Ramayan is the work of Maharishi Valmiki and conatins 24,000 verses. It embodies an immortal heritage of the Indian culture. This epic has inspired generations of Hindus and has greatly influenced them. The characters in the epic have stood as moral examples; it has taught people moral values. The contribution of Ramayana towards literature and character building is large.
Ayodha was a very happy kingdom where noone had poverty and everybody honest and kind and nobody did anything wrong. But the ruler of the kingdom— King Dashrath, who had three queens, was very sad. He did not have any son. After performing a yajna, the queens gave birth to sons. Rama was born to Kaushalya, Bharat to Kaikeyi and Laxman and Shatrughan to Sumitra.
When Dashrath had made up his mind to make Rama the king of Ayodha, he was forced to change his decision in order to keep a promise he had given to Kaikeyi. Rama was sent in an exile for 14 years and Bharat was crowned king. Rama, along with wife Sita and brother Laxman, set out to live in the forest as a hermit. In the course of their wanderings, they arrived at Panchawati.
Meanwhile, the ten-headed king of Lanka—Ravana got to know about the beautiful Sita and hatched a plan with Marich to kidnap Sita. Ravana’s plan was successful.
Rama joined forces with the monkey king—Sugriva and invaded Lanka. A great battle took place in which Ravana was killed. Rama recovered Sita and returned to Ayodha, his exile being completed. Bharat had refused the crown and waited for Rama’s return. Rama was then crowned as king of Ayodha.
Sita will again be sent to exile. Rama will have two sons—Lov and Kush. Then a war takes place between Rama and his sons. Rama will be defeated and he will realize that he has wronged Sita. When Rama will meet Sita again, she will be taken away by Mather Earth. The responsibility of looking after the kingdom passes to Lov and Kush with the passing away of Rama.