Ramanuyatram (Rallying Behind Rama) is a khanda-kavya of 131 verses that transforms the historic 1990 Rama Ratha Yatra into a classical Sanskrit poetic journey. Drawing inspiration from Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa and Meghaduta, it traverses India's landscapes-its mountains, rivers, cities, and people through the eyes of a moving chariot. Blending historical realism with poetic imagination, and composed predominantly in the Vasantatilaka meter, the work reaffirms Sanskrit's vitality as a living medium capable of illuminating contemporary history with classical grace uniting nationalistic spirit, devotional fervour, scholarship, and emotional depth.
Dr. Shankar Rajaraman is a medical doctor with a post-graduate degree in Psychiatry, a researcher in Indian Knowledge Systems by profession, and a Sanskrit poet and translator by passion. He received the Badarayan Vyas Samman from the President of India for his contribution to Sanskrit language and literature. His Citranaisadham, which recounts the story of Nala and Damayanti in the challenging Gomutrika pattern, is a first-of-its-kind work in the history of citrakavya (constrained poetry). His Gudhapadaramayana (unpublished) likewise pioneers a summary of the Ramayana in around 180 verses using a constrained versification technique called Gudhapada. Among his other Sanskrit works are Devidanaviyam, Bharavatarastava, and Nipunnpraghunaka, while his ongoing mahakavya, Mathurabhyudayam, is nearing completion.
Shankar's PhD from National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, explores the intersection of the psychology of self-conscious emotions and Sanskrit aesthetics. He has translated into English various Sanskrit classics such as Uddanda's Kokilasandesa, Gangadevi's Madhuravijaya, and Mankha's Srikanthacarita; the Vacanas of Basavesvara and Kanakadasa's Nalacaritre from Kannada into Sanskrit; and portions of Somesvara's Manasollasa into both Kannada and English. He has rendered two Ayurvedic treatises on dietetics, Ksemakutuhala and Bhojanakutuhala, into English. He currently serves as Director and Associate Professor at the Centre for Ancient History and Culture, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Bangalore.
The poem's primary narrative thread follows the 1990 Rama Ratha Yatra led by L. K. Advani, a journey that traversed thousands of kilometers across India and became a watershed moment in the movement to rebuild the Rama temple at Ayodhya. However, the work situates this event within a broader historical continuum-beginning with Babur's destruction of the original temple in the sixteenth century and culminating in the construction of the new temple under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, which was nearing completion as this poem took shape.
In conceiving this work, I drew inspiration from Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa and Meghaduta. In the fourth canto of Raghuvamsa, Kalidasa masterfully describes India's scenic beauty while narrating king Raghu's digvijaya (conquest of the quarters). Similarly, in Meghaduta the journey of the cloud-messenger becomes a vehicle for painting the diverse landscapes of the subcontinent. I sought a contemporary narrative framework that would allow me to traverse India's geography in a similar manner - describing its rivers, mountains, cities, and countryside - while remaining anchored in documented historical events.
The ratha yatra of 1990 provided exactly such a framework. As the chariot journeyed from Somnath in Gujarat through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and finally through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh toward Ayodhya, it traced a path across India's diverse topography. This allowed me to describe the Arabian Sea's shores, the Narmada's sacred waters, the Aravali ranges, the Thar desert, and the Ganga plains, while simultaneously capturing the fervour of crowds, the hostility of political opponents, and the determination of devotees.
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