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The Ramayana (Sanskrit: “Rama’s Journey”) is an ancient Indian epic, composed some time in the 5th century
BCE, about the exile and then return of Rama, prince of Ayodhya. It was composed in Sanskrit by the sage
Valmiki, who taught it to Rama's sons, the twins Lava and Kush. At about 24000 verses, it is a rather long poem
and, by tradition, is known as the Adi Kavya (adi = original, first; kavya = poem). While the basic story is
about palace politics and battles with demon tribes, the narrative is interspersed with philosophy, ethics, and
notes on duty (Rama, along with his wife Sita, have served as role models for thousands of generations in India
and elsewhere. Rama is regarded by many Hindus as an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and by Southeast Asian
Buddhists as an incarnation of the Buddha.)

While in that other Indian epic, the Mahabharata, (“Great Epic of the Bharata Dynasty”).

the characters are presented with all their human follies and failings, the Ramayana leans more towards an ideal
state of things: Rama is the ideal son and king, Sita the ideal wife, Hanuman the ideal devotee, Lakshman and
Bharat the ideal brothers, and even Ravana, the demon villian, is not entirely despicable.

Ramayana was the work of Valmiki. It contains 24 thousand slokas and is divided into ten parts. According to
Valmiki himself, he wanted to carry the essence of the lessons of the Vedas to the common people by singing
the virtuous deeds of Ramachandra

The Ramayana was popular during the Mughal period (16th century), and it was a favourite subject of
Rajasthani and Pahari painters of the 17th and 18th centuries

The poem enjoys immense popularity in India, where its recitation is considered an act of great merit.

“The epic's origins are in India and Hinduism, but over the centuries the story has crossed seas and mountains,
languages and religions, performance styles and art forms.

Many translations of the Ramayana into the vernacular languages are themselves works of great literary artistry,
including the 

Tamil version of Kampan,

the Bengali version of Krittibas,

and the Hindi version, Ramcharitmanas, of Tulsidas.

Throughout North India the events of the poem are enacted in an annual pageant, the Ram Lila,

and in South India the two epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, make up the story repertoire of
the kathakali dance-drama of Malabar. 

There are Muslim versions in Java, and Buddhist versions in Thailand. The story exists as shadow plays in
Indonesia, temple carvings in Cambodia, dances, plays and ritual enactments throughout India. The text lives in
books made of ola leaf in Sri Lanka and on painted boxes in North India.

One of the phenomenons of this epic is its migration around the world, which has led to multiple versions and
tellings, each storyteller re-composing the story for each audience. Ramayana is still a living performance
tradition today." [Source: British Library]

THE Epic relates to the ancient traditions of two powerful races, the Kosalas and the Videhas, who lived in
Northern India between the twelfth and tenth centuries before Christ.

The Valmiki or Sanskrit Ramayana is broken up into seven books, as follows:

1) Bala-kanda: the boyhood and adolescence of Rama;
 2) Ayodhya-kanda: the court of Dasaratha, and the scenes that set the stage for the unfolding of the story,
including the exchange between Dasaratha and Kaikeyi, and the exile of Rama;
3) Aranya-kanda: life in the forest and the abduction of Sita by Ravana;
4) Kishkindhya-kanda: Rama's residence in Kishkindhya, the quest for Sita, and the slaying of Bali;
 5) Sundara-kanda: description of the landscapes over which Rama roams, and the arrival of Rama and his allies
in Lanka; sundara means beautiful, and this portion of the book has passages of lyrical beauty;
6) Yuddha-kanda, also known as the Lanka-kanda: the book of war: the defeat of Ravana, the recovery of Sita,
the return to Ayodhya, and the coronation of Rama;
7) Uttara-kanda: the "later section", detailing Rama's life in Ayodhya, the banishment of Sita, the birth of Lava
and Kusa, the reconciliation of Rama and Sita, her death or return to the earth, and Rama's ascent into heaven.
[Source: Vinay Lal, professor of history, UCLA, Asia Society]

Beginning of the Ramayana

 Ramayana is essentially a story of love and banishment. Ramayana isn't only about Lord Rama and his
attempt to rescue his consort Sita. Ramayana is also about devotion, loyalty, family roles and respect to
elders. It begins with the gods awakening Vishnu from a deep cosmic sleep and urging him to go to earth to rid
the world of Ravana, who through a promise by Brahma can not be defeated by gods and must be defeated by a
man.

