Er. Shailesh Bharadwaj
Er. Shailesh Bharadwaj

@Sapratha

4 Tweets 9 reads Jan 20, 2023
Learnt something new today, while the popularity of Ramayana in the orient is well known, it appears to exist on the banks of Volga too.
The Kalmyk Mongols of Russia preserved a folk version of Ramayana which was very popular among them.
Tsendiin Damdinsüren identified 4 tales of Shri Rama from Mongolia. The tales from Subhashita are as early as ~1200s while others appear later with nastika diffusion.
Nonetheless these versions too have many Mongol motifs recalling Bhagwan as a hero of the steppes.
The worship of apes coz of Hanuman is popular among both Lamaist & Mongols, just like H.
archive.org
Some unique legends around Hanuman exist, where his wise counsel to the king of shambhal ensure that peace & prosperity remain. Mongols worship him for the same.
When Ramayana hit the Russian Stage:
rbth.com
Artist G. Pechnikov playing the role in Ramlila at Russian Academic Youth Theatre, 1980. Such performances began in the 60s, Pechnikov was asked to play this role by KPS Mennon cos of his round face & big eyes.

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