Holy Ramayana month

Ramayana Masam in Kerala is observed in the Malayalam month of Karkkidakam (July – August).  In this month, the Epic Ramayana is read in traditional Hindu houses and in temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

The Karkidakam month is the last month in the Malayalam calendar and is referred as ‘panja masam’ or the month of scarcity. The monsoon is at its peak in this month; and during olden days majority of the people who depended on agriculture will be confined at home due to heavy rain.

To ward off nature’s fury people used to read the Ramayana Throughout this month

After lighting the evening lamp, people sit before nilavilakku (traditional Kerala lamp) and recite the malayalam version of  Ramayan, Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu written by Thunchath Ezhuthachan. Reciting begins on the first day of the month and read in such a way that the story  is completed by last day of the month ..In 2013, the Ramayana Masam begins on July 17 and ends on August 16.

 

The story of Lord Rama is both a spellbinding adventure and a work of profound philosophy. It is a beautiful and uplifting tale of romance and high adventure, Depicting  the saga of Rama, a great king of ancient India. Rama, the prince of Ayodhya and his beautiful wife Sita was send in exile as a result of his step-mother, Dasharatha’s second wife, Kaikeyi's evil plot, so that her own son Bharata, to become king.

Rama, along with, Sita, and faithful brother Lakshmana, is exiled to the forest for fourteen years, where Sita is kidnapped by the powerful demon Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka. Along with his brother Lakshmana and a fantastic army of Super natural monkeys Rama set out to find his beloved Sita. They attack Ravana’s army, and after a fierce battle, succeed in killing the demon king and freeing Sita, reuniting her with Rama.

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