The sources of Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa

1. the Veda Vedic tradition 10 authority · 2 neutral 12 citations · 21 passages

   kanda 1 11 passages anchored here · kanda 2 · kanda 3 · kanda 4 · kanda 5 · kanda 6 2 passages anchored here · kanda 7 4 passages anchored here

   The preceptors' Vedic learning is cited as the qualifying authority for conducting Sagara's sacrifice.

   Having made that resolve, the king, together with his company of preceptors, learned in the Vedas in the matter of the sacrifice, began to prepare to perform the rite.

2. Vālmīki 3 authority · 1 extended 4 citations · 14 passages

   kanda 1 4 passages anchored here · kanda 7 10 passages anchored here

   The passage explicitly cites the Rāmāyaṇa itself as a source of religious merit equal to the Vedas, invoking it as scriptural authority.

   "Go, the two of you, composed and attentive, and sing the complete Rāmāyaṇa poem with the greatest delight.

3. Manu 2 authority 2 citations · 4 passages

   kanda 2 · kanda 7 3 passages anchored here

   Rāma explicitly traces the ownership of the land to a grant by the ancient lawgiver Manu, invoking his authority as the source of the kingdom's legitimacy.

   'The punishment that is inflicted upon erring men, when it is administered lawfully and duly, leads the king to heaven.

4. Nārada 2 authority 2 citations · 20 passages

   kanda 1 · kanda 7 19 passages anchored here

   Brahmā explicitly directs Vālmīki to base the content of the Rāmāyaṇa on what he heard from Nārada, treating Nārada's account as an authoritative source.

   Then adharma set down its second foot, and thereupon arose that age reckoned as the Dvāpara.

Each stands at a single passage. The chapter carries the anchors.

kanda 1 23 sources

Atharvaśiras · Dhanurveda · Dharmaśāstra convention of declaring lineage in full at marriage · Gautama's curse-pronouncement upon Ahalyā · Ikṣvāku dynastic genealogy (vaṃśānucarita) · Kalpasūtra · Legend of the two divine bows of Śiva and Viṣṇu · Sanatkumāra's account of the birth of sons to Daśaratha · Videha (Mithilā) royal genealogy · doctrine of the eternal decree (daiva) · identification of Kapila with Vāsudeva · ritual injunction and prescribed rule (vidhi-dṛṣṭa karma) · the Vedas (invoked via Oṃkāra and Vaṣaṭkāra) · the Vedic morning prayer (sandhyā recitation) · the doctrine of rājadharma, the eternal duty of kingship · the history (itihāsa) of Kauśika's (Viśvāmitra's) lineage · the legend of Viṣṇu slaying the wife of Bhṛgu · the legend of Śakra slaying Mantharā, daughter of Virocana · the precedent of Reṇukā's reunion with Bhārgava (Jamadagni) · the teaching on the fruits of a broken vow · the two hymns to Indra and Upendra · the word of Vasiṣṭha as family priest · the śāstras (ritual injunctions)

kanda 2 47 sources

Brāhmaṇas' prophecy concerning Sītā's forest-dwelling · Conduct and precedent of the former Ikṣvāku kings · Custom of former royal seers regarding forest-dwelling (vānaprastha) · Customary law of royal succession (primogeniture) · Eternal family dharma (kuladharma) of the Rāghavas · Gāthā of Gaya (verses on the etymology of putra and ancestral deliverance) · Hetu-śāstra / doctrine of the materialist logicians · Ikṣvāku custom of royal primogeniture · Jyotiḥśāstra (science of astrology) · Jābāli's nāstika doctrine (denial of rebirth and ritual efficacy) · Kṣatriya-dharma (duty of the warrior class) · Legend of Garuḍa's quest for the nectar of immortality · Legend of Indra's slaying of Vṛtra · Legend of King Alarka · Legend of King Śaibya and the hawk · Legend of Nahuṣa's consecration of Yayāti · Legend of Rāma Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma) and Reṇukā · Legend of Surabhī and her two sons · Legend of Suvarcalā and the sun · Legend of Sāvitrī (and the exemplar Rohiṇī) · Legend of Sāvitrī and Satyavat · Legend of the Sāgaras and King Sagara · Legend of the sage Kaśyapa's filial service · Legend of the sage Kaṇḍu · Oral genealogical tradition of the Ikṣvāku dynasty · Ritual injunction texts ('sacrifice, give, consecrate, perform austerities, renounce') · Rājadharma (the dharma/duty of kings) · Scripture on a wife's union with her husband in the afterlife · Scriptures of dharma (śāstras/Vedic tradition) · Teaching on the three teachers (guru, father, mother) · Teaching that truth is the highest dharma · The precedent of King Sagara's banishment of his son Asamañja · Traditional cosmogony and Ikṣvāku dynastic genealogy · Traditional teaching that sages and gods hold truth supreme · Veda (Vedic hymns) · Veda and Smṛti teachings on wifely dharma · Vedic ritual injunctions (Veda / Vedic rites) · Vedic sacrificial convention on non-reuse of oblation materials · Vājapeya sacrifice · doctrine of the husband as visible deity (pati-devatā) · eternal duty taught by scripture for the twice-born · legend of the virtuous ancestor-kings · teachings of the ancestral royal sages on forest life · the Veda(s) · Śāstras and the teachings of dharma · śāstras (treatises on polity and counsel) · śāstras (treatises on statecraft, revenue, and the practical arts)