Rama is born

Dasharath, king of Ayodhya, had no children. So he arranged a Putra-kameshti sacrifice (putra =

son, kameshti = that which is desired). At the sacrifice, Agni (god of fire) arose from the flames and handed the
king a golden vase brimming with nectar. "Give this to your queens", said the god and disappeared. The king
had three wives,

Kaushlaya - Dasaratha's first wife, and the mother of Rama

Sumitra.- his second wife

Kaikeyi – the youngest

To the eldest, the king gave half of the nectar; the second queen got a portion that remained when the queen had
drunk her half. To the youngest queen, the king gave the remaining half of the nectar and again, the second
queen got the portion that remained. In time, the queens gave birth to sons: to the eldest was born Rama, to the
youngest was born Bharat, and to the second queen were born the twins Lakshman and Shatrughna.

Rama marries Sita

When the princes had grown up some, the sage Vishwamitra arrived at Dasharath's court and asked that Rama
and Lakshman be "lent" to him to help him rid his hermitage of the demons that were plaguing
the ashram dwellers by defiling their sacrifices with blood and bones, and by killing them off. After the two
princes successfully rid the ashram of the demons, the sage took them to the neighbouring kingdom of Mithila
to show them the swayamvar festivities of the Mithila princess, Sita,  the adopted daughter of King Janak.( Sita
was found in the furrows of a sacred field, and was regarded by the people of Janak's kingdom as a blessed
child.)

born of the earth. The king of that country had adopted Sita as his daughter

and, after Sita had grown up, had declared that he would give her in marriage to anyone who could string the
Great Bow of Shiva. No one could. Several kings, princes, and commoners had tried and failed.
The swayamvar had been in progress for several months now and the bow still remained unstrung. It was to this
place that the sage Vishwamitra brought the two princes of Ayodhya. Rama and Lakshamn entered the assembly
hall where the bow was displayed in all its glory. Rama walked over, picked up the bow, strung it, and plucked
the bowstring with such a twang that two things happened simultaneously: the twang was heard for miles
around, and the force of it broke the bow into two with so great a sound that the king and his courtiers came
running from their chambers to see what the commotion was about. When the confusion had settled, Rama was
married to Sita. His three brothers were married to a sister and cousins of Sita, and there were many festivities
and much rejoicing in the two kingdoms.

Later Dasharatha decides it is time to give his throne to Rama and retire to the forest to seek moksha. Everyone
seems pleased. This plan fulfills the rules of dharma because an eldest son should rule and, if a son can take over
one's responsibilities, one's last years may be spent in a search for moksha. In addition, everyone loves Rama.
However Rama's step-mother, the king's second wife, is not pleased. She wants her son, Bharata, to rule.
Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she gets the king to agree to banish Rama for
fourteen years and to crown Bharata, even though the king, on bended knee, begs her not to demand such things.
Broken-hearted, the devastated king cannot face Rama with the news and Kaikeyi must tell him. Bharatha
becomes king even though he is not a party to the plot, and is devoted to his elder brother Rama. ~

