I wouldn't translate it. bye

Rama from the

Ramayana
(The great Hindu Epic)

Is one of the two greatest Indian Epics which teaches Humanity about the science of living !


How one must interact with another, relationships between different beings, respect one must pay to Parents and Gurus, all the while fulfilling the desires of the Lord (upholding Dharma at each and every stage) ... Is the message conveyed !!


Nothing can be more pious and sacred than reading or hearing Ramayana ! Gita and Upanishads (with deeper meaning) can not be understood by a common man but Ramayana, in the dialect of a common man can be easily assimilated by all !!


All the teachings in Ramayana hold good ... Even after a lapse of above 3500 yrs ! Every event and episode must be read and made applicable in the present context. During the time of king Rama ... mode of traveling was bullock carts but now ... We have planes as the fastest mode of transport !! Drawing correct inferences is the essence of reading Ramayana !!


Keeping ourselves bound within the confines of the textual meaning tends to make us superstitious ! We become slaves of mere ritual practices !! Reading with an open mind conveys the correct meaning ... The only lessons we are to learn from History !!


http://www.godrealized.com/glossary/Ramayana.html

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Note added at 2002-01-13 09:59:26 (GMT)
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This peom from India\'s cultural prodege compares them Rama and Romeo too:

WAJAHMU MASIH TERTOREH PADA REMBULAN
Oleh : Tjahjono Widarmanto

harus bagaimana ku jinakkan rindu - sebab, senantiasa angin terus saja memburu dan menyemaikannya pada segenap nadi.

sedang wajahmu masih saja tertoreh pada rembulan! - Ingin kuteriakkan padamu tentang catatan catatan yang bercerita tentang retorika masa lampau kisah-kisah purba; jayaprana layonsari, jaka tarub, rama-sinta, romeo-juliet. atau cerita tentang kesetiaan yang sia-sia; oidepus, cleopotra, bandung bandawasa.

Bukankah itu prasasti tak kalah pentingnya dengan cerita asmara ala yasuari kawabata, tolstoi, atau tarian mabuk para darwis di zaman Rummi.

- wajahmu masih saja tertoreh pada rembulan saat catatan-catatan usang semakin jadi asing - Cerita-cerita purba yang tersisa hanya tinggal riwayat kesetiaan yang sia-sia selebihnya lenyap di telan plaza, diskotek, dan aroma deodoran.

\'\'berapa harga sebuah kesetiaan?\'\'

tiba-tiba, pertanyaan ini hadir menyibukkan kita dan, wajahmu tinggal tertoreh pada rembulan dengan sedikit senyum yang juga tambah usang.

bumi, gedora

Republika Online edisi :24 Oktober 1999

The meanings of ROMEO are some " a man with a reputation for having or seeking romantic or sexual involvement with a large number of women" and as per legend Romeo ( Named for Romeo , lover of Juliet in William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet 1594.]
So if we follow the true spirit of the
word the best substitute is "SHAYAM"one of the names on GOD KRISHNA,whose love with RADHAKA/RADHA ,is cosidered as the best human relationship and as well as the eternal mystic relationship of human being in reunification with the ultimate soul.
There can be other substitutes to this word in Hindi;GOPI NAATH,MOUHAN,BEHARI,
BUNWARI,........(these all are the name of GOD KRISHNA)but SHAYAM is mostly and commonly used in hindi as LOVER.
hope that will work for you.
My best regards.
Kamran Nadeem

Since Romeo is a figure who immortalizes Love -majnu also immortalizes love in the hindi sense and they can be regarded as contemporaries. So if you are using it as a figurative description like "There is no lover like Romeo" in hindi it would be better to substitute it by Majnu...At the same time, if you are naming your character Romeo then there would be no translation and he will be called Romeo only