On Rama’s Solar and Lunar Lineage

The word “Rama” means someone who is charming and delightful. The Ramayana is the story of Rama’s progress—“ayana” means progress. Rama was a scion of the Surya Vamsha (Solar Dynasty). Yet his full name is Rama Chandra—“Chandra” means moon. This indicates that Rama has a connection with the Chandra Vamsha (Lunar Dynasty). His father King Dashratha of Ayodhya was a Surya Vamshi, but his mother Queen Kaushalya, according to some traditional accounts, was the daughter of a Chandra Vamshi royal family. Thus, Rama represented the coming together of the two dynasties, Surya Vamsha and the Chandra Vamsha. Rama married Sita, a lady of Chandra Vamsha—Sita’s father, King Janaka of Videha, was a Chandra Vamshi. The name “Rama Chandra” means “charming face of the moon”—this name glorifies the sun, since the moon shines with the sun’s reflected light.