Rama and Sita in the Forest

 Rama, always obedient, dutifully agrees to his banishment. Sita convinces Rama that she belongs at his side.
His brother Lakshmana, who is one of two sons of Dasaratha's third queen, Sumithra, also begs to go along.
Rama then proceeds to the forest, accompanied by Lakshmana and the uncomplaining Sita.
 While in the forest the two men live like ascetics, with no complaints from Sita, and have many adventures.
Rama and Lakshman destroy the rakshasas (evil creatures) who disturb the sages in their meditations. In one
episode a rakshasa kidnaps Sita. Just as it is about to devour her Rama and Laksama rescue her and slay the
demon.
 Bharata, whose mother's evil plot has won him the throne, is very upset when he finds out what has happened.
Not for a moment does he consider breaking the rules of dharma and becoming king in Rama's place. He goes to
Rama's forest retreat and begs Rama to return and rule, but Rama refuses. "We must obey father," Rama says.
Bharata then takes Rama's sandals saying, "I will put these on the throne, and every day I shall place the fruits of
my work at the feet on my Lord." Embracing Rama, he takes the sandals and returns to Aydohya. [Source: Jean
Johnson, New York University, U.C. Davis website]
 Years pass and Rama, Sita and Lakshman are very happy in the forest. They have more adventures. One day a
rakshasa princess tries to seduce Rama, and Lakshmana wounds her and drives her away. She returns to her
brother Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka, and tells her brother — who has a weakness for beautiful women
— about lovely Sita.

Sita's Abducted by Ravana

 The evil Ravana, King of the Demons, who had 10 heads and 20 arms, spied beautiful wife Sita in the forest
and fell in love with her instantly. Ravana is entranced by Sita's beauty and angry at Rama because he rejected
Ravana’ sister, who had fallen in love with him. Ravana conspires to abduct Sita with the help of Marica, who
disguises himself as a golden deer to lure Rama and Laksmana away from Sita.

 While Rama and his brother are distracted, Ravana arranged for his servant Maricha to disguise himself as a
golden deer and tempt Rama and Lakshman away from Sita. Lakshman drew a circle in the dust around Sita to
protect her and told her not to step out of the circle. But Ravana cleverly disguised himself as an old beggar
man, and begged Sita for food and drink. Sita took pity on him and stepped out of the circle. The beggar man
turned back into Ravana, catching Sita in his arms and pulling her into his magic flying chariot. Sita cried for
help and a fierce bird Jatayu attacked Ravana in an effort to stop him. But Ravana cut off the bird's wings with
his sword. Sita threw her necklace to the ground, in the hope that Rama would save her. [Source: British
Library]
 Rama is broken-hearted when he returns to the empty hut and cannot find Sita. A band of monkeys offer to help
him find Sita. Ravana in the meantime has taken Sita back to the Golden City of Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka).
Ravana tries to force Sita to be his wife. In one version of the story he puts her in a grove and alternately sweet-
talks her and threatens her in an attempt to get her to agree to marry him. Sita will not even look at him but
thinks only of her beloved Rama. In another version of the story Sita is kept captive in Ravana's castle. The
demon threatens Sita with torture unless she marries him. In the meantime Rama and Laksmana go through a
series of adventures and battles trying to rescue Sita. They are helped by Hanuman, who discovers where Sita is
kept. [Source: Jean Johnson, New York University, U.C. Davis website]

Hanuman Flies to Lanka to Rescue Sita

 In his efforts to find Sita, whose whereabouts was not known, Rama is helped by Hanuman, the monkey god
and general of a monkey army. In Indian literature and mythology, there is no greater example of devotion than
Hanuman. Hanuman can fly since his father is the wind god Vyu. Hanuman had his father's energy and
swiftness, power and strength. When Hanuman was a child he thought the sun was a ripe fruit and tried to jump
up and catch it. He jumped so high that he nearly got burnt, but the Sun was impressed and gave Hanuman the
gift of immortality as a reward for his courage and cleverness. [Sources: British Library, Vinay Lal, professor of
history, UCLA, Asia Society, Jean Johnson, New York University, U.C. Davis website]

