The story of

Ramayana

Introduction
(exposition)

A long time ago, there was a wise King named Dasharatha who
ruled over the Kingdom of Ayodhya, though the King had three
wives, he did not have any children. The chief priest Vasishta
advised Dasharatha to conduct a fire sacrifice to obtain the good
graces of the gods. With the advice of the chief priest, he made a
fire sacrifice to the gods, and they were very pleased with his
offering, so one of the gods appeared from the flames and gave
him a pot full of nectar. The god told Dasharatha to share the
nectar with his three wives.
 Part 1

In time, Dasharatha’s wives gave birth to sons. Rama, Bharatha,

Lakshmana and Shatrughan. The four young princes were
intelligent and good natured. One day, sage Vishvamitra came to
Dasharatha and asked him to send Rama into the forest with him
to kill a demon who was continuously disrupting the fire sacrifices
of the sages. Dasharatha wanted to reject the request, but he
thought about it and sent Rama and Lakshmana with Vishvamitra.
Rama was able to kill the hideous monster and terrible demon
Tadaka. Vishvamitra was pleased at Rama and so were the gods.
Vishvamitra then took the young prince Rama to the neighboring
kingdom of Mithila ruled by King Janaka. In Mithila, there was a
contest for who could string the great bow given by Lord Shiva,
many had tried and failed but Rama succeeded in stringing the
bow. This won him King Janaka’s daughter Sita in marriage. Rama
married Sita and they lived happily for many years. Dasharatha
decided that it was time to give up the title king to Rama.
Everyone was pleased with the decision because Rama was a kind,
Prince.
 Part 2

However, Kaikeya was not pleased with the decision. She wanted
her son, Bharatha, to become the king. Kaikeyi asked for the two
boons he had promised her and asked Dasharatha to make
Bharatha the king and send Rama away to the forest for fourteen
years. King Dasharatha was heartbroken, but he was bound by his
to keep his promise. Rama left for the forest without hesitation,
accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana. Bharatha was horrified by
what his mother had done. When king Dasharatha died the whole
kingdom was stricken with grief. Bharatha went into the forest to
convince Rama to return, but Rama rejected the offer. Bharatha
took Rama’s footwear and placed it on the throne. He said He
would rule till Rama returned. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana lived in
the forest amidst the beauty and piece of nature’s treasure.
 Part 3
One day, A she-demon called Surpankha saw Rama and wanted to marry him. When
Rama refused, she asked Lakshmana to marry her. Angry at their refusal, she attacked
Sita. On seeing this, Lakshmana rushed to help Sita, while Rama fought and put a scratch
on the she-demon. Surpankha retreated and went to her brother, Ravana, The King of
Lanka and asked him to punish them for insulting her. Ravana sent his uncle Mareechi to
kidnap Sita as hostage. Mareechi disguised themself as a golden deer to lure Sita into a
trap. Sita saw the golden deer and asked Rama to hunt it. As Rama was chasing the
golden deer Mareechi used magic to call out Lakshmana in Rama’s voice. Hearing Rama’s
voice, Sita was afraid and sent Lakshmana to help him. Before leaving, Lakshmana drew
a magic line to protect Sita and asked her not to cross the line under any circumstances .
As soon as Lakshmana left, Ravana came in disguise as a sage. He was offended when
Sita told him that she couldn’t cross to give him food. On seeing him angry, Sita forgot
Laksmana’s warning and crossed the line. As soon as she crossed the line, Ravana
grabbed her and flew away wo Lanka. Hearing her cries Sugriva and Hanuman tried to
stop Ravana but Ravana wounded Sugriva badly. Rama and Lakshmana, seeing what
happened to Sugriva, rushed to him. They tried to heal him, but he died from his wounds
Hanuman angered by this agreed to help rescue Sita and kill Ravana. Hanuman sent one
of his monkeys to search for Sita. One day they finally found where Sita was being kept,
she was in Ravana’s palace. With this news Hanuman came to the palace and gave her
Rama's ring and told her that Rama would come and rescue her soon. Ravana’s soldier
caught Hanuman and took him to Ravana. Hanuman asked Ravana to set Sita free but
Ravana Refused. Ravana put his arm on the shoulder on Hanuman and stabbed Hanuman
with his sword. One of the monkeys saw this and relayed what fate Hanuman endured to
Rama and Lakshmana.
The big battle
Rama, and Lakshmana rounded up a huge army. A bridge was built to Lanka and the
army marched across. A fierce battle began. Thousands of great warriors of both armies
were killed. Ravana’s army was losing. He called on his brother Kumbhakarna, who had
the habit of sleeping for six months at a time, for help. He appeared on the battlefield
striking terror. Rama faced Kumbhakarna and killed him. Lakshmana shot an arrow in
one of the eyes of Ravana. It took many hours, but Rama and Ravana finally faced each
other they both fought very hard until they were both tired of fighting and when Ravana
put his sword down. Rama took the opportunity to stab Ravana’s heart.

Ending
Finally, Rama and Sita were united. The fourteen years of exile was over and they
returned to Ayodhya. People rejoiced and came out to receive him. The celebrations wen t
on for many days. The gods smiled down on the new King, Who brought prosperity and
happiness