The plot is relatively less complicated and follows a clearer progression. It begins with Rama's father's struggle to have children and ends with Rama's triumph over evil. The story of the Ramayana covers a much shorter period than the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem ever written, consisting of 100,000 verses, or 1.8 million words in total which is 4 times the length of the Ramayana. It is more than twice the length of the bible, but the Mahabharata is even longer. The Ramayana itself is a very lengthy story with almost 24,000 verses.

It is likely that the Mahabharata was compiled by many people over several centuries.įor more about India tour, please contact our travel advisors. The literal meaning of Vyasa is 'compiler'. However, scholars debate whether Vyasa was the real author or just a symbolic author. Fortunately, with the help of the gods, she was able to do so and remained unharmed. However, this was not the end of the story as Sita had to prove her chastity by walking through fire before Rama was willing to take her back. In his search for Sita, Rama befriended Hanuman, a monkey-human god, who was a great help to the prince.įinally, they were able to defeat Ravana through a fierce battle and save Sita. During the exile, Sita was abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka (present-day Sri Lanka). As a dutiful son, he willingly went on exile with his wife, Sita, and his younger brother, Lakshmana. However, due to turmoil in family relationships, he was exiled for fourteen years. Rama was born as the eldest of the sons of the King of the Kosala Kingdom. He is portrayed as loyal, dutiful, righteous, courageous, wise, strong, and even handsome. Rama is perceived as the ideal man in Hindu culture.

It is a story of the triumph of good over evil that is shown through the victory of Rama who defeated the demon Ravana who had abducted his wife. The word Ramayana literally means the journey of Rama.

Ramayana story with pictures pdf