Crime Lead to War in Ramayana and Hikayat Seri Rama

Abstract

The Ramayana is an important part of Indian Literature that narrates an epic struggle against the evils of Ravana, and justification of just war. The original text of the Ramayana was written by Valmiki in the 10th century in the writings of Sanskrit that date back to the second century. This work is basically about the battle between Rama with Ravana that culminates in the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana. For this study, an abridged version of Valmiki Ramayana, entitled Sita: An Illustrated Retelling of the Ramayana by Devdutt Pattanaik. This work was published in 2013 by Penguin Publishers located in India. This paper collects various versions of Ramayana published by Devdutt Pattanaik to understand the epic more easily. Meanwhile in alam Melayu, Hikayat Seri Rama oral version recorded by W. E. Maxwell and narrated by Mir Hassan, well known and established Malay storyteller (penglipur lara) in 1885. This hikayat publish in a JSBRAS at 1910. Though Hikayat Seri Rama received influence from Ramayana epic, the storyteller in this hikayat has been modified and has given local colour to showcase the elements of war and strategies. This work will be examined through the concept of just war. The application of sciences like wars, magical, politics, and others who practised in India and Tanah Melayu traditional societies will be given attention and analyzed in this paper. In the end, this study will conclude for all related crime cause the war used by both sides, in accordance with the characteristics of a just war.