RAMA (Heb. hā-Rāmāh “the height”). — Name of several biblical localities situated in the hill country.
1. R. in the tribe of Benjamin (Ios. 18, 25), on the Jerusalem–Bethel road (Iudc. 4, 5), north of Gabaa (Iudc. 19, 13; 1 Sam. 25, 6), an advanced post south of the Kingdom of Israel, fortified by King Baasa (I Reg. 15, 17; II Par. 15, 1-6). After the fall of Jerusalem it became a collection centre for the prisoners deported to Babylon (Ier. 41, 1). Repopulated after the Exile by the Benjaminites (Eid. 2, 26; Neh. 11, 33), it was no more than parvus siculus at the time of s. Jerome (PL 25, 1354). The indication given by Eusebius (Onom., 144, 14), six miles north of Aelia, corresponds to the present-day village of er-Rām, 9 km. north of the Jerusalem–Nablus road.
2. R. in Nephthali (Ios. 19, 36) is the village of er-Rameh, at the 25th kilometre of the road from Safed to Aeri. In 1930, among the remains of Jewish dwellings, an inscription was discovered in memory of Rabbi 'Elī'ezer bar Te'ādār, who had built an inn there.
3. R. in Aser (Ios. 19, 28) was in the vicinity of Tyre; its identification is uncertain. Both Ramjah, east of Rās en-Naqūrah, and Hīrbet er-Rāmāh, east of el-Bassah, have been proposed.
4. R., the homeland, residence, and burial place of the prophet Samuel (I Sam. 1, 1; Rāmāthajim; in the other passages, 1, 19; 2, 11; 7, 17; 8, 4; 15, 34; 16, 13; 19, 18; 22, 23; 25, 1, always Rāmāh, and with the accusative of motion Rāmāthāh). The Septuagint transcribe 'Aḫuzāẓūz (in 19, 18; 20, 1 'Pāyāz), from which comes the 'Aḫuzāẓūz of the Gospels (v. ABHMAYRA). Among the many localities proposed as Samuel’s homeland, the most probable is the one already attested by Eusebius (Onom., 144, 28) and by s. Jerome (Epist., 108; PL 22, 883), namely the village of Rentis, 15 km. north-east of Lāda and 40 from Jerusalem. This tradition accords with Saul’s itinerary in search of the she-asses and with his encounter with the prophet in his house at R. The form Rāmāthajim alludes to the two heights on which the village extends.
RAMA (SANSKR. RĀMA). - Like Kṛṣṇa (v.), R. was a mortal hero who earned the distinction of being considered an incarnation (avatāra) of the god Viṣṇu for his valour and extraordinary virtues. He belonged to the solar dynasty, whose founder was Iṣkāvu and which boasted descent from Vivasvat, the Sun. He ascended the throne after a long series of adventures that form the subject of the Rāmāyaṇa (v.) or Geste of Rāma.
It is unknown when admiration for the hero began to transform into veneration for the god made man. In the parts of the Rāmāyaṇa recognised as apocryphal, dating to around the 2nd century A.D., the apotheosis of R. is already an accomplished fact, but there is no record of a true cult rendered to the images of R. and Sītā until the 13th century. A vigorous impulse to the diffusion of Ramaism was given by the reforms carried out by the Brahmin Rāmānanda (14th century) within Vaiṣṇavism. He substituted the cult of R. and Sītā for that, far less noble and pure, of Kṛṣṇa (v.) and his lover Rādhā. He employed Neo-Indian dialects to make the doctrines of Ramaism accessible to the people and abolished caste distinctions within the order he established. Through his efforts and those of his disciples—who numbered thirteen, including one woman, Padmavāti—Ramaism spread throughout India, not without schisms caused by dogmatic disagreements. One of the most significant is that which still divides the northern Ramaists (ṣaḍāhalai) from the southerners (teṅkalai). The former believe that to attain mokṣa (v.), bāshī (latria) is necessary. It is not enough to seek refuge in God (R.-Viṣṇu) to obtain salvation; one must earn it through the observance of religious practices, moral conduct, and the practice of Yoga. The latter, however, believe that God spontaneously saves souls predisposed to receive His grace, and that prapatti (surrender to Him) is therefore sufficient. The ṣaḍāhalai take the example of the monkey that clings to its mother to be carried to safety, while the teṅkalai act like the kitten that abandons itself inertly to its mother to be transported to a safe place.
RAMADAN: V. ISLĀM.