Brahma – Creator God
Vishnu – Preserver God
Indra – War God
Ravana – King of the Demons
Lanka – Ravana’s kingdom, an island off the southern tip of India
Koshala – Rama’s family’s kingdom
Ayodhya – capital city of Koshala
Dasharatha -- the King of Koshala, Rama’s father
Kaushalya – Eldest Queen of Koshala, Rama’s mother
Rama – the first son of the king, hero of the story
Kaikeyi – the youngest queen of Koshala, Bharata’s mother
Bharata – the second son of the king, Rama’s brother
Lakshman – son of the king and his middle queen
Vishwamitra – a holy man
Maricha –a demon who serves Ravana, first one killed by Rama
Janaka – king of Mithila, father of Sita
Sita – daughter of King Janaka, marries Rama
Surpanakha – sister of Ravana, falls in love with Rama
Manthara – the serving maid to Queen Kaikeyi
Sugriva – King of the Monkeys after Bali’s death
Hanuman – chief monkey warrior, son of the Wind God
Part One:
Ravana the evil demon king is so powerful he threatens even
the gods. However, he fasts and prays like a holy man until the Lord Brahma
grants him one boon (favor). Ravana requests that he never be killed by god or
demon. In his pride, Ravana does not ask to be protected from men or monkeys,
whom he considers weak. Brahma grants his request, and Ravana starts beating up
the gods at will and stealing from them. He moves to Lanka where he has a
fabulous palace and a city of gold. The gods try to fight him but they cannot
kill him. They ask Brahma what to do. At last, Vishnu the Preserver agrees to be
born as a man on earth (incarnation).
At this time, Dasharatha the king of Koshala is praying to
the gods for a son. The god Brahma appears and gives him a magic dish of fruit
to give his wives. Dasharatha does, and all three of his queens becomes
pregnant. The oldest son is Rama. The second is Bharata. The third is Lakshman.
Both grow up strong and noble.
When the boys are fifteen, a holy man Vishwamitra visits
the king and complains about rakshasas (demons) who are terrorizing his temple
in the woods. The boys go out and defeat the first wave of demons. The holy man
teaches them how to use magic weapons from the gods. After the boys kill the
demon leader, Maricha, the holy man is so impressed with Rama that he takes the
boys to the city of Mithala, where Shiva’s bow is kept. King Janaka has
offered his beautiful daughter Sita as a prize to any man strong enough to bend
the bow. Rama not only bends it, he breaks it in half, and gets to marry Sita.
Bharata and Lakshman also get wives, Sita’s sisters. They all go back to
Rama’s city, Ayodhya, and live happily for twelve years.
Then the aging king, Dasharata, decides to appoint Rama the
regent of the kingdom. Everyone rejoices, except for Marathana, the serving
woman of the youngest queen, Kaikeyi. She convinces the queen to against Rama
and put Kaiyeki’s own son, Bharata, on the throne. Once, Kaikeyi saved the
king’s life, and he promised her two boons. Now Kaikeyi collects. She insists
that Rama be banished for fourteen years to live as a hermit in the forest, and
have Bharata put on the throne. The king has no choice but to agree.
Rama agrees to go to uphold his father’s honor. Lakshman and Sita go with him into the woods. The old king dies of grief. Bharata is a good brother, and pleads with Rama to take the throne, but Rama will not. Bharata says he will rule in Rama’s name for fourteen years, and places Rama’s sandals on the throne as a sign that Rama is the true king.
Part Two:
Rama, Lakshman, and Sita go live in the woods, where they
are very happy for twelve years. Then demons invade the forest, and Rama must
kill them. One of the demons is Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, who falls in love
with Rama. When Rama refuses her, she is very angry and sends more demons to
kill Sita. Rama defends his wife. In anger, he cuts Surpanakha’s nose and ears
off. Surpanakha goes to her brother Ravana, who plots revenge. Instead of
killing Rama, Ravana decides to steal his wife Sita.
Ravana sends one of his demons in the disguise of a golden
deer. When Sita sees it, she wants it for a pet. Rama goes into the woods to
kill it. Lakshman is lured away by a false cry of help from Rama, leaving Sita
alone. Ravana appears and takes Sita away in his chariot. A friendly vulture,
Jotayu, tries to fight Ravana, but is mortally wounded. Rama and Lakshman come
back and hear that Ravana has taken Sita. He swears to find her, but doesn’t
know where to look.
Rama and Lakshman happen across a band of monkeys, whose
leader is Sugriva. His main fighter is a monkey named Hanuman, the son of the
Wind God. Sugriva agrees to help Rama find Sita, if Rama helps him reclaim his
kingdom, which was stolen by his evil brother Bali. Rama does this, and after a
great monsoon, Sugriva sends the monkeys in all four directions, looking for
Sita.
Hanuman gets to the edge of the ocean and meets a demon,
who confesses that Ravana lives on the island of Lanka. Hanuman, being son of
the wind god, has the power to jump hundreds of miles, and he jumps to the
island, where he finds Sita a prisoner in the garden. Ravana has given her one
year to marry him, and the year is almost up. Hanuman gives Sita her husband’s
ring as a sign he comes in peace. Sita gives him a jewel. Hanuman cannot carry
her away, because she will allow no man to touch her except Rama.
Hanuman taunts the demons and allows himself to be
captured. Ravana will not kill him, since Hanuman is a messenger, but he lights
the monkey’s tail on fire. Hanuman gets revenge by setting the whole city
ablaze. Then he goes back to Rama and tells Rama the news. Rama starts
assembling an army on monkeys for the final battle with Ravana.
Part Three:
Rama and Laskman see demons flying toward them, but they
turn out to be defectors from Ravana’s army. Rama accepts them, and learns
about Ravana’s defenses. Rama prays to the Sea God, who instructs them to
build a bridge of rocks all the way to Lanka. The monkeys produce the bridge in
three days.
Rama’s army crosses to the island. There is a great
battle, and demons and monkeys are evenly matched. Ravana himself is too proud
to come out and fight. Finally, Ravana sends his son Indrajita out, who is so
powerful he once captured the god Indra himself. Indrajita almost destroys the
army of monkeys and mortally wounds Lakshman. Indrajita thinks he has won, and
goes back to the palace to tell his father.
Rama is devastated by Lakshman’s injuries, but a wise
monkey tells Hanuman there is a cure – a certain plant on the Golden Mountain
in the Himalayas. Hanuman flies to the mountain, but doesn’t know which plant
to pick, so he lifts the entire mountain and takes it back to Lanka. Lakshman
and the army are cured.
The next day, Rama battles Ravana. Indra himself lends Rama
his chariot. Finally, Rama sends the spear of Brahma into Ravana’s forehead
and kills the demon king. Rama finds Sita, but cannot be sure she hasn’t given
in to Ravana. To prove her purity, Sita steps into a burning fire and comes out
unharmed.
Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya and rule happily for the rest of their lives. Only then do the people realize their king, Rama, is an incarnation of Vishnu.