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The Story of the Ramayana

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Prince Rama is sent into exile on the eve of his crowning, with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, and when the demon king Ravana carries Sita off to Lanka, Rama sets out to bring her home. By John Campbell Oman (1900). A public-domain classic, from The Great Indian Epics.

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How it begins In the ancient land of Kosala, watered by the River Surayu, stood the famous Ayodhya, a fortified and impregnable city of matchless beauty, and resplendent with burnished gold, where everyone was virtuous, beautiful, rich and happy. Wide streets traversed this city in every direction, lined with elegant shops and stately palaces glittering all over with gems. There was no lack of food in Ayodhya, for “it abounded in paddy and rice, and its water was as sweet as the juice of the sugar-cane.” Gardens, mango-groves and “theatres for females” were to be found everywhere. Dulcet music from Venas and Panavas resounding on all sides, bore evidence to the taste of the people. Learned and virtuous Brahmans, skilled in sacrificial rites, formed a considerable proportion of the population; which also included a crowd of eulogists and “troops of courtesans.” The pride of ancient families supported a large number of genealogists. Hosts of skilled artisans of every kind contributed to the conveniences and elegancies of life, while an army of doughty warriors protected this magnificent and opulent city from its envious foes. Over this wonderful and prosperous capital of a flourishing kingdom, ruled King Dasahratha, a man some sixty thousand years of age, gifted with every virtue and blessed beyond most mortals. But, as if to prove that human happiness can never exist unalloyed with sorrow, even he had one serious cause for grief; he was childless, although he had three wives and seven hundred and fifty concubines. Acting upon the advice of the priests, the Maharajah determined to offer, with all the complicated but necessary rites, the sacrifice of a horse, as a means of prevailing upon the gods to bless his house with offspring. The accomplishment of such a sacrifice was no easy matter, or to be lightly undertaken, even by a mighty monarch like Dasahratha, since it was an essential condition of success that the sacrifice should be conducted without error or omission in the minutest details of the ritual of an intricate ceremony, extending over three days. Not only would any flaw in the proceedings render the sacrifice nugatory, but it was to be feared that learned demons (Brahma-Rakshasas), ever maliciously on the look-out for shortcomings in the sacrifices attempted by men, might cause the destruction of the unfortunate performer of an imperfect sacrifice of such momentous importance. However, the sacrifice was actually performed on a magnificent scale and most satisfactorily, with the assistance of an army of artisans, astrologers, dancers, conductors of theatres, and persons learned in the ceremonial law. Birds, beasts, reptiles, and aquatic animals were sacrificed by the priests on this auspicious occasion, but the sacred horse itself was despatched, with three strokes, by the hand of Kauçalya, Dasahratha’s queen. When the ceremonies had been conducted to a successful close, Dasahratha showed his piety and generosity by making a free gift of the whole earth to the officiating priests; but they were content to restore the magnificent present, modestly accepting in its stead fabulous quantities of gold and silver and innumerable cows.The gods, Gandharvas and Siddhas, propitiated by the offerings profusely made to them, assembled, each one for his share, and Dasahratha was promised four sons. While these events were transpiring, a ten-headed Rakshasa named Ravana was making himself the terror of gods and men, under the protection of a boon bestowed upon him by the Creator (Brahma), that neither god nor demon should be able to deprive him of his life. This boon had been obtained by the Rakshasa as the reward of long and painful austerities. Keep reading →

About this story

Prince Rama is sent into exile on the eve of his crowning, with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana, and when the demon king Ravana carries Sita off to Lanka, Rama sets out to bring her home, with an army of monkeys and the help of Hanuman. It is one of the two great epics of India.

John Campbell Oman, an English professor who taught in India, published this retelling in The Great Indian Epics, in ten short chapters for English readers. The Ramayana is attributed to the sage Valmiki, and has been retold in many languages and performed for more than two thousand years.

Themes: Duty and exile, loyalty, good against evil, a hero and his wife
Good for: A first reading of the Ramayana, or a quick summary of it
Worth noticing: How each person in the story keeps a promise, even when it costs them.

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