Was absence of mention about brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas in Ramayana indicates that it had been composed much earlier to them?

Question

I tried to find any mention of brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas in Ramayana, as they were supposed to have been composed in post vedic period, as Ramayana was.

The following slokas are from 5th Sarga of Bala Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana.

तामग्निमद्भिर्गुणवद्भिरावृताम् द्विजोत्तमैः वेदषडङ्गपारगैः | सहस्रदैः सत्यरतैर्महात्मभिः महर्षिकल्पैः ऋषिभिश्च केवलैः || १-५-२३

She that Ayodhya is encompassed with Vedic scholars who always worship the ritual fire by enkindling the three kinds of ritual-fires continuously, virtuous Brahman scholars in Veda-s and their six ancillary subjects, and other great souls that are in similitude with great saints, and who are just like sages that are charitable donors, and that abide by the truth.

In the rest of the Ramayana also, no mention of brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas was found in Ramayana by me.

Did any one come across such mention?

If not, can we conclude that Ramayana was composed much earlier to the composition of brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas?

Answer 1

It would appear so.

There are other references of vedas in Ramayana.

kushiilavau tu dharmaGYau raajaputrau yashasvinau | bhraatarau svarasampannau dadarsha aashramavaasinau || sa tu medhaavinau dR^ishhTvaa vedeShu pariniShThitau | vedopabR^ihmaNaarthaaya taavagraahayata prabhuh || kaavyaM raamaayaNaM kR^itsnaM siitaayaashcharitaM mahat.h| paulastya vadhamityeva chakaara charitavrataH||

(vAlmIki-rAmAyaNa-bAlakANDa 1.4.5-7)

The princes, the brothers, Kusha and Lava, were knowledgeable about Dharma and were ....skilled in the Vedas, and for the sake of expounding the Vedas, he [Valmiki] composed and made them study the Ramayana..

So, the key is to understand Valmiki composed Ramayana for sake of expounding the Vedas.

First, does the name "rama" occur in the veda ? Yes, it does in Rig Veda. From 10 Mandala, 93 sukta and 14 Rik,

pra tadduHshIme pR^ithavAne vene pra rAme vochamasure maghavatsu | ye yuktvAya pa.ncha shatAsmayu pathA vishrAvyeshhAm.h ||

nIlakaNTha quotes from the agastya-saMhitA to further support the fact that the rAmAyaNa is drawn from the Vedas:

vedavedaye pare puMsi jAte dasharathAtmaje | vedaH prAchetasAdAsIt.h sAxAdrAmAyaNAtmanA | tasmAdrAmAyaNaM devi veda eva na saMshayaH ||

nIlakantha also quotes that Valmiki has based the twenty-four thousand verses of the ramayana on the twenty-four syllables of the gayathri mantra. Thus, 1, 1001, 2001 etc. follow the gayathri mantra.He has compiled a list of mantras from the vedas that correspond to the Ramayana. This is known as mantra- rAmAyaNa. One should note that he has written another work based on the correspondence of Rig veda and Srimad Bhagavatam. This is known as mantra-Bhagavata.

five Riks, Rig Veda 10.99.1-5, briefly describe the rAmAyaNa as found in the first few chapters of the vAlmIki rAmAyaNa.

For example, Rig Veda 10.99.1:

kaM nashchitramishhaNyasi chikitvAnpR^ithugmAnaM vAshraM vAvR^idhadhyai | kattasya dAtu shavaso vyushhTau taxadvajraM vR^itraturamapinvat.h ||

Rig Veda 10.99.2:

sa hi dyutA vidyutA veti sAmapR^ithuM yonimasuratvA sasAda | sa sanILebhiH prasahAno asya bhrAturna R^ite saptathasya mAyAH |

Now, the translations of the verses are different in various commentaries.

The interpretation of the verses by sayanacharya is based on the assumption that the samhita portion of karma kanda but there is another interpretation by nilakantha saying these are mantra and not to viewed as karma kanda etc.

Clearly, there is no mention of brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas in Ramayana. However, the traditional view such as the Sringeri and Kanchi Kamakoti Maths is that Aranyakas, Brahmanas & Upanishads are part of the respective Vedas. It is just that they were all clubbed under Vedas but later in kali yuga, these texts were split into various categories.

Thus, one can only say that Ramayana was composed based on Rig veda around the same time but before the veda was classified/split into aranyakas, brahmanas etc.

Answer 2

In the Taittirtya Brahmana (1.1.3.5), Prajapati is stated to have assumed the form of a Boar,who lifted up the earth which remained plunged in the water.

prajapatih praja asrjata/ tasamannamupakslyata/ tabhyassudamupaprabhinat/ tato vai tasamannam nakslyata/yasya sudassambharo bhavati/nasya grhe’nnarfi ksiyate/ apo va idamagre salilam aslt/ tena prajapatir-asramyata/

In Ayodhya Kanda, similar statement appears:

स वराहः ततो भूत्वा प्रोज्जहार वसुंधराम् | असृजच् च जगत् सर्वम् सह पुत्रैः कृत आत्मभिः || २-११०-४

"Thereafter, that Brahma, assuming the form of boar, caused the earth to rise from water and with his sons of pure soul, created the entire world."

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Though mention of brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas was not found in Ramayana, the concepts from Taittirtya Brahmana did find place in Ramayana, as mentioned above.

Thus, we can infer that either brAhmanas, upanishads, aranyakas were not mentioned in Ramayana, though they were in existence by then (or) the brAhmanas and Ramayana might have composed at an almost same point of time.