Journals
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ICOHIS: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HINDU STUDIES
Like a river, Ramayana has spread to various parts of the world since thousands of years ago. This long journey has been able to elevate many civilizations in the various regions it passed. Ramayana has been the main inspiration in the history of world civilizations. Various works of art including dances, dramas, paintings, sculptures, literature, and reliefs use the Ramayana as both the main source of inspiration or as a background. Even the construction of temples in the past, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Prambanan Temple in Central Java, as well as dozens of other temples display sculptures originating from the Ramayana story. Even today, Ramayana is still an important icon in various traditional dances in numerous countries, especially in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, beyond the context of works of art, literature, and architecture, Ramayana also brings direct impacts on people's mindsets. Ramayana's values of life and living have also permeated our consciousness. Billions of people go through their lives based on the divine values of Ramayana. Divine values such as compassion, mutual help, heroism, and the like are characters that are formed due to the influence of these divine values. It can be said that the high level of civility that exists today goes hand in hand with a lifestyle inspired by the values of the Ramayana. Naturally, we sincerely hope that these divine values of this heritage to continuously become the foundation of life for the world community in the future. To do so, understanding Ramayana’s spread and its contribution to world civilization is a very important step toward the preservation of this foundation. We owe future generations the knowledge of Ramayana both in the original context and its contemporary existence across boundaries and its contribution to a prosperous and harmonious life.
