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The great Indian epic, Rāmayāna, represents the contradiction between the Aryan civilization and the non-Aryan civilization through the struggle between Rama and Ravana. The Rakşasas led by Ravana are the representatives of the indigenous Indians conquered by the Aryans. The epic, Raaayaana, written by the conquering Aryans, sets the conquered up as the designated opponent and demonizes image of Rakshasa king Ravana. In the main part of the epic created by Valmiki, Ravana was treated with certain respect as a defeated hero. But in the First and Seventh Chapters that were supplemented subsequently, Ravana is presented as the evil King. The demonization of Ravana's image is not only the result of portraying an op- ponent, but also the need of ethical expression. As a representative of good, Rama needs Rav- ana, a representative of evil, for a contrast, which not only sets up a role model, but also issues a warning, thus establishing what the epic intends to advocate, namely, the ethical system with "Dharma" as its core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epic poem Ramayana from India, has spread throughout among many regions of Southeast Asia, having been adopted as the main theme in various performing art forms such as theater, dance drama, and mask dance even up to the present day. In Java, the Ramayana has been performed in wayang kulit (puppet theatre), wayang golek(rod puppet theatre), wayang orang(dance drama), and sendratari (dance drama for the tourists). Two lineages can be found in Indonesia's Ramayana: one based on the classical Sanskrit version as written by Valmiki, and another derived from the Serat Kandha scripts created after the 16th century. These two lineages, actually coexist and occasionally meld in the folklore. Generally, sendratari tend to be faithful to the Valmiki version of the Ramayana, whereas we can see episodes distinctive to Java in the wayang kulit and the wayang golek repertories. In this article, I consider about the Ramayana folklore in sendratari, citing the characteristic structure and plot in the performance. I pointed out the characteristic elements as follows; (1)The Ramayana in sendaratari follows the linear plot of the classical version of the Ramayana. In contrast, the traditional theater such as wayang, emphasizes the stylistic structure rather than the plot of the story. (2) In sendratari, Javanese music and dance are integral parts in the performance of Ramayana, whereas the complicated expression by Javanese language and the traditional system of thought such as Javanese mysticism are excluded from the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two Indian Epics -- Mahabharata and Ramayana, were both completed in an extended period of time. This paper compares the social background and different values of the spousal relationship in the two Epics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]