Rāma Bans Laughter

This episode comes from Chapter 13 of the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. It holds three linked parts. First, Bhagavān Rāma forbids laughter in his court. Second, Brahmā is found in a pippala tree. Third, Vālmīki tells how the Rāmāyaṇa came to be, and how the Purāṇas came from it.

Rāma’s ban on laughter

In the middle of the plenty and joy of Rāmarājya, Bhagavān Rāma gave an unusual order. No one in his court was to laugh without his own leave. He gave no reason. The court was puzzled by the order, and people wondered what it meant.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13)

Brahmā in the pippala tree

Brahmā, the Creator, was found to be present in a great pippala tree, also called the aśvattha (sacred fig), in or near the court. He was hidden in the tree and watched Rāmarājya. At the chosen moment he came out and spoke.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13)

Vālmīki’s account of the Rāmāyaṇa

Chapter 13 holds a passage in which Vālmīki tells the history of the Rāmāyaṇa itself and how it was handed down. It says the following.

The original śatakoti text. The Rāmāyaṇa as Vālmīki first composed it, by the grace of Brahmā, had one hundred crore (one billion) ślokas. This is the complete form of the account of Bhagavān Rāma, with everything that happened in all its aspects.

Vyāsa’s division. The ṛshi Vyāsa understood the Rāmāyaṇa of a hundred crore ślokas. From it he drew out the eighteen Purāṇas and the eighteen Upapurāṇas, and also the six Śāstras and other texts. All these scriptures are, in their essence, parts and expansions of the one original account of Bhagavān Rāma.

The 24,000-śloka version. The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa as it is known today has 24,000 ślokas in seven Kāṇḍas. It is a shorter form made for recitation in the human world. Lava and Kuśa learned this version and recited it before Rāma.

The words “Śrī Rāma”. Lava asked why books begin with “Śrī” and “Rāma” written separately. The answer is that all texts come from the Śrī-Rāma narrative. Chapter 21 gives more on this.

(Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13)

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13 (and Chapter 21 for Lava’s question)