Ramayana

Characters
Rama is one of the protagonists of the tale. Portrayed as the
seventh avatar of the God Vishnu, he is the eldest and favorite
son of the King of Ayodhya, Dasharatha, and his
Queen Kausalya. He is portrayed as the epitome of virtue.
Dasharatha is forced by Kaieyi, one of his !ives, to command
"ama to relin#uish his right to the throne for fourteen years and
go into e$ile.
Sita is one of the protagonists and the beloved !ife of "ama
and the daughter of ing %anaa. "ama !ent to &ithila, and got
a chance to marry her by lifting a heavy 'o! in a competition
organi(ed by King %anaa. )he competition !as to find the
most suitable husband for *ita and many princes from different
states competed to !in her. *ita is the avatar of
Goddess +ashmi, the consort of Vishnu. *ita is portrayed as
the epitome of female purity and virtue. *he follo!s her
husband into e$ile and is abducted by "avana. *he is
imprisoned on the island of +ana until "ama rescues her by
defeating the demon ing "avana. +ater, she gives birth
to +ava and Kusha, the heirs of "ama.
Hanuman is the tritagonist and a vanara belonging to the
ingdom of Kishindha. ,n some versions, -other than
Valmii.s/ he is portrayed as the eleventh avatar of
God *hiva -He is also called "udra/ and an ideal bhakta of
"ama. He is born as the son of Kesari, a vanara ing, and the
Goddess An0ana. He plays an important part in locating *ita and
in the ensuing battle. He is believed to live until our modern
!orld.
Lakshmana , the younger brother of "ama, !ho chose to go
into e$ile !ith him. He is the son of King Dasaratha and Queen
*umitra, and t!in of *hatrughna. +ashmana is portrayed as an
avatar of the *hesha, the n1ga associated !ith the God Vishnu.
He spends his time protecting *ita and "ama during !hich he
fought the demoness *urpanaha. He is forced to leave *ita,
!ho !as deceived by the demon &aricha into believing that
"ama !as in trouble. *ita is abducted by "avana upon him
leaving her. He !as married to *ita.s younger sister 2rmila.
Ravana , a rashasa, is the ing of +ana. After performing
severe penance for ten thousand years he received a boon from
the creator3God 'rahma4 he could henceforth not be illed by
Gods, demons, or spirits. He is portrayed as a po!erful demon
ing !ho disturbs the penances of Rishis. Vishnu incarnates as
the human "ama to defeat him, thus circumventing the boon
given by 'rahma.
Jatayu , the son of Aru a and nephe! of Garuda. A demi3
god !ho has the form of an eagle that tries to rescue *ita from
"avana. %atayu fought valiantly !ith "avana, but as %atayu !as
very old, "avana soon got the better of him. As "ama and
+ashmana chanced upon the stricen and dying %atayu in their
search for *ita, he informs them the direction in !hich "avana
had gone.
Dasharatha is the ing of Ayodhya and the father of "ama.
He has three #ueens, Kausalya, Kaieyi and *umitra, and three
other sons4 'harata, +ashmana and *hatrughna. Kaieyi,
Dasharatha5s favorite #ueen, forces him to mae his son
'harata cro!n prince and send "ama into e$ile. Dasharatha
dies heartbroen after "ama goes into e$ile.
Bharata is the son of Dasharatha and Queen Kaieyi. 6hen
he learns that his mother Kaieyi had forced "ama into e$ile
and caused Dasharatha to die broenhearted, he storms out of
the palace and goes in search of "ama in the forest. 6hen
"ama refuses to return from his e$ile to assume the throne,
'harata obtains "ama.s sandals, and places them on the throne
as a gesture that "ama is the true ing. 'harata then rules
Ayodhya as the regent of "ama for the ne$t fourteen years. He
!as married to &andavi.
Satrughna is the son of Dasharatha and his third !ife
Queen *umitra. He is the youngest brother of "ama and also the
t!in brother of +ashmana. He !as married to *hrutairti.
Sugriva , a vanara ing !ho helped "ama regain *ita from
"avana. He had an agreement !ith "ama through !hich 'aali 7
*ugriva.s brother and ing of Kishindha3!ould be illed by
"ama in e$change for *ugriva.s help in finding *ita. *ugriva
ultimately ascends the throne of Kishindha after the slaying of
'aali, and fulfils his promise by putting the Vanara forces at
"ama.s disposal
Indrajit , a son of "avana !ho t!ice defeated +ashmana in
battle, before succumbing to him the third time. An adept of the
magical arts, he coupled his supreme fighting sills !ith various
stratagems to inflict heavy losses on the Vanara army before his
death.
