Background

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic which follows Prince Rama's quest to
rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help of an army
of monkeys. It is traditionally attributed to the authorship of the sage Valmiki and
dated to around 500 BCE to 100 BCE.

Comprising 24,000 verses in seven cantos, the epic contains the teachings of the
very ancient Hindu sages. One of the most important literary works of ancient
India, it has greatly influenced art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and South
East Asia, with versions of the story also appearing in the Buddhist canon from a
very early date. The story of Rama has constantly been retold in poetic and
dramatic versions by some of India's greatest writers and also in narrative
sculptures on temple walls. It is one of the staples of later dramatic traditions, re-
enacted in Ramdance-dramas, village theatre, shadow-puppet theatre and the
annual Ram-lila (a-play).

Origins
The original five books of an oral epic of local northern significance
dealing with a hero and his exile, the abduction of his wife by a rival
king and her rescue became conflated into seven books in which the
hero Rama became an avatar of the god Vishnu, the scene shifted to
encompass the whole of India, and the struggle to recover his wife
became a metaphor for the final triumph of the righteous.

A brief summary of the Ramayana

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita ,
but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through
the plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by
Ravana, and Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search
for her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In
order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was vindicated by the
gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's triumphant return
to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a golden age
for all mankind.

Story in Detail
Dasharatha was the King of Ayodhya and had three wives and four
sons. Rama was the eldest and his mother was Kaushalya. Bharata was
the son of Dasharatha’s second and favorite wife, Queen Kaikeyi. The
other two were twins, Lakshmana and Shatrughna whose mother was
Sumithra. In the neighboring city the ruler’s daughter was named Sita.
When it was time for Sita to choose her bridegroom (at a ceremony
called a swayamvara) princes from all over the land were asked to
string a giant bow which no one could lift. However, as Rama picked it
up, he not only strung the bow, he broke it. Seeing this, Sita indicated
that she had chosen Rama as her husband by putting a garland around
his neck. Their love became a model for the entire kingdom as they
looked over the kingdom under the watchful eye of his father the king.

A few years later, King Dasharatha decided it was time to give his
throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest. Everyone
seemed pleased, save Queen Kaikeyi since she wanted her son Bharata
to rule. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before,
she got the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to
crown Bharata, even though the king pleaded with her not to demand
such a request. The devastated King could not face Rama and it was
Queen Kaikeyi who told Rama the King’s decree. Rama, always
obedient, was content to go into banishment in the forest. Sita and
Lakshmana accompanied him on his exile.

One day Rama and Lakshmana wounded a rakshasas (demon) princess

who tried to seduce Rama. She returned to her brother Ravana, the
ten-headed ruler of Lanka. In retaliation, Ravana devised a plan to
abduct Sita after hearing about her incomparable beauty. He sent one
of his demons disguised as a magical golden deer to entice Sita. To
please her, Rama and Lakshmana went to hunt the deer down. Before
they did though, they drew a protective circle around Sita and told her
that she would be safe for as long as she did not step outside the circle.
After Rama and Lakshmana left, Ravana appeared as a holy man
begging alms. The moment Sita stepped outside the circle to give him
food, Ravana grabbed her and carried her to his kingdom in Lanka.

Rama then sought the help of a band of monkeys offer to help him find
Sita. Hanuman, the general of the monkey band can fly since his father
is the wind. He flew to Lanka and, finding Sita in the grove, comforted
her and told her Rama would come to save her soon. Ravana’s men
captured Hanuman, and Ravana ordered them to wrap Hanuman's tail
in cloth and to set it on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman escaped
and hopped from house-top to house-top, setting Lanka on fire. He
then flew back to Rama to tell him where Sita was.

Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway from the tip
of India to Lanka and crossed over to Lanka where a cosmic battle
ensued. Rama killed several of Ravana’s brothers and eventually
confronted the ten-headed Ravana. He killed Ravana, freed Sita and
after Sita proved here purity, they returned to Ayodhya where Bharata
returned the crown to him.
Characters of the Ramayana
Rama is the hero of the Ramayana epic, an incarnation of the God
Vishnu. The eldest and favourite son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya, he
is a virtuous prince and is much loved by the people. He is exiled from
Ayodhya due to the plotting of his stepmother, Kaikeyi.

Sita is Rama's wife and daughter of King Janaka of Mithila. Sita is the
epitome of womanly purity and virtue.

Laksmana (seen here) is Rama's younger brother. Completely loyal

to Rama, he chooses to go with Rama and Sita when they are exiled
from Ayodhya.

