Rama: The Indian hero

Hindus in Guyana, along with over a billion others across the world, last Thursday celebrated Ram Naumi – the birthday of Sri Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the manifested universes. He is particularly popular in the Indian diaspora descended from indentured labourers (Girmitiyas) shipped out during the nineteenth century to British, Dutch and French colonies in the Caribbean, South Africa, Mauritius, Fiji, etc. While he, along with Lord Shiva, is a pan-Indian deity, his life resonates at several other levels with Girmitiyas, especially his banishment from his homeland and his wanderings in the jungles.
The story of his exploits was captured in the first century BC in the Sanskrit text, Ramayana, which in the ensuing millennia was retold – and indeed reinterpreted – in a number of regional languages. For us in Guyana, where the vast majority of indentureds originated in North India’s Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the Ramcharitmanas (the exploits of Rama) written by Tulsidas in the common tongue of Avadhi in the 16th century was the most accessible Hindu text for those who settled on and off the plantations.
In his life, Ram exemplified the ideal man – the “Maryada Purushottam” – providing a model for the Hindu immigrants to emulate as they attempted to structure their lives to transcend the Procrustean strictures of the indentureship contract in the “total institution” that was the plantation. From this perspective, Ram was not only the personification of God who could be worshipped but also a human hero whose life they could try to emulate. Interestingly then, Vishnu’s eighth incarnation, Sri Krishna, is most commonly worshipped during the “pujas” of ordinary Hindus rather than Sri Ram.
Because of our immersion in the West for almost two hundred years, and in its hegemonising educational and other institutions of socialisation, nowadays it is not appreciated enough that there are fundamental differences in the notion of a “hero” as conceptualised by the Western canon and that of Indian civilisation. Untangling these differences in perspective should offer some insight into the habitus of the Hindu Girmitiyas that intersubjectively lingers to a lesser or greater degree in their descendants.
The Indian hero is a dharma-centred hero – aligned with the cosmic and moral order of the universe. His personal desires are secondary to duty and may suffer, sacrifice, or even appear passive but remain righteous. For example, Sri Ram unprotestingly accepts his exile even though it’s unfair because he prioritises honouring his father’s word over his own rights as heir apparent. His greatness, then, comes from obedience, restraint, and moral perfection, not rebellion.
On the other hand, the western hero, like, say, Homer’s Achilles, is an individual-centred hero often defined by personal courage, achievement, and agency who challenges authority or breaks rules if they seem unjust. His success is tied to action, victory, and transformation of the world where he fights injustice directly and questions or overturns systems to earn admiration for assertiveness and independence.
The Indian hero sees conflict as part of a cosmic moral order and will act only when dharma requires it, not out of ego or ambition. His use of violence is controlled, justified, and reluctant. We see this when Ram fights his nemesis Ravana, who abducted his wife; only after all moral avenues fail and even in battle, he follows rules of righteous warfare. The western hero, like Achilles, on the other hand, is often defined through conflict which simply provides an opportunity for self-expression or glory. As such, violence can be more individualistic and emotionally driven.
In Sri Ram’s life, the Hindu sees there is an emphasis on self-mastery, discipline, and inner purity by the hero, who must conquer the self before the world. Sri Ram is calm, composed and rarely driven by anger, whereas the Western hero, like Achilles, has internal struggles, flaws like anger, and emotional turmoil so that his growth comes from overcoming personal weaknesses. The overcoming of their personal imperfection emphasises “authenticity” and individuality, whereas the Indian hero, like Sri Ram, is more about moral perfection, writ large.
The internal struggle of the Indian hero is therefore one of personal desire vs the moral law of dharma, and he will sacrifice love, power, and happiness for dharma. Rama’s toughest moment comes in the modern, much-criticised episode, when he tragically sends Sita away to uphold public morality. Unlike him, Achilles is defined by anger, and moral restraint is overridden by emotion and vengeance.
Will Hindus stand for Dharma rather than individuality in Guyana today?