Rama

A Brief Outline of the Plot of Ramayana

Ramayana is the immortal tale of Shri Rama that teaches us the values of ideology, devotion, duty, relationships, dharma and karma.

                                

Rama, the prince of Ayodhya and his wife Sita are the ideal royal couple. Rama is brave, wise and dutiful, and Sita is beautiful, generous and saintly. Sita gets introduced to Rama at a ceremony called ‘Swayamvara’, organized by her father Janaka, the king of Mithila to identify a suitable bridegroom for her lovely daughter. Princes from various kingdoms are invited and challenge to string a giant bow. Only the mighty Rama could lift the bow, string it and even break it into two halves. This leads Sita to garland Rama as her husband.




Intrigues in the Royal Family

Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya, had three wives and four sons. Rama was the eldest and his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was the son of his second and favorite wife, Kaikeyi. The other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna from his third wife Sumitra. While Rama is all set for coronation, his step-mother, Dasharatha’s second wife, Kaikeyi, wants her son, Bharata, to become king. Before the aged king could hand over his crown to his eldest son Rama, Dasaratha is destined to die. And instead of being crowned king of Ayodhya, Rama is sent into exile in the forest for fourteen year by an intrigue in the palace and a quirk of fate

Character	Description
Ahalya	Wife of sage Gautama, who was turned into a stone and later became free from curse by the touch of Rama
Bharat	Brother of Rama and son of Kaikeyi
Dasharatha	Rama's father and King of Kosala
Dashanan	Ten headed King of Lanka a.k.a. Ravana
Garuda	Eagel; King of winged creatures
Gautam	Sage/Rishi who cursed her wife Ahalya to be a stone for her immoral conduct
Hanuman	Son of the wind God; Devout of Rama and a leading warrior among monkey tribe
Indrajit	Ravana's son who fought with Rama with magical powers
Jambuvan	Leader of bears who found Sita with his supernatural powers
Janaka	King of Mithila; Father of Sita, who found her in a furrow
Jatayu	Great bird who was killed by Ravana while rescuing Sita
Kaikeyi	Dashartha's youngest queen and mother of Bharata who asked for Rama's exile
Kausalya	Dashratha's queen and Rama's mother
Kevat	Boatman who let Rama, Laxman and Sita cross the river in his boat and washes Rama's feet for his fee
Khar	Brother of Ravana and Shurpanakha
Kumbhkarna	Ravan's brother known for sleeping and eating
Kush	Son of Rama and Sita
Laxman	Queen Sumitra's son and Rama's brother
Lava	Son of Ram and Sita; brother of Kush
Mandavi	Bharat's wife & King Janak's daughter
Manthara	Maid servant of Keikeyi who convinced her for Bharat's thorn and exile of Rama
Maricha or Mareech	Who assumed form of suvarna mriga (golden deer) and help abduct Sita
Meghanad	Ravana's son, who made Laxman unconscious in the battlefield with his arrow
Nala - Nil	Son of great builder who helped Rama build bridge to Lanka
Ravana	Ten headed King of Lanka, who abducted Sita; brother of Vibhishana & Surpanakha; father of Indrajit; husband of Mandodari
Sampati	Brother of Jatayu
Shatrughna	Rama's younger borther
Shabari	Devotee of Ram who offered him berry fruit
Shatananda	Head Preist (kul Guru) of Mithila
Shiva	Hindu Lord, whose bow was lifted by Rama in swayamvar
Shravan	Son of blind parents; known as an idol of service to parents
Shrutkirti	Shatrughna's wife and King Janak's daughter
Shurpanakha	Ravan's sister whose ears and nose were cut by Laxman
Sita	Daughter of Janaka and wife of Rama
Sugriva	King of monkey tribe and King of Kiskindha
Sumanta	Charioteer of King Dasharatha
Sumitra	Wife of Dashratha; Mother of Laxman & Shatrughna
Sunayana	Wife of King Janak; Mother of Sita
Sushen	Lankan physician, who advised Sanjivani herbs from Kailas mountain in order to cure Laxman
Tataka	Demoness (rakshasi) killed by Rama; mother of Mareecha
Tulsidas	Sanskrit scholar and poet who created Ramcharitmanas, a version of Valmiki Ramayana in local Avadhi language
Urmila	Laxman's wife; daughter of King Janak and sister of Sita
Vali (Bali) or Vaali	Cousin of Sugriva, who occupied Kiskindha and was killed by Rama
Valmiki	Great Poet and creator of Ramayana; Sage who helped Sita and her two son Lava-Kush stay at her ashram
Vanara	Monkey; A hill tribe of Southern India
Vasistha	Head priest (kul Guru) of Ayodhya
Vibhishana	Ravana's brother who leaves Lanka to join Rama and later become king of Lanka
Vishnu	Hindu Lord; Rama is considered as eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu
Vishwamitra	Rishi, who took Rama for killing troubling demons

