Why do we write Sri Rama Jayam in the beginning?

Most people have the habit of starting a letter
with some writing at the top.
Particularly school students have this habit
of writing in their answer sheets
hoping to get some extra luck from the deity that is supposed to be
indicated by this writing.

In most cases it is Tamil letter 'vu'.
I think this is the mutated form of pranava
or AUM in sanskrit.

Some write the name of their beloved deity followed by a term in Tamil, "thuNai",
seeking protection from that deity.

But the most common word is SriRamaJayam,
which is written by people from all parts of India.

Another speciality of this name is
that many people take a vow to write
SriRamaJayam for some lakh times
and do so religiously and sincerely
hoping to get blessings of Lord Rama.

The question I wish to address here is
what actually SriRama Jayam means or stands for.


With my very little knowledge of Sanskrit,
I somehow dare to venture into the meaning of this
and I invite corrections / additions
from readers,
so that we can understand better why this practice
of writing SriRamaJAyam has been encouraged.

My first thought is that SriRamaJayam stands for
Sri Ramo jayathe, which is like declaring
that Rama is victorious.
It is like satyam (eva) jayathe –Truth (only) triumphs.
But I am not convinced of this.

Who are we declare that Rama is always victorious?
He is victorious always.
It is unlikely that such a declaration can be a kind of japa,
written or uttered for countless times.

Next,
if we say "Sri rama jayathe bhava",
it is to say "you become Rama's victory."
This reminds me of Krishna, not Rama
who wanted Arjuna to be His "instrument" (Gita - nimittha maathram bhava),
or any jIva as His instrument, in this world of puppetry.

But Rama's victory is His.
He is victorious always
and we the jivas (souls)
are not His victory,
but His protected subjects.

But in my opinion Rama jayam is not used as verb.
(In the above derivations, we used jayam in verb form)
It is a noun such
as Krishna- vijayam (6th case)
That is, Jayam of Rama.
If jayathe is to be brought in, it would be `Rama: jayathi',
not Ramajayam.

As a noun, Rama jayam
conveys `Ramasya jayam' (Tamil equivalent is "vettri vudaiya Raman")

Here again I think the stress is not on Jayam or victory or vettri,
but on Rama.

I can quote some verses from Ramanuja's Vedartha sangraha,
to substantiate this.

In verses 214 and 215, he gives the derivation and meaning and
implication of terms satyakama and satyasankalpa.
These words are nouns.
Even though the characterisation expressed in these names are
about kama (desires) and
sankalpa (will),
the stress is on the Supreme Brahman.

Similarly even though the characterization expressed in
Sri Ramajayam is about triumph of Rama,
the stress must be on Rama.
Because
the object of worship here is Rama, not jayam.
By meditating on
the "victorious Rama",
the worshipper seeks victory in his own endeavours.

In Tamil too, it is appropriate to think of this as
`vettri udaiya Raman' than
`Ramanukku vettri' or `Ramanudaiya vettri'.
In the former, the stress is on Raman and in the latter,
the stress is on jayam.
The first one is acceptable in that the meditation is on Rama
and not on his vettri.


I think there is another appropriate derivation for Rama jayam.
'RamENa jayathE' is RAma jayam.
This means 'victory by Rama.(3rd case)
In Tamil this is 'Raamanaal vettri.'

By writing Sri Rama jayam at the beginning of any write-up
and writing it many times with specific goals of accomplishing something,
one seeks victory or success by Rama's grace.
By another interpretation,
it is Rama who brings out such accomplishments and success.

Therefore,
my conclusion is
Sri Rama Jayam means or stands for
"victory by Rama"
or
"Ramanaal vettri"

Related posts:-

When was Rama born?

Thoughts on Sri Rama Navami. (open letter to Sri Rama)