King Dasharatha
King of Kosala and father of the four princes.
An epic of dharma, courage and devotion
The
Ramayana
Enter a world of ancient kingdoms, forest journeys, powerful vows, loyal friendships and the battle for Lanka. Read the story chapter by chapter and explore the lives behind the legend.
The complete journey
Explore the seven Kāṇḍas
Choose a book of the epic and open its chapters.
Lives & lineages
Meet the characters
Explore their backstories, relationships and roles in the epic.
Across the epic world
Places of the Ramayana
Select a place to explore its role in the story.
The people behind the epic
Families & relationships
Ayodhya's royal family
Kausalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra
The three queens and mothers of Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
The four brothers
Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrughna are linked by family loyalty and difficult duties.
Rama and Sita
Their marriage links Ayodhya and Mithila; their story anchors the epic.
Lanka's royal family
Ravana
King of Lanka, described as learned and powerful, whose choices bring war.
Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana
Ravana's brothers take different paths as the crisis unfolds.
Mandodari
Ravana's queen, often portrayed as wise and distressed by his decisions.
Shurpanakha
Ravana's sister, whose forest encounter helps set later events in motion.
About sources and visuals: This starter uses the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa as its main narrative frame, while acknowledging that details differ across regional and devotional tellings. Visuals are original CSS atmosphere and illustrative design, not verified historical images. This is a working starter with selected chapter summaries, not yet a line-by-line edition of every Sarga. Expand the content with a consistent, cited source before presenting it as a complete scholarly edition.