wish, Rama immediately prepares to
leave, refusing to seize the throne by
force, and Sita and Lakshmana
announce their intention to accompany
him. Bharata is put on the throne but
only as a regent in Rama’s place, and the
heart-broken Dasharatha dies of grief.
In the Aranyakhanda (“Forest sec-
tion”), Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita settle
into life in forest exile. Rama and
Lakshmana kill many of the demons
(rakshasas) who plague the forest-
dwellers, thus bringing peace to the
area. One day the female demon
Shurpanakhacomes to their dwelling,
is smitten by the two young men, and
asks them to marry her. The brothers
first mock her, then mutilate her by cut-
ting off her ears and nose. Shurpanakha
goes to her brother Ravana, the demon-
king of Lanka, and demands revenge for
the attack. When frontal assaults fail,
Ravana commands his uncle Marichato
assume the form of a golden deer in
order to lure Rama away from his hut. At
Sita’s behest, Rama pursues the deer
after giving Lakshmana strict orders not
to leave Sita’s side. Rama slays the deer,
which with its dying breath calls out
Lakshmana’s name in a voice that mim-
ics Rama’s. Sita hears the call and flies
into a rage when Lakshmana refuses to
leave her. She finally drives him off, in
an uncharacteristic show of temper, by
accusing him of neglecting his brother
in a time of peril so that he can have Sita
to himself. When Lakshmana departs,
Ravana comes to Sita disguised as a
mendicant ascetic. He lures her out of a
protective magiccircle that Lakshmana
has drawn around her, then kidnaps her.
Ravana’s escape is briefly delayed by a
virtuous vulture named Jatayu, who
attempts to rescue Sita. In the ensuing
combat Jatayu is mortally wounded, but
he lives long enough for Rama and
Lakshmana to find him and learn the
identity of Sita’s abductor.
The Kishkindhakhanda (“Kishkindha
section”) narrates Rama’s and Laksh-
mana’s trip south to the Kishkindha
forest. There they become allies with
the monkey-king Sugriva, whose lost
kingdom Rama helps to regain by slay-
ing Sugriva’s brother Bali. After enjoy-
ing the spoils of kingship, Sugriva and
his monkey subjects, particularly his
lieutenant Hanuman, begin searching
throughout the country for any trace
of Sita. Hanuman decides to leap over
the sea, to Lanka, to see if he can find
her there.
The Sundarakhanda (“Beautiful sec-
tion”) begins with Hanuman leaping the
sea to Lanka and describes how, after
much searching, he finally manages to
locate Sita. Meanwhile, Ravana unsuc-
cessfully tries to convince Sita to accept
him as her husband. The demon’s
actions are motivated by his desire
to avoid a curse, which states that he
will drop dead if he ever rapes a woman
who resists him. Hanuman reassures
Sita that all will be well, and after
many adventures makes his way back
to Rama, to inform him that Sita has
been found.
The Lankakhanda (“Lanka section”)
describes the beginning of a war
between the forces of Rama and Ravana.
Aided by armies of monkeys and bears,
Rama builds a causeway across the sea
to Lanka and begins to besiege the city.
In his struggle he is helped by Ravana’s
youngest brother Vibhishana, who
opposes Ravana’s evil deeds and casts in
his lot with Rama. Ravana is assisted by
his brother Kumbhakarnaand his son
Indrajit, but in the end Ravana and his
demon allies are killed in battle. After
being rescued, Sita undergoes a trial by
fireto prove her chastity, and when the
fire refuses to burn her, she is shown to
have been completely faithful to Rama.
They return in triumph to Ayodhya,
where Bharata renounces the throne,
and the couple rule happily.
In the “Final section” (Uttarakhanda),
which was almost certainly added later,
Rama has further doubts about Sita’s
virtue. While roaming the capital one
night, he hears a washerman abusing
his wife for staying out all night. The
washerman says that he is not as big a
fool as their king. Rama is troubled by
this and, although he is supposedlyRamayana