RAMA. — R., like KRṢNA (v.), was a mortal hero who merited being considered an incarnation (avatāra) of the god VIṢṆU for his valor and extraordinary virtues. He belonged to the solar dynasty, which had as its progenitor IKṢVĀKU and gloried in descending from VIVASVAT, the Sun; he ascended the throne after a long series of vicissitudes that are the subject of the *RĀMĀYAṆA* (v.) or *Deeds of RĀMA*.
It is not known when admiration for the hero began to transform into veneration for the god made man. In the parts of the *RĀMĀYAṆA* recognized as apocryphal, which belong to the recension of R. C., the apotheosis of R. is already an accomplished fact, but there is no record of a true and proper cult rendered to the images of R. and SĪTĀ until the 13th century. A vigorous impulse to the spread of Rāmaism was given by the reforms carried out by the Brahman RĀMĀNANDA (14th cent.) within Vaiṣṇavism. He substituted the cult of R. and SĪTĀ for that, far less noble and pure, of KRṢṆA (v.) and his lover RĀDHĀ; he made use of the Neo-Indian dialects to render the doctrines of Rāmaism accessible to the people and abolished caste distinctions in the order he founded. Through his efforts and those of his disciples, who numbered thirteen, among them a woman,
Padmāvatī, Rāmaism spread throughout India, not without schisms caused by dogmatic disagreements. One of the most important is that which still divides the Rāmāyats of the North (TĀḤAKĀLAI) from those of the South (TENKALAI). The former believe that to attain *mokṣa* (v.), *bhakti* is necessary, devotion. It is not enough to seek refuge in God (RĀMA-VIṢṆU) to obtain salvation; one must earn it through observance of religious practices, moral conduct, and the practice of Yoga. The latter, on the other hand, believe that God spontaneously saves souls disposed to receive His grace, and that *prapatti*, dedication to Him, is therefore sufficient. The *TĀḤAKĀLAI* take their example from the little monkey that clings to its mother to be carried to safety, while the *TENKALAI* act like the kitten that passively abandons itself to its mother to be carried to a safe place.