Over the past three hundred years, beginning in the late eighteenth century with the onset of British colonial rule and the rise of Western Indology, a dramatic shift occurred in how these texts were defined in global discourse. Early European scholars, civil servants, and philologists—such as Sir William Jones, Max Müller, and Monier Monier-Williams—applied Western classical models to analyze Indian literature.
Under this framework, texts like the Ramayana and Mahabharata were categorized alongside European narrative traditions, primarily the Homeric poems of Ancient Greece (the Iliad and the Odyssey) and Virgil’s Aeneid. Consequently, the Sanskrit term Itihasa was routinely translated into English as "epic" or "heroic poetry." While the label of "epic" appropriately recognized the majestic literary scope, grand poetic meter, elevation of language, and noble heroic themes of the works, it subtly stripped them of their intrinsic historical claim within indigenous tradition. An epic, in Western literary taxonomy, is often understood as a literary masterpiece born of national legend, but not necessarily a record of factual history.
Simultaneously, the broader spiritual, supernatural, and cosmic dimensions of these texts—such as divine incarnations (avataras), celestial weapons (astras), talking vanaras, and multi-headed demons—led Western scholars to classify their contents under the rubric of "mythology." In contemporary English usage, the word "myth" or "mythology" carries a double meaning. In an academic sense, a myth refers to a sacred narrative explaining the origins of the world or humanity. In common parlance, however, "myth" has become synonymous with falsehood, fable, or pure fiction—something opposed to historical fact.
This modern reclassification produced a profound cognitive and cultural tension. By designating the Ramayana as "Hindu mythology," eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Orientalist scholarship placed it in the same conceptual category as Greek or Norse mythologies—traditions whose worship systems had largely vanished and whose stories were viewed as allegorical or primitive explanations of natural phenomena. This literary categorization often ignored the living, uninterrupted tradition of worship, pilgrimage, and textual recitation associated with the Ramayana across Asia.
Furthermore, post-Enlightenment European historiography established strict empirical standards for what qualified as "history," demanding verifiable archaeological footprints, epigraphic evidence, and linear chronological documentation. Because the traditional timelines of the Puranas operated on vast cosmic cycles (Yugas) that transcended European biblical or secular timelines, Western scholars dismissed the dynastic lists of the Puranas and the narratives of the Itihasas as unhistorical fabrications.
Implications for Literary and Cultural Context
The contrast between the traditional classification of Itihasa and the modern designation of "epic mythology" is not a mere debate over terminology; it determines how the text is read, interpreted, and valued.
When viewed strictly through the lens of modern literary "mythology," the characters of the Ramayana are frequently analyzed as symbolic archetypes or psychological constructs. Rama becomes a symbol of the idealized king, Sita of devotion, Lakshmana of loyalty, and Ravana of ego and unchecked desire. While allegorical reading has always existed within Indian philosophical commentary (such as in the Adhyatma Ramayana), reducing the text entirely to mythology risks detaching it from its grounding in historical memory and lived human experience.
Conversely, when understood through its native framework as Itihasa, the text functions as an integrated moral compass rooted in human reality. The characters are not abstract deities acting in a vacuum, but individuals navigating real-world ethical dilemmas (dharma-sankata). Rama’s grief upon losing Sita, his ethical dilemmas during the war, and his decisions as a sovereign ruler are presented as actual historical benchmarks intended to guide human behavior in an imperfect world.
In contemporary discourse, this tension remains vibrant. Modern scholars, archaeologists, and literary critics continue to re-examine the historical layers of the Valmiki Ramayana, comparing text-internal astronomical references—such as planet alignments mentioned during Rama's birth in the Bala Kanda—with modern archaeo-astronomy tools. At the same time, cultural historians emphasize that whether viewed as empirical history, sacred Itihasa, or epic literature, the Ramayana continues to function as a foundational narrative that shapes moral, social, and spiritual identities across millions of lives. Recognizing the contrast between traditional knowledge systems and modern terminology allows readers to appreciate both the poetic grandeur of the text as an epic and its sacred authority as Itihasa.
(c) Dr. Bharat Bhushan, 25, September 2026
(abridged from various sources. Copyright, if any, with the original author)
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