kanda 3 24 sources

Account of Rāma's youthful defeat of Mārīca at Viśvāmitra's sacrifice · Customary law of interment for slain rākṣasas · Cāraṇa-Siddha oracular pronouncement of Rāvaṇa's doom · Dharmaśāstra (treatises on dharma, artha, and kāma) · Indra's prophecy of Kabandha's release · Legend of Viṣṇu binding Bali (Vāmana narrative) · Legend of Vātāpi and Agastya · Maxim that dharma is the source of wealth, happiness, and all attainment · Myth of Rudra's fury at Dakṣa's sacrifice · Sthūlaśiras's curse-pronouncement · Teaching on the king's share of ascetics' merit in exchange for protection (rājadharma doctrine) · Teaching on the three vices born of desire (false speech, adultery, unprovoked violence) · Teaching on wealth attributed to Śukra (arthaśāstra tradition) · Traditional report on the eternal youthful age of the gods · Vedic sacrificial purity doctrine (caṇḍāla exclusion from a consecrated altar) · Vedic tradition on the origin of the four varṇas · dharmaśāstra teaching on the fate of a host who fails to honor a guest · doctrine of the six expedients (ṣāḍguṇya) · prophecy of the great seers (Śabarī's teachers) concerning Rāma's arrival · proverbial saying on sons resembling their father · rājanīti / the traditional teaching on kingship and statecraft · the Grandfather's decree of long life · the doctrine of karma (the fruit of action) · the twice-born's teaching on rites for the dead and the soul's passage to heaven

kanda 4 27 sources

Bharata's royal command as sovereign of the Ikṣvākus · Daśaratha's command (vow of fourteen-year exile) · Doctrine of the four political means (upāyas: conciliation, gift, dissension, force) · Law of hospitality (atithi-dharma) · Legend of Viśvāmitra's ten years with Ghṛtācī · Legend of Viṣṇu slaying Hayagrīva and Pañcajana · Legend of Viṣṇu's Trivikrama · Legend of the Sun's boon to Mount Meru · Legend of Śatakratu (Indra) and Puloman/Śacī · Maxim on the self-preservation of the weak · Myth of Viṣṇu's three strides (Trivikrama) · Niśākara's prophecy of Rāma and Sītā · Purāṇic account of Indra's consecration by the Vasus · Purāṇic lore of the gods (three strides of Viṣṇu, churning of the nectar, battles of gods and asuras) · Rājasūya and Aśvamedha (Vedic sacrificial rites) · Statecraft maxim on protecting the root of an undertaking · Sāmaveda / seasonal Vedic study (svādhyāya) · Vedic recitation · Verse on the ingrate (kṛtaghna) sung by Brahmā · Vālin's account of Rāvaṇa's rākṣasa forces · a lost Vedic text (simile of recovery) · nīti / rājadharma (the science of polity and kingship) · rājyābhiṣeka consecration rite prescribed by the śāstras · the dharmaśāstra rule on five-clawed animals permitted as food · the doctrine that kings are gods in human form · the precedent of King Māndhātṛ · the traditional law permitting kings to hunt animals

