Hm, the Ramayana really reminds me more of the Odyssey than anything else, but that's neither here no there.
Well, let's start out with the amrita like I said I would.
To start with, amrita is the water of life in the Hindu mythology (the word is rather like the Greek ambrosia), which confers incredible power on whoever takes it.
A conflict arises over the amrita between two groups of deities, the Devas, who represent the major, well-known gods in Hinduism, and the Asuras, who are often portrayed as titanic and/or demonic figures and are power seekers.
Both the Devas and Asuras knew that amrita lay in the Ocean of Milk, and knew also that Mandara, the mountain of creation could churn the ocean and coax the amrita out of it. To this end, the serpent Vasuki agreed to serve as a rope, coiling around the mountain, and the Devas and Asuras tugged on either side of the ocean to bring it up.
When the amrita finally emerged from the ocean, the Asuras seized it, but Vishnu assumed the form of a beguiling woman and tricked them into handing it over to the Devas, who of course came to dominate the worlds (plural) with the powers and immortality that amrita bestow on them.
Now compare this to Norse mythology:
<ul>
<li>Mead takes the place of amrita</li>
<li>The Aesir and giants (instead of the Vanir, who cooperate with the Aesir a little better) take the place of the Devas and Asuras </li>
<li>Yggdrasil and the springs at its roots replace Mandara (creation) and the Ocean of Milk</li>
<li>Odin replaces Vasuki in becoming a serpent to draw out the amrita</li>
</ul>
I used Odin already, but it's also worth noting that assuming male or female forms (and the humorous drag-dressing tricks that go with it) are very, very like the Aesir.
And here are other (more complete) versions of the amrita story. I'm sure you can find other parallels that I have deliberately left out:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/omw/omw64.htm
http://www.veloasia.com/library/buckley/churning_milk.html (Oh, nice bas relief of the struggle here)
This is the most compelling and extensive analogy I've found so far. I'll read more and see if I can dig up anything else of significance.
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From: <a href='http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=40505436&MyToken=373229f8-0e90-4632-8ffc-4e8e6c195d38'>Heri Joensen</a>
Date: Feb 21, 2007 3:58 AM
Yes, pray tell.
I have read some of the stories about Rama and Sita in my indoeuropean language studies, namely Sanskrit, prior to my musical studies and I found it extremely interesting. I did not however spot any parallels to the Norse mythology.
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From: <a href='http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=120579737&MyToken=2c491c5a-8918-467c-b38f-9c14ed7c1302'>Het Oog des Meesters</a>
Date: Feb 20, 2007 5:54 PM
I've been reading up on Norse mythology recently and I noticed some parallels to Hindu mythology, which I studied before that.
Perhaps you'd like to hear something about it? The stories of divine mead and amrita are very similar in many respects.