[INDOLOGY] Query: Theological significance of māra/rāma chant and syllable ontology

[Patrick Olivelle]

This is similar to the “haṃsa mantra” where “haṃso” becomes “so ‘ham”.

Patrick




On Feb 23, 2026, at 6:09 PM, Robert P. GOLDMAN via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

The repeated “mantra” is not “māra” but “marā” the constant repetition of which in effect makes one recite "Rāma Rāma” leading to salvation.

There is also a Hindi legend I heard once about a terrible criminal sentence to a painful death, who cried out in his agony  the Hindi word marā, marā (“I’m dying”) This had  the same salvific effect as  the repeated bur essentially meaningless (in Sanskrit)   marā in the Adhyātmarāmāyaṇam.

Dr. R.P. Goldman
William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus
and
Professor in the Graduate School
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
The University of California at Berkeley

On Feb 23, 2026, at 12:06 PM, Yang Qu via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> wrote:


Dear colleagues,

I am currently researching the episode of Vālmīki's transformation through the māra/rāma chant, specifically as it is depicted in the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa (2.6.64-92).

Beyond the phonetic palindrome, I am trying to trace the deeper theological and ontological significance of this inversion. I have come across secondary references suggesting a specific syllable breakdown where "ra" is associated with puruṣa and "ma" signifies prakṛti, but I have been unable to locate the primary Sanskrit sources (perhaps within the Rāma Rahasya or Rāma Tāpanīya Upaniṣad?) or the definitive modern scholarship that articulates this exact mapping.

I am aware that Frank Whaling discusses the theology of the name in The Rise of the Religious Significance of Rāma, but I unfortunately do not have access to a digital copy at the moment.

Would anyone be able to point me toward the primary texts that explicitly theorize this ra/ma syllable breakdown, or kindly share relevant scholarship (including Whaling, if possible)?

Any guidance or textual pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,
Yang Qu

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Dr. R.P. Goldman
William and Catherine Magistretti Professor of Sanskrit Emeritus
and
Professor in the Graduate School
Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies
The University of California at Berkeley






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