This is an adaptation of the original Oracle of Rama (Rama Ajna Prashna), written by the sixteenth century Hindu saint, Tulsidas. This was based on the Ramayana-- the life of Rama. Frawley's version fills out the verse meanings and has changed poetic style as necessary for understanding. There are two groups of cards: Rama's Quest and Divine Guides. There are 49 RQ cards and these are based on the Ramayana. There are seven sections, each one with seven verses (this mirrors the structure of the Ramayana). Each RQ card has a description of the pertinent verse, what it signifies, and seven options for advice. There is only a small image on these cards; they are mostly text. The seven DG cards each have large images of a god from the Ramayana and the power it embodies. The way you use the Oracle, after following spiritual preliminaries the night before, is to shuffle the RQ cards, lay facedown, and choose one. It indicates the chapter and section to look up in the book. This is a general indication regarding your question. Then you shuffle the DG cards, lay facedown, and choose one. The number on this card indicates which verse in the section answers your question. It appears on your RQ card, but a more comprehensive version appears in the book.
Frawley says that this oracle is to be respected and not used for frivolous questions. The book tells which days are favorable for divination and describes how to perform the spiritual preliminaries (these are brief). He says that this is the best of the shorter Indian divination methods, and is the simplest and easiest to use.
I have not done divination with this deck yet, but am saving it for a serious question worthy of its attention. Most of what I want to know probably falls into the trivial category, and I am a bit too nervous to approach the extremely serious questions just now. So this deck, like Tibetan Mo, falls into the occasional use category, at least for me.