kanda 5 22 sources

Brahmā's boon of invulnerability to missiles · Doctrine of the four expedients of policy (sāma, dāna, bheda, daṇḍa) · Kṣatriya code (rāja-dharma) · Law of dharma protecting a chaste wife from fire · Popular saying on reunion after long absence · Saṃpāti's report of Sītā's location · Teaching that compassion is the highest dharma (dayā paramo dharmaḥ) · The śāstras (treatises on statecraft and ethics) · Traditional law/custom concerning envoys (dūta-dharma) · Trijaṭā's dream-vision · Vedas (including the Yajurveda and knowledge of the Brahmā-weapon) · customary law of the rākṣasas · genealogy of the Prajāpatis (Pulastya's lineage) · proverbial saying on untimely death · teachings of the seers on renunciation · teachings of the wise on righteous conduct · the Veda (with its six ancillaries) · the dharmic maxim of reciprocating a favor ('the eternal law') · the legend of Puṣpaka's divine origin · tradition of bodily omens (śakuna) · treatises on kingship (rājanīti/daṇḍanīti concerning the treatment of envoys) · Śāstras (treatises on dream-omens)

kanda 6 40 sources

Ancient verse sung by a bear in the presence of a tiger (on the non-transference of sin) · Ascetic power (tapas) as a source of omniscient knowledge · Brahmā's boon establishing the condition of Indrajit's death · Brahmā's boon narrative · Brahmā's boon of invulnerability and the doctrine of the Brāhma weapon · Brahmā's curse upon Kumbhakarṇa · Brahmā's prophecy of danger from humans · Brāhma weapon (boon of Brahmā) · Indra's victory over the Dānavas · Legend of Aṣṭāvakra ferrying a righteous brahmin across affliction · Nīti Śāstra (the science of statecraft and royal policy) · Popular saying on joy after long separation · The War of the Gods and Asuras (devāsura saṃgrāma) · The battle of Vṛtra and Vāsava (Indra-Vṛtra myth) · The myth of Tryambaka and Andhaka · The śakti weapon given by Svayambhū · Vedic fire-oblation ritual · Vedic rite of weapon consecration · Vedic sacrificial rites (Pauṇḍarīka, Aśvamedha, Vājapeya) · Vibhīṣaṇa's counsel to Rāvaṇa · counsel of Uśanā to the lord of the Asuras · doctrine identifying Rāma as an incarnation of Viṣṇu · itihāsa of Indra's slaying of a sage and his subsequent horse-sacrifice · kṣatriya rule of warfare (sparing non-combatants) · legend of Purandara slaying Namuci · legend of Viṣṇu slaying Bali · legend of the amṛta churning and the herb-mountains · legend of the war between the gods and asuras · prophecy of Rāma's long life · prophecy of the gods concerning Rāvaṇa's doom · prophetic warning of Vibhīṣaṇa · proverbial verses said to be sung by elephants · science of bodily marks (physiognomy / sāmudrika lore) · science of statecraft (nīti śāstra) on peace and war · teaching that Pitāmaha created the two cosmic sides of Dharma and Adharma · the ancient account of the dove who sheltered its enemy · the fourfold expedients of policy (conciliation, gifts, sowing division, and force) · the verses of Kaṇḍu on protecting a suppliant · traditional teaching on the three kinds of men and of counsel (nīti/rāja-dharma doctrine) · śāstric/scriptural authority attesting Hanūmān's power

kanda 7 21 sources

Brahmā's boon of invulnerability to Rāvaṇa · Curse of Uśanas upon the Daṇḍaka forest · Durvāsas' prophecy concerning the Ikṣvāku lineage · Legend of Bali's subjugation by Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa (Vāmana narrative) · Legend of Viṣṇu slaying Namuci, Vṛtra, Bali, Naraka, and Śambara · Pitāmaha's decree on Rāma's allotted lifespan · Rudra's boon of the trident to Madhu · Vasiṣṭha's curse upon King Saudāsa (Mitrasaha) · Veda (Vedic mantras) · accounts of Mitra's and Soma's Rājasūya sacrifices · declaration identifying the arrow as Viṣṇu's weapon · itihāsa of King Ila · itihāsa of Vṛtra's slaying and Indra's purification · teaching on the necessity of dāna for heavenly sustenance · the account of the rākṣasas' descent from Pulastya · the code of the warrior (kṣatriya law of combat) · the curse pronounced by Viśravas upon Daśagrīva · the science of grammar (vyākaraṇa) · the vrata of Rudra (the eight-hundred-year austerity) · Āvartanī (recollective spell) · Śrauta sacrificial rites (Māheśvara sacrifice; Agniṣṭoma, Aśvamedha, Rājasūya, Gomedha, and Vaiṣṇava sacrifices)