 Rama gave Hanuman his ring, to give to Sita. Monkeys and bears decided that since Hanuman was the son of
the wind god and he was good at jumping and flying he must leap to Lanka to look for Sita. Hanuman prayed to
his father and flew to Lanka, leaping over the ocean and escaping from several devouring demons that he met on
the way. Hanuman's leap has been the subject of many paintings. One famous one shows him jumping through
the jaws of Surasa, a sea monster, on his way to Lanka.
 Having shrunk to the size of a mouse, Hanuman ran through Lanka, looking for Sita. He found her held captive
in an ashok grove near Ravana's palace. She was guarded by hideous demonesses and harassed by Ravana, who
wanted her to forget Rama, and marry him instead. She was sitting under a tree crying. Meanwhile Hanuman
climbed the tree, dropped Rama's ring into her lap, and told her Rama will come and save her. [Source: British
Library]
 But demons caught Hanuman, squeezing him tight, and carrying him to Ravana. Ravana and the Demons
decided to set fire to Hanuman's tail. They wrapped his tail in strips of cotton and soaked the cotton in oil. As
the Demons began to to prepare Hanuman's tail, Hanuman cast a magic spell, making his tail grow longer and
longer and longer (the subject of many paintings). The demons soon ran out of cotton and oil. They set light to
his tail anyway. But Hanuman shrank back to the size of a mouse, and so his tail shrinks too. In this way he
managed to escape, setting Ravana's throne alight in the process, and leaving a trail of flames throughout Lanka.
Once free Hanuman dipped his tail into the sea, and leapt back to Rama, Lakshman, and the bears and tells
Rama where Sita is. [Ibid]

Battle Between Ravana and Rama and Hanuman's Army

 When Rama could not get to the island of Lanka he sought the help of Hanuman, rallied his monkey army to
cast stones into the sea and form a bridge to Lanka. Tiny palm squirrels helped by carrying pebbles to the waters
edge and Rama, touched by their efforts, stroked one, marking it with the stripes – hence giving the five-striped
palm squirrels their name. Rama crossed the bridge with the monkey army following him to do battle with
Ravana's demon army. A mighty battle ensues. Rama kills several of Ravana's brothers and then Rama confronts
ten-headed Ravana, who is know for his cleverness.
 The battle — pitting Rama, and the armies of Hanuman and Surgriva against Ravana and the demons — is the
central event of the Ramayana. It begins after Hanuman sets fire to Ravana's city and continues through a long
series of offensives, counterattacks and battles. Ravana's forces fire arrows that turn into serpents and wind
around their victims necks like nooses.
 All looks doomed when Indrajit — a prince of Lanka and a conqueror of Indra Loka (heaven) — almost kills
Laksmana and the armies of Sugriva are on the verge of defeat. At this point Hanuman travels off to the
Himalayas and brings back some magic herbs. In some version on the story Indrajit kills Rama and Laksmana
and the magic herb is sought to bring them back to life.
Hanuman Flies to the Himalayas to Get Magic Medicine
 During the battle between Ravana's demon army and Rama's animal army, Lakshman was so badly wounded it
seemed that he would die before sun-rise. (In some versions of the story, many monkeys and bears are wounded
too.) The monkeys and bears decided that Hanuman must leap to the Himalayas and bring back the healing herb
from the Medicine Mountain to save Lakshman's life. So Hanuman leapt over the ocean, and across the whole of
India to the Himalayas. [Source: British Library]
 Arriving in the Himalayas, it took a long time to find the fabled Medicine Mountain. Hanuman found it at last
-covered with herbs, but he didn't know which was the magic healing herb. So he wrapped his arms around the
whole mountain, pulled it out of the ground and lifted it onto the palms of his hand. He then flew with the
mountain back to Lanka. On the way the sun began to rise. So Hanuman decided to capture the sun under his
arm so that he could arrive back before sunrise in time to save Lakshman. The healing herb was picked and
given to Lakshman. Lakshman was healed and filled with energy.
 With Laksama back from near death, he and Rama revive the armies of Sugriva. In a pair of duels Laksmana
manages to kill Indrajit and Rama kills Ravana king with an arrow. Eventually, all of Ravana's his kin, and his
entire force is defeated by Rama and his military allies. In triumph Rama returns to Ayodhya with Lakshmana
and Sita and is crowned king.