Ravana is the king of Lanka and has 10 heads and 20 arms. He received
a boon from the God Brahma that he cannot be killed by gods, demons
or by spirits, after performing a severe penance for 10,000 years. After
receiving his reward from Brahma, Ravana began to lay waste to the
earth and disturbed the deeds of the good Hindu sages. Vishnu
incarnates as the human Rama to defeat him, assisted by an army of
monkeys and bears, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.

Dasaratha is the King of Ayodhya, Rama's father.

Kausalya is Rama's mother, Dasaratha's chief wife.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha's wife and Rama's stepmother. She demands that

Rama be banished to the forest and that her son Bharata be awarded the
kingdom instead.
Bharata is the second son of Dasaratha. When he learns that his mother
Kaikeyi had forced Rama into exile, causing Dasaratha to die broken
hearted, he storms out of the palace and goes in search of Rama. When
Rama refuses to return from his exile to assume the throne, Bharata
obtains Rama's sandals and places them on the throne as a gesture that
Rama is the true king.

Sumitra is Dasharatha's wife and mother of the twins Lakshmana and

Satrughna.

Hanuman is the wise and resourceful monkey who helps Rama in his
quest to defeat Ravana and rescue Sita.

Sugriva is the ruler of the monkey kingdom. His throne was taken by
his brother Bali, but Rama helps him to defeat the usurper in return for
his assistance in finding Sita.

The importance of the Ramayana in Indian

culture
The epic's poetic stature and marvellous story means that the story of
Rama has been constantly retold by some of India's greatest writers both
in Sanskrit and regional languages. It is one of the staples of various
dramatic traditions, in court drama, dance-dramas, and in shadow-puppet
theatres. In northern India, the annual Ram-lila or 'Rama-play' is
performed at the autumn festival of Dassehra to celebrate with Rama and
Sita the eventual triumph of light over darkness.

A hugely popular television series, 'Ramayan', was aired in India 1987-

1988, drawing over 100 million viewers to become 'the world's most
viewed mythological serial'. Dubbed 'Ramayan' fever by India Today
magazine, it was reported that India came to a virtual standstill as so
many people who could gain access to a television stopped whatever
they were doing to watch the small screen adventures of Rama. From
January 2008, a new big-budget primetime series of the Ramayana has
been appearing on television screens across India.

The Ramayana manuscripts of Jagat Singh of

Mewar
Rama was of a royal race descended from the Sun, and Rajput clans of
the Solar dynasty, among them the rulers of Mewar or Udaipur, claimed
Rama as their ancestor, making the Ramayana something of a family
history.

The Ramayana manuscripts commissioned by Rana Jagat Singh of

Mewar (1628-52) are among the most important documents of 17th-
century Indian painting. Unlike most other Ramayana manuscripts, they
have not been dispersed as individual paintings into various collections
but remain largely intact. The huge scale of the project (with originally
over 400 paintings) allowed the artists to focus on telling an epic story
on the grandest scale.

The seven books of the Ramayana are illustrated in three different styles
of Mewar painting, including two books by Sahib Din, the greatest
Mewar artist of the 17th century. Four of the seven books and part of a
fifth are in the British Library. The two remaining books are still in
India.

The British Library's four volumes were given by Rana Bhim Singh of
Mewar to Col. James Tod, the historian of the Rajputs, who brought
them back to London in 1823. Bhim Singh also gave Tod a separate
manuscript of the first book of the Ramayana dated 1712. They were all
acquired by the British Museum in 1844, and from there came to the
British Library.

9 lessons from Ramayana that will help one

find right path of Dharma and Karma
Ramanaya is considered to be one of the old, valued scriptures that
reflects the Indian culture. It also reflects the ideal way of lifestyle, Lord
Rama and Goddess Sita being the epitome of perfection. Having heard
many stories and incidents from Ramayana, now is the time to
incorporate those life lessons to be more peaceful and happy. Here are
9 important lessons from Ramayana that will help one find the right
path of Dharma and Karma.

Truth triumphs

The basic teaching fo Ramayana is that no matter how powerful evil is,
it will always be defeated by Good. Truth always wins, no matter how
vicious or poisonous lie is because even a bitter truth oozes with
positivity and the sweetest lie has the darkest agenda behind it. The
win of good over evil is a universal fate. A person should always have a
noble heart and good values. That is how Lord Rama defeated the most
knowledgeable person in history Ravana.

Unity can overcome any difficulty in life

Dashratha has three wives and four sons, all of them loved each other
immensely and when life put them through tough times, their hearts
were united even when they were apart physically. You should always
stand by your family because when together a family can win over any
difficulty. The fruits of togetherness give the power to sail the ship
when the tide seems higher than the sky.

