रामायण और श्रीरामचरितमानस में अंतर [10 Differences Between Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas]

by United Family !! 00:42 0 comments aadi kavya differences of Ram katha ramayan ramcharit manas tulsidas ramcharit manas valmiki ramayan

रामायण का संधि-विच्छेद है: राम+आयनम् = राम की कथा

रामचरितमानस के लिए: राम+चरित+मानस = राम के चरित्र का सरोवर (विशेष चित्रण)

Some of us use the words Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas interchangeably, little realising that they are rather two different magnum opuses by different authors in different eras. Both the books are about (Lord) Rama and his consort Sita and their lives. Ramcharitmanas is a later retelling of Ramayana. So are other religious scriptures like Kamban(Tamil), Krittivasi Ramayan (Bengali) and Bhavarth Ramayan (Marathi). It will be good to understand the meaning of the titles of the two.

Meaning of Ramayana

Ram + Aayanam (Story): Ram’s Story
(There’s no exaggeration or eulogy in the title)

Meaning of Ramcharitmanas

Ram + Charit (deeds or character) + Manas (Lake):   The Lake of the Deeds of Ram
(The title itself hints at divinity/extraordinaire of Ram)

There are various differences wrapped in layers in the verses of both the books. But the ten elementary differences in structure, characters and narration are captured and put in the table below.

10 Differences Between Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas

Difference	Ramcharitmanas	Ramayana
1	Written by Goswami Tulsidas, born in 15th Century	Written by Sage Valmiki, a contemporary to Ram
2	Written in 15th Century	Written sometime in millennia BC (debated)
3	The language in Awadhi (a dialect of Hindi)	The language is vedic Sanskrit
4	Written in rhyming Chaupais (4 line quatrain metre) & Dohas	Written in Shlokas (Anustubh Meter)
5	Is a retelling on Ramayana	Is an Adi Kavya (original text)
6	Rama was depicted as God (incarnation of Vishnu)	Rama was depicted as a Human of greatest virtues (Purushottam)
7	Hanuman was depicted a Vanara (monkey)	Hanuman was a human ( from a tribe called ‘Vanara’)
8	Ram’s father Dashrath had only 3 wives	Dashrath had over 350 wives
9	The penultimate chapter is called Lanka Kand	The penultimate chapter is called Yudha Kand
10	Ends with the birth of Lava and Kusha, Sita’s twin progenies.	Ends with Sita willingly entering netherworld, and Rama leaving his mortal incarnation. When Lava & Kusha are aged 12.

If you have something to add, please share in the comments. (Courtesy- HinduLegends.com)