has three other sons: Bharata, Lakshmana, and
Shatrughna.
While Dasharatha is joyfully preparing to
retire from the world and leave the kingdom
to his virtuous oldest son Rama, a second wife
of his, Kaikeyi, demands, as the fulfillment of
a boon he had given her, that her own son,
Bharata, be raised to the throne and that Rama
be exiled in the forest for 14 years. Dasharatha,
true to his word, must grant her wish, but he
dies soon after of a broken heart. Rama, the most
obedient of sons, accepts his father’s request
with equanimity and prepares to go to the forest.
Lakshmana, his younger brother, will go with
him. Sita, his wife, is asked to stay behind, as
travel in the forest will involve great travail, but
she argues strongly that she wants to be at her
husband’s side. Rama relents and allows her to
go with him.
As they enter the forest, they are found by
Bharata. Bharata insists he has no desire for the
kingdom and asks that Rama give him his sandals
to put on the throne during his absence, as a sign
that it is Rama who is king. Wandering in the
forest, Rama and Lakshmana meet Shurpanakha,
sister of the demon king Ravana. She becomes
smitten with Rama and changes her horrific form
into that of a beautiful maiden.
Rama sees through Shurpanakha’s guise, but
to play a joke on his brother he tells her that
while he himself is married, Lakshmana is not.
When she approaches Lakshmana with passion,
Lakshmana enters into the joke by sending her
back to Rama, saying he is unworthy of her. Shur-
panakha then returns to Rama and jealously tries
to kill Sita. At this Lakshmana cuts off her nose
and ears.
Eventually, Surpanakha persuades her brother
Ravana to try to steal Sita away from Rama.
Ravana has the demon Maricha take the form of
a golden deer. When Rama chases after the deer,
by means of ruses Ravana carries off Sita in his
flying chariot and takes her to his island kingdom
of Lanka.
In a frantic search for Sita, Rama and Lak-
shmana befriend the monkey Sugriva and his
friends, including the virtuous and faithful
HANUMAN. Hanuman is sent to Lanka to recon-
noiter. He finds Sita but is caught by the demon
Rakshasas. They put a cloth on his tail and set it
afire, but he escapes and burns Lanka by jump-
ing from building to building with his tail in
flames.
Hanuman returns to Rama, and they make a
plan to defeat Ravana and his demon hordes and
get Sita back. They are successful and Sita returns,
but Rama and others question her fidelity. She
offers to undergo a trial by fire, passes the test, and
joins Rama on the throne.
The last and final chapter, omitted in some
vernacular versions, tells of the origin of the
rakshasas, the demon hordes, and the history of
Ravana. It also tells of Hanuman’s childhood and
other diverse tales. Sita’s faithfulness, however, is
once more questioned.
Sita is forced to flee to the forest while preg-
nant with Rama’s two sons. She goes to live at the
ashram of none other than Valmiki himself, the
author of the RAMAYANA story. Some years later,
while Rama is conducting an ashva medha (HORSE
SACRIFICE), Valmiki arrives with his two disciples,
Kusha and Lava, the sons of Rama. They recite the
Ramayana story for Rama and he learns of their
existence. He calls Sita back to court, where she
admonishes him and asks the Earth to swallow
her up rather than that she return to a husband
who has wronged her.
The Ramayana story is an ocean from which a
vast array of stories, myths, plays, and celebrations
have emerged in Sanskrit and every vernacular. It
is one of the central narratives of Indian culture;
every region of the country has a variety of sites
for pilgrimage and visitation that are connected
to its characters—Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman,
and the others.
Celebrated versions of the Ramayana have
been written in nearly every Indian language,
including the Islamic-associated Urdu. AmongK 354 Ramayana