Be deeply committed to your duty

Besides being Sita’s husband, Ram was also the King of Ayodhya. And
the duty of the king is to keep his subjects happy. And hence, he had to
abandon his wife for the sake of the masses after they questioned her
chastity. As a husband, he was duty bound towards his wife. But as a
King, he had to think of his subjects’ wishes ahead of his personal ones.

Choose the path of righteousness

Vibhishana, younger brother of Ravana chose to not support his sibling

in the war against Ram. He knew his brother had committed a sin by
abducted someone, a married lady.

Remain humble no matter how powerful you become

Hanuman could have easily rescued Sita from Ravana’s Ashoka Vatika.
He had the power to single-handedly fight against Ravana’s army. But
he chose to surrender to Lord Ram’s divinity and let him do the needful.
Treat everyone equally

Lord Rama treated everyone equally and that’s how he earned the love
and respect among everyone. No matter if a person was younger or
elder, poor or rich, he was the same person for everyone. Even when
Sabri (the sage’s daughter) offered him the already tasted berry fruits
he ate them without giving a second thought. He was always kind and
humble to people. We should toe inhere this quality. We should always
treat everyone with equality and should not discriminate on the basis
of status, sex, age, or cast. We should treat animals equally as the true
human being is the one who knows that everyone deserves an equal
treatment.

Always keep good company

It is said that your company shapes you into a person you are. We have
been told to keep good company since childhood and Ramayana too
emphasize the relevance of good company. Queen Kaikeyi, the third
wife of Dashratha loved Rama more than her own son but her
handmaiden, Manthara poisoned her thoughts with negative feed, in
result Kaikeyi asked for Rama’s fourteen years of exile. A negative
person can brainwash all the good inside you, that is why we should
always keep a healthy circle so that we become better with time.

All that glitters is not gold

Sita got attracted to a spotted deer that looked incredibly beautiful. She
wanted Ram to get the deer for her from the jungle. Actually, it wasn’t
a deer, but Mareech, Ravana’s accomplice in disguise of the animal.

Forgiveness is greater than revenge

When Ravana learned that Laxman has insulted his sister Supnakha, he
went to seek vengeance and abducted Sita. Now he was lured into his
own trap of anger and ultimately he signed his death warrant. He was
well-versed and knowledgeable but the feeling of revenge cost him his
life, therefore, we should always keep a forgiving nature because
vengeance and revenge do not bring any good. They bring a downfall in
our life. Keeping an attitude of forgiveness brings peace and harmony.

Ramayana: Check 13 lesser known facts

In Hindu religion, the epic ‘Ramayana’ holds a very special place. It

describes the birth and journey of Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. Most of
us know the story of Ramayana, but there are some less popular facts
related to this epic about which people are not aware of. Today we will
uncover 13 such facts or mysteries related to Ramayana.
1. Gayatri Mantra is formed from the first letter that comes after
every 1000 verses of Ramayan.

The Gayatri Mantra consists of 24 letters and the Valmiki Ramayan has
24,000 verses. The first letter that comes after every 1000 verses of the
Ramayan forms the Gayatri Mantra. This mantra is the essence of this
sacred epic. The Gayatri Mantra was first mentioned in the Rigveda.

2. Besides Ram and his brothers, King Dasharatha was also the
father of a daughter

Almost everyone knows about Shri Ram's parents and brothers, but very
few people know that Ram also had a sister named "Shanta".

She was much older than the four brothers. Kaushalya was her mother. It
is believed that once Rompad’s king Angadesh and his queen Varshini
came to Ayodhya, they had no children.

During the conversation when King Dasaratha learned about this and
said that he will give his Shanta to them. On hearing this, Rompad and
Varshini were very happy. They took care of him with great affection
and performed all the duties of parents.

3. Ram is an avatar of Vishnu but do you know similar facts about

his brothers?

Ram is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but do you know

whose avatar his other brothers were? Lakshmana is considered to be
the incarnation of Sheshnag. While Bharata and Shatrughna are
believed to be the incarnation of Sudarshan-chakra and conch-shell
respectively. These are carried by Lord Vishnu.

4. Name of Lord Shiva's bow used in swayamvar of Sita

Most of us know that Ram was married to Sita through a swayamvara.

All the princes present in swayamvara needed to complete a task, a bow
was used for that purpose. That Lord Shiva's bow was named "Pinak".
5. ‘Gudakesh’ is another name of Lakshman

It is believed that during the 14 years of exile, Lakshman never slept to

protect his brother and sister-in-law, due to this he is also known as
"Gudakesh".

