Lord Rama is one of the most commonly adored gods of Hindus and is known as an ideal man and hero of the epic Ramayana.
He is always holding a bow and arrow indicating his readiness to destroy evils. He is also called "Shri Rama". More commonly he is pictured in a family style, (Ram Parivar) with his wife Sita, brother Lakshman and devotee Hanuman who is sitting near Lord Rama's feet.
Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasharatha, king of Ayodhya, Rama is referred to within Hinduism as Maryada Purushottama, literally the Perfect Man or Lord of Self-Control or Lord of Virtue. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi and the embodiment of perfect womanhood.
Rama's Exile :
Rama gladly accepted the news of his banishment and went to meet his mother Kausalya. Seeing her son she cried out loud,Rama on his way to exile "How can you bear the hardship of living in a forest for fourteen long years?" Rama smiled and assured her that fourteen years would pass very quickly.
As Rama began preparing for his departure, Sita came to him. She begged Rama to take her with him but he refused. Sita replied, "My Lord, not being with you for fourteen years will be greater hardship. My duty is to be by your side always."
Like Sita, Laxmana too decided to follow the footsteps of his brother. "How can I leave my dear brother to face the dangers all by himself?" he argued.
Seeing Sita and Laxmana's determination, Rama had no choice but to agree to their wish.
Rama and Laxmana :
King Dasaratha's children were taught by the great sage Vashistha. Though all four were very bright, Rama was the best and most adored.
One day Sage Vishmitra came to King Dasaratha and told him that Rama and Laxmana with sage Vishmitra two demons named Mareecha and a Subahu were troubling the sages. He asked King Dasaratha to send his brave sons, Rama and Laxmana, to fight the two demons and enable the sages to perform their rituals. King Dasaratha sent Rama and Laxmana with the sage to the forest of Dandka.
The brothers kept a strict watch outside the sage's hut while the rituals was going on. Five days past peacefully but on the morning of the sixth day a thunderous roar was heard. All looked up to see an approaching army of demons clouding the skies. Rama aimed Mareecha, and hurled into the sea. The next shot at Subahu, killed the monster immediately. The two brothers then easily defeated the rest of the army.
Rama and the squirrel :
Rama wanted to cross the bridge to Lanka in order to save Sita from Ravana's clutches. He sat down to pray to the sea god. The sea god, Samudra, arose from the depths of the sea and told Rama to build a bridge across the
All the monkeys got busy building the bridge by placing boulders. A Lord Rama and Squirreltiny squirrel was watching everything from his burrow. He decided to help Rama. He began picking sand and scattered twigs and scurried back and forth from the shore to the sea. Little by little the squirrel had gathered an entire heap
Rama noticed the dedication of this tiny creature. Picking it up on his palm, he warmly stroked the animal with his three fingers. Since then, it is believed that squirrels have three lines on their body.
Rama Crosses the Sea :
cross the sea and go to Lanka, Rama shot his arrows through the water. The sea god, Samudra appeared before Rama. With hands folded he said that if the sea dried, the natural balance would be affected. He suggested that Rama should consult Nal,
Lord Rama and sea god SamudraVishwakarma's able son and a soldier in Sugreeva's army, to construct a bridge. Accordingly Nal laid out a plan for the construction. All the monkeys got together to build the bridge. Large trees, bamboos, huge rocks, and a lot of sand were used to construct the platform.
When Nal finished building the bridge, all the gods including Samudra came too see it. They admired his work and showered petals on it. Once it was constructed, Samudra assured Rama that he would keep his waters stable when the monkey brigade crossed the bridge. The sea became still . Then it was time for Rama and the huge army of monkeys to cross the bridge.
Sugreeva said to Rama,"Let Hanuman and Angad carry you and Laxmana on their backs, while the rest of the army walks on." Agreeing to Sugreeva's suggestion, Rama and Laxmana climbed Hanuman and Angad's sturdy shoulders. Once Rama and Laxmana were carried across, the huge battalion of monkeys followed. Some jumped, some screamed, while others danced as they marched on bravely towards Lanka.
Rama Kills Bali
Rama and Sugreeva worked on a second plan to kill Bali. They decided that this time Sugreeva would wear a garland to help Rama recognise Bali. Sugreeva then invited Bali for the second time. As the fight began, Rama shot his arrow at Bali's chest, but he
Rama aiming at mighty Balididnot die. This is because of a boon given by Indra according to which, any attack from the front would lose its force before Bali.
