{"id":3649,"date":"2020-11-12T09:38:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T14:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/?p=3649"},"modified":"2020-11-12T09:38:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T14:38:33","slug":"object-of-the-week-page-from-the-history-of-rama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/2020\/11\/object-of-the-week-page-from-the-history-of-rama\/","title":{"rendered":"Object of the Week: Page from “The History of Rama”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Page from \u201cThe History of Rama\u201d
\n19th<\/sup> century Javanese Manuscript
\nInk on Dutch paper
\nHerbert Kraft Manuscript Collection, MSS 0029<\/p>\n


\nON THIS AUSPICIOUS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, MAY THE GLOW OF JOY, PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS ILLUMINATE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR HOME.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This hand-written page comes from the Ramayana, one of the most notable ancient epics in world literature.\u00a0 This particular text has been translated from Kawi, an ancient script of the Indonesian island of Java. Kawi borrows considerably from Sanskrit, the classical language of South Asia.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
Diwali celebrations Image: Khokarahman, CC BY-SA 4.0 https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0 via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ramayana, from Hindi mythology, recounts how Lord Rama, following 14 years in exile, returned to find his wife Sita had been kidnapped by Ravana, the demon ruler of Lanka.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 Sita\u2019s kidnapping resulted in a war in which Rama was ultimately victorious over King Ravana and his forces. Rama and Sita then began their long journey home, their way lit by oil lamps set out by people to guide them on their way and welcome them back.[3]<\/a> Rama was crowned king upon his return and large festivities were held to memorialize his triumph.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
Image of rangoli: Dinesh Korgaokar – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=36581728<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The story of Rama is the basis for Diwali celebrations, a festival observed by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world. It is often called the festival of lights, reflected in the bold displays of color and light symbolizing Rama\u2019s victory of light over darkness and good\u2019s triumph over evil.[4]<\/a> Diwali is commemorated worldwide with fireworks, light displays, dancing and food. In addition to the larger festivities, people decorate their homes with lights and rangolis<\/em> \u2013 an art form that consists of precise and elaborate geometric patterns that are made from a variety of materials including rice, colored sand and flowers.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 The holiday is often associated with Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity, as this festival is also a time to bring prosperity into one\u2019s life. Prayer, worship and rituals (puja<\/em>) to Lakshmi are an important part of the celebrations and this deity is worshipped especially during this time.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>
Image: Lakshmi on her lotus in the water with elephant. Chromolithograph by R. Varma.
Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only license CC BY 4.0
http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the United States observe Diwali, including many in New Jersey specifically. Though the Hindu population is considered a minority in America at less than 1% of the country\u2019s total population, New Jersey has the largest concentration of Hindu people in the nation, making up 3% of the total state population.\u00a0 New Jersey is also home to the world\u2019s largest Hindu Temple, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple located in Robbinsville. The temple is astonishingly large at 133 feet in length, 87 feet in width, and 42 feet in height – covering 162 acres.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century, with immigration beginning in earnest in the late 1960s and continuing to the present day.\u00a0 Siddhachalam, a mission located in Blairstown, New Jersey is the first pilgrimage site for Jains outside of India to gather in one place for worship, study and reflection.\u00a0 The mission is a religious public charity in special consultative status with the United Nations.[8]<\/a> In the 1980s, Sikh immigrants from India began arriving in America, with many settling in New Jersey. New Jersey and New York have among the largest populations of Sikhs in the country. Gurbir Grewal, New Jersey\u2019s attorney general, and Ravi Bhalla, the mayor of Hoboken, are some of the most well-known Sikhs in New Jersey politics.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>
Detail of hand painted imagery from\u201cThe History of Rama\u201d 19th century Javanese Manuscript Ink on Dutch paper Herbert Kraft Manuscript Collection, MSS 0029<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The Walsh Gallery has a considerable collection of fine art, artifacts and archeological specimens for use by faculty, students and researchers.\u00a0For access to this or other objects in our collections, contact us at 973-275-2033 or <\/em>walshgallery@shu.edu<\/a> to make a research appointment.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sanskrit<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Ravana<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.activityvillage.co.uk\/the-story-of-diwali#:~:text=Rama%20is%20the%20hero%20of,kidnapped%20Sita%20from%20her%20captor.&text=And%20here%20is%20the%20beautiful,rescued%20by%20Rama%20and%20Hanuman.&text=In%20the%20story%20of%20Diwali,Rama%20and%20Sita’s%20return%20home<\/a>, accessed 11\/20\/2020.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2019\/10\/27\/diwali-say-someone-celebrating-festival-10990832\/?ito=cbshare<\/a>, accessed 11\/6\/2020.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rangoli<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/art-and-culture\/diwali-2018-history-and-significance-of-deepawali-festival\/story-S6lqJCmVDJwjgXEmZTW1TO.html<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> https:\/\/www.worldatlas.com\/articles\/us-states-by-population-of-hindus.html#:~:text=Hinduism%20in%20New%20Jersey,Mandir%20Temple%20located%20in%20Robbinsville<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> https:\/\/www.siddhachalam.org\/about\/<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/08\/14\/nyregion\/sikh-bigotry-power-nj.html<\/a>, accessed 11\/10\/2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Page from \u201cThe History of Rama\u201d 19th century Javanese Manuscript Ink on Dutch paper Herbert Kraft Manuscript Collection, MSS 0029 ON THIS AUSPICIOUS FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, MAY THE GLOW OF JOY, PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS ILLUMINATE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR HOME. This hand-written page comes from the Ramayana, one of the most notable ancient epics in … Continue reading “Object of the Week: Page from “The History of Rama””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3623,"featured_media":3650,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[219,223,225,224,226,228,222,221,220,229,227],"class_list":["post-3649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallery","tag-diwali","tag-festival","tag-hinduism","tag-holiday","tag-jainism","tag-lakshmi","tag-light","tag-manuscript","tag-rama","tag-ramayana","tag-sikhism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3623"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3649"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3660,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3649\/revisions\/3660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}