The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic

Lakshmana is one of Rama’s half-brothers, and he has a close relationship with Rama. His mother is Queen Sumithra, the second wife of King Dasaratha. Lakshmana’s loyalty to his brother Rama leads him to accompany Rama when the sage Viswamithra requires Rama’s assistance at the start of The Ramayana, and later, Lakshmana follows Rama into Rama’s 14-year exile in the forest.

Lakshmana’s capabilities are invaluable during the time of exile; he is able to construct marvelous shelters for himself, Rama, and Sita, Rama’s wife, and helps to defend them against enemies. Lakshmana is devoted to Rama and follows his every instruction as they meet the challenges that prove Rama’s status as an epic hero. Lakshmana is the ideal kinsman to Rama, and they complement one another. He is loyal and attentive, and he possesses very valuable skills that enable Rama to survive his exile and to rescue Sita from the demon Ravana.

Sita is Rama’s beautiful and virtuous wife and the daughter of King Janaka, who found her in a field when she was a baby. She falls violently in love with Rama as soon as she sees him approaching her father’s palace, and her suffering for him before they marry parallels the depth of love and loyalty she demonstrates toward Rama after she becomes his wife. To marry Sita, Rama must pass a test that her father has devised, and he does so easily.

Sita is the incarnation of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess and Vishnu’s consort. Like Rama, Sita is unaware of her true identity, but anyone who observes her otherworldly beauty senses that she is not like other fully human women; rather, she represents both a wifely and a womanly ideal. Sita accompanies Rama into the forest when he is exiled, and there, she is stolen away after Soorpanaka, the sister of the 10-headed demon Ravana, attempts to seduce Rama into marrying her and to destroy Sita. Ravana’s kidnapping of Sita frightens her, but she does not allow herself to be intimidated into any disloyalty to Rama that would compromise her virtue and her fidelity to her husband.

Sita’s courage and loyalty are even more apparent when she and Rama are united at the end of The Ramayana, when she throws herself onto a pyre to prove her virtue and her love for him. Sita does not burn and emerges from the fire unscathed, returning to Rama’s side having publicly proven herself to be innocent, pure, and ever-devoted to her husband. Though Sita has many positive qualities, she is not perfect, displaying vanity and disobedience at times. Her complexity, like her husband’s, enables her to be both a human and a goddess, a model of virtue that is not completely out of reach to the audience.

King Dasaratha of Ayodhya is a gentle and kind ruler, and his sensitivity and compassion for others make him vulnerable to offenses and disappointments. He has survived many near-death experiences, and his third wife, Kaikeyi, enabled him to live through a battle that nearly took his life. At this time, he granted her the ability to ask him two promises of her choice in thanks for saving his life. Because Dasaratha is both indebted to her and adoring of her, Kaikeyi is able interfere with Dasaratha’s plan to place his first son, Rama, on the throne as his replacement. In a weakened state, Dasaratha suffers more when he must grant Kaikeyi’s wish to coerce Rama into giving up the crown of Kosala and to force him into 14 years of exile so that Kaikeyi’s own son, Bharatha, may be king.

Dasaratha is particularly attached to his son Rama, and the news of Rama’s exile weakens him and causes him to take to his bed and die. His protectiveness over Rama at the start of The Ramayana, when Rama must leave Dasaratha to undergo his initiation in the first chapter, foreshadows Dasaratha’s death by heartbreak when he is again separated from his son.

Kaikeyi is Dasaratha’s third wife, and when she saves Dasaratha’s life on the battlefield, he grants her two wishes for anything she desires. She redeems these wishes when she hears that Rama, Dasaratha’s eldest son by his first wife, Kausalya, is to be crowned king of Kosala. Kaikeyi seeks to take the throne for her own son, Bharatha, and to send Rama, the favored son, into the forest for 14 years.

Kaikeyi understands that her value in her relationship with Dasaratha is dependent on her youth and beauty. He adores her for these qualities, doting on her with great care, until she seeks to redeem her wishes and dethrone Dasaratha’s favorite son, Rama. Kaikeyi’s greed and betrayal shock Dasaratha, whose disappointment and regret over the loss of his favorite wife and his favorite son are severe enough to cause his physical decline and death. The depth of his attachment to Kaikeyi is demonstrated by the depth of his sadness when she disappoints him.

The son of Kaikeyi and Dasaratha, Bharatha is a talented warrior, but he is also innocent and unambitious; it is his mother’s desire that he have the crown of Ayodhya, not his own. At first, he is unaware of the schemes of his mother, Kaikeyi, and he resists taking the role of king of Kosala, showing himself to be deferential to his brother. Bharatha is loyal to Rama, which means that he is appalled by his mother’s behavior, and he pursues Rama into the forest to bring him back to rule, unsuccessfully. Only during a lengthy philosophical conversation, during which both brothers deny an interest in the throne, is Rama is able to persuade Bharatha that Bharatha must follow their father’s command and rule the kingdom. When Dasaratha dies, Bharatha is tormented by the fact that he cannot tend to his beloved father’s funeral pyre because Dasaratha has cut him and Kaikeyi off from the family bloodlines—a detail that emphasizes the theme of family ties and filial duty.

When Bharatha finally partakes in the coronation ceremony, he places his brother Rama’s sandals on the throne as a symbol of the true ruler of Kosala, showing his loyalty to Rama even when he accepts his responsibility to his father. Bharatha then leaves the capital city of Ayodhya, ruling as a regent from outside the city, sidestepping the throne while waiting for Rama’s return from exile so that he can transfer the power to Rama.

Sugreeva is the king of the monkeys of Kiskinda. His brother Vali mistakenly banished Sugreeva from Kiskinda, suspecting Sugreeva of attempting to take the throne. Sugreeva is, in reality, loyal to Vali, which is why Sugreeva suffers when Rama kills Vali in defense of Sugreeva during the most controversial section of the epic. Sugreeva becomes the king of Kiskinda, but he transforms into a drunken and unreliable hedonist once he has power; during this time he neglects his promise to gather a monkey army to support Rama in his recovery of Sita from Ravana. When Sugreeva sees the error of his ways, he gives up alcohol forever and devotes himself to Rama.

Sugreeva is not an entirely trustworthy character, and the tension over power between Sugreeva and Vali is a foil to the relationships between Rama and his brothers; none of Rama’s brothers seeks to take anything from Rama, and they display a loyalty to Rama that positions them as ideal brothers to the audience. Sugreeva’s complex character enables Rama to make decisions about Sugreeva that are risky but, ultimately, correct.

Hanuman, a giant shape-shifting monkey and son of the god of the wind, is the commander of the monkey army who helps Rama rescue his wife, Sita, from Ravana. He is able to cross the water between the mainland of India and the island of Lanka in one easy leap, skillfully avoiding the goddesses who attempt to destroy him during his jump. Hanuman shows his cleverness and his strategic acumen when he arrives in Lanka and takes the form of a tiny mouse to look for Sita surreptitiously. He deliberately makes himself available to capture, and when Ravana’s henchmen set his tail on fire, he uses it to burn down Lanka. After the epic battle between Rama and Ravana, Hanuman leads the band of Rama’s followers home. Hanuman’s devotion to Rama is legendary, as his mind is always on Rama and Rama’s virtues and courage.