Published by The great figures of Hindu thought and belief reflect a variety of different identities and meanings. Some may have been historical characters who subsequently became deified as a result of their significant acts on earth – a similar process occurred in Chinese culture. The historical characters became identified with manifestations of the greater deities and with the embodiment of specific characteristics or achievements. Hence, the hero Rama, is one of three Rama heroes – Parasurama, Ramacandra and Balarama – as well as being the seventh incarnation or avatar of Vishnu. According to his actions in the epic poems Mahabharata and Ramayana, Rama also became associated with his bravery and valour in war and then the dubious attitude he expressed towards his wife after she had been abducted by the King of the Demons and quite blamelessly retained her honour despite many incentives not to do so. However, Rama is most commonly considered to be an embodiment of right thinking and rationality, which contrasts with his fellow hero Krishna, who takes the role of trickster and entertainer. Rama is more serious and, for example, is most likely to be invoked when death arrives.
In common with Krishna, Rama-worship developed as a result of the Bhakti-personality cults that raised individual semi-deities (of whom they were many) to manifestations of the ultimate god or gods. Rama ultimately became considered as a representation of Ramananda, who is the ultimate god. This Bhakti cult was founded by the ascetic monk of the same name (c.1400-70 CE) who ignored caste limitations (scandalizing many of the religious) and established a band of mixed supporters who have kept active the belief in Rama as the God ever since. The cult or sect is very active in the north of India and maintains teaching in vulgate Hindi rather than Sanskrit, thereby reaching out to the common people and not just the religious Brahmin elite.
Rama worship also benefited from the telling and retelling of his acts in various epic poems, which were also expressed in the vulgate language and which represented very popular (and educational) forms of entertainment. Presumably some of the tellers favoured entertainment rather than education while others tended in the other direction. In any case, knowledge of the hero spread and generations of people dreamed of emulating the heroic acts. His most famous pose is with bow and arrow and, indeed, he was considered the greatest of archers. In temples and artistic representations, he is commonly accompanied by his wife Sita, his brother or cousin Laksmana and the monkey god Hanuman, who is another greatly-loved figure.