Rama then shot at his back and the mighty bali came crashing to the ground.
Bali then realised the trap Sugreeva had laid for him and in his final moments asked Rama as to why he had agreed to help Sugreeva .
Rama replied that he had become too powerful and arrogant. Besides by making Tara his queen, he had committed a sin.
After Rama explained, Bali with folded hands begged for forgiveness and said he was blessed to have been killed by the noble Rama.
Rama Goes to Heaven :
Rama's loyal brother, Laxmana had been cursed by Sage Durvasa and had gone to heaven. Rama could not bear this loss. He decided to go to heaven himself. He wanted to crown Bharata as
Lord Rama goes to heaventhe king of Ayodhya, but both Bharata and Shatrughna felt that they were not the rightful successors to the throne.
Rama wanted to know what the people of Ayodhya wanted. The people of Ayodhya loved Rama and announced that they would also accompany Rama to heaven. Rama had to agree to their wish. He bid a tearful farewell to his faithful devotee Hanuman, and blessed him. Then, he went to the banks of the Saryu River and walked into the water. The people of Ayodhya, who had been accompanying Rama all the while, followed their king and went to heaven.
any years passed. Rama, Laxmana, and Sita treavelled through forests, meeting holy sages, and fighting demons. They finally Laxmana cutting Shurpanakaha nosearrived at Panchavati. Here they built a hut and passed their days happily.
One day, Ravana's sister Shurpanakaha, who was wandering in the forests, spotted the handsome Rama outside his cottage and fell in love with him at first sight. Surpanakha was very ugly. To attract Rama, she transformed herself into a beautiful maiden and approached him. She told him that she had fallen in love with him and wanted to marry him. He refused saying that he was already married.
Shurpanakha then spotted Laxmana and her feelings were aroused again seeing the equally handsome brother. She asked Laxmana, who also rejected her offer.
Shurpanakha could not bear this insult and attacked Sita. This angered Laxmana and he took a sword and cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears.
Rama Kills Khara :
Bruished, Shurpanakha rushed to her brothers Khara and Dushana. She narrated the incident and asked them to take Shurpanakha and her brothers Khara and Dushana revenge. Khara and Dushana were demon kings. Seeing Shurpanakha's plight, they became very angry. Meanwhile, Rama sensing some trouble, asked Laxmana to escort Sita to a secure place. He got ready with his bow and arrow. Khara and Dushana arrived with strong army of elephants, horse drawn chariots, and soldiers. The battle began. The enemies charged from all directions and Rama hit back with his powerful arrows . He destroyed the entire army. Finally, with one final shot he knocked down Khara, Dushana , and their friend Trisara . Meanwhile , one demon called Akampana, who survived the attack , rushed to Lanka to inform Ravana.
Rama Kills Shambuk :
One day, an old Brahmin walked into Rama's court with the deadbody of his son. He was crying and started blaming Rama for the death of his five-year-old son. The Brahmin said that he had Rama sets out to kill Shambhuknever committed a sin in his life and couldn't understand why his son had died at such an early age. He was convinced that his son must have died as a result of some sins committed by Rama.
Rama was very sad and summoned Sage Vashistha. The sage told him that a man called Shambuk, an untouchable, was doing a very powerful tapasya, which he was not permitted to do. If he was punished, the little boy would come back to life. Rama immediately left in search of Shambuk.
Finally, Rama found Shambuk praying near a river in the forest. When Shambuk revealed his identity, Rama took out his sword and cut Shambuk's head off and the little boy became alive again.
Rama Kills Ravana :
avana was the king of demons and the ruler of Lanka. He had ten heads and twenty arms. Ravana was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and had been granted many boons by him.
RavanaBrahma had also granted him a boon by which he could not be killed by any god or demon. However, Ravana forgot to ask for protection from men or animals.
Ravana was blessed with many supernatural powers such as flying and becoming invisible, but this also made him very proud. He misused his powers and the gods felt it was necessary to destroy him. Since only a human could kill Ravana, Lord Vishnu incarnated himself as Rama, prince of Ayodhya. With the help of an army of monkeys, Rama went to Lanka and killed Ravana, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.