The Ramayana verse that made an appearance in Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign video while mocking Obama and Trump

Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy might not be polling very high, but he is channelling his inner Dylan Thomas and refusing to go quietly into the dying night. Even though Ramaswamy trails behind Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, he isn’t giving up as evidenced by his campaign video which will give fans of The Newsroom a nostalgia trip.

Vivek Ramaswamy (File Photo) In a speech about what made America unique, Ramaswamy warns that the “insurgents are becoming incumbents” and warns of complacency. The video is pictured on America's founding fathers, and some its greatest achievers and immigrants including Michael Jordan, Bob Dylan, Nikolas Tesla, Isaac Asimov, and funnily enough, Elon Musk.

Amazon Sale season is here! Splurge and save now! Click here What is particularly interesting is, that in the video, Ramaswamy holds up the intellectual curiosity of America’s founding fathers and juxtaposes it with the more mundane pursuits of more recent former presidents. In a rare instance of him directly criticising Trump, Ramaswamy has a line that goes: “We should expect more of our leaders as citizens.

Back then when Presidents left the White House, they became scholars of Sanskrit. Now, they sign Netflix deals and play a round of golf." Translated using Google Translate Interestingly, this voiceover is accompanied by a picture of an excerpt of the Hindu epic Ramayana in Sanskrit and a quote from The Odyssey.

The specific verse is from Ramayana: Volume 1 (Bala Kanda and Ayodhya Kanda) where the great sage Vishwamitra explains the origins of Ganga to the young Ayodhya princes, Rama and Laxmana. Vishwamitra explains that King Himavat (who ruled over the Himalayas) had two daughters: Ganga and Uma. While the Ganga flowed through the three worlds, Uma (Parvati) would go on to marry Rudra (Shiva).

You can read the full chapter here (Page 57). A Hindu POTUS? Throughout the campaign, Ramaswamy has been attacked for his faith and even been asked if a Hindu could lead a “Christian nation”. He has said in the past: “May faith is what gives me my freedom. My faith is what led me to this presidential campaign...I am a Hindu.

I believe there is one true God. I believe god put each of us here for a purpose. My faith teaches us that we have a duty, a moral duty to realise that purpose. Those are God's instruments that work through us in different ways, but we are still equal because God resides in each of us. That's the core of my faith.” He added: “I went to Christian High School.

What do we learn? We learnt the 10 commandments. We read the Bible. God is real. There is one true God. Don't take his name in vain. Respect your parents. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't commit adultery. What I learned at that time, is that these values are familiar to me. They don't belong to Hindus.

But, they don't belong to Christians either. They belong to God actually. And I think these are the values that undergird this country." Trump vs Ramaswamy Trump recently attacked Ramaswamy saying: “A vote for Vivek is a waste vote" in a post on Truth Social. Replying, Ramaswamy said he wouldn't attack Trump but that he was asking for people's votes because it was the “right thing for the country”.

Icy Iowa Voters kick off the US Republican presidential nomination race with caucuses in freezing Iowa, the first major test of whether Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis have any hope against scandal plagued front runner Donald Trump or will have to accept cold political reality. For the first time since he lost his 2020 reelection bid, the former US president who is being prosecuted in four criminal cases, ranging from taking top secret documents to trying to overthrow his election loss will face voters.

Boasting a dominant lead in opinion polls, Trump is expected to win the Midwestern state's first in the nation contest handily as he bids to be the Republican standard bearer against President Joe Biden in November. But observers have not ruled out a surprisingly strong showing by Haley or DeSantis.

Adding uncertainty, Iowans may have to contend with blizzards and a potential wind chill in some areas. Either way, few people are giving Ramaswamy a chance to make a dent in Iowa. With inputs from agencies SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Share this article Share Via Copy Link ABOUT THE AUTHOR HT News Desk Follow the latest breaking news and developments from India and around the world with Hindustan Times' newsdesk.

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