The Ramayana (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Vālmīki
- First Published: 350
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Type of Plot: Epic
- Time of Work: Antiquity
- Setting: India
- Principal Characters: Rama, Sita, Lakshman, Dasa-ratha, Ravan, Kaikeyi
- Genres: Poetry, Epic, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Exile or expatriates, Marriage, Gods or goddesses, India or East Indian people, Childbirth, Hindus or Hinduism, Devils or demons, Reincarnation
- Locales: India, Sri Lanka
The Story:
King Dasa-ratha of the Kosalas, who kept his court at Ayodhya, had four sons, though not all by the same mother. According to legend, the god Vishnu, in answer to King Dasa-ratha’s supplications, had given a divine liquor to each of the king’s wives, so that they might bring forth sons, each of whom was partly an incarnation of Vishnu. Of the sons born, Rama was the handsomest and strongest of all, his mother having drunk more of the magic beverage than Dasa-ratha’s other wives.
When Rama grew to manhood he heard of Sita, beautiful, talented, and...
[The entire page is 2649 words long]
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