even bear to look at you. Surely Ravan would have been attracted to someone as beautiful as you! What sort of a man would take back a woman who has spent time in someone else’s house? You are free to go wherever and with whomever you wish to. You can think of Lakshman, Bharat, or Shatrughna. Or even Sugreev or Vibhishan. It means nothing to me. Ram’s words are shocking! Before this, countless times he had said - I cannot live for a moment without Sita. यां विना नोत्सहे मुहूर्तमपि जीवितुम् She is dearer to me than life itself. All Ram wanted was to get Sita back safely. If he could be with Sita, he would not wish for anything else in the world. Not even Ayodhya. स्पृहयेयं न अयोध्यायै Sita was also shocked to hear what Ram had just said. वाक्शरैस्तैः सशल्येव भृशमश्रूणि अवर्तयत् Pained by Ram’s words that struck her like arrows, Sita started crying inconsolably. And she said to him – What you just said is totally inappropriate. How come you are thinking like some ordinary man? I did not come here by choice. Ravan forcibly brought me. What is my fault? And my heart was always with you. After all our years together, if you still do not understand me, then I might as well be dead. यदि तेऽहं न विज्ञाता हता तेनास्मि शाश्वतम् In fact, when you sent Hanuman to meet me, you should have told me how you felt. I would have killed myself right then. You could have saved yourself from the trouble of fighting this war. Risking your life and risking your friends’ lives was unnecessary. And then, turning to Lakshman, Sita said – Lakshman, I don’t want to live with this baseless controversy regarding my character. I will now step into a blazing fire. Please prepare the fire. Lakshman was furious. He had no idea why Ram was doing all this. He looked at Ram angrily. And then, Valmiki says – स विज्ञाय मनश्छन्दम् रामस्याकारसूचितम् Ram made a gesture. Lakshman then understood Ram’s intent, and he prepared the pyre. Ram had indicated to him – I know what I am doing. Just go along. Sita walked up to the fire. There was a roar among the crowd. The women screamed. And the people said – O Ram, why are you behaving like an ordinary person? Why are you treating Sita like this? Please do not forget your greatness. Do not forget Sita’s greatness. Agni, the Lord of Fire, then appeared from the blaze together with Sita. He said – O Ram, Sita has done nothing wrong. Ravan took her away by force. He threatened her and offered inducements, but she never thought of him for a moment. Her heart and mind were always with you. न किञ्चिदभिधातव्या अहमाज्ञापयामि ते I command you – Never again say such hurtful things to her. Ram replied – अहमपि अवगच्छामि मैथिलीम् I know Sita very well. I know how much she loves me. She will never even think of anyone else. And I will never leave her. It is just not possible. न विहातुं मया शक्या We are inseparable. Just as the sun’s rays are inseparable from the sun itself. नेयमर्हति वैक्लव्यं रावणान्तःपुरे सती There is no question of her having a weak moment in Ravan’s palace. She is not at fault in any way. Ram had carefully created this situation. The people spoke up in response and acknowledged that Sita had done nothing wrong. They recognized her greatness. This was precisely the outcome Ram wanted. He wanted the people not to have the slightest question about their soon-to-be-queen. Valmiki’s narration is clear – Ram’s hurtful words to Sita were all an act. He did not blame her or doubt her. But he knew that people would. They would unfairly question, gossip, and cast aspersions on her character. Ram did not ask Sita to step into the fire. Never did he think that Sita needed to be purified by such an act as if something was wrong with her. Polluted. If anything was polluted, it was the people’s mindset. A mindset that questions and doubts the victim. And Ram wanted to make sure that the people saw the error in that. How ironic that we falsely accuse Ram of having a mindset that he was, in fact, speaking up against! Iti-ha-asa That is how it happened -------------------------------------------------- To know more about this incident, watch S7E19 of the 21Notes Valmiki Ramayan series – youtube.com/watch?v=QW25j9Kw… You can watch the complete 100-episode series here – youtube.com/@21Notes #Ramayan #ValmikiRamayan #Thatishowithappened #itihaas #Agnipareeksha #Agnipravesh #Ram #Sita #Hanuman

