Dharmaratha

The Dharmaratha is the “chariot of dharma”, a teaching that Śrī Rāma gave to Vibhīṣaṇa in the Laṅkā Kāṇḍa of Tulasīdāsa’s Rāmacaritamānas. In the great war, Rāvaṇa rode against Rāma on a splendid war-chariot, fully armed. Rāma stood on the ground with no armour and no footwear. Vibhīṣaṇa was worried by this. In reply, Rāma described the true chariot of victory, one made entirely of virtues and inner qualities.

Each part of this chariot stands for a quality of character. Rāma declared that the one who rides this Dharmaratha truly cannot be defeated: no warrior in all the three worlds can overcome such a person.

The Setting of the Teaching

During the great final battles of the war between Rāma and Rāvaṇa, Rāvaṇa charged towards Rāma on a magnificent royal war-chariot. It carried every sign of royal power, and he was armoured and armed with every weapon. Rāma, by contrast, stood on the bare earth in the bark clothing of his forest exile, carrying only his bow and quiver, with no chariot, no armour and no sandals.

Vibhīṣaṇa, truly troubled, came to Rāma and spoke honestly of his fear: “O Prabhu Rāma! No chariot, no armour, not even sandals: how will you face this great rākṣasa warrior?”

Rāma smiled gently (mandahasituḍai, “with a soft smile”) and replied with one of the most famous teachings of the Rāmacaritamānas.

The Parts of the Dharmaratha

Rāma said that to win true victory, one must mount the Dharmaratha, the chariot of dharma. An ordinary chariot brings no lasting result. He then described each part:

Rāma’s Declaration

The source gives Rāma’s words in Telugu:

Sakhā Vibhīṣaṇā! Yē rathimunaku — śaurya dhairyālu cakrālu gānu, satya śīlālu dhvaja patākālu gānu, bala viveka hitopakārālu gurramulu gānu, dayā dākṣiṇyālu kāḷḷeṃlu gānu, śaṅkaruni bhakti sārathi gānu, jñāna vairāgya saṃyama santoṣālu astra śastrālu gānū amariyuṃḍunō aṭṭi dharmaratha mekkina rathuḍu ajēyuḍugā nuṃḍunu. Vāni nadiriṃcu yōdhuḍī mujjagamula nuṃḍa bōḍu nani nammuṃu.

“Friend Vibhīṣaṇa! The rider who mounts this chariot, with valour and steadiness as its wheels, truth and good character as its flag and banner, strength, discernment and doing good to others as its horses, compassion and generosity as its reins, devotion to Śiva as its charioteer, and wisdom, detachment, self-discipline and contentment as its weapons, will be unconquerable. No warrior who can stand against such a one exists in all the three worlds. Believe this.”

What the Chariot Means

Each part of the Dharmaratha has an exact meaning:

• The wheels carry the chariot forward over every kind of ground, just as valour and steadiness carry a person through hardship.
• The horses give energy and direction. Strength gives the energy, discernment gives the direction, and doing good to others gives the purpose.
• The reins guide the horses. Compassion and generosity steer strength and discernment into right action instead of destructive force.
• The charioteer is the most important part. Even the finest chariot is useless without a skilled sārathi (charioteer). Here devotion to Śiva is the guiding wisdom for the whole spiritual and moral journey.
• The weapons are inner weapons. They destroy not outer enemies but the enemies within: desire, delusion and pride.

When Vibhīṣaṇa heard this, he understood that Rāma was not simply answering a military question. Rāma was using the setting of battle to give a complete teaching on the inner equipment needed for victory in every undertaking, and in the end for liberation. The Dharmaratha is as much a teaching on how to live as a description of how Rāma stood in battle.

Sources

• Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa (Rāmacaritamānas), Laṅkā Kāṇḍa, the Dharmaratha teaching