50 Ramayana characters

The many characters of Ramayana — in Rama’s court. Photo Credit: Painting © ExoticIndia.com

 Ahalya: Wife of sage Gautama, who was turned into a stone

and later became free from curse by the touch of Rama
 Bharata: Brother of Rama and son of Kaikeyi
 Dasharatha: Rama’s father and King of Kosala
 Dashanan: Ten headed King of Lanka a.k.a. Ravana
 Garuda: The mighty mythical raptor; King of winged
creatures
 Gautama: Sage/Rishi who cursed her wife Ahalya and turned
her into a stone for her immoral conduct
 Hanuman: Son of Pavana — the wind God; Devout of Rama
and a leading warrior among the monkey tribe
 Indrajit: Ravana’s son who fought with Rama with magical
powers
 Jambuvan: Leader of bears who found Sita with his
supernatural powers
 Janaka: King of Mithila; Father of Sita, who found her in a
furrow
 Jatayu: Great bird who was killed by Ravana while rescuing
Sita

Garuda & Hanuman are two major zoomorphic characters of the Ramayana. Photo Credit:
Painting © ExoticIndia.com

 Kaikeyi: Dashartha’s youngest queen and mother of Bharata

who asked for Rama’s exile
 Kausalya: Dashratha’s queen and Rama’s mother
 Kevat: Boatman who let Rama, Laxman and Sita cross the
river in his boat and washes Rama’s feet
 Khar: Brother of Ravana and Shurpanakha
 Kumbhkarna: Ravan’s brother known for sleeping and eating
 Kush: Son of Rama and Sita
 Laxman: Queen Sumitra’s son and Rama’s brother aka
Lakshmana
 Lava or Luv: Son of Rama and Sita; brother of Kush
 Mandavi: Bharat’s wife & King Janak’s daughter
 Manthara: Maid servant of Keikeyi who convinced her for
Bharat’s thorn and exile of Rama
 Maricha or Mareech: Who assumed form of suvarna
mriga or golden deer and help abduct Sita
 Meghanad: Ravana’s son, who made Laxman unconscious in
the battlefield with his arrow
 Nala: Son of great builder who helped Rama construct the
famous bridge to Lanka
Lakshmana or Laxman sitting with Rama in a discussion with the Vanaras before their Lanka
conquest. Photo Credit: Painting © ExoticIndia.com

 Tataka: Demoness or rakshasi killed by Rama; mother of

Mareecha
 Tulsidas: Sanskrit scholar and poet who created
Ramacharitmanas, a version of Valmiki Ramayana in local
Avadhi language
 Urmila: Laxman’s wife; daughter of King Janak and sister of
Sita
 Vali or Bali: The mighty ape, cousin of Sugriva, who occupied
Kiskindha and was killed by Rama
 Valmiki: The great poet and creator of Ramayana; Sage who
helped Sita and her two son Lava-Kush stay at her ashrama
 Vanara: Monkey; The army led by Hanuman. A hill tribe of
Southern India — according to the Ramayana
 Vasistha: Head priest or kul Guru of Ayodhya
 Vibhishana: Ravana’s brother who leaves Lanka to join Rama
and later becomes the king of Lanka
 Vishnu: Lord of Preservation — part of the Hindu Trinity of
Gods; Rama is considered the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu
 Vishwamitra: Sage or rishi, who used Rama to kill troubling
demons

Sita in captivity in Lanka. Photo Credit: Painting © ExoticIndia.com

 Rama: The main protagonist of the Ramayana — an avatar of

Lord Vishnu; prince of Ayodha, son of King Dasharatha of
Kosala
 Ravana: Ten headed King of Lanka, who abducted Sita;
brother of Vibhishana and Surpanakha; father of Indrajit;
husband of Mandodari
 Sampati: Brother of Jatayu
 Shatrughna: Rama’s younger brother
 Shabari: Devotee of Rama who offered him berries
 Shatananda: Head Priest or kul Guru of Mithila
 Shiva: The Lord of Destruction — part of the Hindu Trinity of
Gods, whose bow was lifted by Rama in the swayamvar of Sita
 Shravan: Son of blind parents; known as an idol of service to
parents
 Shrutkirti: Shatrughna’s wife and King Janak’s daughter
 Shurpanakha: Ravan’s sister whose ears and nose were cut
by Laxman
 Sita: Daughter of Janaka and wife of Rama
 Sugriva: King of monkey tribe and King of Kiskindha
 Sumanta: Charioteer of King Dasharatha
 Sumitra: Wife of Dashratha; Mother of Laxman & Shatrughna
 Sunayana: Wife of King Janak; Mother of Sita
 Sushen: Lankan physician, who advised Sanjivani herbs from
Kailas mountain in order to cure Laxman