Ayodhya – The greatest and the grandest city on earth What was Ayodhya like during Ram’s time? Maharshi Valmiki tells us this. आयता दश च द्वे च योजनानि महापुरी श्रीमती त्रीणि विस्तीर्णा सुविभक्तमहापथा With well laid out large streets, the beautiful and prosperous city of Ayodhya was 12 yojanas long and 3 yojanas wide राजमार्गेण महता सुविभक्तेन शोभिता मुक्तपुष्पावकीर्णेन जलसिक्तेन नित्यश: A wide tree-lined royal boulevard ran through the center of the city, it was sprinkled with water daily कवाटतोरणवतीं सुविभक्तान्तरापणाम् The city had beautiful gates and areas marked for different markets. Or in other words, urban zoning सुनिवेशितवेश्मान्तां नरोत्तमसमावृताम् its palaces were perfectly constructed in rows and inhabited by the noblest of men. प्रासादै रत्नविकृतै: पर्वतैरिवशोभिताम् Its mansions were adorned with precious stones दुर्गगम्भीरपरिघां दुर्गामन्यैर्दुरासदाम् It was surrounded by a moat and impregnable सर्वयन्त्रायुधवतीमुपेतां It had all kinds of machines (or, a Smart city!) and weapons शतघ्नीशतसङ्कुलाम् protected by hundreds of cannons (shataghnis) दुन्दुभीभिर्मृदङ्गैश्च वीणाभि: पणवैस्तथा नादितां भृशमत्यर्थं पृथिव्यां तामनुत्तमाम् The city echoed with the sounds of trumpets, mrudangas, vinas and panavas. In other words, there was music in the air. No other city on earth was comparable to Ayodhya. In Ayodhya we are told by Valmiki that women in groups roamed around freely and that the city had many theatre groups that comprised entirely of women. The water was so clean and sweet that it was like drinking sugarcane juice इक्षुकाण्डरसोदकाम् Iti-ha-asa – That is how it happened! Watch the full episode of 21Notes Valmiki Ramayan on Ayodhya. youtube.com/watch?v=rAb_vYdm…

Agnipravesh - The Fire Ordeal Find out what really happened! Hear what Maharshi Valmiki has said about this event. Iti-ha-asa That is how it happened. youtu.be/QW25j9KwpBs?si=1LXc…

Season 7 is finally here! The Setu, the war, the Agnipravesh incident...find out what really happened. Enjoy the Audio Release starting tomorrow, 1-Nov-2023. Video production for Season 7 is going on but will take a few more months. 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Watch the Valmiki Ramayan | S6 E9 | Lanka Dahan – The Burning of Lanka Ravan wants to punish Hanuman. But in doing so, he makes a big mistake. youtube.com/watch?v=LLT5nXlJ…

Here is a link to the YouTube Premiere of Valmiki Ramayan S6E1 (Sundarakand). Please share with friends and family. Hanuman has to cross the great ocean to reach Lanka. How does he do that? youtu.be/vvhbTGB0I6Q

The first episode of S6 was a very challenging one to make. We have worked hard to get the visuals precisely how Valmiki has described it... Here is a Sneak Peek. Full episode coming soon. youtube.com/watch?v=klMo17K0…

Valmiki Ramayan S6 Sneak Peek (Full Episodes Coming Soon...)

Season 5 begins today. One episode every morning. Here is S5E1 - Valmiki describes the beauty of Vasant and Ram’s longing for Sita. He seems to be telling us – Let there be no doubt as to how dearly Ram loved Sita. youtu.be/bu4A19QFAvA

Releasing Valmiki Ramayan Season 4 on Diwali, November 4!

वाल्मीकि रामायण | S3 E12 | समारोप Ram, Lakshman and Sita move on from Chitrakoot. And for now, we must bid farewell to Ayodhya. #thatishowithappened #itihasa #Ramayan #ValmikiRamayan #21Notes youtu.be/IuxavJ7E2Q0