Ramayana Chanel Romagna & Nadia Poulin

Characters Rama Sita Ravan Brahma Vishnu Shiva Dasrath Kausalya Lakshman Shatrugan Kaykeyi Bharat

Part 1 People on Earth suffer from Demon Ravan He is a devotee of the three gods that rule the universe, Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva therefore the gods can not hurt him. But the people who suffer at his hands go up to heaven to ask the gods to help them. The god’s decide that Vishnu will incarnate as a human and destroy Vishnu.

Part 2 They incarnate Vishnu as the older son of the King of Kosala who has three wives but no children yet. The King’s first wife gives birth to Rama, the second gives birth to Laskshman and Shatrugan, the third gives birth to Bharat. The brothers are very close.

Part 3 In order to win his wife Sita’s hand he had to bend a bow of Shiva. Not only was he able to bend the bow, he also broke it, winning Sita’s hand in marriage. King Dasrath wanted to give his kingdom to his eldest son Bharat but Bharat's nanny gets jealous and goes to Bharat's mother and convinces her to convince the king to make Bahrat king. Bharat's mother goes to the king and demands from him the two promises he had promised her. She demands he send Rama to exile in the forest for fourteen years and make her son Bharat the heir of the kingdom. King Dasrath eventually agrees. Rama accepts his father's decision but his brothers are all furious. Lakshman decides to join his brother and Sita (brotherly loyalty). Bharat inherits the throne but after his father's death and goes to Rama and tries to convince him to return and take the throne. Rama refuses because he says his father’s will should be respected. Bharat agrees to remain the ruler of the kingdom until Rama's return from exile.

Part 4 The forest Rama is exiled to was full of demons. A female demon, Surpanakha fell in love with Rama and she tries to seduce him. Rama being a loyal husband refuses her so she tries to kill Sita. Lakshman then takes his sword and cuts the demon's nose. She goes to her brother Ravan and tells him what happened Ravan decides to avenge his sister by kidnapping Sita. One day Sita sees a very beautiful deer and desires it. She begs Rama to get it so Rama goes in search of it. When Rama does not return for a while Sita hears a cry which she thinks is Rama's so she begs Lakshman to find Rama. Lakshman initially refuses to leave Sita alone but is eventually persuaded. He draws a line in front of their hut and begs his sister- in- law not to pass this line because it might be dangerous. After Lakshman leaves a sage comes to the hut begging for food. Sita hears the begging of the sage and brings him some food, in doing so passing Lakshman’s line. As she gets closer it becomes evident that the sage is actually Raven in disguise. Raven kidnaps Sita and takes her to his kingdom in Lanka. On his way to Lanka, Sita struggles with him. A vulture from near Rama’s hut hears her cries and fights Raven but is seriosly injured. When Rama and Lakshman return the dying vulture tells them that Ravan kidnapped Sita. Rama and Lakshman decide to find Sita.

Part 5 Before setting off in search of Sita Rama and Lakshman help the king of monkeys who was exiled by his brother. Rama helps to fight and slay his brother. After regaining his throne the monkey king assigns one of his commanders, Hanuman to help Rama find Sita. After some time the monkeys come across another vulture who tells them that Ravan has kidnapped Sita and taken her to his island kingdom, Lanka. Hanuman flies to Lanka and finds Sita in the garden guarded by female demons. He proves to her that he is Rama's messenger and offers to carry her back. She refuses and says she prefers Rama rescue her. Hanuman promises that Rama will come and rescue her. On his way back Hanuman decides to check Ravan's security forces. He begins to destroy the garden, provoking the security guards and hurting them. Eventually he is captured and brought to Ravan. Hanuman tells Ravan that he is Rama's messenger and says that if he doesn’t set Sita free Ravan will die. Ravan gets furious and punishes him by burning his tail. Hanuman flies back to Rama after setting fire to Ravan's city with his burning tail.

Part 6 Rama decides to make a land bridge to Lanka. The monkeys bring tree and rocks from the forests and build the bridge. After arriving in Lanka they send a peaceful messenger to Ravan, but Ravan refuses so a war is started in which both sides lose many men. Ravan even uses biological weapons to weaken the monkeys senses. Rama is told a herb to cure the monkeys can be found on a far away mountain named Mahodaya. Hanuman flies to that mountain. Unable to identify what herb to bring back he brings the whole mountain to Lanka. Slowly the monkeys get back to their senses. Eventually Ravan faces Rama and after two days of battles Rama kills Ravan and visits Sita.

Part 7 Because Sita lived in another man's palace causes rumors about her chastity. In the new version of Ramayana Sita has to take a fire test where she sits in a fire but comes out unharmed and therefore is still chase. However in the original Ramayana after Rama and Sita return to Kosala rumors spread saying Sita was not faithful to Rama while in Ravan’s captivity so people begin to disrespect her. So Rama, the king banished Sita from his kingdom. In the forests she meets a sage named Valmiki, who later on wrote the Ramayana. In Valmiki's ashram Sita gives birth to twins (by Rama) named Lav and Kush. They learned how to sing the Ramayana and went everywhere singing it. When they arrive in Rama’s court Rama recognizes the two as his sons. Rama decides to bring back Sita who in order to prove her loyalty to Rama asked Mother Earth to swallow her if she was loyal. Mother Earth swallows her therefore proving her loyalty to Rama.

Explanation The Ramayana is a story that serves as an illustration. It shows what the ideal brother, wife, king husband, servant, friend, ect would be like. The Ramayana gives an example for all of us in how we should behave, for example Lakshman gave the example of the ideal brother. Lakshman demonstrated brotherly loyalty so effectively that he even went into exile with his brother for fourteen years. The Ramayana also highlights the importance of honouring your word and your promises and being loyal to your mate. It brings out the importance of respecting your parent’s wishes.