Kumbhakarna , a brother of "avana, famous for his eating
and sleeping. He !ould sleep for months at a time and !ould be
e$tremely ravenous upon !aing up, consuming anything set
before him. His monstrous si(e and loyalty made him an
important part of "avana.s army. During the !ar, he decimated
the Vanara army before "ama cut off his limbs and head.
Surpanakha , "avana.s demoness sister !ho fell in love
!ith "ama, and had the magical po!er to tae any form she
!anted.
Vibhishana , a younger brother of "avana. He !as against
the idnapping of *ita, and 0oined the forces of "ama !hen
"avana refused to return her. His intricate no!ledge of +ana
!as vital in the !ar, and he !as cro!ned ing after the fall of
"avana.
Summary
)he Ramayana is one of the t!o great ,ndian epics the other
being the &ahabharata. )he Ramayana tells about life in ,ndia
around 8999 ':; and offers models in dharma. )he hero, "ama,
lived his !hole life by the rules of dharma< in fact, that !as !hy
,ndian consider him heroic. 6hen "ama !as a young boy, he !as
the perfect son. +ater he !as an ideal husband to his faithful !ife,
*ita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. ='e as "ama,= young
,ndians have been taught for >,999 years< ='e as *ita.=
)he original Ramayana !as a >?,999 couplet3long epic
poem attributed to the *ansrit poet Valmii. @ral versions of
"ama.s story circulated for centuries, and the epic !as probably first
!ritten do!n sometime around the start of the :ommon ;ra. ,t has
since been told, retold, translated and transcreated throughout *outh
and *outheast Asia, and the Ramayana continues to be performed in
dance, drama, puppet sho!s, songs and movies all across Asia.
Arom childhood most ,ndians learn the characters and
incidents of these epics and they furnish the ideals and !isdom of
common life. )he epics help to bind together the many peoples of
,ndia, transcending caste, distance and language. )!o all3,ndian
holidays celebrate events in the "amayana. Dussehra, a fourteen3
day festival in @ctober, commemorates the siege of +ana and
"ama.s victory over "avana, the demon ing of +ana. Divali, the
@ctober3Bovember festival of +ights, celebrates "ama and *ita.s
return home to their ingdom of Ayodhya
Prince "ama !as the eldest of four sons and !as to become
ing !hen his father retired from ruling. His stepmother, ho!ever,
!anted to see her son 'harata, "ama.s younger brother, become
ing. "emembering that the ing had once promised to grant her
any t!o !ishes she desired, she demanded that "ama be banished
and 'harata be cro!ned. )he ing had to eep his !ord to his !ife
and ordered "ama.s banishment. "ama accepted the decree
un#uestioningly. =, gladly obey father.s command,= he said to his
stepmother. =6hy, , !ould go even if you ordered it.=
6hen *ita, "ama.s !ife, heard "ama !as to be banished,
she begged to accompany him to his forest retreat. =As shado! to
substance, so !ife to husband,= she reminded "ama. =,s not the
!ife.s dharma to be at her husband.s sideC +et me !al ahead of you
so that , may smooth the path for your feet,= she pleaded. "ama
agreed, and "ama, *ita and his brother +ashmana all !ent to the
forest.
6hen 'harata learned !hat his mother had done, he sought
"ama in the forest. =)he eldest must rule,= he reminded "ama.
=Please come bac and claim your rightful place as ing.= "ama
refused to go against his father.s command, so 'harata too his
brother.s sandals and said, =, shall place these sandals on the throne
as symbols of your authority. , shall rule only as regent in your
place, and each day , shall put my offerings at the feet of my +ord.
6hen the fourteen years of banishment are over, , shall 0oyously
return the ingdom to you.= "ama !as very impressed !ith
'harata.s selflessness. As 'harata left, "ama said to him, =, should
have no!n that you !ould renounce gladly !hat most men !or
lifetimes to learn to give up.=
+ater in the story, "avana, the evil King of +ana, -!hat is
probably present3day *ri +ana/ abducted *ita. "ama mustered the
aid of a money army, built a cause!ay across to +ana, released
*ita and brought her safely bac to Ayodhya. ,n order to set a good
e$ample, ho!ever, "ama demanded that *ita prove her purity
before he could tae her bac as his !ife. "ama, *ita and 'harata
are all e$amples of persons follo!ing their dharma.
)his lesson focuses on ho! the "amayana teaches ,ndians
to perform their dharma. ;ncourage students to pic out e$amples of
characters in the epic !ho !ere faithful to their dharma and those
!ho violated their dharma. &ahatma Gandhi dreamed that one day
modern ,ndia !ould become a "am3ra0ya.