| “ | Only through the strength of the human spirit and the virtue of human righteousness can this evil be vanquished. | ” |
—Rama to The Emperor | ||
Rama is an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He made his first appearance in Episode XXXVII: The Birth of Evil, Part 1.
Character Outline
Vishnu is the most prominent deity in Hinduism and is the master of existence. He is also considered to be the Supreme God in certain monotheistic branches of Hinduism. He is portrayed as a slim, blue-skinned humanoid with six arms and gold armor. In battle, he rode on an elephant, a sacred symbol of Hinduism.
History
Rama appeared in Episode XXXVII: The Birth of Evil, Part 1. He, Odin, and Ra were battling an evil entity in space, but despite most of this blobby creature beaten, a small part of the being escaped to Earth, it landed in Japan, and became a spiky form that spread and defeated warriors by piercing them from below. It began to terrorize the lands; one being the land of Jack's Father, a powerful samurai. Jack's father and his forces tried to defeat it with a special arrow, but failed and it became Aku who states he was trapped in that form thanked him because he was now stronger and then continued his rampage. Ra, Odin, and Vishnu appeared before the Samurai and created a sword made from the purity of the man's being, giving him a chance to defeat Aku. The Samurai soon defeated Aku and saved his land from total destruction.
In Episode XCVIII, Rama make his return in this episode along with Ra and Odin to help Jack reunited his Katana after he had pass the test by vanquished the anger consciousness inside.
Powers and Equipment
Vishnu with Sharanga.
Rama is an incredibly powerful deity. His power was so great that he was able to harm Aku; something only fellow deities, or those who could wield the mystical sword could accomplish.
- Bow and Arrows: In his fight against the creature, Vishnu used his bow, Sharanga and arrows glowing with divine energy. Due to having three pairs of arms, Vishnu could fire three arrows at a time.
- Speed and Accuracy: Vishnu's speed at firing and reloading was fast enough to let him fire several shots in just a few moments. His accuracy was just as high as he never missed a shot in the battle.
- Eye beams: Like his fellow deities, Vishnu had the power to summon the purity of the Samurai Lord and forge it into a sword.
- Shapeshifting: As a God, Vishnu are able to change his form and appearance at will, e.g. a Buddhist monk.
- Omniscience: He is aware of Aku's rise on Earth. He assumes the form of a Buddhist monk and forges the Emperor's essence of virtue into a katana, showing that he is knowledgeable of Japanese culture and Buddhism, and his respect of them. It is worth to notice that Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism that Jack and his people follow, is one of the avatars of Vishnu.
- Immortality: As a god, Vishnu is immortal.
- Astral projection: During the forging scene, he is capable of projecting his spirit in a form of a Buddhist monk to forge the katana, while his main body is seen behind, glowing in blue.
- Transmutation: He and His fellow gods transmuted the Emperor's virtues into a steel katana.
Trivia
- Rama is the only of the three gods that Jack has not interacted with for four seasons, directly (summoning Ra for aid) or indirectly (sending a Viking to Odin's hall) as of the latest episode.
- He is also the only god not seen in the series prior to Birth of Evil.
- It should be noted that he is the only god whose civilization (India) Jack wasn't shown to visit in order to receive training or study of any sort (Jack has studied in Egypt and went to Scandinavia to study seafaring under a Viking captain).
- He finally appears in person in Episode XCVIII and grants Jack his sword alongside the other two gods.
- Rama rides an elephant during the battle against the Ultimate Evil. In mythology, he rides Garuda.
- Vishnu mostly appears in his seventh avatar, Rama in both episodes. In mythology, Vishnu in his Rama avatar has a pair of arms, while in his true form he has two pairs of arms instead of three in the Samurai Jack universe.