Ramakien: The Thai National Epic

The Ramakien is the principal Thai retelling of the ancient epic Ramayaṇa. It is not a direct translation but a distinctive Thai adaptation shaped by centuries of local culture, royal patronage, and performance traditions. While it preserves the core narrative arc and principal characters of the Sanskrit epic, the Ramakien transforms names, meters, episodes, and aesthetics to align with Thai courtly and artistic sensibilities.

Historical Background

Early Thai Ramayana Traditions

Before the Bangkok era, multiple versions of the Ramayana circulated in the Thai world, especially during the Ayutthaya kingdom. These versions informed court literature, temple art, and dramatic performance. Many manuscripts and mural cycles existed; however, the Burmese sack of Ayutthaya in 1767 destroyed most of the corpus, leaving only fragments.

Royal Reconstruction

The canonical Ramakien was reconstructed under King Rama I (reigned 1782–1809). He gathered surviving fragments and oral versions, added missing sections, and produced a uniform poetic rendering suited to court performance and official culture. King Rama II later revised portions for theatrical use, strengthening the link between the text and Thailand’s classical performing arts.

Form, Structure, and Length

Poetic Form

Unlike a paragraph-style prose narrative, the Ramakien is written in Thai metrical verse. The predominant meter used is klon, a Thai poetic form designed for recitation and musical performance. The verse form makes the epic especially amenable to dramatic enactment.

Size and Scope

The Rama I version is extensive: classical counts report more than fifty thousand metrical lines and an approximate total of nearly two hundred thousand words in long editions. Many modern printed editions combine the main text with commentary and reach several hundred or even thousands of pages, depending on formatting.

Narrative Division

The narrative follows broad phases like background and origins, exile and abduction, the war and climax, and the return and aftermath. However it is presented as continuous poetic episodes rather than numbered cantos. Dramatic and character episodes, especially those concerning Hanuman and battle sequences, are elaborated beyond the Sanskrit prototypes.

Main Storyline

The central storyline of the Ramakien closely parallels the Rāmāyaṇa: Phra Ram (Rama) is exiled; Nang Sida (Sita) is abducted by Totsakan (Ravana), ruler of Krung Longka (Lanka); Ram, aided by Phra Lak (Lakshmana), Sukhrip (Sugriva), Hanuman, and a vast monkey army, mounts a campaign to recover Sida; after epic battles Totsakan is defeated and Sida is restored. The sequence of exile, abduction, alliance-building, bridge-building, war, and reunion remains the spine of the narrative.

Similarity to and Difference from the Sanskrit Ramayana

Core Similarities

The Ramakien preserves the main plot, principal figures, and essential moral themes of the Sanskrit epic: duty (dharma), loyalty, honour, devotion, and the ethical dilemmas around kingship, exile, and justice. Many episodes, such as the formation of alliances, the search for Sida, and the climactic duel, are recognisably the same story.

Key Differences

Ramakien is a culturally transformed retelling. Names and places are linguistic localisations (Rama → Phra Ram; Sita → Nang Sida; Ravana → Totsakan; Lanka → Krung Longka). Hanuman’s role is greatly expanded and dramatized. He is more mischievous, amorous in some episodes, and central to numerous subplots. Battle-scenes and magical elements are often elaborated in Thai poetic ornament. The tone, courtly detail, and theatrical needs of Khon performance have shaped scenes and speech in ways not present in Valmiki’s epic.

Cultural, Artistic, and Political Roles

Performance and Khon

Ramakien is the foundational repertoire for Khon, the masked dance-drama regarded as Thailand’s highest classical performance art. Khon combines stylized movement, masks, music, chorus, and recited verse drawn from the Ramakien text, making the epic a living performance tradition rather than a purely literary relic.

Temple Murals and Visual Arts

Extensive murals illustrating Ramakien scenes adorn major temples, notably the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) in Bangkok. These mural cycles present the epic visually and serve as civic and religious displays of national culture.

Royal Symbolism and National Identity

The Chakri dynasty uses the name "Rama" as a royal regnal title, linking monarchy to the epic’s ideals of righteous kingship. Ramakien contributes to Thailand’s sense of historical continuity, moral instruction, and national identity.

Relationship to Southeast Asian Ramayana Traditions

Ramakien belongs to a broader family of Southeast Asian Ramayana retellings, such as the Cambodian Reamker, the Javanese and Balinese Kakawin versions, the Burmese Yama Zatdaw, and Malay adaptations. Each version localises the epic differently, but all retain the central narrative and show how the Rāmāyaṇa travelled, transformed, and rooted itself across cultures.

Modern Relevance and Adaptations

Contemporary Thailand continues to stage, reinterpret, and adapt the Ramakien through theatre, film, television, literature, visual arts, and educational curricula. Modern creators sometimes reframe episodes, foreground different characters, or use the epic as a lens for social and ethical questions in the present day.

Conclusion

The Ramakien is both a reflection of the ancient Ramayaṇa tradition and a distinct Thai masterpiece. It demonstrates how a canonical story can be reworked to embody local aesthetics, theatrical practice, royal ideology, and popular devotion. Its verse form, poetic richness, and deep integration with performance and visual arts make it a living cultural treasure and a primary marker of Thai literary identity.