Today, most of the country is celebrating Rāma Navamī. Rāma is often described as dharma vigraha — the embodiment of dharma. Many take this in a narrow sense: dharma as universal ethics, and Rāma therefore as the embodiment of ethical conduct. That understanding is fine at one level, but it is quite limited.

Dharma is far more than that. Rāma is presented as an avatāra — nothing but Īśvara himself. And in the Upaniṣadic framework, the whole creation is nothing but a manifestation of Īśvara. Therefore, dharma is understood........

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