On the first night of exile, when Ram and Sita were sleeping, Nidra Devi
appeared to Laxman and Laxman asked her to give blessing so that he
would never feel asleep. Devi Nidra asked her if anyone else can sleep
instead of you? Laxman advised that her wife Urmila can sleep. After
hearing this, Devi Nidra asked Urmila about this and Urmila happily
accepted it.

6. Name of the forest where Ram, Laxman and Sita stayed during
exile.

Most of us know that Ram, Lakshman and Sita had spent many years in
the forest, but few people will know the name of that forest. The name
of that forest was Dandakaranya, in which Ram, Sita and Lakshmana
spent their exile. C was spread over 35,600 square miles which included
parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh. At that time this forest was considered to be the home of the
most fierce demons. Hence its name Dandakaranya where "Dand" means
"to punish" and "Aranya" means "forest".

7. The story of Laxman Rekha is not mentioned in the Valmiki

Ramayana

The most intriguing episode in the entire Ramayana story is the Laxman
Rekha episode, in which Laxman draws a line around his hut in the
forest. But this story is not mentioned in Valmiki's Ramayana.

8. Ravana was an excellent veena player

Ravana was the king of all demons. Everyone was afraid of him when he
was a child as he had ten heads. He had a strong faith in Lord Shiva.
There is strong knowledge that Ravana was a great scholar and he
studied Vedas. But did you know what was the reason for Veena as a
symbol in Ravana's flag? Ravana was an excellent veena player, due to
which the veena was inscribed as a symbol in his flag. Although Ravana
did not pay much attention to this art, he liked to play this instrument.

9. Kumbhakarna get the blessing of sleep because Indra was jealous

of him

Kumbhakarna was the younger brother of Ravana, whose body was very
huge and he was also a gourmet. It is mentioned in the Ramayana that
Kumbhakarna sleeps for six consecutive months. He used to get up only
one day and only to eat food and sleep again for six months. Do you
know why Kumbhakarna was like this?

Once he conducted a Yagya and after the end of Yagya, Brahma

appeared in front of this and asked him to make a wish. After listening to
this Indra afraid that he might ask his position, Indra requested Saraswati
to help. Saraswati sat on Kumbhakarna's tongue and while telling about
his wish Kumbhakarna said 'Nindrasan' (Sleep) instead of 'Indrasan'
(position of Indra).

10. According to NASA, the story of "Ramayana" and "Adam's

Bridge" are related to each other.

The final phase of the Ramayana story describes that Rama and
Lakshmana built a bridge to conquer Lanka with the help of the monkey
army. It is believed that this story is about 1,750,000 years old. Recently
NASA discovered a man-made ancient bridge connecting Sri Lanka and
India.

11. Ravana knew that he would be killed by Rama.

After reading the full story of Ramayana, one can learn that Ravana was
a cruel and most vile demon that everyone hated.

When Ravana's brothers heard about Rama's attack because of Sita's

kidnapping, he asked his brother to surrender. Ravana refused to
surrender and expressed his desire to attain salvation by dying at the
hands of Rama.

He said that "If Rama and Lakshmana are two normal human beings
then Sita will remain with me as I will easily defeat them. And if they
are god then I'll get salvation.”

12. Why did Ram punish Laxman?

It is mentioned in the Ramayana that Shri Rama had given the death
penalty to his younger brother Laxman, but do you why Lord Rama had
given death sentence to Laxman?

This incident is about the time when Sri Ram returned to Ayodhya after
Lanka victory and became the king of Ayodhya.

One day Yama Devta came to see Sri Rama and to discuss something
important. Before starting the discussion he asked Lord Rama to promise
him that nobody disrupts this conversation until it is over otherwise he
has to give death penalty to that person.

Ram appointed Laxman as the gatekeeper so that no can disrupt the

conversation.

Laxman stands as the gatekeeper. After a short time, Durvasa rishi

visited the place and asked Lakshmana to inform Ram about his arrival,
Lakshmana humbly denied.

After this, rishi Durvasa got angry on him and he said he will curse the
entire Ayodhya. To save Ayodhya, Laxman decided to sacrifice himself.
He went inside to inform Lord Ram about his arrival

Now Shri Rama got confused because he had to give death penalty to
Lakshman according to his promise. In the event of this dilemma, Shri
Ram remembered his Guru Vasishta and asked him to show the other
way.
Guru Vasishta, you can leave Laxman and it is same as giving the death
penalty. Laxman after listening to this told that he can't stay away from
his brother for his whole life. Laxman decided to embrace death by
obeying his brother’s word. After that, Lakshman took water samadhi.

13. Rama had abandoned earth by sinking into the river Saryu.

It is believed that when Sita abandoned her body after being absorbed in
the earth, lord Ram abandoned the earth after taking water samadhi in
the river Saryu.