Sita's Fire Test and the End of the Ramayana

 Rama was reunited with Sita after 14 years but was suddenly unable to trust her, suspecting her of infidelity. He
believed that she has betrayed him with Ravana. In order to set a good example and waylay his own fears, Rama
demanded that Sita prove her purity before he could take her back as his wife.

 Outraged and protesting her innocence, Sita told Lakshmana to build a fire that would burn her if she had done
anything wrong. Rama forced his brother to build the fire. Sita leaps into the flames. The flames crackled and
burned but refused to burn her. Sita walked through the flames, unharmed. As she walked the flames turned to
flowers. Afterwards Rama begged for forgiveness. [Source: British Library]
 Rama, Sita and their loyal followers then traveled home, to the Kingdom of Ayodhya in northern India. The
band set off and crossed the bridge. When they got to the other side, the bridge dropped down under the sea,
leaving only a trail of rocks jutting out in the sea towards Lanka (the chain of shoals known today as Adam's
Bridge). The band walked across India and on the way, people came out of their houses and placed little lamps
on their doorsteps to light their way. Following these lamps, the band was able to find their way home. This
journey is celebrated today with the Festival of Lights – Divali – where people place lights in their windows to
welcome Sita/Lakshmi, wealth and prosperity, into their homes.
 Some versions of the epic ends with Rama banishing innocent Sita to appease his subjects. By the time Rama
realizes that she has been faithful it is too late: she has been swallowed up by the earth. The self-sacrificing Sita
is regarded as model for the dutiful wife. Some versions of the story have a “happier” ending, with Rama
realizing that she has been true when she throws herself in a fire, proving she had in indeed been true.
According to these versions, after Sita proves here purity, she and Rama return to Ayodhya and Rama becomes
king. His rule, Ram-rajya, is an ideal time when everyone does his or her dharma and "fathers never have to
light the funeral pyres for their sons." Mahatma Gandhi dreamed that one day modern India would become a
Ram-rajya. [Source: Jean Johnson, New York University, U.C. Davis website]

Virtuous Rama, Sita and Bharata

 Rama, Sita and Bharata are all examples of people following their dharma. Jean Johnson of New York
University wrote: “The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of dharma; in fact, that was why Indian
consider him heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later he was an ideal husband to his
faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. "Be as Rama," young Indians have been taught for 2,000
years; "Be as Sita." [Source: Jean Johnson, New York University, U.C. Davis website \=/]

 “Prince Rama was the eldest of four sons and was to become king when his father retired from ruling. His
stepmother, however, wanted to see her son Bharata, Rama's younger brother, become king. Remembering that
the king had once promised to grant her any two wishes she desired, she demanded that Rama be banished and
Bharata be crowned. The king had to keep his word to his wife and ordered Rama's banishment. Rama accepted
the decree unquestioningly. "I gladly obey father's command," he said to his stepmother. "Why, I would go even
if you ordered it." \=/
 “When Sita, Rama's wife, heard Rama was to be banished, she begged to accompany him to his forest retreat.
"As shadow to substance, so wife to husband," she reminded Rama. "Is not the wife's dharma to be at her
husband's side? Let me walk ahead of you so that I may smooth the path for your feet," she pleaded. Rama
agreed, and Rama, Sita and his brother Lakshmana all went to the forest. \=/
 “When Bharata learned what his mother had done, he sought Rama in the forest. "The eldest must rule," he
reminded Rama. "Please come back and claim your rightful place as king." Rama refused to go against his
father's command, so Bharata took his brother's sandals and said, "I shall place these sandals on the throne as
symbols of your authority. I shall rule only as regent in your place, and each day I shall put my offerings at the
feet of my Lord. When the fourteen years of banishment are over, I shall joyously return the kingdom to you."
Rama was very impressed with Bharata's selflessness. As Bharata left, Rama said to him, "I should have known
that you would renounce gladly what most men work lifetimes to learn to give up."” \=/