Maharishi Valmiki "The Father of Holy Epic Ramayana"

Valmiki was the composer of the first Sanskrit poem "Adikavya" known the world over as the
epic Ramayana. He was born along the banks of the Ganges in ancient India to a sage by the
name of Prachetasa. His birth name was Ratnakara. His father name was Pracheta.

Once a time when Valmiki (Ratnakara) went into the forest and got lost. A hunter, who was
passing by, saw Ratnakara and took him under his own care. Under his guidance, Ratnakara
turned out to be an excellent hunter. As a result,he took to robbery and began looting people
passing from one village to another.

It is said that once Narada, a mythical sage, came to see Valmiki. As Narada played his Veena
and sang praises of the Lord, he saw a transformation coming over Ratnakara. Narada
convinced him of the evil of his ways and converted him into a 'Brahmarishi' or religious scholar.
Narada taught him the sacred name of 'Rama' and asked him to sit in meditation, chanting the
name of Rama. Ratnakara continued his 'tapasya’ chanting the name of Rama. His eyes were
closed. His whole mind was concentrate on the chanting of the name of the Lord. He forgot his
existence. And in this way quite a few years passed. An ant-hill grew all around and above him.

At last, Narada came to see him and removed all the anthills
from his body. Then, he told Ratnakara that his meditation paid off and the God was pleased
with him. Ratnakara was bestowed with the honor of a Brahmarshi and given the name of
Valmiki, since he was reborn from the Valmika (the ant-hill). Sage Valmiki founded his ashram
at the banks of River Ganga.Then,Narada narrated the story of Lord Rama. Thereafter he
received a vision from Brahma in which the Lord instructed him to write Ramayana in slokas,
which the sage readily followed.

Ramayana, originally compose and written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and 7 kaṇḍas
including Uttara kanda Ramayana is composed of about 480, 002 words, being a quarter of the
length of the full text of Mahabharata. Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya
whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon-king of Lanka Ravana. The Valmiki Ramayana is
dated variously from 500 BC to 100 BC or about co-eval with early versions of Mahabharata.

His First Shloka came when he was looking for a suitable place to step into the stream, he saw
a couple mating. Valmiki felt very pleased on seeing the happy birds. Suddenly, hit by an arrow,
the male bird died on the spot. Filled by sorrow, its mate screamed in agony and died of shock.
Valmiki's heart melted at this pitiful sight. He looked around to find out who had shot the bird. He
saw a hunter with a bow and arrows, nearby. Valmiki became very angry. His lips opened and
he cried out.

म ां निष द प्रनिष् ां त्वमगमः श श्वि ः सम ः।

यत्क्र ांचनमथुि दे कम् अवध ः क ममोनििम्॥'

His first disciples to whom he taught the Ramayana were Kusha and Lava, the sons of
Rama.Valmiki gave shelter to Sita in his hermitage, the twin sons of Shri Rama were born to Sita
in this hermitage. Who later sang the divine story in Ayodhya during the Ashwamedha yajna
congregation, to the pleasure of the audience, whereupon, King Rama questioned who they
were and later visited Valmiki's hermitage to confirm if Sita, the two children claimed as their
mother was in fact his wife in exile. Later, he summoned them to his royal palace. Kusha and
Lava sang the story of Rama there and Rama confirmed that whatever had been sung by these
two children was entirely true.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeAbCsI4Mkk
 प्रचेत्सोऽिां दशमः पुत्रो र घविांन्दि |
ि स्मर म्यिृिां व क्यनममर िु िव पुत्रकर |

There is a temple for Valmiki located in Chennai, which is believed to be 1300 years old.
Valmiki is a great example of how people are uplifted by the company of good men. By
coming into contact with Narada, he became a great sage, a Brahmarshi; and he also gave
the 'Ramayana' which the world can never forget. It is one of the great epics of the world.
People of other countries read it in their own languages. The study of the 'Ramayana can
reform our lives.