Place	Description
Ayodhya	Capital city of Kosala which was rules by Rama's father, Dashratha
Ashoka van	A place in Lanka where Ravana kept Sita after abduction
Chitrakoot or Chitrakut	Forest place where Rama, Sita and Laxman stayed during exile
Dandakaranya	Forest where Rama, Sita and Laxman traveled during vanvas exile
Godavari	River, crossing which Rama, Sita and Laxman reached Panchavati
Kailasa	Mountain where Hanuman found sanjivani; Abode of Lord Shiva
Kiskindha	Kingdom ruled by Sugriva, leader of monkey tribe
Kosala	Kingdom ruled by Dashratha
Mithila	kingdom ruled by king Janaka, Sita's father
Lanka	Island kingdom ruled by demon king Ravana
Panchavati	Rama, Sita and Laxman's forest hut, from where Sita was abducted by Ravana
Prayag	Confluence of river Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (presently known as Allahabad)
Sarayu	River on the banks of which Ayodhya is situated

Rama is Banished for Fourteen Years

Rama goes to the forest, accompanied by wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, and they live as recluses among the hermits that lead a life of meditative retreat in the deep woods. Bharata, whose mother's evil plot won him the throne, goes to meet Rama in the forest and pleads him to return to the capital. As Rama declines to break his vow given to his deceased father, Bharata is compelled to go back to Ayodhya with his sandals, which he places on the throne as the symbol of Rama’s continuing monarchy.

            

          

Hanuman, the mighty ape that aided Lord Rama in his expedition against evil forces, is one of the most popular idols in the Hindu pantheon. Believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva, Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion. Hanuman's tale in the epic Ramayana - where he is assigned the responsibility to locate Rama's wife Sita abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka — is known for its astounding ability to inspire and equip a reader with all the ingredients needed to face ordeals and conquer obstructions in the way of the world.

Rama Fights Ravana, Rescues Sita

While Rama, his wife and brother are living a simple yet happy life in the forest, tragedy strikes! Henceforth, the plot revolves around the abduction of Sita by the demon king Ravana, the ten-headed ruler of Lanka, and Rama’s pursuit to rescue her, aided by Lakshmana and the mighty monkey-general Hanuman. Sita is held captive in the island as Ravana tries to persuade her to marry him. Rama assembles an army of allies comprising mainly of monkeys under the brave Hanuman. They attack Ravana’s army, and after a fierce battle, succeed in killing the demon king and freeing Sita, reuniting her with Rama.


Rama Regains His Kingdom, Sita Returns to Mother Earth

After fourteen years, Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya and are warmly welcomed back by the citizens of the kingdom, where they rule for many years, and have two sons – Luv and Kush. Unfortunately, Sita’s chastity during her period of capture by Ravana comes under scrutiny, and she has to go through trial by fire to prove her purity. But queen, who emerged from the earth at her birth, invokes Mother Earth to take her back into the earth, and the saintly Sita returns to her Mother, never to reappear again.